Why? - Prologue

When I was in Tango Wing of the OCS (Officer Cadet School), the Wing Commander used to show us a clip about leadership to inspire us. What it contained was a compilation of thought-provoking and inspirational quotes about leadership. One particular quote that caught my eye was this: Leadership is about keeping your word. I don't remember the exact words but the meaning is there.

I think keeping one's word is not only important as an officer but it applies to all aspects of life. I've tried to live by this, as far as I could. Though I could not always do what I said I would do, the reasons are largely due to circumstances, rather than intentional.

To quote an example, I woke up late this morning, at 9.18am. I had to attend a meeting at 10am and it required at least 1 hour's worth of traveling time. I could have gave some excuses like, "My neighbour's apartment caught fire and my valiant attempts to rescue the trapped children were hampered by the choking smoke and fiery blaze" or "A meteorite decimated my residence's immediate area and I had to make a big detour" and turned up really late. I didn't. I said I was going to be there at 10 and that's it. Thus, I took a cab, blew $12.10 and was 5min late.