What a ride 2020 has been.
So many events stand out for so many people all over the globe. Indeed, we experienced many historical “firsts.”
On 20th April 2020, oil recorded negative prices for the first time in history. US oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell from USD17.85 at the start of the trading day to negative USD37.63 by the close. This happened because the demand for oil had drastically dropped due to global lockdowns, and oil producers were actually paying buyers to take oil off their hands for fear that storage capacity could run out.
On 4th August 2020, gold topped USD2,000 for the first time in history. This happened because of two reasons. Firstly, global traders and investors were searching for safe havens amid the pandemic. Secondly, gold is widely considered an inflationary hedge. As central banks pumped trillions of dollars into the financial system (thereby eroding the value of the dollar), the cost of every ounce of gold in dollars rose.
On 19th August 2020, Apple became the first publicly traded US company in history to hit a market cap of USD2 trillion, doubling in valuation in just over two years. Oh, and did I mention Bitcoin is recording historical highs? After surging past the psychological level of USD25,000 on Christmas Day, it hit a record high of USD26,785 on 27th December 2020, taking its December gains alone to 50%.
It certainly has been a watershed year due to the pandemic. In fact, grim reports from the International Labour Organisation also show that the virus has inflicted a hammer blow on the region’s labour markets, wiping out 81 million jobs across Asia Pacific.
I often write a reflective piece at the end of every year. As the world heals from the collective fallout caused by the pandemic, I would like to share my Top 9 Moments of 2020:
Moment #1: Staff Retreat in Penang
In January 2020, we had our annual staff retreat in Penang, Malaysia. This is normally a time when the entire company comes together to solve challenges, set goals, and strengthen bonds.
The highlight was our team-building event, where we split the staff into different teams to see which team could buy all the required items on a grocery list in the shortest time. We then packed the items and delivered them to beneficiaries of a local charity called House of Hope. To have an event where the team bonded was good. To be able to bless the less fortunate through the event was even better.
The feeling is even more nostalgic because I travel often for business, and unbeknownst to all of us at the time, the pandemic would soon ensue and stop global travel in its tracks. Looking forward to seeing my global team LIVE and in person again soon!
Moment #2: Dressing Up as Super Mario
I found out earlier this year that “Mario Day” happens on 10th March every year. No kidding! That’s because the date, written as “Mar 10” looks like “Mario.” Since 2016, Nintendo has officially embraced the holiday and has been celebrating the occasion annually by promoting games and events centred around the entire Super Mario franchise.
Well, since I share that famous name too, I had to get in on the fun! So I dressed up as Super Mario for one whole day! Lunch with Shalyn and several meetings throughout the day were all done in that famous suit! As the saying goes, “You don’t stop having fun because you get old, you get old because you stop having fun!”
Regardless of how old we are, let’s all remember to inject some fun and humour into our lives. Looking forward to donning the famous Super Mario suit again on 10th March 2021!
Moment #3: Mattel Relaunches Castle Grayskull
Oh man…. you have no idea how big this is.
I was a HUGE He-man fan when I was a kid and a particular incident stood out for me. I remember asking Dad to buy me Castle Grayskull when it launched in the early 1980s but he gave me the “look” which either translated to “No!” or “Buy it with your own money!”
I obviously didn’t have the 50 or 60 bucks as a primary school kid to buy Castle Grayskull on my own, so I devised a plan. I drew up a “school donation card” and got my uncles and aunties to donate to a “worthy cause.” This devious plan allowed me to raise the required money to buy Castle Grayskull and on a larger scale, helped plant the seeds of my entrepreneurial career years later. I vaguely recall giving away my entire He-man collection when we moved several years on, and funnily enough, the reminiscent feeling of the good old days returned this year when I actually documented this story in my book The Magical Rule of 3.
Imagine my absolute glee when I found out that Mattel would be relaunching Castle Grayskull in 2021 to celebrate 40 years of Masters of the Universe! As you can see from the picture, pre-order from Walmart is done! Woohoo!
Moment #4: Launching My Book
My previous three books were all about trading the financial markets. The idea I had for this fourth book, The Magical Rule of 3, was to write more broadly on three pillars, namely:
- Personal Success
- Financial Success
- Business Success
In the book, I define success as the passionate, persistent, progressive pursuit of a productive purpose. I then went on to write three rules for each principle. As an example:
Under Personal Success, there are chapters on:
- 3 Ingredients for Success
- 3 Stages of Mastery
Under Financial Success, there are chapters on:
- 3 Types of Income
- 3 Rules of Investing
Under Business Success, there are chapters on:
- 3 Roles of a CEO
- 3 Areas of Entrepreneurship
By God’s grace, the book became #1 on Amazon in two categories (bestseller and hot new release) during the weekend it was released. I loved my kids’ expression that day: “Dad! You beat Dogman!”
Moment #5: Completing a Marathon!
In November, a few buddies and I had the bright idea to walk almost the entire length of Singapore in a route called the Coast-to-Coast (C2C) Trail. Taking us through nature areas, parks, and park connectors, we started from Jurong West and walked all the way to Coney Island in the northeast!
We started at about 6pm and ended the entire gruelling journey at about 3-4am, in the wee hours of the morning. The total time taken was about 10 hours.
I’ll tell you two things I remember most from that night:
Playing “Eye of the Tiger” on the last stretch as we strode towards the finish line! My warrior face in this picture belies the aches and pains (not to mention blisters!) that were searing through my entire body.
Having the best-ever fishball noodles after our gruelling walk. Sooooo thankful for the Grab rider who delivered this to us in the most ulu part of Singapore. Imagine keying in “Coney Island Checkpoint” into the Grab app!
Thanks, bro!
Moment #6: Winning 3 Global Awards
It has been a tough year for everyone. Even at the company level, we had to pivot processes to work from home and roll out several initiatives to help our global partners. Hence, we were delighted when Global Banking & Finance Review® informed us that we had won a total of three awards this year:
1) Best Social Trading Platform (Asia Pacific) 2020
2) Best White Label Solution Provider (Asia Pacific) 2020
3) Brokerage CEO of the Year (Asia Pacific) 2020
GBFR is one of the world’s leading financial media covering global news, analysis, and reviews from the world of Banking, Finance, Wealth Management, Trading, Business, and Technology. So our entire team was over the moon that our company Fullerton Markets managed to snag three prestigious awards.
Moment #7: Family Rubik’s Cube Championship
In October, I set the family a goal of solving all six sides of the Rubik’s Cube before the year was up. We headed to a toy store and immediately got each of us a cube so we could start the challenge. Chantelle and Elliot were the most excited and immediately started checking out some YouTube tutorials for instructions.
Elliot became very good at it and was the first to solve all six sides just by watching the online tutorials. When I finally got around to solving it, I realised it was harder than it seemed! There were actual algorithms to remember! Stuff like:
- right trigger
- U R U2 R’
- yellow cross
- L’ U R U’ L U R’
However, with practice, I eventually managed to solve it too (although at a much slower pace!). We even went to Daiso to get four trophies so we could reward the deserving champions of our family challenge!
Moment #8: Chantelle’s Fracture & Competition
Chantelle is quite physically active. She’s part of the Singapore Junior Sports Academy (JSA) and also attends gym classes twice a week. For most of this year, she was practising a gym routine to take part in the BPA Cup.
As luck would have it, she had an accident during one of the volleyball sessions in JSA where the ball hit her pinky finger with maximum impact. We brought her for an X-ray which showed it was an occult fracture and dashed her hopes of competing at the BPA Cup (the accident happened literally a few days before the BPA Cup).
However, on the night before the competition, she was bawling her eyes out and just WANTED to compete. We saw the fire in her eyes and eventually said yes, but only after seeing her routine which didn’t really put any pressure on the pinky.
That’s her in the white specs! Her team also won a medal in the competition!
Can you see her bandaged pinky in the picture?
I’m just so immensely proud of my daughter who has this warrior spirit in her.
A few days after her competition, we brought her for a follow-up X-ray and this time, it revealed two hairline fractures. Ouch!
She now has this cast on her finger with doctor’s orders that she needs to stop physical activity for two months (yup, that’s gym and JSA) so that she can make a full recovery. Thank God she doesn’t need any surgery!
Moment #9: Soulrich Christmas Giving
2020 hasn’t been an easy year for everyone, so we decided to go the extra mile with our charity Soulrich Foundation as well. Besides partnering with several organisations and providing them with resources, we wanted to hold a “Soulrich Christmas Giving” event to spread some Christmas cheer before 2020 was up.
In early November, we met up with the CEO of Food From The Heart, Ms Sim, and shared with her our desire to bless the community during Christmas. She wasted no time in putting forth a plan for us to reach out to about 300 low-income and dialysis patients.
We got to work by roping in 60 cars, 120 volunteers, packed goodie bags, and finally had the event on 19th December 2020.
It was such a fulfilling sight to see my kids involved (they were in charge of giving out Soulrich volunteer stickers), the volunteers coming forward with cheerful hearts, and the beneficiaries receiving the food and gifts with a thankful heart and a grateful smile.
The entire event wouldn’t have been possible without the teamwork of partners, volunteers, supporters and donors. You guys are real-life heroes. Helen Keller was spot on when she said, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”
So that’s my top 9 moments of 2020.
While many will remember this watershed year headlined by the COVID-19 pandemic, we must take heart in knowing that we can always choose our attitude in how we react to things that happen to us. When we replace expectation with appreciation, our whole perspective can change for the better.
Even in the midst of life’s many storms, we can find peace and joy. This is the triumphant nature of the human spirit that is imbued in everyone. I wish you a blessed new year ahead. May 2021 be a greater year for all of us and always remember to live, love and laugh!
Blessings,
Mario
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” – John 14:27
