Who inspire you the most...?

When I was small somebody asked me who is my role model. Silence just grabbed me and there was no answer. I was in standard 3. I can say those at my age at that particular time who said this and that person is his role model is full of “bull”. Why I say that? The person is just either following the opinion of another or just “main tembak” only. First of all, at that particular age, human being is just not ready to form opinion. So, without having to know more about that particular person, we tend to say that we make that person as our role model.

For example, one of my friends says his role model is (Tun) dr. Mahathir Mohamed. Is that because he’s the prime minister of Malaysia (at that time) or because the person he is (or was). I think because he is the prime minister. Thus, kids formulate just because the person is the prime minister he’s such a great person (I am not saying that (Tun) Dr. Mahathir is not a great person with great thinking abilities rather giving this as an example). Therefore, the formula may be taken as correct observation or otherwise.

Then comes the question of who inspire you the most. Some may answer Sir Edmund Hillary (yes the guy who climbed Mt. Everest). Some say Lance Armstrong. Some say Oprah. Who ever your inspiration may be, the person must have affected your life so much that you consider him or her as your inspiration.

The word inspiration according to the Oxford dictionary is (1) stimulation of mind, feelings etc. (etc. may show people that you know more but in fact you know anything near to nothing) or (2) person or thing that causes “this state” (state of a person etc.). We are referring to the meaning number (2), which is basically the person, or thing that causes you to be who you are now. Thus people’s choice varies from (let me put some other name that may inspire people) Donald Trump (well for those who does not know who this guy is turn to TV3 or now on Astro), Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (the Sultan of Brunei), Nelson Mandela (once a prisoner and later becomes the President of the Republic of South Africa, Dato’ seri Anwar Ibrahim (who for some people thinks he’s the next Nelson Mandela) or the last but not least Master Yoda (may the force be with you).

The first two examples may inspire you because they are rich. We want to be rich too hence we choose them as our inspiration. The next two examples may inspire us because of their struggle (I still doubt the second example for his “real” intention of the “reformasi” movement but that is argumentative) and the third category is because of his charisma (believe me Master Yoda is very charismatic and not to mentioned his wise too. But I still wonder why he always speak the way he does) (This is ridiculous; Master Yoda is a very bad example let’s change to somebody else. Well, charismatic person hmmm… who shall we name here? Okay Fidel Castro or Adolf Hitler).

A person once told me, if a group of people does not inspire you, your life has no meaning. But I beg to differ with that particular opinion. It does not mean that if you have nobody to inspire you your life is less significant to others. May it is the case where you just don’t have any yet or you are the inspiration to other. Am I right or I am right? But what I do agree from what this person said was we must look at these people and take example of what they have done and achieve.

Thus, once we look at these people we see what they do not the person. So we see how Lance Armstrong struggle to fight cancer he had one time ago (yeah just to get better and dump the wife and later date Alanis Morissette and it is actually not to win “Le Tour de France”) and how Nelson Mandela struggle to overthrow the apartheid regime. We grasp their strong will and make it a guideline for us to go on with our lives.

Whoever your inspiration is/are, you must have good reasons for making that person your inspiration. My inspiration is my family (including but not limited to my parents, wife, daughter and/or children and brothers). Why did I say my family? Well my father and mother struggle to be where they are now (not to be as rich as Duckie Trump but they have gone through a lot). My wife and child (children to come) make me work harder for us to have a better life and my brothers for what they want to be. That is enough for me to keep the ball rolling. They molded me into the person I am today and I am glad for what I am today and I will use my best endeavor to be a better person from what I am today.