4/26/12

Join Follow Menu

Dont work. Be hated. Love someone. - Half & Half

Half & Half

14 APR 2012

Dont work. Be hated. Love someone.

This witty yet piercing commencement speech is one of my favorite reads. I t resonates deeply with me as I am about to graduate from college. I 'd like to share it with you guys as I hope that not only new grads, but everyone else can benefit from it, too. optimist.

Jiake Liu's Space

A multilingual (C++, Mandarin, jazz improv)

TwitterLinkedIn

Written by Adrian Tan, author of The Teenage Textbook (1988), was the guest-of-honour at a recent NTU convocation ceremony. This was his speech to the graduating class of 2008.
my projects
G.A.U.N.T.L.E.T keyboard glove 10 Win Streak Charity Windows Phone Wallpaper

my profiles
Twitter LinkedIn

Search

I m ust say thank y ou to the faculty and staff of the Wee Kim Wee School of Com m unication and Inform ation for inv iting m e to giv e y our conv ocation address. Its a wonderful honour and a priv ilege for m e to speak here for ten m inutes without fear of contradiction, defam ation or retaliation. I say this as a Singaporean and m ore so as a husband. My wife is a wonderful person and perfect in ev ery way except one. She is the editor of a m agazine. She corrects people for a liv ing. She has honed her expert skills ov er a quarter of a century , m ostly by practising at hom e during conv ersations between her and m e. On the other hand, I am a litigator. Essentially , I spend m y day telling people how wrong they are. I m ake m y liv ing being disagreeable. Nev ertheless, there is perfect harm ony in our m atrim onial hom e. That is because when an editor and a litigator hav e an argum ent, the one who trium phs is alway s the wife. And so I want to start by giv ing one piece of adv ice to the m en: when y ouv e already won her heart, y ou dont need to win ev ery argum ent. Marriage is considered one m ilestone of life. Som e of y ou m ay already be m arried. Som e of y ou m ay nev er be m arried. Som e of y ou will be m arried. Som e of y ou will enjoy the experience so m uch, y ou will be m arried m any , m any tim es. Good for y ou. The next big m ilestone in y our life is today : y our graduation. The end of education. Youre done learning. Youv e probably been told the big lie that Learning is a lifelong process and that therefore y ou will continue study ing and taking m asters degrees and doctorates and professorships and so on. You know the sort of people who tell y ou that? Teachers. Dont y ou think there is som e m easure of conflict of interest? They are in the business of 2012 (1)

Archive

halfhalf.posterous.com/dont-work-be-hated-love-someone

1/16

4/26/12
custom ers. The good news is that they re wrong.

Dont work. Be hated. Love someone. - Half & Half

learning, after all. Where would they be without y ou? They need y ou to be repeat

The bad news is that y ou dont need further education because y our entire life is ov er. It is gone. That m ay com e as a shock to som e of y ou. Youre in y our teens or early twenties. People m ay tell y ou that y ou will liv e to be 7 0, 80, 9 0 y ears old. That is y our life expectancy . I lov e that term : life expectancy . We all understand the term to m ean the av erage life span of a group of people. But Im here to talk about a bigger idea, which is what y ou expect from y our life. You m ay be v ery happy to know that Singapore is currently ranked as the country with the third highest life expectancy . We are behind Andorra and Japan, and tied with San Marino. It seem s quite clear why people in those countries, and ours, liv e so long. We share one thing in com m on: our football team s are all hopeless. Theres v ery little danger of any of our citizens hav ing their pulses raised by watching us play in the World Cup. Spectators are m ore likely to be lulled into a gentle and restful nap. Singaporeans hav e a life expectancy of 81 .8 y ears. Singapore m en liv e to an av erage of 7 9 .2 1 y ears, while Singapore wom en liv e m ore than fiv e y ears longer, probably to take into account the additional tim e they need to spend in the bathroom . So here y ou are, in y our twenties, thinking that y oull hav e another 4 0 y ears to go. Four decades in which to liv e long and prosper. Bad news. Read the papers. There are people dropping dead when they re 50, 4 0, 3 0 y ears old. Or quite possibly just after finishing their conv ocation. They would be v ery disappointed that they didnt m eet their life expectancy . Im here to tell y ou this. Forget about y our life expectancy . After all, its calculated based on an av erage. And y ou nev er, ev er want to expect being av erage. Rev isit those expectations. You m ight be looking forward to working, falling in lov e, m arry ing, raising a fam ily . You are told that, as graduates, y ou should expect to find a job pay ing so m uch, where y our hours are so m uch, where y our responsibilities are so m uch. That is what is expected of y ou. And if y ou liv e up to it, it will be an awful waste. If y ou expect that, y ou will be lim iting y ourself. You will be liv ing y our life according to boundaries set by av erage people. I hav e nothing against av erage people. But no one should aspire to be them . And y ou dont need y ears of education by the best m inds in Singapore to prepare y ou to be av erage.

What y ou should prepare for is m ess. Lifes a m ess. You are not entitled to expect any thing from it. Life is not fair. Ev ery thing does not balance out in the end. Life happens, and y ou hav e no control ov er it. Good and bad things happen to y ou day by day , hour by hour, m om ent by m om ent. Your degree is a poor arm our against fate. Dont expect any thing. Erase all life expectancies. Just liv e. Your life is ov er as of today . At this point in tim e, y ou hav e grown as tall as y ou will ev er be, y ou are phy sically the fittest y ou will ev er be in y our entire life and y ou are probably looking the best that y ou will ev er look. This is as good as it gets. It is all downhill from here. Or up. No one knows. What does this m ean for y ou? It is good that y our life is ov er. Since y our life is ov er, y ou are free. Let m e tell y ou the m any wonderful things that y ou can do when y ou are free.

halfhalf.posterous.com/dont-work-be-hated-love-someone

2/16

4/26/12

Dont work. Be hated. Love someone. - Half & Half

The m ost im portant is this: do not work. Work is any thing that y ou are com pelled to do. By its v ery nature, it is undesirable. Work kills. The Japanese hav e a term Karoshi, which m eans death from ov erwork. Thats the m ost dram atic form of how work can kill. But it can also kill y ou in m ore subtle way s. If y ou work, then day by day , bit by bit, y our soul is chipped away , disintegrating until theres nothing left. A rock has been ground into sand and dust. Theres a com m on m isconception that work is necessary . You will m eet people working at m iserable jobs. They tell y ou they are m aking a liv ing. No, they re not. They re dy ing, frittering away their fast-extinguishing liv es doing things which are, at best, m eaningless and, at worst, harm ful. People will tell y ou that work ennobles y ou, that work lends y ou a certain dignity . Work m akes y ou free. The slogan Arbeit m acht frei was placed at the entrances to a num ber of Nazi concentration cam ps. Utter nonsense. Do not waste the v ast m ajority of y our life doing som ething y ou hate so that y ou can spend the sm all rem ainder sliv er of y our life in m odest com fort. You m ay nev er reach that end any way . Resist the tem ptation to get a job. Instead, play . Find som ething y ou enjoy doing. Do it. Ov er and ov er again. You will becom e good at it for two reasons: y ou like it, and y ou do it often. Soon, that will hav e v alue in itself. I like arguing, and I lov e language. So, I becam e a litigator. I enjoy it and I would do it for free. If I didnt do that, I wouldv e been in som e other ty pe of work that still inv olv ed writing fiction probably a sports journalist. So what should y ou do? You will find y our own niche. I dont im agine y ou will need to look v ery hard. By this tim e in y our life, y ou will hav e a v ery good idea of what y ou will want to do. In fact, Ill go further and say the ideal situation would be that y ou will not be able to stop y ourself pursuing y our passions. By this tim e y ou should know what y our obsessions are. If y ou enjoy showing off y our knowledge and feeling superior, y ou m ight becom e a teacher. Find that pursuit that will energise y ou, consum e y ou, becom e an obsession. Each day , y ou m ust rise with a restless enthusiasm . If y ou dont, y ou are working. Most of y ou will end up in activ ities which inv olv e com m unication. To those of y ou I hav e a second m essage: be wary of the truth. Im not asking y ou to speak it, or write it, for there are tim es when it is dangerous or im possible to do those things. The truth has a great capacity to offend and injure, and y ou will find that the closer y ou are to som eone, the m ore care y ou m ust take to disguise or ev en conceal the truth. Often, there is great v irtue in being ev asiv e, or equiv ocating. There is also great skill. Any child can blurt out the truth, without thought to the consequences. It takes great m aturity to appreciate the v alue of silence. In order to be wary of the truth, y ou m ust first know it. That requires great frankness to y ourself. Nev er fool the person in the m irror.

halfhalf.posterous.com/dont-work-be-hated-love-someone

3/16

4/26/12

Dont work. Be hated. Love someone. - Half & Half

I hav e told y ou that y our life is ov er, that y ou should not work, and that y ou should av oid telling the truth. I now say this to y ou: be hated. Its not as easy as it sounds. Do y ou know any one who hates y ou? Yet ev ery great figure who has contributed to the hum an race has been hated, not just by one person, but often by a great m any . That hatred is so strong it has caused those great figures to be shunned, abused, m urdered and in one fam ous instance, nailed to a cross. One does not hav e to be ev il to be hated. In fact, its often the case that one is hated precisely because one is try ing to do right by ones own conv ictions. It is far too easy to be liked, one m erely has to be accom m odating and hold no strong conv ictions. Then one will grav itate towards the centre and settle into the av erage. That cannot be y our role. There are a great m any bad people in the world, and if y ou are not offending them , y ou m ust be bad y ourself. Popularity is a sure sign that y ou are doing som ething wrong.

The other side of the coin is this: fall in lov e. I didnt say be lov ed. That requires too m uch com prom ise. If one changes ones looks, personality and v alues, one can be lov ed by any one. Rather, I exhort y ou to lov e another hum an being. It m ay seem odd for m e to tell y ou this. You m ay expect it to happen naturally , without deliberation. That is false. Modern society is anti-lov e. Wev e taken a m icroscope to ev ery one to bring out their flaws and shortcom ings. It far easier to find a reason not to lov e som eone, than otherwise. Rejection requires only one reason. Lov e requires com plete acceptance. It is hard work the only kind of work that I find palatable. Lov ing som eone has great benefits. There is adm iration, learning, attraction and som ething which, for the want of a better word, we call happiness. In lov ing som eone, we becom e inspired to better ourselv es in ev ery way . We learn the truth worthlessness of m aterial things. We celebrate being hum an. Lov ing is good for the soul. Lov ing som eone is therefore v ery im portant, and it is also im portant to choose the right person. Despite popular culture, lov e doesnt happen by chance, at first sight, across a crowded dance floor. It grows slowly , sinking roots first before branching and blossom ing. It is not a silly weed, but a m ighty tree that weathers ev ery storm . You will find, that when y ou hav e som eone to lov e, that the face is less im portant than the brain, and the body is less im portant than the heart. You will also find that it is no great tragedy if y our lov e is not reciprocated. You are not doing it to be lov ed back. Its v alue is to inspire y ou. Finally , y ou will find that there is no half-m easure when it com es to lov ing som eone. You either dont, or y ou do with ev ery cell in y our body , com pletely and utterly , without reserv ation or apology . It consum es y ou, and y ou are reborn, all the better for it. Dont work. Av oid telling the truth. Be hated. Lov e som eone.

Permalink

Like

44k

halfhalf.posterous.com/dont-work-be-hated-love-someone

4/16

4/26/12

Dont work. Be hated. Love someone. - Half & Half

129 responses Like Comment 12 days ago aelena (Twitter) responded:

Hey, thanks for sharing this text. Did not know it but it too resonates with me, at least some of the ideas. 12 days ago aashudwivedi (Twitter) responded:

reading this after a soul crushing day at the work i hate well .. 12 days ago shahensha responded:

This is one piece of awesomeness mate! Thanks for sharing. I loved the part which said "Be Hated"! 12 days ago shahensha liked this post. 12 days ago possnfiffer liked this post. 12 days ago possnfiffer responded:

So True, 12 days ago invisiblepilot (Twitter) responded:

I really enjoyed reading this - thank you for sharing :) 12 days ago Dilanka responded:

Well put Adrian. Dilanka 11 days ago gauravdott (Twitter) liked this post. 11 days ago ridgecritter responded:

Well said. Words to remember and act upon. 11 days ago Benedictus Yoga liked this post. 11 days ago aashudwivedi (Twitter) liked this post. 11 days ago Geiti responded:

I love it, thank you :) 11 days ago cade responded:

So we should "Avoid telling the truth." because we might be hated for it, but right after that you say we should "Be Hated."? 11 days ago Rahul responded:

What a nice post!! I also share the same ideas and philosophy about living as you do. It is very important to find your work in life. Only then you will be able to give your best and contribute something, that is of value, in your field.

halfhalf.posterous.com/dont-work-be-hated-love-someone

5/16

4/26/12
11 days ago David Tran liked this post.

Dont work. Be hated. Love someone. - Half & Half

11 days ago michaelborger (Twitter) responded:

Absolutely fantastic and it's all true. It takes courage and guts to go against the norm but the greatest will do it regardless of popular opinion. Thanks for posting this. 11 days ago Alexander Ainslie (@AAinslie) liked this post. 11 days ago Dileep Damle responded:

So well put! Always lived this way , but didn't know why! Now I do! I also know why no one loves me, don't know whether I've succeeded in being hated, though! 11 days ago Kenny Shen liked this post. 11 days ago Varun responded:

Incredibly spoken about life. I will take a lot of cue from this. 11 days ago Patrick responded:

Can anyone explain why he asks us to "Avoid telling the truth"? What's so bad about that? I guess the message was "think before you speak", but expressing that with the words "avoid telling the truth" is ... weird. Or maybe a cultural difference thing... In any case - this single statement makes me question the whole speech - was he telling what he thinks is the truth / honest advice, or was he avoiding it? 11 days ago hileon responded:

Awesome post! I really like the last sentence, "Dont work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone." This will be the reason that I am still living. 11 days ago hileon responded:

Awesome post! I really like the last sentence, "Dont work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone." This will be the reason that I am still living. 11 days ago ilanuki (Twitter) liked this post. 11 days ago Frank Cieslik liked this post. 11 days ago Apoorv_M (Twitter) liked this post. 11 days ago miffalicious (Twitter) responded:

Glad to see more and more Singaporeans thinking out of the box. Appreciate. 11 days ago curlyreggie (Twitter) responded:

One terrific post. Must say, this reflects more on myself and I would thank you from the bottom of my heart to make me look myself courageously into the mirror now. 11 days ago Rahul responded:

po-tay-toe or po-tah-toe.... !!! All same ..nothing new, but explained with a touch of rage, rationality and anticapitalistic ideas..:) Dont work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone.~ Thats what all Eco hippies do around the world along with smoking weed.... 11 days ago mythsnlegends liked this post. 10 days ago FRANTISEK REHOR liked this post. 10 days ago Natalia responded:

halfhalf.posterous.com/dont-work-be-hated-love-someone

6/16

4/26/12

Dont work. Be hated. Love someone. - Half & Half

Really enjoyed this. Thanks for getting up in everyone's face! 10 days ago mposchange (Twitter) responded:

I had to re-share this as it resonates with me also. This is the message that I have been sharing with youth and adults alike. In a talk that I did in Canada a few years ago I asked the question "Are you living a deferred life?" (video here: http://mypositivechange.com/2010/08/09/are-you-living-a-deferred-life/). I presented to 200 young people and had a very positive response from individuals telling me that the question made them think or re-think what they wanted to do with their time here on Earth. Reality is what we make of it. I certainly wish that more young people are being told similar messages in high school and college. Thank you Adrian Tan for the inspiring talk, and Jiake Liu for sharing. 10 days ago Abhi17cr (Twitter) responded:

Dont love what you do (Work), Do what you love - (Play), A great inspiring post :) 10 days ago Abhi17cr (Twitter) liked this post. 10 days ago sudheeshu (Twitter) liked this post. 10 days ago Kevin Omondi responded:

this is quite an encouraging speech. he talks about life the way it is without any expectations. life sucks and even our hard earned college degrees cannot save us. it is all about thinking and acting. 10 days ago cmtbonifacio liked this post. 10 days ago Jonathan responded:

I think this is a great speech EXCEPT the bit about not telling the truth. WE NEED TO BE HONEST. More truth. In fact, this very speech is an example of telling the truth. Maybe he means not spewing every bit of truth you know. Yet, the truth should generally not be held back. 10 days ago Peeyush responded:

Awesome stuff. Great speech. 10 days ago Mikas Ridikas responded:

good post. the last sentence I suggest to rephrase to more positive words: from Dont work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone to: Play with passion. Think how you influence before telling. accept side effects of being different. Love someone without asking for return... 10 days ago Tom responded:

halfhalf.posterous.com/dont-work-be-hated-love-someone

7/16

4/26/12

Dont work. Be hated. Love someone. - Half & Half

Amazing. Putting this on my wall! 10 days ago alok kuamr responded:

just one word awesome........... 10 days ago Marc responded:

I just got back to work after a two weeks break.Like most people I am not in love with it, althought I described it as ''not bad and interesting''. But no deep seensation of love and passion at all. You know what's the sickest part? For several reasons, I know I'll be leaving this position in less than a year, I know it as a matter of fact from day 1, 5 months ago. You wouldn't believe the effect this speech had on me. I feel like just slamming the door and leave. And no I am not the overemotional internet type of dude. I never comment on blogs, I never engage in online discussions. Thank you (or not?) so much for posting this. 10 days ago important dude responded:

naa man.. i'd rather love my work and be hated :) dont temme wat to do >.< hypocrite.. 10 days ago Vince liked this post. 10 days ago marcelo Ballona liked this post. 10 days ago marcelo Ballona responded:

This is a great piece of advice, real life considerations. Aspirational, but absolutely real life situations. Love it! 10 days ago Chris responded:

This shows how hopeless many people are in today's world. You all need to find God, who loves us unconditionally, who's full of mercy and gave us his only son to redeem us and give us salvation. Go and read it in the Bible, pray to God, discuss with people about things you don't understand. God Bless 10 days ago Wyatt responded:

Truly enjoyed this articled. Things seem much clearer now. 10 days ago Anna Tarkov liked this post. 10 days ago ravi responded:

Perfectly echoing my thoughts!! Awesome read 9 days ago Ekansh Gupta responded:

Thanks for sharing this with me i Am a 3 year Undergraduate student and now i know thanks to you what is to be done 9 days ago Rachel J responded:

halfhalf.posterous.com/dont-work-be-hated-love-someone

8/16

4/26/12
Three simple things. Most enjoyable read. 9 days ago Rachel J liked this post. 9 days ago Beliz responded:

Dont work. Be hated. Love someone. - Half & Half

Nothing new... moving on. 9 days ago Charanjit Singh liked this post. 9 days ago sandeep responded:

Loved your post , I am not looking for logical proofs to what he said , They look true intuitively , Believe it! 9 days ago Lujeanne Brand responded:

I just love it when you read or hear something and feel it resonate with my being. It is the resonance that makes me realize just how much truth is in us even before we become conscious of it. Thank you so much for putting my feelings exactly in such a wonderful poetic, wise blog. Bless you! 9 days ago nika responded:

I love everything except avoid telling the truth. It should be: accept the truth and break it to others gently. :) 9 days ago Mahmoud B responded:

I HATE IT. ohh isnt tht what Adrian is asking us to do?! :) no seriously well written article however the idea is clich i.e. i have heard it over and over and over from many other authors/presenters/teachers the only new thing is z tools used to reach that stage the main idea. Adrian got some catchy titles to drive attention and deliver his message "Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone", which can be argued easily. overall i would say the speech is more pessimistic than opti, and in soo many cases cannot be implemented, however if you slice the speech you can note some helpful notes which can be useful in life. i rest my case :p 9 days ago Ramtin responded:

Great piece of work but full of spelling and grammar mistakes...how about doing a spill check, or is that too much work ;) 9 days ago sivaranjini1980 (Twitter) responded:

Awesomeness is the word.. 9 days ago Vivek Girotra liked this post. 9 days ago Praveen responded:

Very beautifully told! 9 days ago sankarbb (Twitter) responded:

Awesome post :-) http://halfhalf.posterous.com/dont-work-be-hated-love-someone 9 days ago Cor liked this post. 9 days ago annikaskywalker (Twitter) responded:

I wish more people would follow these rules - it would open the job market for those who do

halfhalf.posterous.com/dont-work-be-hated-love-someone

9/16

4/26/12

Dont work. Be hated. Love someone. - Half & Half

want income and are willing to work. I however did the opposite you suggest - I worked really hard all through college, then started a software company, I hated my job but continued to work so that I could retire by age 29. I always thought that the fact that so few people are willing to work hard to put away money is why the US economy is in such a shambles. Just don't expect to have anyone stocking the grocery store shelves, as that would be work. Also, if you're not working, you should get good at stealing, unless you want to live on welfare, but then you probably couldn't afford rent or a car, so live in the forest and don't go anywhere. Play. with sticks. 9 days ago Amgan R. responded:

That was horrible. I didn't find anything meaningful in that speech. It was saying things that you wanted to hear in a completely messed up manner. Why would you actually want young graduates to not seek out a job? So they can literally land on their two feet and end up on the streets of the very city that gave them a chance to become something? Yes, you should love your job, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't find one just because everyone else hates their jobs. Yeah, I don't really like this speech at all. 9 days ago pamadkisson (Twitter) responded:

One of the most exciting, wonderful and REAL writings that I ever ever read about Life!! I LOVE this!! 9 days ago Confused responded:

I agree with just about everthing your speech suggests except the part of not telling the truth. Yes the truth does hurt, but it also lends credibility to the fact that we are all fallible, and if we hide our fallibilities, then we are deceptive, and deceptiveness can in no way build trust in a relationship...most people feel more betrayed by deceptiveness than by the act that led to the deceptiveness...honesty will at least set the other person free by respecting their own self-will, not by manipulating them into believing something false 9 days ago lauren responded:

sweet article, but what if telling the truth is my claim to fame in being hated. truth is important. truth sets us free, at least for me! 8 days ago Alex responded:

The article contradicts itself so many times, let me just pick one: "Often, there is great virtue in being evasive, or equivocating. There is also great skill. Any child can blurt out the truth, without thought to the consequences. It takes great maturity to appreciate the value of silence." Uhm... no. Silence equals withholding the truth. I suggest the other road, the one without burden nor guilt, the one that will slap you in the face just once, but after that, the pain will be gone, and you will have the burden no more. There is no value in silence, for it can not communicate itself, and will only cause confusement, resentment, and finally death. 8 days ago 1srimy3 (Twitter) liked this post. 8 days ago witono responded:

Thank you for speaking my heart out. these are the exact things that I would want to tell the next generations or my children if there's gonna be any. while certain expectations are necessary, I would like to quote 'Lao Zi', Chinese philosopher to be , take balance, while being true to yourself and others. 8 days ago WP | The Conscious Life responded:

halfhalf.posterous.com/dont-work-be-hated-love-someone

10/16

4/26/12

Dont work. Be hated. Love someone. - Half & Half

Very inspiring speech. I especially like this part "If you work, then day by day, bit by bit, your soul is chipped away, disintegrating until theres nothing left." I've gone through this and can attest that it's true. Hopefully, at least some of the new graduates will take these words to heart. 8 days ago Kurt responded:

What if the reason you're hated is because you told somebody a hard truth? Which takes precedence? 8 days ago Dave responded:

That was the most inconsistent, fallacy-filled, poor reasoned speech I have heard in a while! Sometimes it gives good advice with horrible justifications, and then at other times horrible advice that sounds enticing. 8 days ago Smarty Pants responded:

The truth is everything. Why be fake? Be honest, and the world would be such a better place. Quit spreading misconceptions! Such a contradicting speech with several grammatical errors. Maybe you were trying to convey a different message with the don't tell the truth part but jesus, pick some better words and terms. Some people might take everything you're saying as golden. Some I wholeheartedly agree with you, some I do not. Super opinionated, too many contradictions. 8 days ago Truth Seeker responded:

The truth will set us all free in a world full of lies. During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. ^ THIS. TRUE credibility. George Orwell. 8 days ago Alastair responded:

Dear Mr. Tan. Until you are able to express your thoughts (if they can be called as such) without obscuring them through the use of sophistic, rhetorical techniques, I am unable to take this seriously as a piece of writing. By viewing teachers as nothing more than money-hungry producers you are setting up a strawman. By telling young people that they should see teachers in this way you are advocating a redundancy in the value of education, not as a 'business' but as an institution. Alongside this, your distinction between 'work' and 'play' is nebulous. When you say 'play', you mean to say work that we enjoy. Work can be enjoyed. Many people enjoy their work. To understand work as activity we are forced to perform against our will and without our enjoyment is to overlook this. Lastly, the importance of those who are willing to speak the truth despite the danger that such speaking must bring cannot be overemphasized. Unless, of course, you desire a global population of sycophants, cowards and the easily persuaded. 8 days ago Uttam responded:

One of the most inspiring, real life experience I have ever ever read. Super Awesome. Loved it 8 days ago Bindaas_Chokri (Twitter) responded:

Amazing!!!

halfhalf.posterous.com/dont-work-be-hated-love-someone

11/16

4/26/12
8 days ago William responded:

Dont work. Be hated. Love someone. - Half & Half

8 days ago jatinderjit (Twitter) liked this post.

Let's face it. We are always going to need people to dump our rubbish, pump our gas, take our MacDonald's orders, and wash our dishes. The author can write about following his dreams because he had the luxury of Singapore's good education system and a good job market. For the large majority of the human race, following your dreams is a mere empty bravado talk. 8 days ago space__bacon (Twitter) responded:

BOOM! I hope you pick up some more haters from this article because i'm loving it way too much. Might throw you off balance. 8 days ago raffi responded:

this was a god speach 8 days ago Dancing Fingers Singing Keypad responded:

Thanks for sharing this. It was a good speech. The four major points were put forth very well with just the right amount of humor. 7 days ago Katerina responded:

Dobree! Moc dobree ;) 7 days ago C.R. responded:

this is really, really superficial! sorry to say this. please be aware that there are a lot of folks who have found their vocation. and who love their work, their jobs and what they do every day. they know how to handle their time and, besides of the fact that they love their jobs, they get time to do some of the other stuff that they like. i'd say almost the oppsosite: work. tell the truth. be loved. love someone. it really works if you never fool yourself with doubtful philosophy like this post contains. I can't believe that people really buy this stuff. 7 days ago Michael Kessler responded:

Absolutely amazing. 7 days ago Kelvin Quek liked this post. 7 days ago Unearthly responded:

I hate you =) 7 days ago Tanziha Nujhat responded:

Amazing! 7 days ago Nicenice Torres liked this post. 7 days ago aks responded:

I think that by avoid the truth he means: know the truth, but you don't have to scream it out or "blurt it like a child", and keep proving your point just to win the argument. Truth does more harm, if you are solely concerned with proving your point in every argument. In some situations (not all) , knowing the truth, and being silent is more powerful. Like for instance, when he has an argument with his wife, he says, "you don't have to win every argument when you have already won her heart". So, perhaps he is saying that you might think you

halfhalf.posterous.com/dont-work-be-hated-love-someone

12/16

4/26/12

Dont work. Be hated. Love someone. - Half & Half

know the "truth" in the argument or that you are in the right side, but being silent does more good than screaming it out to simply win the argument. 7 days ago Shreya responded:

I'd pretty much affirm everything but the third statement. Be hated?! There are less cloudy ways of saying that we should assert the truth despite majority opposition. But you're just encouraging a stupid protocol for greatness. I guess if we went by your words, everyone would hate everyone in the world and everyone, would at the same time, think they're right, courageous and among the greats. Kinda lousy, I'm sorry. 7 days ago Yasmine responded:

This was so powerful. I agree, we should all learn to play more. Its really important to do that :) And to trust ourselves and leave out everyone around us has to say. 7 days ago Flowerbug89 (Twitter) responded:

There was just something about the points raised. They go against common values. Yet it is intriguing, many of us have a main goal to strive for the best education, and the higher the better, and to have a job is an achievement, this is what is accepted in out society, education and work. I think that is why this is so refreshing it gives some ground for people to do what feels good and not feel guilty about.. permission to stop suffering in the form of futher education and stressful or just lifeless jobs. However if you get down to the facts people work to provide for themselves. Also the sense of achievement that comes from completing education makes play more enjoyabe. Anyway a very good article, definatley has got me thinking, and after I complete this degree I cannot wait to play. 7 days ago Nemo responded:

Seems he's rather popular. How ironic. 6 days ago Sangeetha responded:

I must say, very matured thoughts, through the words of the person can say that person must have had life experiences to share. This kind of wisdom is very important for our present day world that has lost all its charm...the once that was divine. 6 days ago Wei responded:

@Alastair, despite your subtle racism, your comment is the only thing worth reading here. 6 days ago sahi_agg (Twitter) liked this post. 6 days ago sahi_agg (Twitter) responded:

im inspired :) 5 days ago Kach responded:

This sounds great and all but how can you "not work" and do what you love coming out of college when you're in debt and don't have anyone to support you? You can only do what you love if you are able to monetize it and that usually is a process that can take years. 5 days ago JG responded:

halfhalf.posterous.com/dont-work-be-hated-love-someone

13/16

4/26/12
5 days ago Tazeen Imam responded:

Dont work. Be hated. Love someone. - Half & Half

Sounds like a rewrite of Steve Job's Speech at Stanford. Good stuff though.

With only one reservation: I know being truthful is important, exceptions being there; this has been one of the best articles I''ve read and enjoyed in a long, long time. 5 days ago AbhishekPriyam (Twitter) liked this post. 5 days ago Mahendra Samsu liked this post. 4 days ago babar1 responded:

life is not about living in a fools paradise.....its certainly not about betraying ppl and be hated ! meanwhile falling in love is like a religion that always has a fallible god....sigh ! 4 days ago Sunshine responded:

Thank you. For all you wrote. I was stunned when I realised I had to stop reading because I was crying. Just thank you. 4 days ago Phil Neo liked this post. 4 days ago awholelifetolive liked this post. 3 days ago wacinski (Twitter) liked this post. 3 days ago ChelseaForCL (Twitter) responded:

Awesome :) 3 days ago Anirban Mukerji responded:

really well written, though it needs to be balanced with the Harvard Blog article on To find happiness forget about passion This article has been recommended by many in facebook, initially I disagreed with the title, but reading the article convinced me, To summarize as per the article Happiness comes from the intersection of what you love, what you're good at, and what the world needs. We've been told time and again to keep finding the first. Our schools helped developed the second. It's time we put more thought on the third. What big problems are you trying to solve? 3 days ago Ravi responded:

I wish if indeed this speech were true, however inspirational it is, it may be good for a speech and to get name but I bet many ppl who have practically lived life would disagree with the main themes expressed here! While everyone must try to slice in some of these virtues it would be tantamount to foolishness to get lost in them! I hope many ppl dont have not already lost themselves due to this! This speech at best helps ppl those who are good, but for the average this does the greatest damage! To me this looks like a spirit booster party speech not some great advice that can stick up for life! 3 days ago Pranay responded:

Nice one... 3 days ago Anshu responded:

Soothing speech for a grieving soul. Thanks for sharing.

halfhalf.posterous.com/dont-work-be-hated-love-someone

14/16

4/26/12
2 days ago stebrah liked this post. 2 days ago Kelvin Quek liked this post. 1 day ago ruby responded:

Dont work. Be hated. Love someone. - Half & Half

this is so inspiring............i never thought abt dis...... 1 day ago Bennett Wales responded:

I thought this article was great. I was surprised to see a few negative posts though. I think a few of you are reading what the writer was trying to say way out of context. Don't over analyze! The message in this article is simple: do something that you love, no matter how much you may be hated or put down. I would also like to post this great quote, one of my favorites. "The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him hes always doing both. -James A, Michener 1 day ago dmadalani (Twitter) responded:

its contradicting... if some of us start following this... How can ONE be hated and love someone and that someone loves u back when u want to be hated :P and people lie about not Loving you which might lead to hatred....we won't have anything to do anyways... overall a good read though :) Peace! Love you all :D about 18 hours ago JulesBartow (Twitter) responded:

Adrian, Perpetrate hate? We love you at EzPL8 where we innovate and communicate machino y machino so you can masticate as you perambulate. Squeals of Laughter followed by paroxysms of tears. You yanked me up then yanked me down. You turned me into an emotional yo-yo, worse than a 16-year old girl in her first love affair --it's just so wrong. I'm a 50-year old man! A good story will do that to you. Thank you. We'd love your opinion about the concept of Drive-by Dining, where you get Fast Food Faster - Smarter. People wear a RFID bracelet so they are automatically recognized with their personal preferences, their name, and their face by receptionists and fast food cashiers. The common man now receives personalized service reserved for royalty and wealthy clientele at exclusive restaurants. Blue-blood Ivy Leaguers hate it that a high school drop out ordering a Big Mac at a McDonald's drive-thru gets the same treatment as a CEO at Mortons and Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. We're not sure what your take on the privacy and socio-economic aspects will be, but we know it'll be a good read. about 15 hours ago Yogesh A responded:

Well I would say it was a good post as it force you to think about your life and the way you live. Whether we agree with the methods and the reasoning is a different matter. I do not agree with most of the points mentioned in this article based on the reasoning behind it, but surely there are some good points to be taken. In the end its your life and only YOU should decide how you should live it.

halfhalf.posterous.com/dont-work-be-hated-love-someone

15/16

4/26/12
about 3 hours ago K responded:

Dont work. Be hated. Love someone. - Half & Half

about 14 hours ago Paul Falvo liked this post.

Cool, but why is he dissing teachers at a convocation? Kind of ruined the whole thing for me.

Leave a Comment
Name: comment. Leave this field blank to Email: Homepage:

Want to skip this stuff?

Login with any of the following: Register or login to Posterous Comment:

Post this Comment

halfhalf.posterous.com/dont-work-be-hated-love-someone

16/16