Daniel Wong

What the Education System Can Teach Us About Doing Things Right

Updated on January 6, 2026 By

factory

Given that many of us go through 12 years or 16 years—or even longer than that—of formal education, it’s no surprise that most of us have strong feelings about the education system.

I’m no exception. It’s these strong feelings that compelled me to write a book entitled The Happy Student: 5 Steps to Academic Fulfillment and Success, which aims to help students find new meaning and motivation in the pursuit of academic success.

The public education system as a factory

The public education system today, as it exists all over the world, is a relic of the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th century.

It was during the Industrial Revolution that many factories were built. Large numbers of factories meant that large numbers of workers were needed.

It was a specific type of worker that was required—one who was obedient, compliant, and who didn’t do too much thinking for him or herself.

In order to efficiently produce workers like this, students were treated like a commodity. Public education was the “factory”; the obedient worker was the “product.”

The “factory” concept of public education is still around today.

Students are brought to the start of the assembly line at age 6 (or even younger), and the “product” is expected to be completed by their late teens or early 20s.

Students are “processed” in batches. Quality control is done in the form of exams and standardized tests.

In addition, the factory largely determines what kinds of products can be manufactured: engineers, doctors, lawyers, economists, teachers, technicians, etc.

No product that’s too weird or out-of-the-ordinary, please!

Education needs a revolution too

The Industrial Revolution was a world-changing phenomenon that made it necessary for public education to be set up as a one-size-fits-all factory.

But times have changed. The Digital Revolution means that gradual, evolutionary changes in education simply won’t cut it.

We need a revolution in education, too.

We need people who are persistent, proactive and passionate—but we’re not going to develop people who possess those traits through our current system.

By and large, people who are persistent, proactive and passionate have become that way despite the “factory” model of education, not because of it. They’ve overcome the odds!

The whole point of this article

I’m no expert on education policy, but I know that things have to change.

The “factory” model was founded on the following principles:

  • It’s easy to run
  • It’s easy to administer
  • It’s easy to quantify results

My whole point is this: Easier isn’t always better. Not when it comes to the education system, and not when it comes to our personal lives.

Let’s choose the better way, regardless of whether or not it’s easier.

A Simple Way to Make Faster and Better Decisions

Updated on January 6, 2026 By

motivational quote

Recently, I was looking for something to help me stay motivated, so I decided to put up this quote at my work desk. It’s been more effective than I expected!

Of course, the fact that I put up this quote at all means that I occasionally stop when I’m tired, discouraged or bored.

I sometimes lack the willpower to do what I know I ought to. I don’t always make the best possible decision—and I’m guessing I’m not the only one who struggles in this area.

(As an aside, one of my colleagues commented: “Daniel, that quote isn’t completely true. At least once a day, I see you taking a break to have a snack. Obviously, you also stop when you’re hungry!)

What you desire now vs. what you desire most

It’s human nature to focus on the short-term rather than the long-term, to be attracted to pleasure and to avoid pain. When we make choices based on how we feel, we tend to give in to what we desire now, at the expense of what we desire most.

But we all know that in order to lead fruitful and meaningful lives, we need to consistently make decisions that involve delayed gratification.

This applies in every area of our lives: physical, emotional, mental, spiritual.

How, then, do we consistently make good decisions?

The magical question to help you make better choices

I’ve found that just by asking this one question, most decisions become incredibly straightforward:

Will I choose character or compromise?

What this question implies is that every choice you make isn’t one between surfing the Internet and working on that important report; it isn’t one between ice cream and broccoli; it isn’t one between lashing out at someone and controlling your temper.

Instead, every choice you make is really one between character and compromising on your character.

Whenever you make a decision, you’re either becoming a person of greater character, integrity, determination, love, courage, humility, generosity, kindness—or you’re becoming a person who possesses less of these traits.

There’s very little middle ground.

Making a decision isn’t merely about deciding what to do. It’s about deciding who you are, and who you want to become.

After all, your destiny isn’t built in a day. It’s built day by day. We need to continually remind ourselves that a great life consists of many great days and many great decisions. There’s really no chance of us building a lasting legacy without focused, intentional effort.

In closing, asking “Will I choose character or compromise?” won’t necessarily make it easier for you to do the right thing, but it will certainly make it clearer what you ought to do.

I’ll confess that choosing character in every situation is a daily battle for me, but I know that it’s one worth fighting.

As leadership expert John Maxwell said, “Talent is a gift, but character is a choice.”

Let’s choose wisely. 🙂

How to Make the World a Better Place by Sleeping More

Updated on January 6, 2026 By

sleeping babies

The magic phrase that helps you make friends

My good friend once shared with me his secret formula for building rapport with people he’s just met: He tells them that he’s sleepy.

“I’m so sleepy. I could really use a nap right now…”

He said that, in almost every situation, the reply goes something like this: “Yeah, I’m really sleepy too…”

Ta-dah! Just like that, he’s magically established common ground with the other person.

The funny thing is, my friend confessed that he sometimes uses this relationship-building technique even when he’s not feeling sleepy!

If you’re like most people, you probably don’t get enough sleep. But when it’s time for bed, you’re just not that tired. And besides, there are so many other things you can do while you’re awake.

Sleep just seems so… boring.

At the same time, you realize that if you don’t go to bed on time, you’ll wake up feeling exhausted and grumpy.

To sleep or not to sleep—what a lifelong struggle!

Why sleep deprivation is selfish

But what if I told you that you’re being selfish every time you deprive yourself of sleep?

I know that might sound a little extreme, so allow me to explain.

One Wednesday night a few years ago, I stayed up a couple of hours later than usual. Not surprisingly, I woke up on Thursday morning feeling groggy.

Throughout that Thursday, I was less friendly, positive, kind, encouraging and considerate than normal. This is because I was consumed with thoughts about me, myself and I.

“I am so tired.”

“I really need to get some coffee.”

“When will I have a chance to take a nap?”

“How am I going to make it through the day?”

Even though it hadn’t been my intention at all, I’d become more self-centered, and hence had made other people’s days worse.

There was no denying it: My lack of sleep had affected others.

The consequences of sleeplessness are even more serious if you’re in a position of authority, because when your exhaustion causes you to become more impatient and irritable, you directly impact those under your charge.

Your sleep isn’t about you

In many ways, sleep is a mini-representation of life. Sleep isn’t just about us; it’s about others, too. Similarly, life isn’t mainly about us. It’s really about others.

There are literally billions of people on earth, and you’re just one of those billions. It often feels like everything revolves around you—your social life, your health, your education, your career, your family, your finances, your future, your life—but that’s simply not true.

A great life is one that’s focused on adding value to others, not yourself. Moreover, a great life shouldn’t be characterized by perpetual busyness or tiredness.

Getting sufficient sleep is something most of us struggle with—I know I still do—but it’s important to realize that we really do contribute to the happiness and well-being of others when we’re well-rested.

So let’s make a conscious effort to sleep more. We really will make the world a better place. 🙂

What Campfire-Building Can Teach Us About Achieving Greatness

Updated on January 6, 2026 By

campfire

You’re pretty ambitious. You have goals and dreams, and you’re hardworking. You want to be successful, and you have the drive to make it happen.

You won’t ever be satisfied with average, or even good. You want to be great.

But as you pursue greatness—whether it’s in your academics, your career, your business, your relationships or your life—you sometimes wonder if it’s worth it.

The sacrifices, the disappointments, the frustrations… what’s it all for?

In an attempt to do more and be more, maybe you feel like you’ve lost sight of what’s truly valuable.

I’ve by no means achieved greatness—far, far, far from it. But in thinking about what it means to live a great life, I’ve realized that it’s a lot like building a campfire on a cold night.

Allow me to explain this analogy as I share with you some of my reflections.

1. Your legacy isn’t about how awesome of a campfire you built. It’s about how you kept other people warm.

Maybe you have dreams of becoming CEO one day, or maybe you want to attain a certain rank in your company, or maybe you want to start your own business. Whatever your aspirations may be, I’m sure you want to leave behind a wonderful legacy.

A bigger role will give you more opportunities to build a bigger campfire, but people won’t remember you for the size of your campfire.

They won’t remember you for what you accomplished for yourself, regardless of how astonishing those accomplishments might be.

They’ll remember you for what you accomplished for the sake of others. They’ll remember you for the difference you made and the lives you touched.

2. People want to know that you’re willing to sit with them in the cold.

Before you start building a huge campfire in the hopes that you’ll keep a multitude of people warm, bear in mind that people want to know—first and foremost—that you’re willing to sit with them in the cold, even if there’s totally no way you could build a campfire.

They want to know that you’re prepared to make the effort to listen to them, to understand what they’re going through.

They want to know that you’re willing to be with them, although you might not be able to do anything for them.

They want to know that you’re a caring human being first, campfire-builder second.

They want to know that you see them as people, not as a project.

They want to know that even if it were utterly impossible to provide them with physical warmth, you’d stay there with them to provide them with emotional warmth.

3. Not everyone knows how to build a campfire, and that’s alright.

What if you just don’t have the knowledge or abilities to build a campfire?

You don’t have to worry, because there’s still a vital role for you to play. As marketing guru Harry Beckwith once said, “There’s no such thing as an ordinary job. There are only people who choose to perform them in ordinary ways.”

Your skill might be making a good cup of hot chocolate, or it might be knitting a sweater—both of which will also help to keep others warm.

Your skill might even simply be cheering people up with your kindness!

These jobs might not be glamorous, but that doesn’t mean they’re not important.

4. Whatever skills you have, you can always get better.

No matter how good you are at building a campfire, making a cup of hot chocolate, knitting a sweater, or cheering people up, you can always improve.

There’s always another level to strive for, and there’s always something new to learn.

If you keep honing your skills, you’ll undoubtedly keep more people warm.

5. It’s vital that you keep yourself warm first.

Even though you want to help as many people as possible—and as quickly as possible, too—it’s still a freezing night, and you’ll get frostbite if you don’t look out for your own safety.

You need to ensure that your own clothing is suitably warm and that you’re not overworked.

In the pursuit of greatness, it’s vital that you make it a priority to take care of your own needs: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. If you neglect any of these areas, you’re likely to experience burnout.

Taking care of your own needs isn’t selfish; it’s the right thing to do. You won’t be able to effectively add value to other people if you’re not in an optimal condition yourself.

In conclusion…

Attempting to create a masterpiece out of your life really is like building a campfire. It’s tiring, it’s fun, and it’s rewarding.

It’s a good thing that greatness isn’t about you and your campfire, because the most epic campfire could never compare to the innocent beauty of touching lives and of keeping people warm and happy.

So greatness is about you, but not really. It’s mainly about others.

There’s work to be done. Let’s get started. 🙂

Why You Should Place Your Phone on the Table Screen Facing Down

Updated on January 6, 2026 By

smartphone

When you put your phone on the table, say, when you’re having lunch with your friends, do you place it screen facing up or down?

Your choice says a lot about you.

The two types of phone users

In this article about whether technology is really making us happier, the author suggests that there are two main categories of people: screen-facing-up people and screen-facing-down people.

Screen-facing-up people allow themselves—more than screen-facing-down people—to be interrupted by a call, text or sudden need to check the weather or stock market.

Screen-facing-up people are open to being distracted by anything that promises to be more interesting than the friends they’re physically with at the moment.

(Some might say that screen-facing-up people are just more concerned about scratching the screen of their phone.)

There are definitely more categories of people than just these two (e.g. phone-in-the-pocket, phone-in-the-bag, phone-on-silent-mode, phone-with-super-obnoxious-and-loud-ringtone), but the idea is similar.

There’s a wide spectrum of how committed you are to being present, both mentally and physically, with people.

Depending on who you’re with, you move along this spectrum. When you’re with your closest friends, you pay full attention to what they’re saying (almost always 🙂 ). But when you’re with acquaintances who aren’t particularly interesting, it’s almost instinctive to start playing with your phone to find something to amuse yourself.

Why Facebook friends are more interesting than real friends

At some level, we know we ought to prioritize the people we’re physically with. Why is it, then, that we’re so easily distracted?

It’s because in the online world—this includes texting—you can choose to do only what you feel like doing.

Your friend’s status update wasn’t that entertaining? Then don’t “like” it.

The video your cousin posted wasn’t that funny? Then don’t write a comment.

The text your mom sent you didn’t really require a response? Then don’t reply if you don’t feel the urge to.

The attitude we have in the online world is one that’s based on self-gratification, on doing things that make us feel good. When’s the last time you did something online simply because you felt it was the “right thing to do”?

But the real world doesn’t quite work this way.

You “have” to be polite. You “have” to pretend like you’re listening when you’re really not. You “have” to think about whether it would be appropriate to speak your mind.

Being considerate in the real world takes a lot of effort, huh!

Be a screen-facing-down person

With all these things we feel forced to do, it’s no wonder that we often choose the obligation-free online world over the social-norms-driven real world.

Last week, I talked to someone for five minutes who never once looked up from his computer screen during the conversation! (I’m not that repulsive to look at, right?)

There’s one person who didn’t allow social norms to overpower his desire to do only what he felt like doing.

But in order to build relationships that are more than Facebook-deep, we’ll need to become screen-facing-down people. As someone who recently started using a smartphone, I know that the allure of the online world is hard to say “no” to.

I now understand that being a screen-facing-down person takes commitment, especially if you’re a smartphone user!

When you put your phone on the table screen facing down, it’s a symbolic act: You’re “turning down” the distractions. You’re “turning down” your need to be continually entertained. You’re “turning down” self-gratification.

I’m definitely talking to myself, too, when I say this: Let’s make the daily choice to be screen-facing-down people, because it’s really the choice to show people that they matter.

After all, people don’t just matter if they’re interesting or funny or smart or charismatic.

They just do. 🙂

How to Take Charge of Your Stress and Busyness

Updated on January 6, 2026 By

It’s a picture-perfect evening at the beach.

The sun is setting. The seagulls are squawking. The waves are gently brushing against the shore.

The beach is almost deserted, except for a young couple out for a walk with their five-year-old son. As they stroll along, the son picks up some seashells.

Most of these seashells are chipped or broken. They’re still beautiful, but they’re more like seashell fragments.

All of a sudden, the son spots something bright orange in the distance, 20 feet into the sea. He sprints toward it. When he gets to the water’s edge, he exclaims, “Mom! Dad! It’s a starfish! It’s a starfish!”

“Go get it, son!” comes the reply.

So the son runs into the shallow water and gets within 10 feet of the starfish. Then he stops. He seems confused. He turns around and runs back to his parents.

Now Mom and Dad are puzzled. “What’s wrong, son? Go get the starfish!”

Once more, the son dashes at full speed toward the starfish. This time, he gets even closer. He could just reach out and pick up the starfish.

“Pick it up, son! Pick it up!” Mom and Dad shout.

But the son is so confused that he’s close to tears. He looks at his parents, then he looks at the starfish.

Finally, he looks down as his hands. “But Mom and Dad, my hands are full of seashells…”

Say “no” to good, say “yes” to great

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the things you have to do—in school, at work or at home—this post is for you.

I heard this seashell-and-starfish story three years ago, and it’s completely changed the way I make important decisions. Here’s how the story relates to taking charge of your stress and busyness.

The seashells represent good things, while the starfish represents great things. You become overly stressed and busy when your hands are full of seashells.

No one wants to feel like the five-year-old boy did at the end of the story!

In Good to Great, business philosopher Jim Collins talks about how, for companies, the enemy of “great” isn’t “bad.” Instead, the enemy of “great” is “good.”

It’s usually clear if a decision is a bad one, so naturally you won’t be tempted to choose it. But companies often make good decisions—ones that are profitable in the short term but harmful in the long term—at the expense of great decisions.

Good decisions promise immediate returns, but aren’t in line with the company’s mission, purpose and core values. Ironically, it’s precisely these “good” decisions that prevent companies from becoming exceptional.

None of us want to settle for mediocrity. We want to attain excellence.

I don’t mean that in terms of achievements or material wealth, but rather in terms of our contribution to society and personal fulfillment.

My definition of a good life is one that’s characterized by busyness and tiredness. A good life is full of activity. It’s a life where you’re always picking up seashells.

Live a good life for too long and you’ll feel burned out. Maybe you feel that way today?

If there’s way too much stress and busyness in your life, there’s a high chance that it’s because your hands are filled with seashells.

In contrast, a great life is characterized by fruitfulness and fulfillment. A great life is about doing only the right things. It’s about having razor-sharp focus in doing only the things that matter.

You might rack up fewer accomplishments if you lead a great life compared to if you lead a good life. But these accomplishments will be the ones that truly count. They are the ones that make a difference in the long run.

A great life is one in which you only pick up starfish.

The path of intentional abandonment

No matter what stage you’re at in life, there are always plenty of great opportunities to pursue. There are clubs to join, talks to go for, projects to take on, people to meet.

The question isn’t whether these opportunities are great. The question is whether these opportunities are great for you. One person’s starfish can be another person’s seashell.

In order to lead a great life, you need to choose the path of intentional abandonment of everything good, in pursuit of only the best.

I invite you to answer the following questions to help you do that:

  • What values are most important to you?
  • Is this decision in line with those values?
  • Do have a clear idea of the kind of person you want to become? What character traits would the ideal-you possess?
  • What are some things you need to do in order to become that person?
  • Is this decision aligned with the person you want to become?
  • Is this project/club/etc. something you merely think is cool, or is it something you really care about?
  • If you take on this project/join this club/etc., will it have an impact one year down the road? How about five years?
  • Will taking on this project/joining this club/etc. force you to compromise on the other areas of your life that are more important to you?
  • Is your decision motivated by a desire for achievement and prestige, or are you motivated by a deep sense of purpose?
  • Are there things or activities you need to stop doing? Create a stop-doing list today and take action. A stop-doing list is often more helpful than a to-do list!

It’s a good thing that decisions aren’t always so difficult. Most of the time, the right choice becomes clear once you ask yourself, “Is this a seashell or a starfish?”

I’ll say it again in closing: Choose the path of intentional abandonment of everything good, in pursuit of only the best.

Choose excellence without exhaustion. Choose greatness. Choose the starfish.