💡 Why should we work hard?

A recent graduate asked me this recently.

Instead of giving her a textbook answer, I shared my story.

Back in my first year at CUHK, I was lucky enough to join a summer exchange at Cambridge University 🎓.

The deal was simple:

Pass three courses with a B or above, and the scholarship covered everything.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting.

Every weekend, I hopped on budget flights ✈️

Ryanair to Germany, Brussels, Norway, France.

Each return ticket was only HK$800.

I thought I was living the dream… until my parents saw the credit card bill 💳😅

They were furious.

When I got back to Hong Kong, they cut my card ✂️ and slashed my pocket money to HK$200 a week.

That meant HK$40 a day.

After paying HK$18 for the MTR 🚇 from home to university, I had HK$22 left for food.

Imagine surviving on soya sauce, fried egg, and sausage rice at the canteen for HK$15 🍳.

So I had to do SOMETHING.

Psychology experiments: HK$60 an hour 🧠

Tea tasting, chips tasting, written test..you name it, I signed up 🍵🍟

Private tutoring: HK$220 an hour 📚

Slowly, I earned enough to eat better 🍲, buy clothes I liked 👗, and invest in makeup that made me feel better 💄

And that’s when it hit me: money isn’t just about survival.

It gives you options. It gives you freedom.

Money allows me to invest in myself and make myself better.

That lesson fueled my drive to work hard 💪

Later, in my 30s, I realized passive income matters even morem because eventually, I can’t keep trading time for money ⏳

I feel tired after working for a whole day.

I would rather go home than to teach a student at HK$220 an hour as my passive income covers all my expenses except rent already.

We need money to work for us 💵➡️💵

Looking back, if my parents hadn’t cut that credit card, I might have stayed “average” comfortable, but never hungry enough to push myself.

So here’s my question for you:

What’s your story? What moment lit the fire 🔥 in you to work hard?

PS: If you’re job hunting today, feel free to check out my guides on:

📝 Fixing Your CV & LinkedIn in 1 Day

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