Will I be rich?

“Will I be rich?” My 14-year-old child asked me when we were going for a walk after dinner.

I know the answer from her Zi Wei Dou Shu (紫微斗数) chart. But I can’t tell her. I could only reply with a model answer.

“If you work hard, save religiously and invest prudently, you will be rich.”

The Chinese dream to be rich

It is arguable that every Chinese has the dream to be rich. They visit the Chinese temple to pray for more money. The God of Wealth (财神爷) who blesses worshippers with good fortune is put in high regard.

The Muslims ask for forgiveness during Hari Raya. In contrast, the Chinese ask for fortune during Chinese New Year. They greet each other with “Gong Xi Fa Cai” or “hope you get rich”. Apparently, getting rich is the number one priority. Having a happy new year or good health are of secondary importance.

During Chinese New Year, gambling (playing mahjong, buying Hong Bao Draw) is encouraged to try one’s luck for fortune. If a person can get rich, his greed can be forgiven.

Is being rich really a good thing?

With high GDP per capita, Singapore may be the richest country in Southeast Asia. Yet we often complain about not having enough money, especially when comparing ourselves to others. This results in constant anxiety, fear, jealousy and anger.

“Our preconceptions can make us worship or despise money. As Japanese author Ken Honda said, our past experiences with money can affect how we see money and the rich. Anxieties about money come from our anger and fear – angry with the past and fear about the future. We are in constant fear of lagging behind, missing out, or losing what we have. We are angry that the world is unfair to us.”

– Vina Ip, Behind The Scenes of The Property Market

Looking rich versus being wealthy

For many, being rich is striking the 4D or Toto jackpot. To young couples, it can be selling their BTO flat after 5 years for a million dollars. For retirees, it may be a tidy sum from the collective sale of their private home. To some, it is buying at a condo new launch where the agent claims “sure can make money one”.

Contrary to what many people believe, the following have nothing to do with being rich:

1) Having a lavish lifestyle with many valuable possessions that may be on credit.

2) Earning a high income from employment or business which can be taken away any time.

3) Holding onto assets (including properties) bought overpriced, thinking that their value will appreciate one day.

After all, wealth is not defined by the house one lives in or the car one drives. Those who look rich may spend a lot of money. But the truly wealthy can spend below their means. In short, looking rich and being wealthy are not the same. And getting rich and staying rich are two different things.

There are two main differences: 1) the presence of a reliable source of income; and 2) the sustainability of the current financial status. The wealthy often have stable sources of income, say from business ownership or prudent investment. They have strong control over their finances and high financial security in the long run, with financial freedom to make their own life choices.

“When you no longer work for money, you do not have to sell your time to an employer or your employees. Instead, you spend time with people you care about, work on projects you love and on things you value.”

– Vina Ip, Behind The Scenes of The Property Market

Being rich or poor is predetermined?

In my younger days, I wouldn’t hesitate to rebuke anyone who said one’s wealth is predetermined at the time of birth. Rather, trust that the future is in our hands is far more practical than believing in palm reading.

It was only after I have lived half of my life that I learn more about Chinese numerology or fortune telling. At first, it was tempting to prove the information and predictions wrong. Gradually, I realized that the readings are all about astrology and statistics. With reference to one’s past experiences, it is more a psychological consultation that offers satisfactory answers to life’s questions.

Below are what Chinese numerology says about wealth:

1) Your perception of money is shaped by your personality, upbringing and early experiences in life.

2) Whether you are rich or poor, and how much money you have, are all written in your birth chart.

3) Like the lyrics of an old song ”命里有时终须有, 命里无时莫强求” (When your life has it, you will get it eventually. If your life doesn’t have it, don’t demand it).

It is sad but true. Life is not a fair game to reward hard work. Some people may have worked hard all their life but still live from hand to mouth. To be rich, besides hard work, we need knowledge, courage, timing or luck.

Look at the long queue in front of Singapore Pools outlets. One doesn’t need to know face reading to tell most of them will never make anything from lotteries their whole life. Worse still, some might win a prize but end up even worse than before. Because they lack the experience, knowledge and wisdom to manage substantial wealth.

How can we change our fate?

If our wealth is pre-determined, does it mean we have to be fatalistic, “lie flat” and accept our fate?

Definitely not. Because our personality traits can determine whether we will be rich or poor. Success in life is about understanding our strengths and weaknesses, overcoming limitations and maximizing potential. We can’t change our fate, but we can smoothen and sweeten our life along the way.

It is like a machine that may be built with top-notch hardware from OEMs. But it is still a waste if there is no good software, or we don’t know how to use it to reach its optimal power. Likewise, the same machine may come with insufficient or subpar hardware. But we can discover its niche advantage and utilize it to achieve maximum result.

Besides self-understanding, for wealth to come our way, we also need the right timing, location and people.

“To make things work, we need the right time (天時), location(地利) and people (人和). Timing always comes first. As humans, if we try to go against heaven, we can never win. Similarly, we can never beat the market. We can only go with it.”

– “Wealth not in properties next 20 years in Period 9?”, PropertySoul.com

Reading wealth in my life

Zi Wei Dou Shu (紫微斗数) or Purple Star Astrology, is a Chinese numerology doctrine first appeared in the Tang dynasty. It analyzes a person’s character and destiny according to birth time. Mastering it requires not just the Chinese language, but life experience and wisdom to grasp the messages and insights behind the words.

It took me some time to understand the interpretations of all the stars in the twelve palaces of my chart. To my surprise, it knows everything about me. In fact, it understands me better than myself, with no self-denial or white lies. In the twelve facets of my life, it accurately points out what happened, the reasons and the consequences.

For example, in my wealth palace, a few stars are favorable for money matters. After translation and modern adaptation, it means my wealth is self-made and built from nothing. It was tough at the beginning with a lot of physical and mental hard work. There were mistakes at first and lessons learned during the course. But things become easier afterwards. Harvest doesn’t come easy. But it will be fruitful at the end.

It can tell I have knowledge in personal finance, investment and money management, using them to attain financial freedom. My first pot of gold is from properties, followed by passive streams of income from other financial instruments such as shares and debts. It also reminds me not to take shortcuts. Speculation is not for me. My wealth palace doesn’t have the fortune for quick money.

Would it make any difference if I learned all these when I was young? And if everything was already written in my chart, luck surely plays a part. Then I couldn’t credit any financial success just to myself.

Food for thought

My daughter’s “will I be rich?” question reminds me of Doris Day’s 1956 song “Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)”.

When I was just a little girl
I asked my mother what will I be?
Will I be pretty? Will I be rich?
Here’s what she said to me
Que sera, sera
Whatever will be, will be
The future’s not ours to see
Que sera, sera
What will be, will be

The future is an unknown. No one will know nor can control what will happen in the future. Instead of thinking too much about the future, it is also important to focus on living for the present moment.

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