They are the hardest things to figure out, and yet require the least amount of thinking. Steve Jobs’s resounding statement “you know it when you find it” makes it sound so simple, but it does require quite certain amount of inner struggles, as Jobs himself exemplifies. Knowing whether or not I love what I am doing now isn’t hard. Intuition, gut feeling, or inner voice can readily tell me the choice. But projecting whether or not I will love what I will be doing in the future requires a certain amount of foresight. Circumstances can change, priority in life can change, and personal experience will also continue to influence the choice. But there are certain values that have repeated influenced my choices in life, and they lead me to where I am now. Figuring them out will give me a better chance in predicting where I will be. So here is the list.

Curiosity. I always interested in new things, be it new places, new people, new food, or new ideas, new experience, new challenges. Finishing something is never as interesting as beginning something new.

Honesty. My parents have taught me the lesson well. Even one can lie someone else, one can never lie to himself. And it is the latter that is going to kill oneself in the long run.

Fair play. It is the lesson learned from soccer. It is also about one’s self-respect and dignity. This value extends to any kind of competition I have been involved in.

Making a difference. To do something no one else has done before, to be somewhere no one else has seen, and to see something no one else has seen. It is not the egotistic desire that is trying to prove I am better than anyone, but rather a way to distinguish myself from others, to fully realize my unique potential in order to achieve something new in the world.