Why Singaporeans must mull over taking the 'big leap' in their careers

It was the usual pre-plenary break, except that it wasn't.

All excited, everyone was gearing up for the launch of the Impact Exchange, the first ever social stock exchange exclusive for mission-aligned investors and social enterprises. All, but one.

The what-would-look-like your normal photographer with jeans and T-shirt used that moment of respite to re-calibrate. After all, he's been busy taking shots of VVIPs like Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, the father of microcredit and social business; Piyush Gupta, CEO and Director of DBS Group; and Marina Mahathir, writer, women’s rights activist and named UN Person of the Year 2010 by the UN in Malaysia.

Since I happened to be sitting next to him, I broke the ice. I commended him on his intensity in capturing the theme of the Impact Forum 2013 'Investing in Inclusion' through his lenses. The ice melted fast into a short conversation that revealed he was not your ordinary guy. What was I thinking?

I held my breath when I realised I was sitting next to the ex-CEO Asia of a huge logistics company in Singapore. He has decades of experience in airline, express, post, logistics, direct marketing experience in senior management, key account sales and start up capacity.

I kept digging. He spent years working in overseas locations, dedicated to business development whilst adapting to the local culture and environment. I could go on. He now runs two businesses of his own: lifestyle photography and special cargo management. This unusual encounter got me thinking, how many of us employees make the leap for what we are called for, and more importantly strive beyond that.

This needs courage and conviction, often out-of-stock commodities in our personal warehouse. Our photographer captures people both in private and corporate setting and their lives around them. He has now published his photographs in the local and international press.

Generally, every Singaporean wants a good job and sadly, there are not enough good jobs to go round, here and in the world. Jim Clifton, Chief Executive of the Gallup polling organisation, author of 'The Coming Jobs War', tells Peter Day in 'Peter Day's World of Business' BBC Radio podcast last year why he thinks there is a war for good jobs. "There are 7 billion people, 5 billion adults. Of those 5 billion, 3 billion tell us they wish they had a good job. There are only 1.2 billion good jobs in the world, and the world will go to war to get those jobs."

Mindful, our unassuming photographer, surely after his what's-my-purpose-in-life reflection retreats, created his own good job and ran with it. How many of us step out of the comfortable ordinary? And go on to create instead of to search for our good job?

Now, even if we do make a bold move, how many of us business owners question why we are doing what we are doing, in order to stay relevant in our competitive world? Simon Sinek, leadership expert and author explains in his TEDxPugetSound talk: "By 'why,' I mean: What's your purpose? What's your cause? What's your belief? Why does your organization exist? Why do you get out of bed in the morning? And why should anyone care?"

Our photographer, in his reply to clients looking for discounted prices for his services, educates and convincingly explains the reasons for his fees, why he needs to sense his crowd, listen to their mood and feel the speakers in order to be able to leave a trail of unforgettable memories for his clients. He can do so, and does so, because he starts with the why.

Pushing the envelope, even if we make the bold move and even after asking the why, how many of us successful entrepreneurs stay engaged in a learning spree? Bill Gates, in his LinkedIn article "Three Things I’ve Learned From Warren Buffett" viewed by over 1 million readers now, shares how it's not about investing, but about Buffet's whole framework for business thinking that he found to be very powerful. "It is about thinking of your business in a more profound way."

Our photographer not only delights in what he does, but to refine his skills, also uses his income to fund his trips to war-torn countries to capture in frames the life of children soldiers. That's his school, and he attends classes regularly, camera in hand. He shoots for a cause, a cause he values.

You never know whom you may serendipitously meet one fine day. The person I assumed doing-it-for-the-money lad sitting next to me easily could have been on stage inspiring us with his breathtaking stories from around the world. He made the leap. He knows why. He keeps on learning. How many of us will take a shot at being another no-ordinary businessman in Singapore...