Wisdoms of the Sparrows
Wisdoms of the Sparrows
Teguh Pranoto Chen
Text © 2015 by Teguh Pranoto Chen
Designs and Illustrations © 2015 by Teguh Pranoto Chen
All rights reserved.
Published by Fulton Holding.
E-mail: [email protected]
| ISBN | Softcover | 978-981-09-4861-0 |
| ISBN | eBook | 978-981-09-4862-7 |
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or any means electronic or mechanical, without the written permission by the copyright owners or publisher.
To my beloved wife, Kim, and my beautiful children, Lara and Zeke,I dedicate this story of the Sparrows.
Praise for the Book
A thoughtful book with artfully formed yet easily understood metaphors about business and the greater meaning of life. An excellent introduction to the business world for young professionals and a valuable reminder for the rest of us.
~ Thomas W. Keefe,
President, University of Dallas
I could not put it down, beautifully crafted, and it includes such gems of wisdom …
~ Lee Mui Ling,
Senior Director, Public Services Division,Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore
The story with full of wisdom yet enjoyable to read, a theme of being wise & responsible in taking opportunity to be successful. Very relevant in today’s life … Brilliantly presented …
~ Yuniatiria Simatupang,
Managing Director and Head of South East Asia, Bo Le Associates
This is a book for life, and it enables someone to challenge himself out of his comfort zone and achieve success at work and home, carrying the right attitude with him. Very meaningful read.
~ Kelvin Kong,
Founder, Voices of Asia
About the Author
Upon graduation, Teguh Pranoto Chen traded an opportunity of a lifetime to join one of the most respected investment banks in the world with assignments in New York, London, and Tokyo to surf in Hawaii. Returning to Asia, he started his career with P&G in Jakarta. Not long afterward, he skipped an offer to join a top 20 PhD program in the United States. His assignments with P&G included shutting down manufacturing sites, delisting a publicly listed company, integrating new businesses, and streamlining operations while building successful businesses across Asia. Along the way, he bagged multiple awards and recognitions.
After this, he joined a privately funded start-up to build an integrated coal mining project with 300 km railway access to the second largest coal mine in Indonesia. Currently with Publicis, one of the largest advertising holding companies, he is embarking on a new challenge to build integrated digital business across Asia.
Chen lives in Singapore with his beloved wife, two beautiful children, and their little dog. While not attending his day jobs, he dedicates his time to his passion in trading. His book on trading, Portfolio of Trading Systems (Partridge, 2014), is available on Amazon.
His latest book, Wisdoms of the Sparrows, shares fun and entertaining stories about the trials and tribulations of a growing sparrow family to convey real-life business lessons.
For more information, e-mail [email protected].
Prologue
Somewhere, the sun shines down upon a warm spring morning. Here at the edge of a dark lush forest, in an idyllic and lively little village, stands a peaceful old church. It is a beautiful building with purple flowering wisteria climbing up the old stone walls.
The church stands in a pretty churchyard full of brightly colored roses, and the pale spring blossoms float down from the trees onto freshly cut green grass. It is a serene place to while away the hours, and many people come by simply to sit on the benches here, admiring the church and its churchyard.
A little way up, toward the top of the church, in a sheltered crevice below the spire, is a tiny but perfectly formed sparrow’s nest.
Sitting on the edge of the sparrows’ nest, preening her brown feathers, is Mother Sparrow. She has five hungry young chicks in her nest, and this is a very busy time for her.
“Mom … MOM … MOM!!!” snaps Snappy the chick. She is impatient compared to the others and very much in need of some life lessons in good manners and gratitude.
“I’m ’UNGRY!” grunts Greedy. He is a tad pushy, to say the least, and he doesn’t mind bullying his siblings to get what he wants.
“I suggest you feed me right now because I’m the best!” demands Cocky. One of these days, his overconfidence could get him into trouble.
“Why don’t you look in the bigger bush!?” shouts Feisty, trying to spur her mother on. She likes to explore all the options.
“Maybe I’ll just go out there and find some food for myself!” Plucky threatens, knowing that in reality, he is too young to leave the nest.
“I’m doing my best, my darlings!” Mother tweets, feeling a little exasperated. The chicks are growing quickly now, and they are becoming very demanding.
Their father is helping with the feeding too, but he tends to do the longer trips, searching farther away from the nest for rarer but more nutritious items. He is not quite as patient or experienced with the chicks as Mother Sparrow. She has the difficult task of staying close to the nest while still finding something to eat on each small trip she takes.
Sometimes when she is in the birdbath, stealing a few seconds for herself, Mother thinks back to the days when she was as free as a bird! No nests, no partner, and no exhausting brood of chicks … but then she remembers that this is the life she always wanted, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.
— Anonymous
This morning, Mother Sparrow is trying her best to block out the deafening chorus of chirps while she takes a moment to rest her wings. She peers down at the various people bustling around in the village and sitting on the benches below. One day soon, these little nestlings will be big enough to stretch their wings and tackle this descent, but until then, Mother must continue to bring them their frequent and seemingly endless supply of meals.
Snappy once again is protesting more than the others. She has a large appetite and a loud chirp, but one thing she doesn’t have is the patience to wait between feeds, at least not for her own turn.
“Me, me, me first!” Snappy screeches at every feed. She is beginning to use aggression to get what she wants, and this can never be a good thing.
By now, it has been a while since Mother came to the nest with a beak full of hearty snacks