JUST GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS?

Lo and Ed walk down these busy streets of Petaling Jaya with the smell of char kway teow in their nostrils. They were here before. They know this walk—walking down the city’s throbbing, noisy beating heart, talking and laughing, and throwing in a few punches of philosophy here and there. But today, there’s a troublesome undercurrent of frustration under Lo’s smiling voice. Ed was a paradox, his friend, a genius. He was witty and hilarious and could talk and talk about anything with ease.

"Dude, imagine you were a lion,” Lo said to Ed, waving a gnarled hand at the street food stall. Ed looked up from his phone. “You’d be lying around, letting your mane get all knotted up, while other lions were out there hunting the plains. Man, what a waste.”

At last, Ed looked up and said, What’s that supposed to mean?

It means you are wasting your talents. What kind of talent?’ Lo said. ‘You know how to make it. You know how to sell. If you don’t like that, there are many other things you are capable of doing. It’s a terrible waste. You are intelligent. You are resourceful. You could be doing good things and things of value. Instead, you just exist.

Ed laughed. ‘Look, I’m not a total couch potato. I work, I play videogames, and I have a social life.

‘And that’s all?’ Lo retorted. ‘Just going through the motions? Ever think about what you want to do? About making a difference? About really living up to your potential?

Ed’s smile faltered slightly. Lo knew he’d struck a nerve. He could see the same flash of vulnerability in Ed’s eyes that always preceded any self-improvement talk. Ed was afraid of failure, afraid of falling short of his own expectations.

‘Look,’ Lo said gently. ‘I’m not saying you have to be some entrepreneur, but have you thought of looking into what’s out there? A new hobby, something to do on the side?’

Ed muttered something about not having time. But Lo knew that was just his defence talking. Ed had the time; he just lacked the motivation.

“You’re only thirty,” Lo said, “and you’re already talking about not having time? ‘You’re not even at the beginning of what you can do. You’ve done nothing!’ He took a pause, then said, ‘Do you know who Elon Musk is?

Ed raised an eyebrow. “The electric car guy? Yeah, I guess.”

‘He started a company out of his garage,’ Lo said, his tone filled with infectious glee. ‘ He didn’t let not having resources hold him back; he didn’t let fear of failure hold him back because he had a vision and he went after it.

Ed averted his gaze, something like an epiphany touching his face. ‘I’m not saying you have to become the next Elon Musk,’ Lo went on, ‘but the dude is a living example of what you can do if you put your mind to it. You don’t want to be a wasted talent.’

The char kway teow was ready. Lo motioned to the stall. ‘Let’s eat,’ he said. ‘Come on.’ Lo had planted the seed. Now it was up to Ed to cultivate it.

As they chatted over bowls of steaming noodles, Ed seemed more enthusiastic than he had in weeks. He even mentioned that he wanted to learn to write computer code, something that had been on his mind for a long time. Perhaps Lo had finally found a way in?

After they walked home under the city lights, Lo’s only thought was that he had done well that evening. With a nudge toward self-actualisation, he had set his friend on a path toward personal fulfilment. He knew it wouldn’t be a smooth road, but his friend Ed was a good man, capable of great things. If he ever needed reminding, Lo was there to tell another story, another tale of a Ferrari driven at full throttle.