“Your Time Is Now”. This is something that the Petronas Keepers Of The Flame -1 truly took to heart with the project that they had planned out for Asrama Penyayang Nur Iman (APNI).

The morning of 21 June 2008 gave me a nudge- a reminder of why we, D’Jungle People, do the things we do- to make a difference. In this case, we witness how the Petronas Keepers 1 would help change the lives of the children at APNI- not just by a donated gift, but with the promise of a better future.

Getting onto the bus. Road trip!

The Keepers had a whole day of activities planned out, and I could see how excited the children were. But that was not what made my eyes well up. What inspired me was the fact that the Petronas Keepers 1 made it a point to not just throw them a party- one off- and ‘wash their hands’. It was obvious that this is not something they want to do to make themselves feel good, to feel smug that ‘I’ve done my part’. I sensed not a smidgen of self-importance in their interaction with the children.

The T-Rex who raps. Yo!

This community project is part of the Keepers Of The Flame programme that we had at Cameron Highlands from 12th-14th June 2008. This was a 3-day leadership programme that focused on the 8 Flames of Leadership: Compassion, Courage, Loyalty, Honesty, Integrity, Fairness, Responsibility and Humility. This community project gave them a chance to put these values into action, instead of just paying lip service.

One of the Keepers told me earnestly, “Emily, this (the project) must come from the heart.” And it shows. I am damn proud to say that I have a small part in this. During the programme, I felt that they would do big things, but to raise RM70,000 in less than a week is just awesome. To know that Petronas Keepers 1 have a long term plan for APNI makes me believe in Hope, and in the Good of People (as clichéd as this may sound), that we are able to make a difference once we set our hearts to it.

How many engineers does it take to assemble a table?

One of the keepers joked and said if the Flames ever started to die down, they’d throw me in (as firewood!) to keep the fire burning, but I can count on the Petronas Keepers 1 that this will not happen. Right? Boo Ya!!

Today I discovered the answer to one of the most sought after questions in the corporate world- How to have passion at work.

I’m sitting now at a little Malay stall in Port Dickson after conducting a session with a group of senior managers from a multi-national company. Just like many of our other sessions, I watched and observed as one participant in particular took part in the activities with total enthusiasm and energy. He ran around like a little kid in a candy store during the games and volunteered with total sincerity in any of the roles that he could contribute in. I watched in delight as he jumped up and down and nudged his colleagues with a wink and a laugh at lighthearted moments and I listened with my heart when he gave his opinions and viewpoints with total sincerity. Have we seen these types of people before? Yes, we have. Many times. What made him special then - He was 74. His name was Joe.

What makes a 74 year old take part so totally in exercises and discussions that he probably has taken part in many times before in his life? In activities that people decades younger than him are trying to get out of doing with the excuse “ it’s too tough la!”  What makes such an experienced man so willing to contribute and to listen to his colleagues and to me, a facilitator not even half his age?  I wondered silently as the day went on and his energy went unabated.

Then inadvertently he answered my unspoken questions as I listened to the group in their reflections. “We gotta have passion!” cried one of the VPs in the group. “When we have passion at work, we become more energetic and enthusiastic!” How very true I thought. Unfortunately, the day was drawing to an end and we did not have time to pursue the discussion. But as we were walking back to the function room, Joe came up to me and shook my hand and told me how much he had enjoyed the day and how much he had learnt from it. It was a humbling moment for me. As we chatted, he nudged me and said, “Lemme tell you something- when that guy spoke about passion at work, I wanted to share this with him but there wasn’t time. You know what? You want to have passion at work? That’s easy – all you gotta to is have passion for life. To have enthusiasm for life itself. Work or play, it doesn’t matter. Passion in life will show in all areas of your life. Work included!”

Wow! What a gem! How many of us have an enthusiasm for life? To grow and to live life to the fullest? To embrace each new day as if it would be your last? To care for your loved ones as though we’ve not seen them in a million years and might not see them for another million. All too often we go through day by day trying to make ends meet, and enduring life. Then we wait for those moments that define our significant moments unaware that they may have already passed us by. Why wait for something that we can be passionate about when we can be passionate about everything? To LIVE passionately. When that happens, we automatically become passionate at work. Why? ‘Cos that’s a part of life.