The Ten-Year Plan.

An old adage in football goes, "If you don't shoot, you don't score."

This, of course, rings true in life, as well. If you want something, you'll have to go get it. If you don't try, you don't succeed. Simple as that.

It's also been said that you should always aim for the heavens, for if you fail you can at least reach the stars.

Basically, it means that you should always set the highest possible target for yourself in any given venture. If you somehow manage to reach it, then great. If not, well you did your best, and in all likelihood you'd have done pretty well anyway.

It's a tactic commonly used in schools, like the one I went to. The teachers told us (the entire 196-strong batch) to aim for the ultimate goal - straight A+ for SPM. They even convinced us that we really were capable of doing it. Heck, even I was convinced, and I consider myself to be a pessimistic, cynical realist. 

Of course, looking back on what eventually transpired, it struck me that 196 people out of 196 getting straight A+ for their SPM examinations was never really a realistic target. But it did seem to work, with many of us eventually receiving scholarships and sponsorships, so we'll leave it at that.

Anyway, I decided that if it worked back then, who's to say it's not going to work now? Setting high, unrealistic targets instills a kind of belief within you, driving you on to do the seemingly impossible. It motivates you to silence the critics, the ones who didn't believe you had it in you - and sometimes, the loudest voice among them comes from yourself.

Therefore, I have formulated a ten-year plan for myself. I probably won't get there (well, at least not in ten years, anyway), but you can bet I'll do whatever I can in my power to do so.

Here it goes. In ten years' time, I shall:

• Work as a highly-paid actuary at a leading firm, raking in a five-figure salary every month.
• Live in my own place.
• Be married, with a kid or two.
• Own an Audi, as well as a Volkswagen.

Ambitious? Yes. Unrealistic? Definitely. But impossible?

I'll get back to you in ten years.