Dr Michael Leong has lost his fight with cancer of the colon. He died this morning, aged 54.
He founded Shareinvestor.com in 1999 and sold it to Singapore Press Holdings in 2008.
When we trawled through www.Pertama.com, we came across one of his posts. The date: 13 Oct 2014.
That 13 Oct 2014 post is reproduced below.
Just two days after that post, he went for what he thought would be a routine medical examination. His nightmare then began, as he recounted in DR MICHAEL LEONG (ShareInvestor.com founder) on his battle with cancer.
 Dr Michael Leong leaves behind wife Irene, 45, daughter Annabel, 21, and son Aaron, 16.Recently, I sat beside a well-known businessman and he was telling me that I was not maximising my skills and I should instead go back to building businesses and making much more money. This guy must be 20 years my senior and yet, he was still very hungry to make more money even though it is clear that he is already very wealthy. I knew that nothing I say will make any difference to him and so, I continued listening to him. He was all excited about the business potential in China and the US and all I can do is to listen and absorb his enthusiasm. But, at the same time, I feel sorry for him that he does not realise that money does not make a life. Money is very important when you start off in life. You need money to be comfortable. However, when you have enough money, you should thank your lucky stars as much of business is about luck. Also, after a while, any more money really does not make much of a difference. In fact, more money then can actually create more work, more stress and more unhappiness. Life is being contented with what you have and yearning for more may be asking for trouble.  With wife Irene.When you have enough money, you can either take one of 2 routes. The first is to continue what have made you successful as this frankly, is the easiest option to take. This is your forte and this is what makes you feel good. If you are good at making money, you will surely want to continue doing this as this will give you the feeling of accomplishment and achievement. The second option is to recognise that you have only one life and you do not know when this will be taken from you. When you are aware of this, you will be more aware of the fragility of life and want to do the things that you have always wanted to do in life.  @ Michael's wake on 13 Feb, a wreath from ShareInvestor faithfuls.For me, I have always wanted to spend more time with my family and to be able to play with all the technology toys this world is creating. This is why I decided to retire early and do the things that I really want to do. It so happens that I also enjoy investing and this is why I still spend a lot of time looking through company announcements, financial statements and annual reports. But, nothing to me is more important than my family and I will not hesitate to drop everything if anyone in my family needs my attention. Life is truly about the family and everything else, including my investments, pales in comparison. |