I had the chance to live in Tokyo, years ago, after I was offered the position of manager of music publishing in SE Asia and the Far East, by a multinational British publisher who wanted to start music publishing in those areas. The publisher was very keen to employ me as I was highly recommended by several people in the publishing industry. I was the only job applicant with both publishing experience and music qualification, too. Both my publishing experience and music qualification were quite basic, though. The other applicants had, either, publishing experience but no music qualification or had music qualification but no publishing experience. They arranged the interview in London while I was on holiday in the UK and then accepted me.
However, the job required relocation either to Singapore or to Tokyo. I was rather keen on Tokyo but not Singapore.
I came home and mull over the job offer. Would you believe it that I rejected it although the job was highly lucrative with a lot of perks for me and the family? Was I crazy not to accept the job offer?
Well, my children were very young then. The youngest of the three was still an infant. I had discovered the joy and happiness of being with my children all the time after I was retrenched. So I refused the job offer. I opted to be a stay-at-home-Dad with the agreement of my wife. She was financially strong enough to support us.
Coming to Tokyo on holiday, years later, I felt I had made the right decision in not accepting that very highly-paying job. I had no regrets whatsoever after I saw Japanese commuters, on the trains, on the way to work. Nearly every one of them looked terribly exhausted in the morning. They were either slouching on the seats or in deep sleep. Had I taken on that very lucrative job offer I would have been one of those sleep-deprived commuters, too. The stress of the job would have either killed me or driven me crazy!
ltbs
We find a delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart too big for the body.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
However, the job required relocation either to Singapore or to Tokyo. I was rather keen on Tokyo but not Singapore.
I came home and mull over the job offer. Would you believe it that I rejected it although the job was highly lucrative with a lot of perks for me and the family? Was I crazy not to accept the job offer?
Well, my children were very young then. The youngest of the three was still an infant. I had discovered the joy and happiness of being with my children all the time after I was retrenched. So I refused the job offer. I opted to be a stay-at-home-Dad with the agreement of my wife. She was financially strong enough to support us.
Coming to Tokyo on holiday, years later, I felt I had made the right decision in not accepting that very highly-paying job. I had no regrets whatsoever after I saw Japanese commuters, on the trains, on the way to work. Nearly every one of them looked terribly exhausted in the morning. They were either slouching on the seats or in deep sleep. Had I taken on that very lucrative job offer I would have been one of those sleep-deprived commuters, too. The stress of the job would have either killed me or driven me crazy!
ltbs
We find a delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart too big for the body.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
