A story is told where a man comes across a butterfly struggling to get out of its chrysalis. Feeling sorry for the creature, the man decides to help. He cuts the chrysalis and sure enough the butterfly comes out easily. Surprisingly enough the butterfly us unable to fly; it is the struggle to leave the chrysalis that develops strength in the butterfly which would enable it to fly! Similarly, it is the challenges of life that brings out the best in young people and enables them to fly. This seems to be how life works.

When we look at successful people everywhere, we see that the most successful of them are people who have had to struggle. Many of them would have encountered many challenges before succeeding. One well known textile merchant, who now owns a chain of stores in Singapore and Malaysia, used to carry clothes items on his back and sell them from door to door when he was a young man. Another successful man, Dennis Wee ? the highest achiever in real estate sales in Singapore ? tells us in his book that he had to meet an overcome many challenges before arriving at where he is now.

Meeting challenges make the young person into a tough one when he overcomes those challenges that are presented to him. The challenges are often of the nature that he had never been prepared for. The sudden loss of his father when a young man was only 20, forced him to mature faster than an average 20 year old. He was forced to bring up a family. Bitter though he was that he had to sacrifice his youth, the young man took up the challenges and overcame them. Today his brothers and sisters are leading successful lives. All through his life, the man met many challenges, but because of the strength he had gathered when he was a young man, he overcame the challenges as if they were chaff.

Many times challenges do not appear to us before we keep away from them. It is for this purpose that there are so many adventure activities around us. It is fitting that young people part in activities that provide them with challenges, like rock climbing, sky diving, volunteer work and so on. Meeting and overcoming these challenges will make them tough and ready to face life when they are older. Just mugging and passing examinations will not prepare one for life. We must meet and overcome these challenges; for that is what life is all about. It is the young people of today who become the leaders of tomorrow.

For countries to continue too be successful, it is important that the young people learn to meet challenges and successfully overcome them. Though, it is human nature to cry out in despair at all the terrible things that happen to us, but if we look around we see that the most successful people in the world are those who had struggles to be successful, often standing against all odds. There is a lesson in the story of every successful man or woman alike!