Club 99

Posted by Unknown On Friday, January 20, 2012 8 comments
Once upon a time, there lived a King who, despite his luxurious lifestyle, was neither happy nor content.

One day, the King came upon a servant who was singing happily while he worked. This fascinated the King; why was he, the Supreme Ruler of the Land, unhappy and gloomy, while

A lowly servant had so much joy. The King asked the servant, "Why are you so happy?"

The man replied, "Your Majesty, I am nothing but a servant, but my family and I don't need too much - just a roof over our heads and warm food to fill our tummies."

The king was not satisfied with that reply. Later in the day, he sought the advice of his most trusted advisor. After hearing the King's woes and the servant's story, the advisor said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the servant has not been made part of The 99 Club."



"The 99 Club? And what exactly is that?" the King inquired.

The advisor replied, "Your Majesty, to truly know what The 99 Club is, place 99 Gold coins in a bag and leave it at this servant's doorstep."

When the servant saw the bag, he took it into his house. When he opened the bag, he let out a great shout of joy... So many gold coins!

He began to count them. After several counts, he was at last convinced that there were 99 coins. He wondered, "What could've happened to that last gold coin? Surely, no one would leave 99 coins!"

He looked everywhere he could, but that final coin was elusive. Finally, exhausted, he decided that he was going to have to work harder than ever to earn that gold coin and complete his collection.

From that day, the servant's life was changed. He was overworked, horribly grumpy, and castigated his family for not helping him make that 100th gold coin. He stopped singing while he worked.

Witnessing this drastic transformation, the King was puzzled. When he sought his advisor's help, the advisor said, "Your Majesty, the servant has now officially joined The 99 Club."

He continued, "The 99 Club is a name given to those people who have enough to be happy but are never contented, because they're always yearning and striving for that extra 1 telling to themselves: "Let me get that one final thing and then I will be happy for life."

We can be happy, even with very little in our lives, but the minute we're given something bigger and better, we want even more! We lose our sleep, our happiness, we hurt the people around us; all these as a price for our growing needs and desires. That's what joining The 99 Club is all about."

-Author Unknown-

8 comments to Club 99

  1. says:

    adie Good post! I am glad I did not belong to the 99 Club!
    Have a great weekend all and Gong Xi Fa Chai.

  1. says:

    Socrates This is anti-thesis to having a goal, ambition. If you have GOAL, or AMBITION then you are i nthe 99 club.

  1. says:

    CLY All of us belong to the 99 Club in a way. We are always yearning for the little bit that we do not have instead of being grateful for what we already have. We can have a great life with the 99 coins, rather than a miserable one in search of the elusive 100th coin.
    Gong Xi Fa Cai.

  1. says:

    walla But i am not grateful for the avalanche of repair bills just before a festivity. This breaks down from age, that collapses from overuse. Plumbing to lighting to the creaky boneshaker.

    And would you believe how much HL milk and Lenggang sos cili cost this week? Oooh! i can't take this no more.

    I think the problem with the 100th coin has something to do with the boredom in our lives. It seems we can only enliven our lives if we are chasing something - target, goal, score, acquisition.

    We chase to get, forget and regret.

    (ooo, another walla original in rapidfire) ;P

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear Adie

    I feel the same way, Adie!!! Big relief :-).

    Thank you for your festive greetings. May you and your family be blessed during this long break and may there be renewed connections with old friends too!

    Take care, keep in touch and have a good break!

    Best wishes

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear Socrates,

    Quite true, Socrates...as long as we don't tax/blind ourselves in the pursuit of that goal/ambition.

    Take care and thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. May you and yours have a wonderful time together during this festive season.

    Keep in touch!

    Best wishes

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear CLY

    You have responded with much wisdom and experience, CLY! Thank you so much. I would rather live with 99 coins than to kill myself in the pursuit of the 100th :-).

    Take care and have a wonderful time with your loved ones during this festive season.

    God bless you and yours.

    Best wishes

  1. says:

    Unknown Dear Walla

    Very true! The prices of most consumer durables, especially food items have escalated and we are suffering from the decreasing in the real value of money.

    I reckon sometimes, one can be swept away by materialistic ambitions or even peer influence. Simplicity is the key to a saner life.

    Do we really need to spend so much on fashion, entertainment and other trappings? The only thing I would spend on would be gadgets and computers. Many times, my friends cannot believe that I still wear the same skirt/shirt that I first bought in the 1990's. And I am not joking.

    In life, we need to make wise choices, failing which I guess we would probably repent at leisure.

    Wishing you a lifetime filled with joy and happiness as we move into the new lunar year!

    Best wishes

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