GUEST SPEAKER – CLAUDIA NG: PATH TO SUCCESS

By: Jennifer Wu

I often find myself comparing my progress in life to people who I consider successful, like Steve Jobs, Wayne Gretzky, or my next door neighbour who runs a remarkable pet daycare, and I wonder about the path to success. What does success mean? How do successful people get to where they are, and what steps did they take?

The 180th Pacific Coast Scout Group had the privilege of hosting Claudia Ng at one of our monthly group meetings. Ms. Ng, MBA, P.Eng. is an established independent consultant who has been recognized by multiple well-known institutions and companies for her accomplishments in complex project management.

Her success story was built on three pillars:

• Passion
• Commitment
• Perseverance

Ms. Ng began her presentation by discussing the first pillar – set a goal with passion. Ms. Ng developed a passion for everything that she did and always had a curiosity to learn. When given choices, she did not choose the easy way out, but rather, always chose the difficult journey because it was most likely the right path. The difficult journey allows for more experience, more learning, and therefore more self-discovery and wisdom.

Ms. Ng’s journey involved working full-time with one of the best financial consulting firms in the world, as well as completing an MBA at the same time, all while maintaining a family with two children. This became the second pillar – commit yourself to a path. There is no replacement for experience, and the only way to gain experience is to take action. Ms. Ng knew that time does not wait, and hence decided to take on multiple challenges simultaneously. She truly lives the moment.

The third pillar – act with perseverance – ties success together. Perseverance means doing something not only once, but consistently. Ms. Ng’s success did not arise from taking chances; it was because of her consistent commitment to goals. There are no guarantees in life, and as such, Ms. Ng’s manages not by possibility, but by probability.

Her presentation deeply impacted our Scout Group through how much it resonated with our values of PERSIST (an acronym for Passion, Excellence, Respect, Scouting Principles, Integrity, Support, and Trust). Ms. Ng’s success as a result of her drive is truly inspirational. Thanks to her success story, our Rover Crew understands the importance of a setting a goal fuelled by passion, committing ourselves through a potentially turbulent journey, and persevering through the ups and downs of our own journeys.

Thank you, Ms. Claudia Ng, for your time, story, and for igniting our hearts with a passion for excellence!