First-person life narrative by Moonshi Mohsenruddin recounting early hardship: starting work at 14 as a toilet cleaner after his family returned to Singapore, learning resilience from a mentor who rose from similar circumstances, discovering a passion for computers through an IT mentor (Benjamin Xavier Lo), starting and losing a small computer business, facing severe financial hardship with his partner Angeline, declining a high-paying corporate job (US$250,000/year offer) to pursue entrepreneurship with partner support, and the lesson to act despite fear. The piece emphasizes determination, mentorship, family sacrifice, and personal growth.
When I first started working, I was about 14 years old. My dad lost his business and we all came back to Singapore, and luckily he didn't sell our unit in yishun at Block 758. It wasn't easy for me to look for a job. Everybody was saying that you should be in School. You're 14 years old, you're so young, you're supposed to be studying. Nobody wants to hire a young child who has no skill sets. And finally somebody called me back and said that we have an opening. And finally he says that, well, you'll be cleaning toilets. Wow. I said, it's like a very dirty job. And I finally thought about, okay, but this is going to put food on the table. It's a decent job. I'm not stealing, I'm not hurting people. I'm not causing any harm. I'll do it.
So I met him, and then what struck me the most is his. His mindset and how he actually managed to pull himself out of a difficult situation. So he started off as a toilet cleaner, and after that, now he's so successful. So I see him as my role model and mentor.
My mom was working as a production operator when she came back to Singapore. Every time when we eat, she was always the one who is always feeding us, giving us, and we always see that she doesn't have enough for herself. I don't want to see my mom hungry. I mean, she's working as hard, she's supporting our family, and that's six months to feed at home. I bullied him.
He's the elder brother, so he bullies the rest.
Yeah, we always be bullied. When I first started, the first few days was really hard because it finally dawned on me that, wow, I'm cleaning other people's shit. I'm literally cleaning shit. It wasn't easy. And every time when I go to bed, I don't remember not crying. Every night when I go to bed, I always pray and say, God, this is not what I wanted to do for my life, you know? After about a year, I came to a realization that I couldn't be a cleaner for the rest of my life. So I asked myself, what is it I wanted to do? What is it that I wanted to do? So one day, I finally realized that I want to own my own business one day. So I met up with this gentleman by the name of Benjamin Xavier Lo. He became my IT sifu, my mentor. He started talking about computers. Initially, I was like, what is this guy talking to me about computers about? I Have no passion about computers. But the moment he started talking about it, he asked me question, do you know that traffic lights are controlled by computers? I was like, huh. So that was when I became very fascinated about computers. So he started passing me computer magazine books and started reading every night until 3, 4am so by the third or fourth month, I felt that I've known so much about computers, but I've never touched a computer in my life. With that last $7,000, I started my first business. But I started at home. At that moment, I have no knowledge about business, no knowledge about finance, no knowledge about managing people. And my ego was probably 10 times bigger than my head. Don't know how to work with people. The business ran for about three years. We were growing the business and because of the way that I was one of my old partner basically sued the company. And then we went into legal litigation and finally we have to wind down the company. So at a particular moment I was left with nothing. I was back to square one. But this time it's worse.
And that is when we were in our lowest point in life. And we went to stay from a flat to an apartment. Then from apartment in private apartment. We went to stay in an empty flat.
The kitchen was practically totally empty.
We went to the house. I was so shocked. There's no basin in the kitchen, there's no cabinet in the kitchen and just a bare flat and it's still concrete floor. And I'm thinking, how am I going to live in this condition?
I told Angeline, my wife back then, we were not even married yet. I told her, I said I need to find a job. But at that particular moment, a few weeks later, I was offered a job with one of the largest computer company in the world. They offered me a package of 250,000 USD a year. I was like, wow. I was excited, very happy, and showed it to Angeline. I told her that, wow, all our financial challenges will go away, all our financial problems will go away. Then she asked me, are you going to be happy?
My gut feel knows that someday he will become who he wants to become. And I know that because he wants to inspire people. And I believe that he can be that person.
And she told me that if you want to start your own business, I'm going to be here with you. I'm going to support you throughout. I said, well, if I really want to start a business, we can only have one meal a day. But she told me that I'm willing to go through that with you. This woman is not even married to me yet and she's willing to go through life at this darkest moment of my life together with me I see.
Him being able to stand out again so from where he came from the kind of childhood that he has the life that he's been through I see that many times he fell but he still stand up the kind of determination that I myself don't have so I see that the determination, the will, the drive I know that he will make it happen.
One thing I've learned about life is that despite all the fear that I have I should still take action because fear if you were to look at it is just like false evidence appearing real. It has not happened but we are very afraid that it could happen. We live as if it has already happened. It is holding on to that dream and that vision and taking actions despite the lack of resources despite the lack of evidence and despite all the fear that I have.
