10 of the most important life lessons I have learnt after being friends with Gilbert Goh:
1) Compassion. Gilbert has been helping so many people regardless of their race, language, religion and sexual preferences. The amount of personal time and resources in which he has put in reflects very well of his good-nature and his excellent counselling skills certainly make a difference.
2) Moral Courage. Even though most people will not have the balls to protest openly and so angrily against the PAP regime, Gilbert has done what is right by rallying against things which are not rights such as MRT fare increases. Few men are like him to have the moral courage.
3) Humility. Even with such a popular following from people he has helped in inspired, Gilbert does not put on much airs. He has chosen to remain humble and approachable, helping everyone from students on their projects to the international media along the way in a manner which makes him even more likable.
4) Endurance. Even though he has been called up to 'drink coffee' with various authorities earlier this year, Gilbert has remained calm and made restructuring efforts and continued on with his good work. They say that adversity makes a man stronger and this is indeed true for Gilbert.
5) Global Exposure. Having lived in Sydney, worked in Jakarta and performed humanitarian work in Syria, Gilbert has gained a lot of experience with dealing with people of different sorts and this is very commendable in today's global world where Singapore is more diverse than ever.
6) Networking. Using his powerful cause as a background, Gilbert has managed to get together employers who are looking to support the core Singaporean workforce rather than senselessly import foreign talent. Unlike others which have not met with success, Gilbert has shown himself to be a master of effective networking.
7) Building a loyal network. With his large scale efforts, he has managed to make the effort to maintain the support of his good friends such as Zarina Jaffar and co-protest buddy Robert Teh who have continually supported his efforts. The friends he has made make him a rich man in a spiritual sense.
8) Foresight. When the stupid Malaysian girl ran into bad publicity for alleged heckling of the special needs kids, Gilbert was wise enough not to be implicated although he is known as the "father of protests". He knows his limits and where to stop for the greater good of his work and reputation credibility.
9) Innovation. As the scope of his charity increases, Gilbert has managed to use his network for even more impactful change of people's life by openly advertising on Facebook sponsorship requests rather than having to support them using his own money. Donors feel helpful and those receiving feel privileged for mutual benefit.
10) Staying connected with the ground. While the disconnected leaders we have believe that Singapore can only grow by taking in foreign talents, Gilbert has proven that we have plenty of un and under-employed people whom we can use to make a difference not only to their lives but to bigger society as well!
Joseph Tan Kheng Liang