Tatler Takes Five
As the head of the accessories division of Luen Thai, deputy chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries and executive vice-chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Textiles, Sunny Tan wears many hats. But his most prized job is being father to his two sons with his wife, Esther. Here he shares five enduring values he will impart to his children
1 WORK
When we’re starting out in our jobs, our day-to-day responsibilities may seem repetitive, but we should take pride in our “ordinary” tasks, no matter how mundane they may seem at first, and do them extraordinarily well to make progress in our careers.
2 LOVE
Healthy relationships take work, and I’ve learned through my marriage that we have to learn how to express our love in a way that can be clearly received by others, which is why I want my sons to read The Five Love Languages by marriage counsellor Gary Chapman. The book explains that there are five ways to experience intimacy—through receiving gifts, quality time, words of affirmation, acts of service, and physical touch—and I hope it can help them when it comes to navigating their personal lives.
3 SUCCESS
We should celebrate our victories as they come, but always remember that success is fleeting. Stay humble. We sometimes hear proud 50-year-olds who still talk about the accomplishments they achieved in their 20s, and that means they stopped being successful 30 years ago. Always keep looking forward and focus on self-improvement.
4 RESPONSIBILITY
When we become adults we sometimes have to make important decisions and not all of them will be correct. To be taken seriously as a mature person, it’s important to take responsibility for our actions when we’ve made mistakes, to accept the consequences, to learn from our mistakes and move on.
5 FAMILY
To have a strong relationship with our children, it’s important that we spend time with them. Every little bit counts. Try to make an effort to be with them, even if it’s just 30 minutes in the morning before going to work, or after business dinners to read them bedtime stories. Children remember these little things. Years from now, our professional successes won’t hold as much weight compared to our kids’ memories of us.