Tomie Turns 4!

Thank you very much for your well wishes. A bit late this year, but our journey turned 04 this 04th September 2024. I thank Jesus for His faithfulness and goodness!

When I was young, my sister asked me what I wanted to do. I couldn’t answer her, and then she said, “if you’re not sure, then at least know what you do not want to do”.

In July 2020 during the pandemic, I returned to Singapore from UAE and was under quarantine in the hotel. Whilst spending time seeking the Lord for directions, I realized I had the option of (1) doing what I’ve been doing all along, i.e. chartering / commercial for shipowners, or (2) something else. I just couldn’t see myself doing the former in the near future.

Recently, we’ve been conducting interviews, and a candidate asked about my style of work. I shared that I am my harshest critic, because as a Christian, I represent my faith in the workplace, hence I have to set a positive example always. For that matter, and to bring in revenue (and survival) for the shipowners, I was not only demanding on myself, but eventually I became demanding on my colleagues and suppliers. It wasn’t fair as everyone is different, I should not make them run my race. I didn’t like myself for being so harsh and difficult to work with.

I was always a square peg in a round hole, unable to follow the status quo. They say, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But growing up, if a creative work was graded well, I would avoid repeating the same design too many times, because it loses its originality and impact each time. To me, life is always about being refreshing, to brainstorm and be creative, to try different ways of doing things, to improve, to aim for perfection… and then break down and rebuild again.

To some people, work is a rice bowl. To me, it is also about preparing and moving into the future. It might be painful, but it's temporal.

Whatever I started from 04th September 2020 enabled me to be me, to use what I have in my hands, and do whatever I can do within my means… until we find something that defines us in the future. But whatever it is, it has to have life, meaning, and impact. Surely, there must be meaning to it.

This season, as we develop and launch our series of sustainability software to make the world a better place, we work towards making them unique, innovative, and for the future!

Shingo Tomie, Founder