Day 1: What Will Matter?

“So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?”

Eyes bright, hearts open, minds curious, the leaders of South East Asia have come together to embark on a transformative journey at SEALA. The third incarnation, fondly dubbed SEALA 3, starts with a bang – literally!

Founding Board Member Anand and Anu Sharma,
welcome participants, facilitators and faculty

“What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built” 

“What will matter is not your competence, but your character”

Participants look up in quiet wonder and acceptance. It dawns on Sophia Hage, Mahmudur Rahman and Shamal Boyagoda that this isn’t like any other conference - this feels different.

“What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.”

From the very first day, SEALA has captured the hearts of the participants and compelled them to speak out their comments, curiosities, and contradictions.  As Triyono draws out his thoughts, Pui is attentive. At SEALA, everyone is a student and everyone is a teacher.

“What will matter is not your success, but your significance”

Shah Munir, Karuna Murdaya and Rajiv Khatri play a vital role by actively engaging with the faculty speakers.

“What will matter is not how many people you knew, 

but how many people will feel a lasting loss when you’re gone.”

As John King invites everyone to make critical choices during this conference, it becomes plainly obvious that every single person in this circle adds more value to a bigger whole.

Bill Starnes introduces common traps in the way
our conscious and sub-conscious brain thinks

“What will matter is how long you will be remembered, 
by whom and for what.”

By the time of paired introductions, participants have learned so much about each other; one would think they have been friends for life and not a mere 24 hours.

Adam invites all participants to pairwise introduce
themselves to the rest of the SEALA group.

Some were surprised to have realized strength and passion in their partners.

 

While some pairs needed extensive notes to do their partners’ vibrant personalities justice…

… others decided to demonstrate their commonalities in a short skit.

By the end of the night, we were amazed by ourselves and by each other. This was just the first day at SEALA.

“It is not a matter of circumstance, but of choice. Choose to live a life that matters.”

The quotations in the captions belong to a poem by Michael Josephson