The Age of Acceleration and the Loss of Meaning
Every generation believes it stands at the height of progress. We measure advancement by speed, by convenience, by how many seconds an app can save us. Yet the older I grow, the more I realise that progress can seduce as much as it serves. We celebrate newness as if it were goodness. But the question worth asking is not how fast we have moved, but whether we have moved closer to what truly matters.
Technology evolves. Systems collapse and reinvent. But truth does not evolve. It endures. That is the paradox of our age. We upgrade tools, not understanding. We chase innovation, not integrity. Since young, I have been drawn to what is timeless, to principles that refuse to decay. My mother taught us to work hard. It was simple advice, often repeated, rarely explained. Decades later, I understood why. Working hard is timeless. The form of work will change, but the spirit of diligence never expires. From ancient farmers sowing rice fields to coders building AI models, every era has its own harvest. Yet without purpose, all labour becomes mechanical. The body may adapt, but the soul remains hungry for meaning.
Lessons from a Vanishing Queue
When I was a child, my father brought me to the bank. We queued under fluorescent lights, waiting for the officer behind the counter to stamp a passbook. It was a ritual of patience. Time moved slowly, but we learned respect for process, for people, and for order. Years later, the queue vanished. Ticketing systems arrived. Then ATM machines. Then mobile banking. Today, with the rise of e-wallets, the bank visit itself has become almost ceremonial, something we do only once a year to withdraw crisp new notes for Chinese New Year.
Every upgrade promised efficiency. Yet something invisible was lost, the human rhythm of waiting, of gratitude, of small conversations between strangers. This pattern repeats everywhere. In the past, hunters laboured for food; survival was an act of skill and courage. Today, we scroll on screens, order meals within minutes, and call it progress. But the hunter’s spirit, the dignity of contribution, has quietly disappeared.
Even in my own leadership journey, I have seen this transformation. When I began the process of publishing Lead to Impact, I thought it would be about writing a book. It turned out to be about building a philosophy. What began as a project evolved into a mirror reflecting my values, intentions, and legacy. I realised that form is never final. The act of writing, revising, designing, and publishing became a metaphor for life itself. Each stage demanded the same question: Is this built on timeless principles or temporary trends? The process was expensive, financially, emotionally, and spiritually. But every step reminded me of this truth: architecture outlasts aesthetics. A book without a timeless foundation ages like fashion. A book built on principles can stand like scripture: ageless, relevant, and quietly powerful.
What Time Cannot Break
What then makes something timeless? John Maxwell once wrote that leadership develops daily, not in a day. That simple law, known as the Law of the Process, is a timeless truth. Progress can accelerate outcomes, but only process builds character. Consider the difference. A new app can scale a business overnight. A new leader, however, cannot be coded. Leadership is slow growth, the daily compound of discipline, empathy, and truth.
When I studied the evolution of industries, the pattern was universal. McDonald’s began as a small restaurant. Its founders had efficiency but not leadership. It took Ray Kroc’s vision, anchored in timeless principles of service, structure, and sacrifice, to turn a kitchen model into a global institution. The Law of the Lid reminds us that leadership, not system, limits growth. In Malaysia, the story repeats. Grab began as MyTeksi, just a local app to book taxis safely. Its success wasn’t born from technology alone but from the timeless principle of trust. AirAsia, too, built its empire on a timeless idea: accessibility. Tools changed: apps, aircraft, algorithms, but the mission remained the same: now everyone can fly.
In the education sector, I have seen the same temptation, to innovate faster than we reflect. Yet Stellar Education Group was built on an opposite principle: purpose before platform. Our PVMC is not just a corporate statement. It is a covenant with time. Our purpose is to inspire the dream of a better world. Our vision is to raise a generation of STARS for a sustainable future. Our mission is to empower global citizens for an ever-changing world. And our core values remain integrity, empathy, and excellence. These are not slogans. They are timeless coordinates, unchanged by market cycles, pandemics, or policies.
Even the act of reflection itself is timeless. Every evening I write not to record what happened, but to remember what mattered. Reflection converts experience into wisdom. It is the quiet law of legacy. Without reflection, speed becomes blindness. And when society forgets timeless principles, the consequences are tragic. Recently, a news story surfaced of a student who took the lives of his classmates, a child whose inner world was unseen, whose pain had no outlet. Many dismissed it as mental illness. But beneath that label lay an ancient truth: unmet needs become unhealed wounds. The form of suffering changes, but the principle of healing remains. This is why inner healing must precede outer impact. It is timeless.
Building What Time Cannot Break
So what does it mean to lead, live, and build what time cannot break? It begins with clarity. Ask yourself: are my decisions anchored in principles or preferences? Am I building systems that outlast me or trends that outshine me? Every generation must learn to update its tools, but never its truth. We may upgrade classrooms, but not the need for curiosity. We may digitise connection, but not the need for compassion. We may automate processes, but not the responsibility to serve.
Timeless leadership is not about resisting change. It is about protecting essence. The hunter no longer hunts, yet his purpose to provide remains. The banker no longer stamps passbooks, yet his duty to steward value remains. The teacher may now teach through screens, yet her mission to ignite wonder remains. Every great civilisation that endured understood this. The tool sustains the form. The truth sustains the soul.
In the Purposebility framework, we call this the Purpose–Process–People cycle. Purpose anchors meaning. Process ensures consistency. People carry the legacy forward. When any one of these is neglected, organisations drift into obsolescence. As the Law of Legacy reminds us, a leader’s lasting value is measured not by achievements but by succession, by what remains when he is gone. The truth is, progress is fragile. The future belongs not to those who invent the newest, but to those who preserve the truest.
The Reverse That Redefines It All
We often say time changes everything, but perhaps it only reveals what never changes. The tools of every generation will rise and fall: stone, steam, silicon, AI, but the principles that govern human dignity, trust, compassion, purpose, and truth remain untouched. Progress can make you faster. Only principles can make you timeless.
