Carpe diem and YTT

January 22, 2014 Leave a comment

2014-01-20 17:35

Carpe diem and YTT

Lee Sun-ho
A common Latin saying is “carpe diem.”  The phrase means “seize the day” as an end-of-the-year slogan or a New Year’s life resolution aimed at achieving something like the dream for a galloping blue horse. It is used as a motto to enjoy the pleasures of the moment without much concern for the future.
Carpe diem is taken from a poem published in 23 B.C. by the Latin poet Horace (65~8 B.C.). In Horace, the phrase is part of a longer credo, which can be translated literally as, “Pluck the day and put little trust in tomorrow.”  The ode says that the future is unforeseen and that one should not leave to chance future happenings, but rather one should do all one can today to make their future better.In this respect, we need to think of the true meaning of the phrase in connection with the Korean saying, “YTT” ― yesterday (past), today (present) and tomorrow (future). It is true that the combination of YTT will certainly guard our hearts and minds in peace, if we keep carpe diem thoroughly. If we combine the sayings, it can provide us with peace and hope for the future.
It is important to note that carpe diem is often misused in popular culture to justify reckless behavior.  The meaning of carpe diem is neither to ignore the past nor the future, but rather take action for the future now, even though our thoughts are not other’s thoughts, neither are other’s ways our ways.
Horace himself parodies the phrase in his satire.  Related, but distinct, is the expression “memento mori” (Remember that you are mortal, so seize the day).  It carries some of the same connotations as carpe diem.  For Horace, mindfulness of our own mortality is a key in making us realize the importance of the moment.  Nowadays many listeners take the two idioms as representing almost opposite approaches, with carpe diem urging us to savor life and memento mori urging us to resist its allure.
Formally, carpe diem signifies how to use an opportunity to do something that we want.  It stresses that we may never get the chance to embark on such an adventure again.  It means one should take one day at a time to put more focus on the present.  For example, a company can seize the day by distributing free umbrellas with their firm logo and contact information on them.
In similar vein to the concept of YTT, the Romans came up with this saying, carpe diem, because one could never know what tomorrow would bring.  We are in charge of how our future is going to go.  It means living each moment faithfully as if it is our last day of life, always keeping our eyes open starting early in the morning as a lark does, and taking advantage of all the opportunities that are before us. Carpe diem does not mean put off till tomorrow what we can do today.
At any rate, carpe diem is a world-renowned Latin expression for over 20 centuries.  It tells us that we will reap a harvest at the proper time if we endeavor to do so. In line with the concept of YTT, it must be positive but optimistic thinking, to gain success by doing our best so that our future is bright and secure.
The writer is an outside director of Samyang Tongsang Co., Ltd. in Seoul.  Contact him at kexim2@unitel.co.kr

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Unknown's avatarAbout bambooinnovator
Kee Koon Boon (“KB”) is the co-founder and director of HERO Investment Management which provides specialized fund management and investment advisory services to the ARCHEA Asia HERO Innovators Fund (www.heroinnovator.com), the only Asian SMID-cap tech-focused fund in the industry. KB is an internationally featured investor rooted in the principles of value investing for over a decade as a fund manager and analyst in the Asian capital markets who started his career at a boutique hedge fund in Singapore where he was with the firm since 2002 and was also part of the core investment committee in significantly outperforming the index in the 10-year-plus-old flagship Asian fund. He was also the portfolio manager for Asia-Pacific equities at Korea’s largest mutual fund company. Prior to setting up the H.E.R.O. Innovators Fund, KB was the Chief Investment Officer & CEO of a Singapore Registered Fund Management Company (RFMC) where he is responsible for listed Asian equity investments. KB had taught accounting at the Singapore Management University (SMU) as a faculty member and also pioneered the 15-week course on Accounting Fraud in Asia as an official module at SMU. KB remains grateful and honored to be invited by Singapore’s financial regulator Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to present to their top management team about implementing a world’s first fact-based forward-looking fraud detection framework to bring about benefits for the capital markets in Singapore and for the public and investment community. KB also served the community in sharing his insights in writing articles about value investing and corporate governance in the media that include Business Times, Straits Times, Jakarta Post, Manual of Ideas, Investopedia, TedXWallStreet. He had also presented in top investment, banking and finance conferences in America, Italy, Sydney, Cape Town, HK, China. He has trained CEOs, entrepreneurs, CFOs, management executives in business strategy & business model innovation in Singapore, HK and China.

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