No Gain No Pain

Source: Kidults Mag April
Translated by Kat @ http://raymondlam.org/
Mag scanned by Dream@ http://bbs.raymondforest.com

Do you remember “Heart of Greed”? After Alfred (played by Lam Fung) was in a car accident, he insisted on calling Seung Joi Sum in the phone booth and realised his dream. As they say life imitates art, in real life Fung also has this persistence, and works continuously to achieve his dreams. Today, let this young guy with drive and passion share his life philosophies.

Role as a big brother
Many parents will place high hopes on their eldest son, and hope he will set a good example for his younger siblings. As the eldest son in his family, does Fung feel a lot of pressure? “Since we were young, my parents had taught us that regardless of who is right or wrong, as the eldest brother I will always get punished! So everytime my younger brother or sister gets into trouble, I will also be punished! But because of this strict upbringing, I’ve grown up to be more careful and also taking thing seriously. Now I work in front of the camera, I always remind myself so I won’t make mistakes.” As the eldest brother in the family he gets punished often even if it’s not his fault, Fung laughs and says maybe because of this his brother and sister now respect him a lot as he had to be the “target” of punishments.

Calling home every hour
Many people know that Fung has a strict family, so now he has developed good self-discipline. “When I was young I wasn’t allowed to go out at night. After school I have to go home straight away and if I was late I had to explain it to my family. I remember once when I went home late Dad’s punishment was me kneeling on the floor, and he used the broom stick to hit me. The force even made the broom stick bent!” Ever since, Fung has learnt to be more responsible, “Everytime I went out with friends, I would call home every hour and tell them I’m safe, so they will not be worried.” Many people would view calling home every hour as very tedious, plus it’s a very difficult thing to do for many rebellious youths. “Maybe it’s because I’m the eldest son, I knew how to step into other person’s shoes and be aware of their feelings, if this can make my family less worried, why wouldn’t I do it? My family never had the notion of “owning something for ourselves”, we would give selflessly and also like to share. Everything we do, our first priority is “the family”.” As he always think for others no wonder Fung can be harmonious with many different people!

How you live is how you act
The Fung in front of us has a good upbringing (bad translation I know, but I can’t think of anything else! - translator) and gives people the impression that he’s is dependable. Actually, he was already like this when he was still studying. “My father’s teaching is ‘before doing something, you need to learn how to be a person’ the philosophy I still remember it now. As I am the eldest, my parents would take me to social functions when I was younger. As I see more of the world I learnt more and know how to handle different situations and can do it better than others.” To learn how to handle different situations, Fung says the best place to learn is at school. “At school there are different types of students, some are ‘bookworms’ - weaker when it comes to organising activities, some are very outgoing - but their results are not the best.” Fung laughs and says he is of the latter kind, and participated in many extracurricular activities. “I was part of the school swimming team, also participated in recitations, and was the conductor of the choir! I think students should participate in extracurricular activities, meet students from different years, expand your circle of friends, meet more people so you can learn how to deal with others.” But Fung emphasises, studying is still the foundation, so young people should concentrate on their studies.

What you can solve yourself is not a problem
Fung had studied architecture at University of Southern California. By coincidence he did not continue his studies and entered the entertainment industry. When asked about his struggles when he first entered the industry, he says, “for a 19 year old guy it was a huge decision. My parents were actually very worried. But I feel whatever I can solve myself is not a problem. So I decided to give it a try. I believe that in life you have to keep on trying to have the chance of success!” All parents in this world love their kids. When he first entered the industry, his parents worried a lot, but after visiting him on the set once, their worries were gone. “They came to visit me when I was filming in China, they saw that I was taking my work seriously and when I was tired I fell asleep on horseback. Since then, they understand that I’m not just fooling around and actually work very hard. Then they are not worried anymore.” Fung says playfully, now when his parents call when he is working, they will hang up immediately. So he doesn’t have to call them every hour like he used to!

Dont’ care about reporters
The famous people would normally avoid the gossip magazines and paparazzi, Fung is not an exception. Even though during holidays he can go yum cha with his family, but his family are afraid of going out to eat with him. And he would rather spend time resting at home, to avoid the reporters making up reports and taking photos. “The development of photo altering technologies is scary, so whatever effect you would like, you can do that on the computer.” In the past there had been conflicts between artists and the paparazzi, so has Fung thought about taking action to fight back? “Of course not, this will just waste my time and energy. It’s better to concentrate on tomorrow’s work.”

Fight for life
Even though he could’ve been an architect, but Fung chose the uncertain path of being in the entertainment industry. This puzzles a lot of people. Fung says with ease, “At different times, everyone had to face a decision-making moment, the most important is to understand your abilities and hobbies, then give everything to achieve it after careful thought. Then just do your best!” Fung started off as an unknown actor and now he is an actor/singer and an idol for many youths. This is the result of his beliefs. Fung points to his eye bags and says, “I had expected a lot of hard work before I entered this industry. I decided on this path because I wanted to challenge myself, see this eye bag of mine, previously I didn’t have any dark circles!” Everyone laughed after hearing this.

Epilogue
When we met him for the first time, in the beginning Fung introduced himself, “I’m Lam Fung ar!” He is easygoing and also gives the impression of being a big kid. During the interview we understood his emotions throughout his career. Through him we’ve learn “What you get is what you put in”. If you want to succeed there are no shortcuts. Looks like Fung had put in a lot of hardwork in the background! Young people should set goals and work towards them wholeheartedly. The readers of “Kidults” - we believe that you can do it too!

* eSeong Network User Reviews *

* ) it only made me like Raymond more. I started liking him because..haha, he looked coOl, and at first sight, due to his skin tone, resembled Louis a little. But then as I delve in deeper, I realised there were more to that. From EH till HOG, I can see him improving in his acting skills and techniques, a result of his hard work. And not only is he talented in acting, he can sing too. Maybe it's not a large variety of songs since his songs, up till now, tend to be more of the ballad, melacholy type. But I totally don't mind because he's good at them and I love him because of such songs. =D I love all the drama themes/sub-themes he sang and I'm glad he decided to pursue his interest and ability in this arena by debuting as a singer. Tough job, but I'm sure he can make it with his perserverance.

Another thing I repect him for is his courage. I'm amazed that he gave up a more stable lifestyle of just working in his dad's company or just taking on a regular job and instead took on the uncertain road of being an artiste. It's a huge decision to make, I feel. It's like giving up an iron rice bowl for something where hardwork does not necessarily translate into results.

And reading this article made me confirm my liking for him! =P I'm glad his dad held a tight rein over him when he was young. That made him mature fast and have that sense of responsibility in him, which I feel is the most attractive thing about him. happy.gif He sounds very close to his family and I think it's somethig difficult to achieve in this time and age, especially when he's away for filming for months at times and I guess his father would be busy with work too. I'm glad the lack of time hasn't affected their relationship. Sounds like his siblings are very close to him as well. I love warm families!!! I'd love to have such a brother. He can help the young ones out when they meet a tough decision in life or when something troubling hits, because he's already so used to these problems!

Looks are temporary at best but with his perserverance, courage and talents, he's gonna capture my heart for a long, long time...

* ) Man raymond is very responsible person..i guess his upbringing has alot 2 do wif his current behaviour...very good parenting.....

before knowing him....his image presenting alot like a party boy 2 the public..rebellious...but rather on the contravery.

* ) Ray is another person that I love as an idol and respect in terms of his character and value. I love how he is so responsible towards his family and he is focused on his career! His family should be and is so proud of him.