Has anyone ever wondered what Singapore would be like if we lived in an environment where positive thinking and encouragement were part of the national psyche?  To live in a city where we are allowed to dream big; to be creative and expressive, free from fear of judgment and criticism?

Now, what would that be like?

Words of encouragement go a long way. They don’t even need to be epic gestures. One individual in particular has been taking the liberty to do just that. In the beginning of 2009, JJ (he rather keep his anonymity) started a project of drawing positive messages on post-its in a hope he could encourage people who chanced upon them. Fast forward a couple of months, he is still doing just that, only difference is, his project gained a massive traction with the Singaporean (and foreign) public.

Commonpeople had the pleasure of interviewing JJ, as he shares some of the insights he gathered from his post-it project.

Who is JJ?
Well, I’d like to keep my true identity a secret for as long as I can. I know some people like what I do, but I suppose others could view it as littering or graffiti.

Why did you start the project?
It was by accident. In January this year, the economy went down the drain. Many of my friends lost their jobs. Many others lost fortunes in stocks. But most importantly, most of us lost hope. I was sitting in a taxi on the morning of January 14, 2009 and the taxi driver was going on about how screwed up everything was. And I realised that in the last month or so, bad news was all I’d been hearing; the people I met, the papers, TV, radio, was full of bad news. When I got to work -I’ve since moved on to a new job- the first thing I saw on my desk was a stack of Post-Its (They used to be a client of ours, so we always had them in abundance). And I sat down and did a little note that said ‘Have  a dream’, because if we are to sail through a storm, we must keep our eyes on the beacon. That was more a reminder to myself to not get sucked into the negativity all around. But then I thought it would be cool to share it with someone. And the next morning I left it in another taxi. That’s how it started.

Where do you get your inspiration from?
It helps that I’m an eternal optimist, I guess. Before I sit down to draw the sticky note each day, I take stock of my life experiences and ask myself what I should remember. I hope that the things that inspire me also inspire others.

What do you hope to achieve?
I didn’t start this project with the hope of achieving anything. But I hope that it cheers, inspires or makes life a little bit brighter for whoever comes across it.

In your opinion, how has the project affected the people around you? Any interesting responses or stories you got from the initiative?
I think Singaporeans are very private and reticent, so after almost 270 days of doing a note each day, I’ve had only seven people tell me that they found the notes. And their response has been very encouraging. But I have people from all over the world writing and saying that they hope to find one. In fact, I left one in the Commonwealth MRT station today because somebody visiting Singapore for three days asked me to and I hope they found it. I’ve had mail from lovely people who replicate the notes in, if I remember correctly, Germany, Korea, Argentina, Canada and the United States. People have been very kind to me on the facebook page that I use for the notes.

Do you think there is an increasing necessity for people to remind themselves of rudimentary thoughts or philosophies?
I think so, don’t you? I mean we all forget that the most important things are the simple things.

Is there something crucial to be gained from producing a low-tech project?
Well, it costs nothing except my time. So why not?

What’s next for you?
I really don’t know. But I hope to be able to do one note a day for as long as I can. More than anything, it’s a reminder to myself. And I’m also trying to get other people to contribute thoughts every now and then on the facebook page which I then draw and put up. I really don’t know what’s next except that it’s going to be wonderful . I told you I’m a die-hard optimist !

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