Kuala Lampur, April 1 -- I have a friend who only got one A in her SPM, back in the 1980s.  

I met up with her a couple months ago. We talked about old times and I found out that, wow, nowadays she flies from Malaysia to France regularly as the regional manager of a medical organisation. (So much for "1 A in SPM" leading to sleeping on the street!)

Also, something she did made me realise how she was so successful despite a relatively poor SPM performance. Her superpower was one I absolutely don't see often: Her listening skills. 

She spent more than 70-80 per cent of the time asking about me and our friends. Almost devoid of ego, she only talked about herself when specifically requested to or if a story made sense in the cont...