Be Greater Than 15

“We don’t aim high enough with our goals. We all have more in us, and we are all capable of aiming higher.”

Jesse Itzler

When I first watched the film Forrest Gump, and as cliché as it sounds, it became one of my absolute favorites. Of course many would go with the most iconic quote relating to a box of chocolates. For me on the other hand, the one quote that makes its rotations in my mind is… “And I was runnin!” This particular scene and quote if any of you can remember was short and sweet with a whole lotta heat. Heat how you may ask? It had so much passion and flare to do the impossible. I mean the man did run across America with the help of a check mark brand, while promoting life’s most iconic symbol and a quote that gives going no. 2 a whole new different meaning. Well, little did I know, this said quote manifested itself into my life with such significant flare.

My brother Haikal, or more fondly known as Carl or Mo, was diagnosed with Advance Metastatic Ewing Sarcoma at the age of 28 in April of 2017. A rare form of pediatric cancer for kids, let alone for an adult. When he was first diagnosed, the doctors gave him only 15% chance of survival. The thought of losing him within that year left a huge pit in our stomachs. But we didn’t let that bring our spirits down. We fought as hard as we could and we did get him into remission on New Years Day. Unfortunately, within three months, the cancer came back and we sadly lost him in June 2018. 

Now many of you are wondering, where am I going with this story? The first two paragraphs have no connection whatsoever. But let me tell ya… Its tenacious bond is unreal. My brother was a giver. If it meant giving a dollar or even the last portions of his meal, with no judgements or anything in return. He taught me the purest definition of what it means to be an awesome human being. Not to mention, my first lesson on charity and kindness came from him, and has left such a symbolic mark in my life. He may not have moved heaven and earth to bring significant change to the world. But he etched a notable imprint in the people he loved, cared, and the ones who were blessed to have crossed paths with him. His little -isms and insightful nuggets taught many of us to cherish what life has to offer, as well as what we can do to give back in return. It is unfortunate to have lost him so young, but I try to remind people, how truly lucky we are to have experienced his love and heart. My brother Carl did what he could to bring smiles and happiness to people. Now it is our turn to continue what he started and keep his philosophy of life alive. Five years since he passed, and it has been my life’s mission now to do just that.

Jesse Itzler is one of the many human beings I look up to. His grip on life is absolutely exhilarating. It has changed my view on how to take life by the horns and charge through. His quote I mentioned above is what sparked the idea of me doing the unthinkable. A few phones calls, emails, and planning, Be Greater Than 15 initiative came into fruition on November 17th, 2022. 100km worth of running to raise RM100,000 for two organizations in Malaysia- Yayasan Chow Kit and National Cancer Society of Malaysia’s Children’s Home of Hope. The reason for the name is because my brother Carl felt he was more than just the 15% chance of survival he was given. He proved it when he was in remission. So it felt just right to use that as a motivational factor to show that we are greater than the cards we are dealt with. Now, for those who do not know me, I am not a fan of running. I wouldn’t run a 100 yards to save my life, so you could say this was potentially a quarter life crisis.

A few close friends thought I was nuts for taking such a leap. Then I looked at what Jesse has accomplished in his life and listened to his talks. The man created the song “Go New York Go” for the New York Knicks in 1992 and they offered to pay him $4000 for it. Funny thing is, it cost him $5000 to do the song, but he did not hesitate to go through with the deal. He sold it without a second thought. Eventually it became the No. 1 most requested song on New York radio, and it sparked an incredible journey for him. The rest of his life achievements are a no brainer by how his mind works in bringing his ideas into fruition. By far my favorite story to hear from him because it shows how you just gotta do it and don’t give two hoots about what will happen later. He strives to go even higher when people say he’s nuts to even hatch an idea that is extremely out of the box. He once said, “Are you willing to go all in? Are you willing to have a dialogue in your head that’s positive?” Be Greater Than 15 was something I wanted to do all out, and I was headstrong about it. I do have to say it was an absolutely insane idea to complete within a month for someone like me who has no clue about long distance running. But hey… I had nothing to lose and I was so pumped to get something going after such a mundane stroll through the year. This was a chance for me to do some real good for the people that need it. And so the training and run began.

Now I had no proper running shoes. Goes to show how truly prepared I was 🙂 So I headed to the store, picked out two pairs of running shoes and busted a move to prep for the first few kilometers in. When I officially launched Be Greater Than 15, I hit the ground running the very next day. It’s 6:45 in the morning. I’m groggy, and sluggish. I started thinking, “What the hell was I even thinking starting a running initiative?! Who am I? Some triathlete with invincible strength?!” But we were off. I hit only 1km that day and was running on fumes. ONE. Day one in the books, one kilometer in, 29 days more to go. FANTASTIC! This is gonna be a “fun” month. I knew I had to get a gameplan down if I wanted to reach the 100km mark. So it was time to unpack the college workout days and start getting myself back on track of gaining some physical endurance. Long story short, I was gaining momentum and moving right along. The kilometers were accumulating, the one short problem I had was that the donations were not coming in as much as I hoped it would. After just a few weeks in, I had only raised a thousand over ringgit. A tiny speck in my RM100,000 goal. I reached out to all my friends through my social media platforms hoping to gain some traction. It did with a few of my friends donating. Our biggest donor came from one of the kindest families I have ever gotten the privilege to know. The Schian family donated a whopping $1000 USD. It skyrocketed our donations collected by a mile. As time when on, a few donations trickled in here and there, but after awhile it started to lose its fire with just a small amber burning, yearning for it to be ignited. I had to figure a way to get the ball rolling again.

I was 2 weeks in, 50 Kilometers clocked with 6000 Malaysian Ringgit raised. A lot of ground left to still cover if we were to make any dent of a difference for the two organizations we were raising money for. This is where we always have to appreciate the universe for its little nuggets that it drops on us when we need it most. It was a Sunday morning of my usual pop up food stall to raise money for our main donation fund. A lady had stopped and bought a few of our items. She asked why I was doing this and I said I was raising money for the less fortunate in honor of my late brother. The conversation continued on with me mentioning about my Be Greater Than 15 campaign. A few minutes after, she mentioned she is affiliated with Free Malaysia Today and was really interested in sharing my story in their lifestyle section. Long story short, we got interviewed, our story got posted, and within the first hour of our article going live, we collected more than 3000 Malaysian Ringgit. It was unbelievable, and let me tell you, it did not stop. We had donations from corporations as well. Our interviewer Sheela could not even believe the response we were getting from the article. And just like that our donations hit the 5 figure mark.

At this point we hit close to 14000 Malaysian Ringgit in donations, 4 kilometers left, with a week to go. Although we didn’t reach our 100,000 Ringgit mark, we did make a good amount to bring better change for the 2 organizations. I knew the Terry Fox Run was the perfect occasion to close out my last 4 kilometers and my campaign. For those who do not know about Terry Fox, I suggest you read up on his story here. It will blow your mind on how awesome of a human being he was. So yet again, the universe decided to throw one last nugget down. For the first time since the Terry Fox Run made its mark in KL, Darrell Fox, his brother, made an appearance for the first time ever in Malaysia. Believe it or not, I was able to talk to him before the run about Be Greater Than 15. He congratulated me on the good work I was doing for Cancer patients, the less fortunate, and keeping my brother’s legacy alive. I was literally on cloud nine. I never would have imagine to have had a moment like so. After getting my composure back and pumped myself up for the last few kilometers in, I was off running. And just like that, on a hot blazing morning, I completed my 100 kilometers. Mum was at the finish line to get it all on camera. A kid who barely runs completed a total of 100km within the span of one month and had a week left before the end of the campaign. I’d have to say that is the mission statement of being Greater Than 15. You are greater than you think and you have the capabilities in overcoming adversity.

After cooling down, I walked over to the signature board and stamped Be Greater Than 15’s accomplishment. This was for Carl and all the kids in the two organizations we raised money for. The feeling of achievement was an understatement. Till today I can’t really explain how that day felt. I would say I was so overcome with emotions for sure. There was a week left before officially closing out the campaign. I figured why not keep going? We can still put in a few kilometers, and so I kept on going. 25th December 2022, Christmas Day, Be Greater Than 15 closed out with 104.5km covered, and 14,442 Malaysian Ringgit raised. We paid for a kid’s tuition for culinary school together with other necessities for other children, and we helped provide resources for cancer patients. It’s all thanks to the kind folks who took a minute of their time to learn about Be Greater Than 15 and was generous enough to chip in.

This was not a solo win. It was a group effort from everyone around the world who contributed. This my friends, is the power of community. I sure as ever would not have pulled this off if it wasn’t for the people who donated, my mother, and Free Malaysia Today. I know this initiative was completed last year and I am finally putting this out there. But it is a story worth sharing because we should never underestimate the power of perseverance and faith. When you put your whole heart into something and have faith in it, perseverance will naturally follow and the thought of adversity becomes a blur. Be Greater Than 15 had a good turnout and I have come to the decision in making it a yearly initiative. My ultimate goal for Be Greater Than 15 is to motivate others to continue supporting this initiative and hopefully to reach out to corporations to participate in it as well. As of now the plans are still in the works. Watching Jesse Itzler create 29029 Everesting has motivated me to believe Be Greater Than 15 can be something bigger and heck of a lot more memorable. Hopefully one day Be Greater Than 15’s banner can climb the very mountains of 29029. Here’s to moving onward and upward in making good change in our community.