This book is a record of my experiences and personal observations between 1948—when as a toddler I first had limited awareness of my surroundings—and 1988, when I ended my tenure as the Secretary General of Golkar. During this period in my life, there were a great many lessons that I gained but which I could only fully discern through observation and contemplation.

I started writing this book in 2005 and continued the effort sporadically and then intensely in the first half of 2018. It was an interesting and instructive experience. I discovered that the more I wrote, the more I remembered. I also needed to rely on considerable self-discipline so that the various conclusions I made from the process of writing were commensurate with my actual awareness at the time. I tried to resist the temptation of using hindsight. In this respect, I naturally needed a process of control, which I was able to procure not only from the available literature but also from the services and help of friends and family, as I explained in the Preface.

My advice to the younger generations: record what is taking place around you and write down your experiences day to day, whether they had a little or big impact on the world beyond yourself. For my own part, I was lucky enough that certain important moments were documented by my late wife, Nini, who even when she was terminally ill, continued to file important documents, which I found invaluable for the writing of this book. Several colleagues also sent me media clippings from their collections. In the digital age of today, also known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution—whereby digital technology is expected to develop exponentially—creating a record of our life's work and the interconnectedness of different events will be easier to do. The past, the present and the future can be more easily mapped out in terms of relevance and mutual relationships. By turning it into an instrument for charting one's life experiences, information technology will not be reduced to a facilitating tool for momentary uses but will instead contribute to more meaningful choices for the future.

Here are a few of life's lessons that have accrued to me.