Life is really a paradox. It’s tragic yet funny. It’s happy but it has its moments of sadness. It’s good and bad. But there’s one thing consistent about life—the best and worst things in life often come as a surprise.

Frankly, I don’t think anyone in this world would like to live life knowing what’s going to happen next. If you watched the Minority Report and are familiar with the “cognitive” characters there, you’d know what I’m talking about. Of course, whenever unexpected tragedies strike, such as 9-11 and the tsunami disaster, you wish there was no element of surprise.

But we also have to look at the opposite side of the coin. For example, surprise birthday parties are a great experience—both for the “surprisers” and the “surprisee.” A few years ago during one of my birthdays, I told my wife Teemy that I had no plans to celebrate. She was supposed to pass by for me that evening but she was running 30 minutes late. She called me and asked me to pick her up at the Philam Tower. A bit annoyed and hungry, I agreed. When I got there—surprise, surprise! Teemy had all my special friends at the Tower Club, all dressed up for a nice and formal dinner. I asked her, “What’s going on?” And she said, “Happy Birthday, honey!” And she kissed me. To this day, I get goosebumpy whenever I remember that surprise birthday dinner. It was certainly one of the most special moments of my life. Why? Because of the element of surprise.