Be a Kid again!!

Written by Raymond Tay on September 4, 2010 – 10:49 am -

When I logged in Facebook, I was scanning my News Feed and I saw this video that was posted by my friend. It really surprised me and the animation is incredible & beautiful. The words are also very meaningful. Although it is not something new, I still love to read such inspiring reminders again. Check it out & be a KID again!!


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What Makes A Young Champion?

Written by Raymond Tay on August 13, 2010 – 2:58 am -

I am very excited to share with you this marvelous event that I have attended on 7 & 8 August. This forum discussed about “What Makes A Young Champion?” and it is organised by National University of Singapore (NUS) and The University of Sydney, Center for The Mind @ NUS, University Cultural Centre. The delegates are students from Secondary Schools, Polytechnics and Junior Colleges. The Creator of this forum is Professor Allan Snyder, director of Center for The Mind. I am very impressed of the chosen speakers (a.k.a. Young Champions) and delighted to listen about their successful stories and how they view champions or life. Let me introduced some of them to you:

Bambang Reguna (aka Bams), Rock Star, 27
Indonesian

Bams is the lead singer of popular Indonesian band, Samsons, which has gained a wide-spread popularity due to their squeaky clean image. Apart from his musical inclinations, he is also the ambassador in Indonesia in the campaign against drugs and narcotics abuse and delicates time to many social causes.

 

Caroline Bird, Writer, 24
British

An up-and-coming young writer, Caroline has published two collections of poetry and six plays, garnering numerous prizes. Her work has been published regularly in PN Review, Poetry Review and The North magazine and has been broadcast on BBC Radio. In her spare time, Caroline conducts poetry workshops for other aspiring writers from primary and secondary schools in England.

Listen to her poem:

Johnny Strange, Mountaineer, 18
American

Climbing Antarctica’s Mount Vinson at twelve, Johnny became the youngest person to ever scale the Seven Summits on the seven continents. Advocating the message to stop genocide from the top of Mount Everest, Johnny combines his passion for climbing with calls for social change.

Leanna Archer, Entrepreneur, 14
American

At nine, Leanna founded her company, Leanna’s Inc, producing all-natural hair products, and she hasn’t looked back since. Today, Leanna’s Inc grosses over $600,000 a year and Leanna has been featured on numerous television shows including NBC’s The Today Show, Fox News and MSNBC. In her free time, Leanna also dedicates herself to social causes. In 2008, the Leanna Archer Foundation was set up to help provide schooling, food and other support to Haiti’s underprivileged children.




Louis Barnett, Chocolatier, 18
British

Having dropped out of school at eleven due to learning difficulties, Louis soon became a licensed chocolatier who was also the youngest supplier of both the Sainsbury’s and Waitrose supermarket chains at the age of fourteen. Since then, he has received Lord Carter Award for excellence in the food industry and also numerous nominations for showing promise as a young entrepreneur. An environmentalist, Louis is also actively involved in the conservation of the Chester Zoo’s Bornean Orangutan Conservation Programme.

Reese Fernandez, Social Entrepreneur, 25
Filipina

Reese Fernandez is the caring and enterprising co-founder of Rags2Riches, a social enterprise company that empowers woman who live in Manila’s Payatas waste dump by enabling them to sell their fashion products directly to retailers. These women have access to training in personal finance, health insurance and nutrition. Rags2Riches also provides mothers with the “Quality of Life” programme in which they can save a part of their income.

Besides the sharing from these Young Champions, there is also a showcase of the winning videos on “What Makes a Young Champion?”. I am happy to have a photo with one of the winners, Hannah Klassek, 19, Australian who created “Believe in Me“.

Take a look:

Ding Mingzhe, 20, Chinese, has also created a meaningful video, “A Frog’s Adventure“:

I love another video as well, by Phuong Anh Pham, 19, Vietnamese. Very touching. Title: “Marathon“.

Finally, below is a graphic representation of the entire event:

An amazing event for all esp. young people. Be inspired and be the next champion.


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I Am A Champion

Written by Raymond Tay on August 1, 2010 – 2:04 am -

This is a speech by Coach Flowers to his team before the game. That’s how a Champion lives!!


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Powerful Beyond Measure

Written by Raymond Tay on August 1, 2010 – 1:58 am -

This week, a good friend of mine has invited me to her company to watch an inspiring movie, “Akeelah and the Bee” and I am very glad that I have watched it. It reminds me about our limitless ability (Powerful Beyond Measure) and we already have many coaches around us (50,000 coaches) to help us to succeed in anything we want. Same belief that I have: “There is always something you can learn from anyone. Look into his/her strengths.” Also, in this world, there can be more than 1 champion and when we push each other, our boundaries will expand. Interestingly, the movie can help us to improve our english as well. Read the quotes aloud:

Our Deepest Fear:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

This widely acclaimed poem is actually not a poem at all, but an excerpt from
A Return To Love, a book by motivational speaker and author
Marianne Williamson


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Breakthrough with Tony Robbins

Written by Raymond Tay on July 30, 2010 – 5:15 am -

I am so excited when I knew about the new television show, “Breakthrough with Tony Robbins“ and can’t wait to watch all the 6 episodes. Tony Robbins is an entrepreneur, author and peak performance strategist; he is always my role model and I love all the concepts, strategies and stories that he has shared. The 1st Episode is about “Love Conquers all – Frank and Kristen” and their darkest moments began on their wedding day when Frank jumped into a pool and broke his neck. From that tragedy, he become a quadriplegic. Kristen has become more as a caretaker than a wife for Frank. With the help of Tony Robbins, he changed their patterns & beliefs and gave them incredible experience (e.g. skydiving, playing wheelchair rugby, driving his truck) to believe that life can still be extraordinary even with disability. After watching the video, my tears fall esp. at the last part, when they rewrote their wedding scene/story and I just so touched. Get inspired and breakthrough in your own life!!


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An Enterprising & Visionary Leader

Written by Raymond Tay on June 17, 2010 – 11:48 pm -

This year I have the privilege and honour again to interview some of the outstanding entrepreneurs and nominate them to receive the “Spirit of Enterprise” award. I have managed to get in touch with Mr. Vinod Menon, CEO of MindWave Solutions Pte Ltd and gained valuable insights about business & life. 

Mr. Vinod, CEO of MindWave Solutions

Mr. Vinod and his wife, Mrs. Nayak (COO of MindWave)

Mr. Vinod and Me

Sypnosis on Nominee:

At the age of 12, Mr. Vinod Menon had already begun his entrepreneurship journey by promoting and distributing Science magazines in his school. With his passion, vast knowledge and wide experience in IT, he is able to grow his company very quickly in terms of revenue and expansion within a few years and be the finalist of Emerging Enterprise 2010. He treats his people as assets and launched an internal employees’ club, “Wave Riders” for his staff to relax, improve and bond together. He believes every one of us needs to be open for suggestions, flexible and hardworking in order to succeed.

Business Profile: 

MindWave Solutions Pte Ltd is a successful and growing IT Service Management organization. Established in early 2005, MindWave was headquartered in Singapore and has grown with offices in Malaysia and Australia. MindWave’s IT Services encompass the selection, development and implementation of IT solutions to meet every client’s business requirements. Their business offerings include Information Communication Technology (ICT) and Business Process Management (BPM) services and solutions. In further enhancing its credentials, MindWave achieved its ISO 9001:2000 certification which highlights its ability to offer consistent and quality services. In addition, we were also awarded the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Malaysia Status in 2007, by the Malaysian Government, as recognition for the innovative services and solutions that it provides. In 2009, MindWave attained the Infocomm Singapore status conferred by the Singapore infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF), Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and International Enterprise (IE) Singapore. MindWave is also the TOP FINALISTS for EMERGING ENTERPRISE AWARDS 2010 by Spring and OCBC.

My Comments & Thoughts about Nominee:

Mr. Vinod is a visionary leader and an outstanding role model of a hard worker!! He was very friendly, approachable and open during our interview. I have learnt about the importance of staying current and flexible in business in order to be competitive in the dynamic market. I like the strong positive learning attitude that he possesses and his belief of something valuable that he can learn from anyone regardless of age, gender, race, etc.

Starting Up

1. What is the nature of your business?

Our business is about software development and system integration services. We provide software application services to our clients. During our meeting with the clients, we will have our requirement/ specification team to understand the clients’ requirements and our domain experts to find out their business needs. After that, we will meet and map their needs into software applications.

2. When and why did you decide to become an entrepreneur / take over your family business?  

I started my first business at the age of 12. I was distributing Science magazines to other children and I began with 3 subscriptions. Within three years, the number of subscriptions rose to 160 and that business was taken over by my teacher as I graduated from my school. That happened in India. Thus I think I have the spirit of enterprise since young. I came to Singapore in 2000 and was working for large technology companies. I was also studying MBA in NTU. After gaining the necessary experience, I ventured out on my own in 2005.

3. What are your reasons for choosing to do business in this particular industry?

I was studying IT and have passion towards IT. My working experience was also in IT industry and therefore putting what I have learnt into this business.

4. How did you put together all the resources needed to start your business? For example: getting the start-up capital, hiring staff, doing sales and marketing, advertising, etc.

Basically, I put in my own savings ($25,000) to start the business, together with my wife. At the beginning, it was just both of us but now we have 150 staff in three countries, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia. 

5. What are some interesting stories you have about your first few customers/first few years in business?

Being the first business it was very important for us and we aimed for some of the bigger names to accept our IT services. Fortunately, we got many opportunities and still are getting to work with them as early as in our inception days. They trusted us and we deliver the required flawlessly and thus gained their trust. Of course, we made profits but they were really low.

Business Challenges

6. What are some of the challenges you faced when you first went into business?

Getting the first customer is always the hardest. However, once you did well for your first customer, it will be easier for you to reach out to your second customer as you gain more credibility. With this dynamic IT industry, firstly, we need to understand that people are our assets and it is all about brains, logic and programming skills, etc. Hence, one of the challenges is about attracting talent and then further retaining them. Secondly, technology is moving so fast that you have to be on the top of everything to keep abreast with the latest movements in the IT world. Being an SME with limited financial resources, it is a major challenge to keep up with the latest as this can be a pretty expensive affair so you have to be really strategic about what you are going to invest in and what you are going to leave out for the rest.

7. How did you overcome these challenges? Please share some specific examples of the action you took to overcome the challenges.

In order to keep up with the technology, we always have a “Third Eye” watching the industry by looking into the current trends and new advanced technology. All our senior management is well-versed in the market and technology. Once we discover a new business opportunity, we will move our team towards it. As for our ways of attracting and retaining staff, we have a very competent HR team with right kind of skills and expertise. They help us to retain our staff and they created internal training programmes, grooming programmes and internal employees’ club. Our employees’ club is managed by the employees for the employees and is known as “Wave Riders”. They organised a series of events like outings, personal development workshops, knowledge-sharing sessions or just going out for food. They decide what to do and the company will sponsor their events. We value our people. Our aim is to make MindWave a enjoyable place to work in.

8. Can you remember your worst day in business or a time when you felt like giving up? What happened that made you feel that way and how did you triumph over it?

Not really. We are very optimistic about our business and from day 1, our company has been growing. Our growth rate is above benchmark and industry standards. Until now, so far ‘touch wood’, everything is fine. It is a smooth journey but of course, there are a lot of challenges such as customer complaints and financial issues. There is not a day when I feel like giving up because of the passion we have in this business.

9. Can you share some of the lessons you learnt from overcoming your own business challenges that you think will help other businesses?

Maybe it was dealing with one of our major customers. The problem was a technical issue in one of the on going projects and our key staff responsible for that account left our company abruptly without a proper handover. At the end of the day, the customer wants to get the work done by the company and doesn’t really expect it from one employee in the company. The staff who left us had the domain expertise and the relevant knowledge on that customer.. This experience was a major setback for us early enough in our growth stage. We had to manage the crisis by getting another suitable person to handle the project, even though it was not a profitable business. We still had to uphold our reputation and make sure that the client is not disappointed. Fortunately, we managed the situation well and this client continues to be our client till date.  It was a great learning experience and every since we have focussed a lot on some strategic redundancy which is needed within the staff.

Achievements

10. When was the moment you realised the business would work and support you?

It was when we reached the breakeven point for our business and it happened during the middle of our 1st year. Very quickly, our business became stable and started to grow.

11. What are some of your proudest business achievements to date? And why are they so important and meaningful to you?

One of them was when we secured one of the premium company as our client in 2nd year. Ar the beginning, we took up small assignments from them and later end up managing more and more critical projects like software infrastructure, outsourcing and almost everything that is related to IT. This shows how the trust was built along the way step by step. We are  very proud of our team and to say that this client now contributes to 17% of our total business revenue.

Second one, was again when we started our Malaysia Office in 2nd year as well. It was great to see ourselves in Malaysia and growing there. Being a Singapore based company it was thrilling experience to set up in a different country and have that kind of diversity in operating the same business with a different flavour.

Lastly and the most recent one was being shortlisted as one of the top 15 Finalists for the Singapore Emerging Enterprise 2010 over 400 plus companies in Singapore. The excitement was largely felt by each and everyone associated for this one. Our clients, suppliers, employees, well wishers everyone should their support and we are all very grateful to them.

Business Strategies & Tips

12. How do you differentiate your business from your competitors? Please provide specific examples.

We look into building long term relationships with our clients and there is always a certain amount of proactiveness with which we work with our clients. Some of our competitors we feel may only look into very short term as the technology is changing rapidly and the business cycles are also becoming very short. We differentiate ourselves by aligning our expertise towards what customers need and helping them to achieve their competitive advantages. On one side, we serve our customers and on the other side, we study our customers’ industries and check out the latest trends in their industries. This enables us to bring in the relevant expertise and services to the table. Alignment is the key.

13. What are some business ideas you have implemented that created great results in your business?

Every time when we faced some challenges, we will try to come out with solutions and implement them. If it is working fine, then we continue to use it. If not, we will change it. When we were starting our business in Malaysia, we always had the challenge of how to bring the latest technology from Singapore to Malaysia. Singapore is considered to be blessed with all the cutting edge in technology. We advise our customers to upgrade themselves from time to time or need basis. This has worked very well for our Malaysian clients and they truly appreciate and value our suggestion.

14. Where or who do you get your business ideas from?

We get ideas from our team, my wife and experienced people from the market. Also, I have been reading books and magazines which provides me with the current trends in the market.

Future Plans

15. What do you see for your business in the next 5 years, and does it include any plans for expansion?

We are striving to become the leading IT services’ provider in the Asia Pacific. Now, we have expanded into 3 countries and we are planning to venture into Indonesia. In the next 5 years, we aim to be one of the best IT company that anyone would look for in the Region. We have some expansion plans on the horizon. Since our industry is dynamic, our plans need to adjust depending on situations/ market environment. In the previous year, we were thinking of going Indonesia first and next Vietnam.

Personal Business Philosophy

16. What does entrepreneurship mean to you?

In simple words, just being open for suggestions/feedback and being flexible. Having the ability to listen, learn and apply.

17. What are some entrepreneurship qualities that you have which has helped you come this far?

I am always flexible and if I am struck with something, I try to find out the solutions and discuss with people around me. At the end of the day, I conclude something and if my intuition says this is good, I will go ahead.

18. In your opinion, what other qualities does a person need in order to be successful in business? And why? (e.g. Educational qualification, work experience, family influence, attitude, etc)

Everyone should have a positive learning attitude. Even today, I am learning something new. If you think that you are a successful businessman who have learnt enough or made enough money, you will not be able to grow. So you have to be ambitious and expand your learning attitude. And you should be open for suggestions.

19. In your opinion, what does it mean to have the “spirit of enterprise”?

I strongly believe in motivating people to look for the right opportunities. It is also about giving guidelines and directions for entrepreneurs-to-be, my staff, my friends and anyone who meets me.

20. Who or what motivates and inspires you?

Actually, everyone around me motivates and inspires me. I try to look at individuals (regardless of age, gender, culture, etc) in a multi-dimension way and see what I can learn from them. I always admire great entrepreneurs like Mr. Richard Branson of Virgin or Mr. Tony Fernandes (who turned Air Asia from a 27 cents company to a $600 million Airline in few years).

21. What are some of your business values and what would you like to pass down to others, particularly the younger generation?

When we look into Y-generation, the values of being hardworking and loyal is changing or diminishing over time from my personal experience. There is a huge gap between X-generation and Y-generation. I would like to see my own generation to be more responsible and learn to speak for their language so that we can get work done for this new generation. Since, I have worked with both generations (with more exposure to people in Y-generation) I can safely say that there is a bit of tact involved in get things done by them. At the same time, they are the new workforce that we are going to have and we need to coach and groom them and value their creativity.

22. Can you share some of the more significant events / incidents that affected or shaped your business philosophy and the way you conduct your business? I.e. SARS, new competition or shifts in market behaviour and trends, etc.

In the recent financial crisis when we were in our 3rd year, for any start-up companies, it was a challenge to be in that period. The strategies that we used to do were not acceptable or applicable during that time. We started adjusting our business model, revenue model, services and deliverables, etc. We had also learnt to give services at a lower cost but as a long-term solution. Fortunately, we were growing at a rate of approx. 40% in our revenue. It was an opportunity for any low-cost companies or carriers. You just have to change your selling strategy based on low-cost but you look at long-term and overall business. In addition, for example, during recession period, it gave us business opportunities such as more people like need quick fix solutions or more companies tried flexi working hours or models which gave us the opportunities to tweak the systems or sometimes even more modifications to their IT infrastructure or set up some newer applications for them to easily being able to work remotely.

23. With the changes in the market today, do you think it has become harder or easier to succeed in business? Why do you say so?

In our technology business, as long as we stay current, we will succeed so that’s the easier part. It is harder because new technology keeps coming up, and we have to upgrade our expertise.

24. What advice would you give young people who want to start their own business?

It is about the attitude of learning and you just have to be honest and hold high moral values. Be hardworking, sincere and focussed and success shall follow you. Success has different meanings for different individuals. My definition of success might not be the same as yours. I have this favourite quote from an English poet, “Miles to go before I sleep.” It means having to travel a lot (like accomplishing something first) before going to bed. This has been a great influence on me personally. I am always looking and learning to see what I have learnt new before I go to sleep every single day.


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World Figure Skater Champion

Written by Raymond Tay on May 24, 2010 – 6:19 am -

Recently, as I was finding out and preparing my training materials on “World’s Most Influential People in 2010“, I came to know about this young graceful lady who is in this year’s list that is administered by Time Magazine. So who is she?

Her name is Kim Yu-Na, 19 years old, Korean skater who became the first female skater to surpass 200-point mark under the ISU Judging System. Winning the figure skating championship in Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Besides this, she is also a generous donor who gave away more than $2 billion won ($1.7 million) in the last 3 years. She is helping to groom young figure skaters and supporting people with rare diseases and children in need. An incredible young person!!

As my country does not really promote any Winter Games (cz no winter in S’pore),  I’m not too sure about this sports. But her performance astonishes me.


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Whose Books Have Sold More Than 400 Million Copies?

Written by Raymond Tay on April 17, 2010 – 8:36 am -

I believe most of you will be able to answer me is, “It’s J. K. Rowling!!” or “The Harry Potter Author!!”. This post will be another one of my favourite articles as I can learn so much from someone who is shy and once relied on welfare benefits to survive but determined, focused, hopeful and persistent.

“Harry Potter”, J. K. Rowling, “Ron” and “Hermione”

Someone asked her, “Who did she write for?”. Her reply was “It’s for me. Just for me. I’m very selfish: I just write for me. So the humor in the books is really what I find funny.” A bit surprised but not really shocked by her response, as I think that’s why she is willing to take almost 17 years (from an idea of Harry Potter to the completion of 7 books) to write the series.

In the mid-1990s, when she was raising her daughter alone and could not afford to buy a used typewriter (don’t even talk about computer), she wrote the earliest drafts of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” using just pen and paper. It was a time when she was travelling to London on a crowded train, the idea for Harry Potter fell into her mind. Unfortunately, she didn’t have a functioning pen to start writing and she was too shy to ask anyone for a pen. Just had to keep all her ideas in her brain for the entire 4-hr journey, till she reached home.

Therefore if you think your shy personality will stop you from succeeding, just think of J. K. Rowling!!

Why people fail? Lack of resources or lack of resourcefulness? Rowling did not have the money, contacts and opportunity but her creativity, imagination and her passion of writing led her into the success she has now. Who say writing children book would sell? Her seventh and final book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” was sold 11 million copies in the first 24 hrs of release in 2007. One of the limited copies of her latest “The Tales of Beedle the Bard” book was auctioned and bought for $3.98 million by Amazon.

When you’ve found your passion/talents/gift/strengths, dare to dream and don’t give up. You’ll find the success you want.  Success doesn’t mean must sell million copies of books but it is following your heart and people will eventually love and cherish your work!! She has inspired me to write my own book too (one of my dreams in life).

I’ve also listened to her speech at the 2008 Commencement in Harvard University and below is a part where I liked the most:

“If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice;

if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless;

if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped change.

We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.”


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Positive Mind Positive Year

Written by Raymond Tay on February 14, 2010 – 11:38 am -

I’ve received an inspiring email from my friend and I would like to share with you. Here it goes:

When someone tells you that you can’t do something…

Don’t doubt yourself !!

Instead, stretch yourself !!

You gotta stick your neck out, go for your best !!

Use all your will power and positive attitude…

NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP !!

In the end, you’ll succeed and prove them wrong !!

Nothing is impossible so long as your heart is willing, and your attitude is positive !!

10 Tips for a Positive New Year

  1. Take a morning walk of gratitude. It will create a fertile mind ready for success.
  2. Transform adversity into success by deciding that change is not your enemy but your friend.
  3. Make a difference to the lives of others.
  4. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
  5. Live with the 3 E’s: Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
  6. Remember there’s no substitute for hard work.
  7. Instead of complaining focus on solutions.
  8. Read more books.
  9. Smile and laugh more – they’re natural anti-depressants.
  10. Enjoy the ride. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy it !!

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An Interview by Penny’s Daybook

Written by Raymond Tay on February 3, 2010 – 1:33 am -

One of our friends, Adine Chin, a freelance writer/copywriter & a creative writing teacher has contacted us for an interview about Leader’s Wheel and ourselves to feature in her “Inspiring Entrepreneurs” story in their Penny’s Daybook. We are happy to complete her interview and hopefully inspire people who needs some encouragement to take the first step in starting a biz. Below is the interview (answered by Raymond & Keith):

1. In 3 words, tell us what Leader’s Wheel is all about.

Moulding Tomorrow’s Leaders.

2. Which clear, or perhaps, unexpected path in life led you to what you’re doing now?

It was a long journey that led us to discover what we love to do. During our secondary school’s days and continued volunteering service in St. John Ambulance Brigade (SJAB), we had been trained to be a leader and empowered to develop our juniors into leaders as well. Through this CCA, we had many opportunities to attend many leadership courses and after that, we were given the chance to take upon various key roles (like Platoon Commander, Training Officer, Support Officer, Cadet Officer, Finance Officer) to serve, learn and lead. You can say that SJAB shaped our character and destiny.

3. To train leaders, you’ve got to be one too. So tell us how things were when you guys were trying to build this idea from scratch and how you managed to pull through.

Certainly, you must be a leader first before train others to be. A common phrase is “Lead by Example.” Once we are very clear what we are going to do, everything will seem possible. As we have created leadership programmes before, it was not too difficult to continue to use the useful contents to teach young leaders-to-be. Of course, there are many unknowns when starting a business (e.g. knowing how to register a biz, designing website, and contacting the schools). But when you love what you do and focus on your end intention (which is helping & changing young souls), you will continue to take small steps and overcome all obstacles to reach your goals.

4. Before building Leader’s Wheel, how different/similar were your personal goals as compared to now?

I think for majority of us, when we are young, we dream of many different careers (like doctor, lawyer, policeman, prison officer, businessman) as we are not too certain of what we want to do. Thus indeed it was very different for me compared to now. Fortunately, I would say I am lucky to find my passion early in life so I will not be hitting too many walls along.

5. Tell us, what’s the ONE thing (besides leadership, of course) that will cause an individual to stand out from the crowd?

I think it is our “FOCUS” in life or “CLARITY” of our destiny. As many people are not very sure what they want to do, so they will just follow the crowd or listen to their parents, teachers, professors or schools. Thus, it is vital for an individual to be certain of what he/she wants to achieve in life and work towards their goals accordingly.

6. How would you encourage/inspire individuals who want to pursue their ambitions of owning a business, or just pursing unconventional interests?

You can say “easy and/or difficult”. It is easy to inspire people who are clear of their personal direction and difficult to help someone to discover their interests (as it is a personal thing). One thing we would highlight is that not all of us need to be entrepreneur, as you need certain personalities to be one and the world cannot operate if all of us become a business owner (as there is no employees to hire). There is a wonderful mandarin quote: “Every occupation will create its scholars and talents”.


7. How do each of you overcome challenges and prove naysayers wrong?

Perseverance is the key to success. If you do not believe in yourself and what you are doing and chose to give up at the earliest opportunity when facing any problems, you will never succeed in life. Thus, instead of running away from problems, we chose to face our challenges bravely and adjust our strategies accordingly to overcome the challenges faced.

8. What’re the best and worst things about doing what you’re doing now?

The best thing is that we are able to do the things we like and have a passion for as our career. Many a times, people are grumbling about their jobs (e.g. mundane work, unfriendly colleagues) and just work for the sake of money. But for us, we are glad that we have an opportunity to do what we like and have a sustainable income at the same time. The worst thing will be not being accepted by the schools. We treat rejections as reality of life and if we ask enough people, someone will say, “Yes!”.

9. What inspires you?

Personally, I am a person who thrives under adversity. Thus for me, my inspiration comes from sportsmen who have come back successfully after overcoming their personal challenges accordingly because these people have many qualities which I can learn and tap from. One such example is Lance Armstrong who did not quit competing in cycling races even though he was diagnosed with his testicular cancer.

10. What’s one thing we really, really must know about the team at Leader’s Wheel?

In Leader’s Wheel, we are forward looking. We are constantly seeking improvements in all aspects of our company and lives. We look for various avenues to enrich and better equipped ourselves so that we are able to face any challenges ahead.

11. What’s one experience that has touched you the most in your line of work since Leader’s Wheel?

The experience that has touched me the most must be the industry visit I had arranged with one of our partners. They are a non-profit organization which provides job placement service for people with disabilities (PWD). By reaching out to the PWD and assisting them in achieving independence, dignity and integration into the mainstream of society, this experience of working closely with the PWD have truly touched me. I am more determined to bring the awareness of this organisation to the students we are teaching.

12. What are you looking forward to in 2010 (personally and also for Leader’s Wheel)?

Personally, I am looking at being able to share my knowledge with more people; students in particular, as I had always believe that the students can achieve higher well-being with valuable advices and knowledge. As for Leader’s Wheel, we aim to reach out to more schools and enriched the lives of 10,000 students by the end of 2010. (Currently, we have moulded 2,116 and still counting…)

13. As promised, our theme for Feburary’s “Red Hot” and we want you to complete our tiny fill in the blanks section!

My idea image of something “Red Hot” (‘chilli/curry aren’t allowed) is the fire in each of us.

If I weren’t managing Leader’s Wheel, I’d be an educator and be volunteering to develop youth.

If I had to make my way through the crazy Lunar New Year traffic, I’d rather listen to my favourite music and my role models’ speeches to cool down.

I’d like to exercise right now with my buddy.

Exercising and living keep me refreshed.

Our Recent Assembly Talks @ East View Primary School on Goal Setting:


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