Featuring our beloved friend and pod guest extraordinaire, Crystal Cha, we explore how life changes, global events, and personal growth shape our narratives.

Let’s be real, sharing the personal stuff can feel daunting, but we wanted to bring our #ActsploreThis fam along as we dive into the highs, lows and in betweens of life in our 30s!

In this episode, we reflect on this new chapter: shifts in our career, evolving family & friendship dynamics, and how our relationships have evolved since our 20s.

It’s raw, real and relatable as we unpack themes of grief, growth and the messy yet meaningful journey of figuring it all out.

HIGHLIGHTS:

00:37 Reflecting on our 30's era

03:46 Career pivots and lessons learnt

10:05 Evolving family dynamics

18:40 Navigating friendships in our 30s

25:02 Relationship insights and personal growth

32:20 Advice to Our Younger Selves

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It's been a hot min, fam and we're back with a belated episode: Ask Us Anything & Life Updates with Sarah-Ann and Janice.

Huge thanks to our listeners for submitting a range of deep & thought-provoking questions to us, from the best and most underrated piece of career advice we've received, to our audacious goals, how we nurture our inner selves and the 'What Ifs' if life hasn't brought us to where we are today...

Spoiler alert: stick around for some major life updates! It's been a long time coming and we're grateful that you're sticking around!💖

Thank you for all the support we've received so far - #staytuned for our next episode on 'Life in our 30s'!

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Freda Liu is one of the most recognisable voices in Malaysia. She has lived and breathed business in the past decade with Malaysia’s only business radio station BFM 89.9, and  is currently the producer and presenter of The Shift Asia, a podcast platform that focuses on ESG, SDG, sustainability, and embracing fresh & innovative strategies in business practices

Besides being the author to 7 books, she is a powerhouse communicator and has been skillfully merging her experience as a journalist, broadcaster, emcee, moderator over the years. 

In this episode, Freda shares her journey from early storytelling competitions to a surprising career in broadcasting, and the pivotal moments that shaped her trajectory in media. We delve into her bold career moves, including joining BFM 89.9, and the lessons she learned from conducting thousands of interviews.

Freda opens up about how she navigated personal challenges, including her divorce, and how she transformed adversity into strength. Freda also shares some tips on how you can use the Wheel of Life exercise to find  fulfillment beyond work. 

HIGHLIGHTS:

3:30 Freda’s divine pivot into the world of broadcasting 

6:40 Why it’s crucial to try different things 

9:42 Freda’s annual practice for intentional growth 

13:07 What being ‘Better and not Bitter’ looked like & what her divorce taught her

18:28 Her daily monologue whilst navigating grief 

20:46 Saying YES to joining BFM 89.9

26:38 Freda’s very first BFM interview 

30:40 The Wheel of Life and how this practice changed her life 

33:41 Freda’s self care mechanism 

38:59 How Freda is ‘Elevating’ herself this year  

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Peter Yong (aka Mr Money TV) grew up believing that money was the root of all evil. 

So how did Peter eventually go on to become a wildly successful personal finance YouTuber with a 7-figure media empire?!

In this unfiltered conversation, we dive into the twists & turns in Peter’s journey (spoiler alert: he had multiple pivots in his career before building Mr Money TV..one of which involved a lucrative stint selling insurance!) 

Peter shares about the challenging beginnings of building Mr Money TV, balancing multiple odd jobs to keep the venture alive, the brutal lessons he learnt as he scaled the business and how he plans to advance his mission of demystifying the complex world of finance for the average Malaysian through accessible and engaging content.

Episode Highlights: 

2:00 Growing up with very little money 

4:04 Mr Money was a bad boy?!

5:42 What his dad’s bankruptcy taught him 

6:55 Peter’s first job…in HR? 

8:00 Peter grew up thinking that money is the root of all evil 

10:41 The life lesson that his first job taught him

13:23 Brutal realities of being an insurance agent 

15:10 The secret to getting good at something 

18:00 Uploading his first YouTube video 

20:00 Working multiple odd jobs to sustain Mr Money TV 

21:35 The moment he decided to go all in 

24:42 How Peter found his co-founders 

29:35 Navigating difficult conversations  

32:28 The most brutal lesson he learnt building Mr Money TV

36:50 Peter’s ‘Ikigai’

40:11 Unpacking the content creation strategy of Mr Money TV 

42:13 How Peter successfully monetised his podcast 

44:14 Taking advice from the people around him..and an MIT professor!

46:46 What’s next for Mr Money TV?

Watch it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/B1iVwpIFMFs

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It’s hard to believe we’re almost halfway through 2024! When time flies by so quickly, we want to take a moment to hit the pause button and reflect on the whirlwind that was the first half of the year. 

Tune in as we share our reflections on a recent Actsplore This milestone! We also share personal experiences with caregiving, struggling with ambiguity, the new habits that have made a difference in our daily lives ..and more! 

We hope that this conversation will prompt you to pause and reflect on the first half of 2024. As always, connect with us on socials and share with us a practice/habit you’ve implemented that has made a difference for you. 

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Dr Ong Kian Ming (better known as OK Man) is the former Deputy Minister of MITI and two term Member of Parliament in Malaysia from 2013 to 2022, representing the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and serving the largest parliamentary constituency in the country. He currently serves as the Program Director of Malaysia’s very first Philosophy Politics & Economics (PPE) program at Taylor’s University. 

In this wide-ranging discussion, we uncover the life & leadership lessons that Dr Ong learnt the hard way - so you don’t have to! (Spoiler alert: we get some insights on Value-Added Networking, Value-Added Transparency and Value-Added Mentoring) 

Tune in as Dr Ong shares about his lesser-known childhood stories, lessons from his yester-years of management consulting, roadblocks that he faced as a policymaker, how Sheraton Move took a toll on his mental health, what a ‘return to politics’ could look like - and more!

Episode Highlights:

1:35 OKM’s lesser known childhood fun fact

7:40 His proudest policy achivements 

11:22 Not taking credit as a politician 

12:26 Main roadblocks bringing a policy from strategy to ideation 

15:11 First Difficult Lesson (Value added networking) 

20:17 Second Difficult Lesson (Value added transparency) 

22:27 His involvement with the vaccination exercise during the COVID Pandemic 

25:56 Balancing conviction and ROI as a politician 

26:54 Third Difficult Lesson (Value added mentoring) 

29:39 Who is his mentor in the political landscape?

32:26 Sheraton Move and how it affected his mental health 

40:31 His aspirations with his podcast venture, Are We Ok? 

42:40 What he would do differently if he rejoined politics

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What is one thing you would do in your life if you had more confidence?

In our journey of self discovery, we often find ourselves grappling with the nagging question: “Am I good enough?” Feelings of doubt, imposter syndrome and lack of self worth often holds us back from moving forward to achieving our fullest potential and reaching our goals.

Kelli is a women’s leadership coach and speaker who helps women advance to the rooms where decisions are made. 

She is the author of the critically acclaimed book, Closing The Confidence Gap: Boost Your Peace, Your Potential & Your Paycheck, and has coached and trained thousands of women to trust themselves, lead with more confidence, and create a career they love. 

Kellie is also the founder of the Clarity & Confidence Women's Leadership Program, and a Stevie Award winner for Women in Business—Coach of the Year.

Kelli’s here to guide us with her powerful stories and impactful strategies on how we can claim our confidence and advocate for ourselves in a way that is tangible and actionable.

More resources to help boost your peace, potential and paycheck here: DOWNLOADS | Kelli Thompson | Kelli Thompson | Women's Leadership & Executive Coach, Author & Speaker (kelliraethompson.com)

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“You don’t have ordinary lives, you have unexplored lives.’

Wise and impactful words from Matthew Dicks, a world-renowned storyteller, teacher and bestselling author. 

Whether it’s to improve your presentation skills for a business pitch, holding the attention of a lecture hall, or just being a more interesting person, being able to tell great stories is a superpower that we can fortunately get better at! 

In this conversation, Matthew shares stories, techniques and insights for effective storytelling including:

✅ What are the elements of a great story

✅ Homework for Life

✅ What do people often get wrong about storytelling

✅ First Last, Best Worst exercise

✅ The Five Second Moment in a story

and more!

This conversation with Matthew was thought provoking, moving and left us feeling more inspired to take a closer look at the storyworthy moments that make up our lives.

Watch Matthew Dicks's Homework for Life on the TedxBerkshires Stage here.

If you’re curious about how you can be a great storyteller, and some tools and tips you can use to build your own story library…stay tuned!

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How will AI disrupt the landscape of work and create job refugees? What does the future of Education look like in this technology-driven evolution?

With a career spanning decades in academia and innovation, we unpack these questions (and more!) with Professor Sanjay Sarma, the Chief Executive Officer, President and Dean of the Asia School of Business. 

Sanjay served as the Vice President for Open Learning at MIT, where he oversaw OpenCourseWare and led the creation of MITx, MicroMasters, the MIT Integrated Learning Initiative and the Jameel World Education Lab. Fun fact: He played a part in developing many of the key technologies behind the EPC suite of RFID standards now used as a staple in industries worldwide!

In this wide-ranging discussion, we dive into Sanjay’s journey from MIT to ASB and hear all about:

-     The turning point that led him from Engineering to Academia, and the story behind his move from USA to Asia

-     The failures that have taught Sanjay valuable lessons

-     Why an MBA is still relevant

-     Exploring Agile Continuous Education (ACE) as a more impactful teaching methodology

-     Why Curiosity and a Growth mindset is the most important skills in a post-GPT world

HIGHLIGHTS:

8:05 The pivotal career turning point from Engineering into Academia 

10:54 What led Sanjay to take up the role as CEO, President & Dean at Asia School of Business 

15:07 The most rewarding and challenging parts of the role 

19:02 What Sanjay learnt from a recent Failure

27:17 The power of Reflection 

30:48 How to be a more interesting person 

35:21 How will AI create job refugees? 

37:24 Essential skillsets for young professionals to thrive in the post-GPT world 

38:22 Growth mindset is who we are 

40:10 Is the MBA still relevant? 

42:47 What Agile Continuous Education (ACE) would look like 

48:44 What would the success of ACE look like? 

50:38 The challenges of the ACE model 

53:20 The value proposition of an ASB MBA 

59:30 Impact of Generative AI on public policy-making and design 

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