Actsplore This

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  

CONNECT WITH US HERE:

✨Instagram

✨Youtube

✨Spotify

✨Apple Podcast

✨Email: [email protected]

✨Buy us a coffee

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

CONNECT WITH US HERE:

✨Instagram

✨Youtube

✨Spotify

✨Apple Podcast

✨Email: [email protected]

✨Buy us a coffee

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. 

CONNECT WITH US HERE:

✨Instagram

✨Youtube

✨Spotify

✨Apple Podcast

✨Email: [email protected]

✨Buy us a coffee

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

CONNECT WITH US HERE:

✨Instagram

✨Youtube

✨Spotify

✨Apple Podcast

✨Email: [email protected]

✨Buy us a coffee

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)

CONNECT WITH US HERE:

✨Instagram

✨Youtube

✨Spotify

✨Apple Podcast

✨Email: [email protected]

✨Buy us a coffee

“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!

CONNECT WITH US HERE:

✨Instagram

✨Youtube

✨Spotify

✨Apple Podcast

✨Email: [email protected]

✨Buy us a coffee

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 

CONNECT WITH US HERE:

✨Instagram: Actsplore This Podcast 🎙 (@actsplorethispodcast) • Instagram photos and videos

✨Youtube: Actsplore This Podcast - YouTube

✨Email: [email protected]

✨Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/actsplorethis

From fashion dreams to tech leadership as the President and Managing Director of SAP Southeast Asia, Verena Siow is truly a force of nature who knows how to design success on her own terms! 

She has amassed a wealth of experience in sales, business development and startup ventures within the technology sector, spanning across the continents of Asia, the Middle East and Americas.

In her current role, Verena drives SAP's sustainable growth across the diverse markets of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and other emerging regions. 

Verena holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the Budapest University of Economic Sciences. She is currently based in Singapore, where her leadership continues to make a significant impact on SAP's mission to help SEA run better and improve people's lives with sustainability at the core.

In conjunction with International Women’s Day this year with the theme: Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress, Verena shines a light on how women can design success on their own terms and claim their seat at the table!

CONNECT WITH US HERE:

✨Instagram

✨Youtube

✨Spotify

✨Apple Podcast

✨Email: [email protected]

✨Buy us a coffee

Raw, real and remarkable.

These are the three words we’d use to describe this episode with Michael Crossland. 

Michael has been a fighter since birth, defying the odds of surviving not only a rare form of life-threatening cancer, but being the sole survivor of a horrific cancer drug trial.  

His battle continues to this very day, having spent nearly ¼ of his life in hospital. Michael is a true fighter, and despite only being told what he could not do, he continually shows the world absolutely everything that he can accomplish.

Michael is one of Australia’s most inspirational and sought after and globally renowned speakers and we’re so grateful that Michael decided to come onboard to share his remarkably inspiring story of overcoming extreme adversity to achieve incredible outcomes in both his personal and professional life, truly Against All Odds! 

Trust us when we say that Michael’s story will undoubtedly bring a tear to your eye and a smile to your heart.

Spoiler alert, you might want to get some tissues for this!🥹🥲

CONNECT WITH US HERE:

✨Instagram

✨Youtube

✨Spotify

✨Apple Podcast

✨Email: [email protected]

✨Buy us a coffee

In this episode, we recap everything that went down last weekend during KL Podfest 2024.

If you haven’t heard, KL Podfest is Malaysia’s very first podcast festival, aimed to create a platform for creators to showcase their unique perspectives, stories and talents. 

Spoiler alert: we had the opportunity to be a part of it! 🙏

We had such a great time there, we wanted to take y’all along the ride with us🫶🏻

From moderating a panel discussion on Running a Podcast Network, having a surreal “go-with-the-flow” moment with one of our favourite Malaysian podcaster, to distilling everything we’ve learnt over the past 2.5 years to run a workshop on Launching a Podcast... and more! 💯

It’s only February but we already know this event will be one of our top highlights of 2024 ✨🥲

P/S: We’ve got some exciting events lined up so stay tuned on our socials if you’d like to be a part of it!

For those celebrating, Gong Xi Fa Cai & Happy Chinese New Year from us to you, enjoy celebrating the long weekend with your loved ones!🍊🧧🏮