Whoops. We've been gone for the past few weeks.

It's been hectic here at STIMY - securing new guests in Singapore while prepping for 2 exciting guests that we'll be recording in person this week.

So rather than a new episode, I'm experimenting with this new, short solo episode where you'll get updates from me on what it's like running STIMY the podcast & STIMY the personal branding company, as well as takeaways from some conversations that take place off air.

In today's mini episode, I provide 4 main learnings from my recent Singapore trip (+ 40 appointments altogether!). They include:

1. Hard work
2. Luck
3. Importance of Reinvention
4. Always stay Curious
5. Don't view your relationships as replaceable.

Two upcoming STIMY guests that we'll be recording with:

• Prestine Davekhaw: Founder of MalaysianPAYGAP & Disappearing Jobs
• Dominic Puthucheary: Founding member of Singapore's PAP turned lawyer who grew up as a family friend of Lee Kuan Yew's family before later being detained, shuffled between multiple prisons in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur and ultimately banished from Singapore by... Lee Kuan Yew himself.

If you'd like to submit your question for either Prestine or Dominic, or just want to drop a note to let me know what you think of this episode & whether you'd like me to continue doing them (+ topics to cover), just email me at sothisismywhy (at) gmail (dot) com.

Have a great week!

P/S: Dominic was the subject of my first viral LinkedIn post, which you can read here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/lingyah_reflection-activity-6972349532596576256-pD-N

Alejandro Navia is the co-founder and President of nft now, the premier source of NFT content and analysis. As an advisor, coach, and early supporter of web3 and the creator economy, Alejandro has helped numerous founders and creators scale their communities and raise over $92MM in funding.

Prior to NFT Now, he held leadership positions at startups and enterprises in AI, aerospace, and media, including Verizon, where I led Strategy and Acquisitions, and Elite Daily, which I helped lead to a $50MM acquisition.

This is a story where Alejandro transparently shares some of his lowest moments, e.g.:

• being suicidal at age 16;
• being kicked out of Harvard; and
• scoring a $4.5 million deal only to lose $125k two days later due to a huge mistake!

Highlights:

• 2:26 A rupture in his life
• 8:49 Being suicidal
• 14:41 Turning point
• 21:13 From getting kicked out of Harvard to becoming the Director of Innovation and Culture at Elite Daily
• 29:02 Losing potentially $250,000
• 36:09 Worthy of receiving love
• 39:17 Building company culture
• 41:43 Best hire & hiring process
• 43:48 Identifying rug pulls

📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/127 

💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

How do you: 

😳 Reject a $200k/year paycheck?

😳 Blow your life up in a systematic way?

😳 And build a pathless path for yourself?

Paul Millerd - former McKinsey consultant (aka the Lean Guy) turned solopreneur, author and podcaster - would know, because he did just that. 

And along the way, wrote a book called the Pathless Path, which has since sold over 20k!

At the time of our recording, I was just about to embark on my own Great Leap from the world of corporate law so as you can imagine, I slipped in a couple of personal questions of my own on what to expect!

So if you are interested in learning what alternative career paths and lives exist, then this is the episode for you. 😉

Highlights:

• 2:43 The American Dream
• 4:55 Paul Says It Well
• 9:15 You Just Don’t Have Ambition!
• 11:22 The success ethic
• 14:59 Being McKinsey’s Lean Guy
• 16:06 Quitting McKinsey
• 18:46 Constantly searching
• 20:00 How do you quit & walk away from $54k?
• 23:21 Ready to be your own boss?
• 24:54 Reconnecting with himself
• 26:41 An exercise to remove regret
• 28:18 How to evaluate opportunities
• 36:31 The Pathless Path
• 41:27 Why 2022 was the best year
• 43:55 Curiosity Conversations
• 45:53 Blowing up your life in a systematic way
• 46:50 Saying YES to a full-time role?
• 47:25 Knowing when to say YES / NO 
• 48:17 Someone who’s redesigned their life in a great way

📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/126

🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/FHcKezbyv78 

💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

It takes guts to quit your job.

But what if it was NASA? BOEING? Or Elon Musk’s Hyperloop One?!

Because that’s exactly what Tanya Zakowich did.

Tanya grew up with a fascination for space & like most kids, she wanted to be an astronaut.

But unlike many, that fascination held even when she grew up, which is why she ended up studying mechanical engineering at Columbia.

An internship in India helped her land a job at NASA, but she soon left for BOEING! Only to realise that at BOEING, she was just a cog in the wheel. She wasn’t being challenged.

Hence her third role at Elon Musk’s Hyperloop One, where she lived the ultimate startup life.

That is, until she realised that what she truly loved & cared about was her family and home in Singapore.

So she gave it all up to return home.

Now if you listen to this STIMY interview, you’ll soon realise that Tanya is quite the go-getter!

During the pandemic, she strategically launched a new TikTok channel where she teaches maths in a fun and interesting way. Within 6 months, she hit 1 million followers! 

Then quit for 2 months because of the toll it took on her mental health.

She now stands at 1.9 million followers. 🤯

That said, Tanya doesn’t have everything figured out. 

She’s constantly experimenting, learning to give up on things that don’t work to try something else again. And if there’s one takeaway I hope you’ll receive from this episode, it’s this: Failures make us stronger. Don’t let it hold you back.

Now are you ready to listen to Tanya’s episode?

Let’s go. 😉

Highlights:

• 2:13 Interest in space
• 5:37 Engineering at Columbia University
• 7:22 How an internship in India helped Tanya get into NASA
• 9:42 NASA’s interview process
• 12:57 Quitting NASA
• 14:32 Quitting is easy?!
• 15:41 Deal breakers
• 18;11 Elon Musk’s Hyperloop One
• 21:54 Singapore’s startup scene
• 22:35 US v Singapore startups
• 26:50 Dating app
• 29:10 Getting into TikTok
• 29:52 Personal branding
• 34:03 TikTok trends
• 36:21 Secret to going viral
• 36:42 Hooks
• 38:21 Drafting scripts
• 40:30 Tanya’s unique selling point
• 46:54 Not moving to the US for content creation?
• 49:27 Goal of 1 million followers
• 54:04 Going on a break
• 56:29 Change in frequency
• 57:11 Putting her name out in public

📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/125 

🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/wclFmzVbMmw 

💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

Jacqueline Novogratz is the founder & CEO of Acumen - a non-profit global venture capital fund that aims to use entrepreneurial approaches to address global poverty. 

She was also born for crisis.

As the OG of impact investing, her impressive list of accolades include:

• One of the World’s 100 Greatest Living Business Minds 2017 by Forbes
• Forbes 400 Lifetime Achievement Award for Social Entrepreneurship, 2016
• The Resolution Project Champions Circle Award, 2016
• Bloomberg Markets 50 Most Influential in Global Finance, 2014
• Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2008

She also sits on the board of: 

• Aspen Institute board of trustees
• Pakistan Business Council Centre of Excellence in Responsible Business (CERB)]
• Advisory Councils of the Harvard Business School Social Enterprise Initiative, the Oxford Saïd Global Leadership Council and UNICEF.

When she graduated from the University of Virginia, she described herself as someone who was "excited, idealistic & had dreams in your head of changing the world and didn’t have a clue how to start”.

That start ended up being at Chase Manhattan Bank - despite telling the interviewer that she had no interest in banking & was only there because her parents told her to!

She did so well, the then COO, Tony Triciano, wanted to fast track her career and have her be his right hand person.

She said NO. She wanted to change the world.

And left for Africa. 

There, she suffered failure after failure after failure.

She learned that while she had gone to try & save the African continent, Africa neither wanted nor needed saving.

But those lessons were invaluable and led her down the path of founding Acumen.

Even when building Acumen felt like - in the words of Acumen’s first COO, Dan Toole - “Standing at the 5th floor of a brick building & we’re trying to build a terrace brick by brick with no safety net underneath!”

So:

❓ What is it like to live a life of such purpose?

❓ Who are the people (+ life partner!) that you need to surround yourself with to keep the mission alive?

❓ Why did her mentor, John Gardner, use to say that “the key to life is to be interested. Not interesting”?

Well.

You’ll just have to listen to STIMY Ep 124 to find out! 😏

Highlights:

• 2:57 The Novogratz clan (like the Kennedys?!)
• 4:22 Orphanage
• 8:36 A Little Boy
• 9:46 Saying NO to Tony Triciano, the then COO of Chase Manhattan Bank?!
• 11:24 Leaving the job of a lifetime
• 12:33 Africa doesn't need saving!
• 13:40 Being Born for Crisis
• 15:16 The secret sauce to establishing Duterimbere - Rwanda's first Microfinance bank
• 16:21 Being maniacal
• 18:30 Agnes & the Rwandan genocide
• 20:48 Building on the 4th floor with no safety net underneath with Dan Toole?!
• 22:34 When the tides started to change
• 24:59 Mike, the Forrest Gump of Bitcoin
• 26:56 Acumen in Southeast Asia
• 32:11 Won't social entrepreneurs succeed without Acumen?
• 34:55 Jacqueline's personal KPIs
• 37:29 Listening with her whole body
• 42:19 Marriage
• 45:20 Advice for finding the right partner!

📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/124 

🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/Fzi9iVKCo_4 

💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

Dr. Giovanna Graziosi Casimiro has had a unique career. She is the current Head of Production at Phygicode and former Metaverse Producer at Decentraland Foundation and Head of Metaverse Fashion Week.

She has more than a decade of experience in digital design and the XR industry and also serves as a mentor at MIT during their Hacking Arts 2016-2018, and as a Senior Professor at SENAC University Centre, a renowned public federal University in Brazil.

For Giovanna, she believes that life is a short experience.

She wants to have a portfolio of experiences that really enriches her soul and mind and would rather regret what she's tried, then over what she's given up on.

It's ok to fail. Just don't give up.

Bearing in mind this principle, this episode digs into Gigi has led her life and the career choices she's made to date.

Maybe it'll inspire you to take the unconventional step too? 😉

Highlights:

• 2:02 Being an actress?
• 3:47 Japanese culture in Latin America
• 4:31 Bossing her dad at age 4
• 6:06 Doing a PhD in architecture and urbanism
• 7:23 Survivor option
• 10:38 Residencies & digital nomad life
• 17:26 A portfolio of experiences
• 25:00 Randi Zuckerberg
• 25:30 Web3
• 28:33 Working in a VR studio in Finland
• 32:35 Working at Decentraland Foundation
• 35:56 Effective work flow
• 37:53 Voting power favours the rich?
• 44:43 Hosting fashion week in the metaverse
• 48:17 Convincing major brands to come on board e.g. Dolce & Gabbana and Estee Lauder
• 55:25 What success looks like

📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/123

 🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy 

💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

Yesterday, we lost the King of Singapore.

I never had the privilege of meeting him, but a year ago, I sent a cheeky email to Adrian Tan asking if he’d share his life story on the So This Is My Why podcast.

In a true spirit of generosity, he said yes.

And we spoke for over 2 hours! 🤯

Podcast hosts shouldn’t have favourites but… Adrian was one of my favourites. It is true.

Today, Adrian’s episode has been rereleased as a tribute to him. It is the almost 💯 unedited version (minus the umm & ahhs), so you’ll hear some of the parts that didn’t make the cut the first time around in 1 full episode.

I hope this interview did justice in showcasing the kind of person that he was.

If you don’t know Adrian’s backstory, here are some highlights (found in the episode too):

🔥 Adrian grew up in a HDB flat that had zero concept of privacy. His neighbours crowded outside his flat every day to watch their TV & would get mad if it wasn’t available! 🤣

🔥 He was the subject of maternal gaslighting 🤣 which helped him become very, very good at English

🔥 His English was so good, he was refused a scholarship to do law and told to do English instead! 

🔥Adrian ended up writing multiple bestsellers - The Teenage Textbook & The Teenage Workbook (they’ve been turned into a play, TV series & movie!)

🔥 Ironically, Adrian was very embarrassed by the success of his novels. Because he was a tough, hardened litigator but his clients just wanted to talk about his silly teenage romance novels?! 😫

🔥Despite being a lawyer, he found it impossible to stand up for himself in real life.

🔥 But he realised that he needed to start speaking up. On LinkedIn. 

Because it was time to strip away the “mystic” around the legal profession & that begins with lawyers becoming legal influencers.

🔥 Finally, his vow as the President of the Singapore Law Society to “fight cancer, fight my cases in court & fight for lawyers as their President, until the clock runs out”.

I hope you enjoy this re-released, unedited episode with the King of Singapore.

📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/101

🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/QOEeOIiQvyk

💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

Welcome to a special Questions from the Audience episode with Peter Yong aka Mr Money TV - one of the top personal finance YouTubers in the region.

In this episode, we feature questions that came from you! Which include Peter's own co-founders & staff.

If you haven't done so already, do check out Episode 122 Parts 1 & 2 to learn more about Peter's journey from being a replacement child to abandoning his lucrative career (+ selling his BMW!) to go in to his YouTube business and all things entrepreneurship.

Highlights:

• 1:21 What should my net worth be if I want to retire ASAP?
• 2:47 What was it like giving up everything to start your own business?
• 3:51 Advice for young entrepreneurs in a similar position
• 5:10 Ever received any extreme threats?
• 6:18 Peter's many tattoos
• 9:10 How do you see yourself in 5 years?
• 10:13 Will MrMoney become an MNC?
• 10:24 Coughing?!

📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/122 

🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/saQkikbcwaY 

💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

What does it take to build a 7-figure YouTube business on personal finance?

Peter Yong aka Mr Money TV spills the tea on STIMY Episode 122 Part 2.

That includes telling us:

• Why he tells all his staff, "I am not your father!"
• Why he hires 5, works 10 & pays 8;
• How he creates a moat around himself;
• How he's built his personal brand;
• Why his staff actively tell him to NOT hire more staff!
• Why his entire team knows the financials behind Mr Money TV;
• Working for free & getting equity?!
• His dream of building a Hershey town.

And that's just some of juicier takes. 😎

Highlights:

• 3:05 Being taken advantage of
• 5:22 Having partners work for free until 2 - 4am?!
• 10:33 Prototyping the life you want
• 12:37 Matt the Ultimate Gen Z
• 15:59 Hire 5, work 10, pay 8
• 17:52 I am not your father!
• 18:32 Hiring process
• 21:57 Becoming a business
• 22:56 Getting the staff involved in the hiring process
• 23:56 How does Mr Money make money?!
• 26:32 Evaluating priorities
• 31:55 Creating a moat
• 40:22 The Personal
• 41:01 Mr Money TV almost shut down?!
• 42:28 Becoming more cynical
• 44:56 Can a boss ever be friends with his employees?
• 47:43 You're going to shut down. Do you tell your employees?
• 51:05 Hershey's World (P/S: Thanks, CK!!)
• 53:48 The legacy for Peter's 2 sons

📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/122 

🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/saQkikbcwaY 

💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

Hey STIMIES!

It’s time to meet the Replacement Son who refuses to drive a Porsche: Peter Yong aka Mr Money TV.

One of Malaysia’s most beloved personal finance YouTubers with 153k subscribers!

It’s one thing to start another YouTube channel; quite another to turn it into a thriving 7-figure business in Southeast Asia, but Peter has done just that. And today, we dive deep & personal, touching on things like how:

🔥 Peter was born to be a replacement son, which severely affected his confidence & self-esteem

🔥 His father was a gangster!! Who taught Peter to clean his gun when he was just 5 years old?!

🔥 He thought money was evil. Until he realised it wasn’t

🔥 He was thriving in his RM 250,000/year insurance job then gave it all up & sold his BMW, to go all-in with his YouTube channel. 

Just when his son was born.

Peter has so many gems to share that I had to cut this interview into 2 parts!

This is Part 1.

I hope you enjoy it!

Highlights:

• 3:43 Running away from death
• 5:48 Money isn’t important
• 6:25 The replacement son
• 10:15 Cleaning a gun at age 5?!
• 12:27 Surviving bullies?!
• 16:44 What do I do with my life?
• 18:21 Money isn’t evil?
• 24:59 Planning to x6 his income in 6 years
• 27:57 Being in control of money
• 30:45 Admitted to the hospital
• 31:39 Sales is the most humiliating job in the world
• 33:02 Making RM 250,000/year
• 36:09 The secret to convincing
• 37:11 Starting his own agency
• 42:18 What can make money?
• 46:16 Odd jobs
• 47:31 Drowning
• 52:03 The vision
• 55:42 Going full-time
• 57:36 The Porsche life?!
• 1:00:33 The girl & the train

📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/122

🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/saQkikbcwaY 

💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442