This Is Why I Do What I Do.
I've been a coach since 2004. The first 12 years as a fitness coach, then as a business coach.
The first 8 years of my career, I was working for a few different gyms in Malaysia. Somehow along the way, I created a community of friends working out together every weekend called "Honey Badgers".
It became so popular among the locals that we regularly had 60+ people joining us every weekend!
Eventually this caught the eye of investors and I opened up my own gym.
Above: My gym "Honey Badgers Coaching Facility"
Eventually though, my business failed.
I ran that gym for 4 years. We had a lot of successes (some months we made 75~90k revenues as a small 2000sf gym - not bad at all!). I proved myself as a competent marketer & sales consultant. But business is more than just about simply bringing in the numbers.
Some major (very costly) mistakes were made that proved to be the downfall of what was supposed to be a high potential business. Mistakes that, in a nutshell, was caused by my own ego and stubbornness. I'll share about that in another setting :)
It was the most stressful period of my life. I came out of it suffering from chronic anxiety mixed with periods of depression, my adrenals were diagnosed by doctors as 'burnt out', and I was left feeling lost, with my confidence severely affected. I was honestly considering to just go back to getting a job!
But in that moment, I also decided that whatever area I am venturing into next, I will never let my ego or my stubbornness stop me ever again.
And I decided that enough is enough, I have taken enough risks and wasted enough time. I will hire a mentor to guide me for my next venture.
I scrounged together whatever savings I had, and invested them on my first high ticket mentor. A powerful lady in the consulting line based in Singapore, and my life changed...
Over the next few months, I turned my life around, started making 5-figure months. I broke through some major mental blocks and launched a successful online fitness training program.
Above: How it all started, just me and my friends working out together.
Above: How it all started, just me and my friends working out together.
What made it possible was a two key lessons from my mentor that fit my exact needs at the time (aka my blind spot):
Always keep things simple and be prepared to change plans;
My opinions don't matter. Market opinion is king.
...And this has become my philosophy until this day, lessons extracted from the biggest failure of my life.
I also start to realize how important self-development is. Because as an entrepreneur, YOU are the primary limitations of your business. My gym failed not because I lacked skills, but mainly because I was held back by my inner limitations.
The realities of running a business tend to compete with the kind of reality we wish to see. We prefer things one way, but the reality is another way. Hence my philosophy also says that "business is a process where the ego is dissolved."
After making all the changes in my life, my mentor recognized my abilities and took me with her to do high ticket consulting work with various high caliber, world class speakers who share stages with the likes of Tony Robbins, Nas Daily, Gary V, and more...
(below is a picture taken from one of the events I consulted in. Unfortunately I cannot disclose the name due to NDA)
Consulting for one of the events in Europe.
The few years that I worked with my mentor was probably some of the best years in my life. From utter desperation to being able to travel and enjoy life the way I do is indeed a profound blessing that most people don't have the privilege to experience.
There was only problem for me. What about the people who needs the kind of knowledge and guidance these speakers can provide, but unable to afford what they do?
The programs we were dealing with were multi-five-figure programs that can go up to 100k USD per year. And the majority of the world's population can not afford it.
I may not be a rags-to-riches story (because I'm not a millionaire...yet), but the 'rags' part of my history is true. And no matter what I do, my mind and heart kept going back to people like who I used to be. Those who are probably having a hard time breaking through.
And that's why, after a few years of working with my mentor, I decided to quit and start programs of my own. After being exposed to so many programs and world class trainers, I believe I can do at least same quality of guidance (and maybe better in certain cases) but at a fraction of the cost - simply because I didn't do this for the money.
Since then, I've run my flagship program Unstoppable U, many online workshops and even affordable low-cost retreats for the people who have trusted me in their journey.
Above: my programs attract both local and international audiences.
Above: at one of the retreats in Avani Sepang Gold Coast, Malaysia.
Above: at the most recent retreat in 2022.
My Invitation To You
If you are a service-based entrepreneur whose personal income has been stagnant, and you want to breakthrough, I may be able to help you take your business to the next level, achieve hyper-desirability status in your market, and build a lifestyle business you don't want an escape from.
There are various ways to work with me. All you need to do is...