I started a blog. I borrowed USD 16,000. And now, I’ve built a multimillion dollar fashion company, garnered 1.8 million followers on Instagram and managed to squeeze in time to get married and give birth to not one, but four children.
Perfect for young entrepreneurs, this book shares the secrets of my entrepreneurial journey so far-from starting a business with my boyfriend (telling my dad sure was fun), to fundraising, to managing a team of 400 people, to dealing with the good and bad of social media, and to pretending to nod when my tech team talks about cookies.
I share my proud wins for you to get inspired by, and my juicy failures for you to eat popcorn to.
Always a work in progress, my story is unfinished.
But for now, allow me to present to you, The First Decade.
Archives: Books
Unsaid: An Asian Anthology
His wife’s voice was unmistakable. She was moaning and sighing, and he could hear his divan creaking. How he wished he had not come home that night. He was a mere mortal. His heart had betrayed him. What can he do? Somewhere else in the world a child watches her father bullied into submission, while another is teased for his queer choices by those he trusts. Will the soft voices of the weak ever be heard? Nothing – not even death – was going to stop her from joining her family during the annual lantern festival celebrations. The dead do walk amongst us, don’t they? When the sun sets in the forest, a woman pays the price for ignoring the village elders’ beliefs. Is there any truth to these old wives’ tales? Fifteen stories, all set in Asia. Fifteen storytellers, who have mastered the art of laying bare the human psyche. Stories of pain, and power, and good fighting the bad. Stories that take you to the mystical dark side. Stories that knot family ties in darkness. This is UNSAID: An Asian Anthology.
A Gaijin Sarariman
People who work for companies for monthly salaries are known as sarariman in Japan. They are the foot soldiers who, through their hard work and dedication, enabled the meteoric transformation of Japan into a global economic powerhouse from the ruins of the Second World War. Like the famous bushido or the ‘way of the warrior’ of the old samurai clan, these sarariman are a breed of their own, with their own work ethics and social practices. The author has spent over twenty years working closely with these sarariman from various Japanese companies and lived and worked in Tokyo for four years. A Gaijin Sarariman is a first-hand account of the author’s journey, working in Japan as a gaijin (foreign) sarariman, infused with two decades of experience dealing with the local people from all walks of life providing meaningful insights into the unique Japanese culture.
Threading Worlds: Conversations on Mental Health – Singapore and Mental Health
Singapore and Mental Health zooms out to take a bird’s eye view of the mental health landscape in Singapore. The author speaks to psychiatrists, psychologists, politicians and community leaders to find out how we are dealing with mental health as a nation, and what we can do to better support each other as a collective.
Threading Worlds: Conversations on Mental Health – Weaving between Light and Shadows, Said and Unsaid
Weaving Between Light and Shadows, Said and Unsaid talks about mental health being an invisible force-we cannot see or touch it, but we certainly can feel it within us. It sometimes catches us off-guard, and we wonder why we feel the way we do, or what, where, in our environment, can we encounter these frictions or triggers to our mental health?
The author speaks with individuals from different personal and professional backgrounds in Singapore to learn how their environment shapes their mental and emotional well-being. They each bring a unique perspective on how our external circumstances shape our internal experiences, and shed light on the unexpected and less known areas of mental health.
The Stormy Sea
The Stormy Sea is a true story about ordinary men coming together to protect the vulnerable fleeing Vietnam on the Southern Cross ship. The band of brothers dealt with everything from pirates, birth, fire and flooding on board to organising their own rescue from the Indonesian island where the Southern Cross eventually ran aground.
To this day, the author still remembers in detail the calm water and the smell of diesel on the fishing trawler he was cramped in all night with his family.
Lawrence was appointed leader on the ship backed by the European Captain and his crew to lead the 1,200 refugees on the deck of the Southern Cross. This was prompted by a gang of young men confiscating food and extorting money for instant noodles. Lawrence realised his five young children wouldn’t stand a chance of surviving had he not taken charge.
Why Am I like This?
‘Why am I like this?’ If you’ve asked this question to yourself quietly time and again… get ready to unpack and process like never before. Embark on a textured journey that will illuminate the hidden, unspoken and often unconscious experiences of the traumatized self. Chapter by chapter, you’ll make sense of your emotions, body, nervous system and relationships.
Through concept, vulnerable story-telling and self-inquiry, author Natalia Rachel ignites a shift towards self-compassion and the dissolving of shame. Like the brilliant formations of a kaleidoscope, your awareness will continue to morph, crystalize and clarify until you make the utmost sense. Natalia’s life journey as a patient turned therapist opens an incredibly special doorway to trauma recovery, healing and post-traumatic growth.
The End of All Skies
The final days of Sun Girna Ginar have arrived.
The old witch in the marketplace knows it, but no one believes her. How could the Sultanate fall when the God-Sultan rules over the earth and Skyworld? How could anyone ever defeat General Marandang, the giant slayer, and the city’s champion, Lam-Ang?
Entering into a wager with the gods, the old witch promises to destroy the city. And by granting the most insignificant the ability to make their dreams come true, it all comes to pass. We witness the fall of the Sultan’s great city through their stories: the hunter who seeks revenge, the one-handed thief who wants justice, and the exiled datu searching for redemption.
Together, they bring about the destruction of the city of Sun Girna Ginar. Its walls are breached by the six-headed giant of Gawi-Gawen as fire consumes the Palace and the never-ending rain swallows the city in flood.
The End of All Skies is a story of reclaimed myths, but it is also a mirror of recent history, of today. It revisits our lost past and entreats us to never forget the sins committed against us, while reminding us of the power and humanity each of us possesses.
The Great Career Paradox
Why are some people with highly successful careers… still unhappy in life?
At the pinnacle of their careers and lauded by many for their achievements, they struggle to find joy in the work they do. To fill this void, they drive their careers even harder, only to feel more isolated and frustrated.
Therein lies The Great Career Paradox of our time – that contrary to popular belief, Career Success does not always create Happiness, and might even have an opposite effect!
This lack of Career Fulfilment is a key driving force fueling the mass exodus of staff in many organisations today.
How can individuals achieve Career Happiness? What can employers do to engage their teams to improve retention?
Having coached thousands of Executives, Authors Adrian and Yen were piqued by this Paradox and combined their experiences in Headhunting, Consulting and Coaching to unlock the Secrets to Career Happiness.
In-depth interviews and massive surveys were conducted with Business Leaders and Executives and they created a new Career Framework based on Career Strategy™ and Career Agility™.
Correctly executed, these concepts will help you navigate your life journey and ultimately achieve meaningful Career Success.
Threading Worlds: Conversations on Mental Health – Stories We Don’t Tell
Stories We Don’t Tell consists of a series of heartfelt and moving repositories of conversations with people who have lived experiences of mental health challenges. These candid talks revealed not just the challenges these individuals faced, but the immense amount of courage and strength and self-love they carried throughout their mental health journey.
While the mental health conversation was elevated in 2020, people have always been navigating mental health issues, whether it be through major life changes, relationship difficulties, financial struggles or more. Understanding how life’s challenges affect our mental and emotional states is crucial if we want to become a society that is more compassionate towards each other. An unexamined life is not worth living, and an unlived life is not worth examining. These raw transcribed stories from dialogues that were taken in real time will take you through the personal journeys of those who lived, and are still living, with mental health-and hopefully allow you to better understand what mental health truly is, beyond the hearsay.