MY STORY

Growing up in The Netherlands, even though it was only for a brief 5 years, made an impact on my life.

First and foremost, is my command of the English language. Being exposed to such an environment at an early age, enabled me to value the thirst for knowledge, thus reading became and is still a favourite pastime.

It was known as The English School back then.

Life was pretty rosy, coming from what I would consider as a middle-class family throughout my twenties. Being able to travel numerous times to parts of Europe, USA, Australia, New Zealand and Asia was part of a lifestyle that I grew up in.

This was also the time when I indulged myself in equestrian sports and the game that has often been associated with the rich and noble of society; the game of polo. 

EQUESTRIAN COMPETITIONS 1991 - 1995

THE STAR, 12 SEPTEMBER 1995

In the early 1990s, the family went into business. We got involved in the telecommunications, marine, security and printing industries.

My main focus was on telecommunication, where we were instrumental in revolutionising the industry. We created the Premium Rate Services, otherwise known as the Audiotex industry and in Malaysia, it was known as the 600 Dial-In Number Services.

Never in my wildest dreams could I have foreseen that, within a short span of time, everything came crashing down in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. 

I lost everything!

The company collapsed, then my humble abode (which I had been paying off my housing loan diligently for 10 years, without fail) was snatched from me by the bank and one by one, like dominoes, it just kept on tumbling down with no end in sight.

My mind was a total blur.

It must have been quite a while before it dawned on me that I needed to do something. So, I got a job in sales - low salary, high commission but toxic management, which led to three quarters of the sales staff resigning en masse, including myself.

I continued looking for a job - no one was hiring.

Went into multilevel marketing - upline had no clue on how to run the business. They were taught by their upline who also had no clue. So, it was a case of the blind leading the blind. On top of that, there were a lot of negative feedback, either on the product or the way the whole industry was perceived by the people.

As I continued to seek ways and means to support my family, our trusted 4-wheel companion gave out its last and final breath, with a little note that read, DNR...

From then on, my daily routine changed. I had to take my two kids to school via public transport and fetch them later by bus in whatever weather condition it may be.

This was it! This was my life! Day in day out, rain or shine.

It really took a toll on me. I had to carry my daughter's school bag for her and this caused my back to be in constant pain, and my legs started shaking uncontrollably every time I walked, as I developed some sort of nerve twitch. There were times, when my two kids, who were 8 and 12 years old and I had to wait under the overhead expressway as shelter from the rain.

Every school day, it was a 10 minute walk to the school from where we alighted from the bus and 20 minutes walk from the school to the bus terminal.

This was definitely not what I had envisioned my life to be.

Before I could bat an eyelid, ten years had gone by before I was presented with an opportunity by a friend whom I had befriended a few years earlier. 

That coaching session that I had with him, led me to an industry that I had never thought of getting myself involved in.

The noble profession of Teaching! 

Teaching English! 

To a group of Malaysian primary students on the weekends in their school classrooms.

Things were finally looking up!

Not too long after, the owner of the programme had decided that he wanted to let go of his tutorial programme, of which he had a contract with at least 7 schools within the region to me. 

I was over the moon!

Unfortunately, it didn't pan out. He had a stroke before he could hand over the reins, and everything fell apart. I believe he's still not out of the woods from his ill health.

By then, I had caught the bug.

I decided to develop my teaching skills and knowledge by engaging with a mentor who specialised in teaching the English language, and I eventually ventured into home tutoring.

However, those who wanted my services were parents of 6-8 year olds, and the fee wasn't all that enticing for the work I put in.

Nonetheless, I stuck with it and also took up a grave yard shift, manning a call centre that dealt with an international petrol card.

Times were tough but through my mentor and his coaching, I also had the opportunity to conduct lessons on a part-time basis as a private English tutor in a business college and in a private university.

This eventually led me to a permanent placement in an international school for 8 years. During that time, I became the English as a Second Language Department Head for 3 years, then two years as the Head of the English Department.

As the Head, one of my tasks was to mentor and coach the teachers on their work.

After several years, what I realised is that the vast majority, especially the locals, were not accustomed to thinking, or being probed to find their answers. They also had no desire to develop themselves beyond the realm of their subject matter. 

This aspect intrigued me, and when the chance came along for me to develop my understanding of coaching and training, I took it upon myself to pursue this line of profession. 

Thus, if it were not for the coaches and the mentors that I had back then, I would not have been able to crawl myself out of the vicious quagmire that I was in. 

Now, I am constantly engaged with my current coaches and mentors, such as Les Brown, Kane Minkus, Brian Tracy and others.

HEAD OF ENGLISH @ REAL INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, SHAH ALAM (2012-2020)

WORLD CLASS SPEAKING MASTERCLASS WITH MR LES BROWN 2020

CONDUCTING  A TRAINING SESSION 2019