shuan thing

“It always seem impossible, until it’s done.”
~ Nelson Mandela

I’ve sat on an idea for months. Almost a year, to be exact, doing nothing about it. Until I stumbled on Founder Institute.

Eight years ago, I started moonlighting as a freelance copywriter. For 4 years I did that while holding down a day job in a multi-national corporation. And then later decided to quit my job pursuing my passion in writing as a full-time freelancer.

That was four years ago. I took a big leap, left my comfort zone and persevered endless challenges in an exhilarating journey doing what I love and making ends meet.

Two years into it, I realized a good amount of my time—half of it, in fact, was spent on not writing at all. The operations to manage my writing business took up most of my energy—things like getting clients’ requirements, generating official documents and proposals, getting payment, managing my accounts, and much more.

It got to a point that it was and still is damn frustrating. I dreaded the tasks most of the time. Hoping to jump quickly into writing without all those nitty-gritty. Then, I went about the Net to hunt for tools that could do the job for me. High and low, I’ve searched. Then, I tested out some of them—free trials, of course, otherwise I’d be putting a hole in my pocket to pay for them all.

Nothing helps.

Then it got me to thinking about how great it would be if there is something that’s catered specifically for writers who are focused on running a successful writing business.

That was when the idea came to me.

But, nothing got further than just a thought. I went on with my day-to-day stuff on the writing, continuing accepting the way things are because I was overwhelmed with deadlines and steady streams of projects.

Fast-forward to half a year ago. I casually walked into @CAT, one day, to meetup with friends and catch-up with acquaintances, for there was an event running at that time.

Little did I know that was when I came across Founder Institute program. Adeo’s face was plastered on the white wall, talking over a video call, I recalled. So, I walked over, sat down and listened. Few minutes into it, I realized that this could be it.

This could be my ticket towards realizing my idea.

Few days after the unplanned encounter, I enrolled in the Penang Winter 2016 Semester. I was asked to do a Predictive Admission Test—some psychometric test, which I later heard was to ensure we’re not psychopathic, to be eligible for the program.

On Feb 12, I got a letter from Founder Institute that goes like this…

Congratulations, you have been accepted to the Penang Founder Institute!
According to our Predictive Admissions Test, which has been featured in the The New York Times, CNN, and Forbes, you possess the traits needed to become a successful technology entrepreneur. In particular, you have above average fluid intelligence and openness, moderate agreeableness, and you do not show signs of deceit, predatory aggressiveness, emotional instability, or narcissism.

Less than a quarter of applicants are accepted, so you should be proud.

Yay, I’m not a psychopath! I got accepted. And so, everything else was history.

How the program has helped me

To refine my idea

The program has pushed me to deep-dive into my idea. Tore it apart, figuratively speaking, looked at it from different angles, and fine-tune it based on initial data. That’s where I sat down and drawn up a mind map of what the idea consists of. Investigate if they were viable, then go on about how to achieve them.

To consider the market/industry, existing players and opportunities

I’ve learned that merely focusing on your idea without understanding what’s going on around the world (in the context of the plan) would be paving a route full of uncertainties with a high chance of failure. Not like going through it would determine success, but more for us to refine or pivot the idea as we understand more about the idea, the needs and market fit.

To remain still functional despite red tapes and pressure

With the tight schedule and loads of work to do and juggling that with my writing business, there were times I felt so overwhelmed that I’d expressed in exasperations that “I don’t want to be adult today.” But, the program structure does not allow that. So I kept going.

To have relentless focus on the idea, strategy, and execution

It is so easy to let things slip off, especially when you have to juggle a lot of stuff simultaneously. Just like how I’ve sat on an idea for so long without actions. The program has helped me stay focused, making that first move, then the next and the next until my only next option is to go forward.

To go through the cycle of doubts and address the doubts with actionable steps

Throughout the journey of starting something from nothing, self-doubts and uncertainty tend to creep in on you from time to time. However, with the help of the program, I’ve learned to address them through actionable tasks and talking to the right people and mentors introduced through the program.

What I believe can be improved

The platform’s UI/UX is a pain for me. This may seem pretty small but as an advocate of productivity, I find it disconcerting. Don’t get me wrong; the outline of the assignments and detailed content is great.

But the execution of it gets me so frustrated.

For instance, after filling in the assignments, I can’t relate back to its corresponding task. That is unless I click the edit button, which I don’t want to because it’s wasting my time to wait for the page to load, then to check the outline and my input. I had to scroll up and down all the time to review a task and its corresponding input made. Because the tasks and corresponding answers are in two separate sections, they are not arranged together, chronologically, like a task and the corresponding answer. So, to check my input, I had to do a lot of incessant scrolling up and down.

This is just one of the many frustrations I came across while using the platform. And I believe an upgrade would be good. Something more user-centric and user-friendly, which offers better user experience would be great.

Also, at some point of the program, I realized the FI program structure is no longer suitable for my execution plan. I realized the program couldn’t be all encompassing for every scenario. That was when I thought about leaving the program because staying would be like wasting my time not working towards my plan—one I came up with after going through the FI assignments mid way. And when I found it difficult to meet the assignment needs, especially when it was not based on the new plan strategized, it just made me feel like I was wasting my time. It was as if continuing the program is just for the sake of completing.

I am not sure how this could be improved, given that the program has to follow a best-adapted structure to cater to everyone generally. But, it is this same structure that may turn out to be a problem for some people.

Bottom-line

I’m glad I went with the program. I’ve discovered a lot of things about myself, besides how to start on an idea into something.

We’re graduating next week. The program may end soon, but my entrepreneurial journey towards my passion just gets started.

Also, despite a few hiccups a long the way, I would recommend Founder Institute program to the following groups of people

• first timers who need to jump into actions and looking to bypass some common mistakes entrepreneurs-to-be may make
• those who need to have a laser focus on working the idea and execution in a short time frame to quickly get the idea to market (like my case)
• those who are looking for the right kind of exposure and experience for entrepreneurs-to-be but has no idea where to begin

If you have an experience to share about founding a startup, I would love to hear your experience. Just leave your comments below.

If you are interested in my startup idea and would like to know more, you can contact me at shuant@thewriters.co.

Want to lead a happy life? Sure, it should be easy. But, how?

Before I go on talking about the perspective of life, I’d like to share this very inspirational speech by Sam Berns, who suffered a rare progeria disease but led a jubilant life. He shared with us his philosophy on how to lead a happy life despite his condition. Here’s a summary of his life philosophies.

Berns’ Philosophy on how to lead a happy life

1. Don’t waste your energy feeling bad for yourself, focus on what you can do not what you can’t do
2. Surround yourself with people you want to be with, people who gives you positive energy
3. Keep moving forward, always find something to look forward to

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36m1o-tM05g

One of the many things he mentioned was about bravery, and I believe it’s something not many people today fully grasp on how to handle bravery.

“Being brave isn’t suppose to be easy”, was one of his comment on how to face challenges when it hits you.

Personally, I believe that conditioning your brain to think this way eases the entire journey of overcoming challenges. Ironically, admitting that it’s not suppose to be easy makes it easier.

It’s the same when it comes to acknowledging your weaknesses. By recognising your weaknesses, you become stronger. You open up your mind and allows a positive physiological change.

My friends who have known me for long will know that I’ve always talked about cups, it being full or half filled.

Is your cup full, half empty or half full?

Everyone’s life—psychological and physiological—is represented by a cup. How one lives their life, the way they see themselves, the things they do in life all revolves around how they value the contents of that cup.

It’s a very simple analogy. When one’s cup is full, you no longer allow others to fill it for you. Meaning to say, when one is full of themselves, when one thinks that they know everything, have everything, there’s nothing you can say or do that they will learn or see their lives differently.

Same goes to those who sees their cup as half empty versus half full. When you see your life as half empty, you are constantly thinking about the things you can’t achieve. And the more you think about it, the more frustrated and angry you get. Then you are unhappy with your life.

When you see your life as half full, you will constantly think of how blessed you are and being grateful for what you already have. Your mind will not be shrouded with anger and frustrations.

Being happy and relaxed, you open up your mind to possibilities of what you can achieve more. That’s when you can recognise opportunities and find ways to grab it.

Some people call it lucky. I call it, the ability to identify and catch it when it happens.

To lead a happy life, it’s all about reconditioning your thoughts that lead to positive physiological change. Then great things will happen. You will be happy!

If you have yet to watch the Guardians of the Galaxy, you should. I’d highly recommend it. For one, it’s comical and entertaining. For another, I’d say it’s because they have Groot!

He’s the wise man (or rather wise tree) with few words. There are 5 lessons about life that we can learn from him.

Photo credit: flickout.com

1. People who talk less are more likeable.

Although we are deemed the social creatures, some of us are shyer than others. Hence, having jitters and turning ourselves into chatterboxes to camouflage our nervousness is inevitable. I for one have ample experience of messing up with talking too much.

 Lesson from Master Groot:

Just shut it! Especially, when you can’t find something smart to say. Remember, it’s always better to appear shy or unsociable than to say something stupid or inconsiderate.

2. Your only friends are those who understand you even if you are a man of few words.

True friends, most of the time, understand you for who you are. Even if you say nothing or something imperceptible.

Lesson from Master Groot:

Don’t bother about trying to buy friendship through becoming what your friends want you to be. Be honest. Just be you. Your friends will accept you for who you are. If they don’t, then they might not be your friends after all.

3. Always be there for friends that matter.

No man is an island. Humans need to depend on one another to survive. Friendship is priceless. Friends are part of who you are. They define what type of person you are. Hence, cherish them.

Lesson from Master Groot:

Stick up for your friends when in need. They will do the same for you.

4. Put on a gentle appearance, but carry a fierce heart.

Most people put on a fierce appearance but have a gentle heart. It’s not that it’s a bad thing, but who would dare to approach you if you have a scary look (right?).

Lesson from Master Groot:

Love life and be gentle to others. But when situations require it, be as fierce as you can be in protecting what’s important to you.

5. People who do not express themselves do not mean nothing is going on in their mind.

There’s a Hokkien saying that goes like this “Silent dog bites people to death”, which means the quiet ones are usually the scariest. Besides, those who are quiet might not mean they are not suffering.

Lesson from Master Groot:

Do not easily judge others simply base on few meet ups or their appearance. Also, if you have troubles or internal turmoil, find someone to talk to.

You think there are more things we can learn from Master Groot? Feel free to add in the comments below.

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” 

― Dr. Seuss, Happy Birthday to You! 

We are who we are from the experience we’ve had, through the emotions we’ve felt, the people we’ve met, and the failures and successes in life we’ve gone through.

Making this list is refreshing and soul-searching for me. I’d recommend anyone to do it at any juncture of your life as we can all benefit from it. It imparts self-reflection moment that tells us who we are, whom we are becoming and whom we want to become. Personally, I find this session to be therapeutic. Providing me with a good moment to interpret my thoughts and emotions and figure out what my true feelings and emotions are. In a way, giving myself an opportunity to change for a better life.

So here’s my list of  things I have learned in life.

1. Live like you are dying tomorrow, plan like you are living forever.
2. Beat your own records make you feel better accomplished than winning others.
3. You can please everyone, but never everyone concurrently.
4. Feel blessed at all things, at all times, be it bad or good circumstances, makes you happier.
5. Nobody knows everything, nobody knows nothing. Everyone is good at something.
6. Good observation skill is a social survival skill.
7. Being good at what you do and knowing it yourself is not enough. You need to know how to skilfully articulate it to others.
8. There are things in life that you definitely have no control over. Sometimes you just need to let it be.
9. Things in the past you cannot change, but you can change how you feel about it by letting go.
10. Don’t just think what you might do, do what you think. Do what you like. Like what you do.
11. Family and friendships are priceless.
12. Money should not be a factor of life. It simply smoothens the path. Exercise and sleep are factors of life.
13. Learn from peoples’ mistakes.
14. Do not punish yourself for peoples’ mistakes.
15. You gain nothing from being judgemental. There’s always a story behind an action or decision.
16. You do not degrade yourself when you admit your own mistakes.
17. Do not shut the door to your mind.
18. Listening to others from any walks of life might open up yourself to new ideas.
19. Do not limit your capabilities with your own limited intelligence.
20. Stop whining and worrying, they bring you nowhere. Just do something about it.
21. You can easily loose yourself (in anger, narcissism or vanity, despair). Always allow at least one person in your life to remind you of who you are.
22. Have many goals in life in different areas. Achieve or try achieving them. Enjoy the journey not the goal.
23. Pray, forgive yourself, love yourself and appreciate others.
24. It’s alright to have fun and do nothing at times.
25. Respect others (opinions, thoughts, actions, decisions, etc.). Every individual is a separate being. We are all different.
26. Be honest with yourself (feelings & emotions, failures, likes & dislikes, etc.). No one can help you but yourself.
27. Being meticulous is good, but able to look at the big picture while being detailed-oriented is better.
28. We are not superhumans. There are times you just have to speak up or get help.
29. Help others that are less fortunate than you are, gives you a better perspective towards life.
30. You are not the world and not everything revolves around you. We are just one tiny living creature in this huge universe. So not everything is about us.

p.s. Don’t worry! There will be no ‘list of 40 things’ at the age of 40. ;P

Happy Birthday to me! Thanks to Google, I’m feeling the euphoria now.

But, seriously, what does it feels like to be 30 and me? Frankly, I feel excited, thrilled and anxious all at once. Emotion overloaded.

I’m excited because I’m 30 yet I don’t feel old. There’s so much more to grow and learn. Speaking of physical appearance, yeah I definitely don’t pass as a 30, in fact I’d say not even 26. Pros, “Yay! I look young most of the time.” Cons, “What are you, a kid trying to convince me?”

I’m thrilled because I’m 30 and I’m waking up at any time I feel like it. It’s a step towards my life freedom. I’m heading towards a life I’ve always wanted. To have my own say in my life, lead my own life doing what I love to do.

I’m anxious because I’m 30 and there is the unknown. Future can be scary when you blank your mind and starts thinking about it. Your head will be filled with a lot of what would, what will, what is, what then.

But all in all, I’m contented and happy at 30. Blessed me for where I am today. Blessed me for a wonderful husband for allowing me to be me. Blessed me for those who endow, enrich and enlighten my life—my wonderful family, friends and acquaintances. Above all, today is for my parents, especially my mom for the pain you’ve gone through in carrying me for 9 months and delivering me.

Want to lead a happy life? Sure, why not. It should be easy. Easy? Truly easy, but how?

Before I go into talking about personal cup and stuff, I’d like to share this very inspirational speech by Sam Berns who had suffered a rare progeria disease but led a very happy life.

He shared with us his philosophy on how to lead a happy life despite his condition. Here’s a summary of his philosophy.

Berns’ Philosophy on how to lead a happy life

1. Don’t waste your energy feeling bad for yourself, focus on what you can do not what you can’t do
2. Surround yourself with people you want to be with, people who gives you positive energy
3. Keep moving forward, always find something to look forward to

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36m1o-tM05g

One of the many things he mentioned was about bravery and I believe it’s something not many people today fully grasp on how to handle bravery.

“Being brave isn’t suppose to be easy”, was one of his comment on how to face challenges when it hits you.

Personally, I believe that conditioning your brain to think this way sort of eases the entire journey of challenges. Ironically, admitting that it’s not suppose to be easy makes it become easier. This has the same effect when it comes to admitting your own weaknesses. By admitting your own weaknesses you become stronger. You open up your mind and allows a positive physiological change.

My friends who have known me for long, will know that I’ve always talked about cups and it being full or half filled. “Urgh, there she goes again on the cup thingy”, LOL, I can imagine what some of them would say.

To me everyone has a cup, personal cup. How one live their life, the way they see themselves, the things they do in life all revolves around how they value the contents of their cup.

It’s a very simple analogy. When one’s cup is full, you no longer allow others to fill it for you. Meaning to say, when one is full of themselves, when one thinks that they know everything, have everything, there’s nothing you can say or do that they will learn or see their lives differently.

Same goes to those who sees their cup as half empty versus half full. When you see your life as half empty, you are constantly thinking of the things you can’t achieve. And the more you think about it the more frustrated and angry you get. Then you are unhappy with your life.

When you see your life as half full, you will constantly think of how blessed you are and being grateful for what you already have. Your mind will not be shrouded with anger and frustrations. Being happy and relaxed, you open up your mind to possibilities of what you can achieve more. That’s when you are able to recognise opportunities and find ways to grasp it. You will also have better ideas on how to grasp it.

All in all, to lead a happy life, it’s all about reconditioning your brain that leads to positive physiological change. Then great things will happen and you will be happy!

Every writer must have experienced this in any junction of their writing career. I’ve had it one too many times when people asked me what I do for a living. When I responded with a mere “I’m a freelance writer.” the typical response I get was always “Oh! That’s great. So what books have you written so far?” And there I was, constantly having the need to explain to them that there are many kinds of writers with endless writing purposes. They need not be just book writing.

So in case you were wondering. Here are 18 common types of writers I can think of out of many types that existed today.

1. Biographers – write an account of another person’s life
2. Bloggers – write blogs in short opinion pieces or “posts” form a commentary on issues of specific interest to readers that need no authorization to be published
3. Business Writers – assignment done specifically for a business, for the internal players of the business itself, or for the bottom line of the business
4. Columnists – write regular pieces for newspapers and other periodicals, usually containing a lively and entertaining expression of opinion
5. Copywriters – write the text of advertisements or publicity material
6. Creative Writers – express ideas and thought in an imaginative way where they get to express feelings and emotions instead of just presenting the facts
7. Game Writers – write dialogue, text, and story for games
8. Ghostwriters – write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person
9. Grant Writers – have clear understanding of grantsmanship and complete an application process for funding provided by an institution such as a government department, corporation, foundation or trust
10. Historians – study and write about the past and is regarded as an authority on it
11. Journalists – write reports about current events after investigating them and gathering information
12. Novelists – write novels – stories that explore universal themes through fiction with  invented characters and plots in a narrative designed to be both credible and entertaining
13. Playwriters – write dramatic literature or drama that may be written to be performed by actors, or they may be closet dramas – simple literary works – written using dramatic forms, but not meant for performance
14. Reviewers – evaluate publication, product, service, or company such as a movie, video game, musical composition, book; a piece of hardware like a car, home appliance, or computer; or an event or performance, such as a live music concert, play, musical theater show, or dance show
15. Screenwriters – write a screenplay – or script – that provides the words for media productions such as films, television programs and video games
16. Songwriters – write the words for songs in verses and choruses, they specializes in writing lyrics, the words that accompany or underscore a song or opera
17. Speechwriters – prepare the text for a speech to be given before a group or crowd on a specific occasion and for a specific purpose
18. Technical Writers – are professional writers who engage in technical writing and produce technical documentation for technical, business, and consumer audiences

So which writer am I? I do almost every kind of writings, after all writing is a passion and it does not stop you from exploring all sorts of possibilities. However, to make a living I focus on copywriting & technical writing.