?? "I Would Starve!" (STIMY #35)

I’ve been a glutton this past week.

Little surprise.

I’m back in my hometown and my relatives were here for a visit!

Which brings about this unsurprising equation:

Family + Late Night Conversations + Good Food = Overeating

Setting aside the many boxes of durian & kolo mee (a local noodle dish) consumed, an aunt told me this just before she left:

“I could never do what you’re doing (being an entrepreneur). I would starve!”

Which made us all laugh.

But my aunt did mean what she said.

It made me realise that what seemed obvious to me, i.e. how to ideate, launch and run a small business, might not seem so obvious (or attainable) to others.

It wasn't so obvious to me either.

To be it in context: I didn't even know what the word 'entrepreneur' meant 4 years ago!

My perspective changed when I spent the past few years analysing and following people in similar spaces.

Which brings to mind the power of stories.

One story might not make a difference.

But if you hear a second, a third, a tenth etc. then those stories of people willing to do 'brave' things (like quit their job to run their own business) starts to normalise in your head.

You start thinking:

Isn't everyone doing this?

Even if they haven't quit their jobs, they're at least running some kind of side hustle.

And while earning $300k/month might never be 'normal' (or even attainable!) for most, the point isn't the $300k (or whether that's just a trumped up number for social media cred).

It's about:

1. Taking it as another example of somehow who (might) have done it
2. Reverse engineering their successes
3. Forming small takeaways/action steps from that story

Before rinsing & repeating that process with other people you encounter. Ad infinitum.

It sounds simple, because it is simple.

You just need to listen to stories.

P/S: You can start today by listening to the past 145 stories on the So This Is My Why Podcast ! The YouTube version is here . ??

A Full Circle

One of the first stories I ever came across in my journey was Pat Flynn.

Pat is a former architect who was laid off & found himself stuck. He created a course teaching people how to pass the difficult exam for professional architects & started making money.

That was his lightbulb moment.

He became the OG Podcaster (with Smart Passive Income & Ask Pat - I was featured in this podcast!!) and remains one of the biggest podcasters around. He's also the founder of Smart Passive Income & grown a huge following on YouTube, including one on Pokemon Cards.

Pat Flynn is the person who inspired me to start my own podcast.

I listened to almost every episode he'd ever produced.

I was also soooo close to purchasing his $499 podcasting course - before realising that I'd spent enough time researching online to know how to launch STIMY by myself!

So why is it a full circle moment?

Because Pat has agreed to come on STIMY next week!!

If you have any questions for him, leave a comment below or email sothisismywhy [at] gmail [dot] com. ??

ICYMI

1. FOFO: Everyone's heard of FOMO, but have you heard of FOFO? It's what holds most people back from starting! - https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/lingyah_the-biggest-mistake-you-can-make-activity-7194123934970093568-QlOd/
2. How do you incorporate storytelling into your posts? Here are 8 before/after examples !

P/S: Our upcoming STIMY Episode 146 guest is with Woon Tai Ho , the founder of Channel News Asia ! (see pic above).

We discussed his journey in building one of the most influential media platforms in the region, and how he pivoted his career 180 degrees into becoming a full time author (he helped George Yeo write his book on his career as Singapore's former Foreign Minister).