Just One Chance in 90 Days!

"When life throws lemon at you, you take the chance and make lemonade"

The writing was on the wall. I had knew it since the beginning.

The moment when I read that email, "Kar Can will be leaving", I knew something was seriously wrong.

I had 2 options at that time. To leave or to fight. Even when I did not stand a chance to remain in the project. I've given myself a long thought and choose to fight it.

However, it was a losing battle. 3 months later, I was given the letter. To make matter worse, it was done unjustly and without any justification. My life was turned upside down again.

How am I going to survive? Jobs are scarcity and hard to get during this Covid-19 pandemic. But that is not the worst part.

The bigger question remains, "Can I get myself out of this rut that I had fallen into?"

I had feared the unknown. I started to calculate how much I have in my savings and if I could take out some of my money in my retirement account.

With the finances sorted out, I found myself to have another 3 months of comfortable life before plunging into a financial crisis mode. That's where I realized, I needed to do something urgently.

A Personal 90 Days Challenge

March 8th is the day I lost my job. I will forever remember this day as I've seen the biggest injustice that took place before my very eyes.

A day later, on March 9th, I jumped into this bandwagon of Personal 90 Days Challenge. I listed down 10 Objectives that I must achieved during these 90 days. These 10 Objectives are:

1. I want to sort and diverse my finances to earn some passive income.
2. I want to start a side hustle that can generate passive income.
3. I want to get out of my depression within the first 14 days of this challenge.
4. I want to secure a new job within 90 days.
5. I want to become a Personal Development Coach that can inspire people in their lives.
6. I want to expand my network and Personal Branding on LinkedIn.
7. I want to reactivate back my inner talent of writing and take it to the next level.
8. I want to create a freelance team that have potential to turn into full fledged social marketing company.
9. I want to inspire the next generation of fresh graduates to find their life goals in their job.
10. I want to help as many people as possible throughout this tough period of mass unemployment.

One Task At A Time

The main question that pops up on my mind was, "Am I insane to take on these challenges within 90 days?"

Yes, I did question myself. I take a look at these challenges again. I can't be possibly achieve all of the 10 objectives right?

What if I fall into a major depression? What if something else comes up and I fell flat right on my face? What if people don't support me in my journey?

At that point of time, I couldn't care less. I had nothing left to lose anymore. The little reputation that I have on LinkedIn could dissipate into thin air.

So, I grab the challenge by the horns and take it one small step at a time.

However, it wasn't smooth sailing at all. During the second day, I fell into depression. I couldn't sleep at night, lazy to wake up in the morning and at times, the thought of giving up was so tempting. I have a lot of support but I do not want to speak to anyone including my own parents.

That emotional and mental torture was tough. In order to have a proper sleep, I cried non-stop at night until I felt so tired that I could fall asleep. This ordeal of mine goes on for 3 weeks before I recovered from it.

Filing For Injustice

After so many years of working, I finally mustered up my courage to do something very brave.

"I want to stand up for my rights!"

In Malaysia, it is not just employers who have the rights. The employer themselves must respect the rules of natural justice and their employees too. That is the reason why I wanted to remedy my case with my ex-employer.

So, I went and filed the case in Industrial Relations department following Sec. 20 of the Industrial Relations Act 1967. As a former law student, it is only right to bring up the injustices and remedy it. I am sure the lawyers will agree with me on this.

The Challenge Starts

I was relieved after I've filed it and I had given my statement as well. My ex-employer on the other hand, did not turn up at all. Twice.

But I do not care less. The real challenge starts now. I need to get back on my objectives.

So, I read up on Cryptocurrency and Forex for 2 months before I started to invest in it. Up till now, I have successfully earned some small income out of it.

Next, I went on to create a team of talents and on my mission to create a freelance company. I had successfully found a great team and it's just awaiting for the right time to launch the website.

As I had calculated my finances earlier on, I realized that I can't go on for more than 90 days without having any income. So, I went on a job search and landed a new job within 48 days of this challenge!

At the same time, I have been consistently sharing my experiences and thoughts on LinkedIn in order to boost up my writing skills. Surprisingly, after all I have done, I was headhunted by Leza Klenk to become one of her coaches on Spendless Academy.

While all these things have been happening, I stumble upon one very genuine friend who have been supporting and promoting me on LinkedIn. That is none other than, Captain James Foong. Through him, I have also opened up other avenues to promote myself further, such as the recent 100X Connects talk on Monday, where I shared about LinkedIn Networking and Personal Branding.

On Friday nights, I've also volunteered myself to become a career coach and mentor for Koh Mui Han's brainchild #primeforsuccess club meeting which aims to help fresh graduates gain greater perspective on the working world and employability too.

So, is it worth it?

Just one chance is all I took on myself. I grabbed this chance day by day and not knowing what that day is going to bring. A slight misstep, I might fall again. But I know what it is like to failed hard on your face. The only redemption is to bounce back higher every time you fall.

My personal 90 days challenge ended on the 6th of June. Unfortunately, I couldn't celebrate much of my successes as we're currently undergoing a FMCO (Full Movement Control Order) in Malaysia.

I couldn't do much in the last 6 days of the challenge as I was reeling from the shock that we have to revert to a full lockdown after the announcement. The only silver lining is that, most of my challenges can be easily completed when I go online and connect with more people.

Final Thoughts

I understand some of you might ask me, how am I doing right now or how does my project going so far?

To be honest, I have started on all of the objectives I've set for myself and completed most of it. I still have a little bit more to go on 2 of my projects and I will reveal it soon when my work is done, within this month or in July.

Now, like I have mentioned above, it wasn't easy at all for me to pursue this challenge. I had massive doubts over my head, going over depression and try to get myself in back on the right track. Throughout my journey, there are some LinkedIn connections who try to invoke jealousy and hate to other people so that they will not support me. Not to mention, there are also some gossipers who have tried to lowball me in order to do a project for them.

But it is okay. I've learned to throw the rubbish when they starts to smell. I also received massive support from renowned people like Shadaitul Intan, Ishak Karim, Siti Roziana Alias and from my great talented team too. You know who you are, so I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

So, what's next?

For me, it is going to be onwards and upwards from now on. I'm in the midst of crafting out my work and hopefully, I can list down some free webinars on my own and on Spendless Academy to help more people to get through this tough period of Covid-19 pandemic.

As Captain James Foong used to say, "We're all ordinary human beings with extraordinary dreams. See you at the top!"

~ This article is inspired by Leza Klenk who shared her experience when she went through a massive dark period of her life going through business failures, bankruptcy and losing everything she has.