As March Comes Marching In

It feels like almost yesterday that it was January!

And yet, the calendar isn't lying. It's already the 1st week of March! It's already the 3rd month of the year 2017!

Time passes really quickly when your mind is occupied.

I have managed to keep up many of the habits and incremental goals that I began in January, though I have slipped up on a couple of them. Well, now that it's almost the 2nd quarter of the year, I'm going to have to review them and make updates and changes.

I started this initiative of listing down habits to keep because of a series of videos I watched on Valuetainment, a YouTube channel by Patrick Bet-David that teaches entrepreneurship and gives exercises and advice on getting your own life in order. 

A key point about this channel that I appreciate deeply is how straight-talking Patrick, the host of the channel, is. He doesn't mince words and tells you straight in the face what you need to do if you intend on running a business properly. It's not about motivation and pep talks - it's about real-life examples and how-to's.

If you haven't heard of them, I highly recommend that you get to watching as soon as possible!

Reminder: It's Not What You Say, It's How You Say It

One of the larger projects I'm working on this year is as the main trainer of a collaboration between the Singapore Cancer Society (SCS) and the National Cadet Corps (NCC) of different schools in Singapore.

This is an initiative to have NCC cadets become ambassadors for a smoke-free lifestyle in their respective schools. To push this initiative forward, the Singapore Cancer Society has come up with a talk with a series of activities and projects aimed at getting these cadets ready to take on their roles.

Since different schools have different cultures and different behavioural norms, I found it important to change my delivery each time I presented the talk and run the activities. It doesn't always go smoothly at the start, but, by the end, the NCC cadets are engaged, enthusiastic and ready for the next step.

Of course, there will be a small minority that are smokers (all under the radar, of course) and these individuals will pose some challenges.

I have found that the key is to integrate them into the whole rather than make them feel ostracised by the message. To do this, I found it necessary to change my delivery of the information and steer the flow of the discussions towards a 'softer', more emotion-based engagement. The key information remains the same, of course.

This has been yet another reminder of a philosophy I stand strongly by:

It's not what you say, it's how you say it.

The Introvert Teacher - Nearing Completion

At last! The final cover art of The Introvert Teacher is completed, approved and has been sent to update all current materials.

Layout initial approval has been given and is underway for the rest of the chapters of the book.

Other little details for different parts of the book have also been submitted and everything is under production with my publisher.

I have to say that I didn't think that this phase would take so long. In my head, it was a 'OK, let's go ahead and do it' moment and everything will fall into place.

It seems that I still have much to learn about the publishing industry.

I'm glad that I'm getting to learn it now, through my first book, with helpful guidance from an experienced and professional team.

I have little doubt that if I had to do all this on my own, my book publishing won't even be halfway done.

So here's a HUGE thank you to my publishing team!

Personal Branding Workshop with Eugene Seah

On 13 Feb (Mon), I was invited by Eugene Seah to sit in on one of his personal branding workshops. This time, it was with The Singapore Professional Golfers' Association. The attendees consisted of many golf coaches, some of whom have been coaching their learners for years. I'll admit that I didn't know there were so many golf coaches in Singapore.

At the start, things went off a little slowly. My thoughts were that golfers were more likely to display introvert characteristics. They would likely prefer to take a back seat and absorb information than they are to readily respond, After all, they chose to play a sport that encompasses small groups of players in a huge expanse of quiet, serene surroundings. 

Nevertheless, with Eugene's generous outpouring of energy, engaging demeanour and useful personalised advice, the golfers eventually warmed up to him and became highly enthusiastic.

A trio of takeaways from a trainer's perspective:

---

1) Use familiar terms

Seeing as how the attendees were all golfers, Eugene used acronyms like BOGEY and ACE to emphasise certain aspects of this branding workshop. The use of such familiar terms was clearly visible in the attendees' increase in response to him as he built more and more rapport with them.

2) Focus on one or two points only

The amount of time available meant that there was no way of going too in-depth into the concepts of personal branding. As such, instead of doing a touch-and-go on many different 'modules', Eugene chose to focus on one main area - in this case, the subject of Style.

3) Consciously connect with the audience

There are numerous ways to connect with an audience and Eugene managed to do quite a few of them.

He was there early to mingle and talk to the participants.

He also identified and gave airtime to individuals who were more open to sharing at the beginning, thus encouraging the others to open up as well. 

Finally, he asked for and used the first names of those that he interacted with during his workshop.

---

It was a great experience to learn from and observe a fellow trainer.

Thanks, Eugene, for the invitation and the opportunity.