So This Is My Why Ling Yah

When Arthur Kiong, CEO of Far East Hospitality, failed his A Levels, he thought his life was pretty much over.

His dad even told him, "I’m sorry, you had your shot but you missed it" and in Arthur's own words, "I was lost and I was discouraged and I was in a great deal of pain and despair."

Arthur ended up selling slimming products on the streets because it was the only job he could find before applying to Mediocorp to become a stage technician.

Things took a turn when he was asked to take a voice test and he ended up with a celebrity radio DJ because he could pronounce "Thursday the Thirteenth”!

Overnight, Arthur found himself rubbing shoulders with the who's who and celebrities of the world and you would’ve thought that this was where Arthur’s career was on a rapid trajectory upwards save that he gave it all up to work to become a greeter at Prego.

People were astonished.

Why would he take on such a 'demeaning' job?!

But Arthur was adamant.

And Prego signalled the first step that Arthur took into the world of hospitality, where you'll find that he's had more than his share of incredible luck, ingenuity and adventures.

Including:
* Being 'saved' by a war and lauded as a genius
* Landing his dream job (at Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong) because his dog, Silky, fell sick!
* Launching a successful marketing campaign straight after 9/11 (despite being in the thick of a fight between the head office & owner!)

To find out more, you’ll just have to listen to this STIMY Ep 147 with Arthur Kiong. 😏

Highlights:

2:49 Adrian Tan
3:52 You have to be on the right escalator
6:18 Being in despair
6:53 Selling Japanese slimming starch
7:04 Becoming a celebrity radio DJ because he could pronounce ‘Thursday the Thirteenth’
9:01 Giving it all up
10:36 No future?
12:17 Becoming a waiter at Prego
12:55 Oh Lord, what have I done?!
15:00 Sales wasn’t easy!
15:26 First big breakthrough in hospitality
16:33 Interesting initiatives
19:39 Being saved by a war
22:35 I found nothing!
23:58 That scares me… I like being in control!
25:21 The difference between knowing and knowing
26:35 Landing the dream job at The Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong because of my sick dog!
28:09 It was a spooky experience
30:42 Returning to Singapore
31:18 The significant career break that allowed him to get into the Ritz
33:42 Superman in New York
36:21 When the cucumber turns green, it means the time is ripe
37:43 If things go south, will the corporate body defend me?
39:37 I wanted to architect my resume
41:10 Why Singapore?
42:11 Building a Singaporean Hotel Brand
45:18 Living by Christian Values
49:05 Challenges of a CEO (that most don’t see)
50:23 Do you believe in God?
51:32 The Second Act in your career?
53:00 Biggest career advice
54:23 Do you feel like you’ve found your why?
55:18 What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind?
55:37 What are the most important qualities of a successful person?

Special thanks to Limpeh Studios for making this in-person interview possible!


🙊 Want to support STIMY for as little as $0.10/day? https://www.sothisismywhy.com/support-stimy/

📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/147

🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/lJkY_8igcxQ

📚 Download 5 Stones & a Sling: https://www.fareasthospitality.com/-/media/StayFarEast/Five-Stones-and-a-Sling

💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter on the art of storytelling + building your personal brand (+snippets of STIMY behind-the-scenes): https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

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Official Biography

Arthur Kiong is the Chief Executive Officer of Far East Hospitality, which is part of Far East Orchard Limited, a listed company under Far East Organization.

Since Arthur joined the organisation in July 2012, he has been instrumental in growing the company’s hospitality management business through joint-ventures and acquisitions. Over the last nine years, Far East Hospitality's portfolio grew from 18 properties in Singapore to 105 hotels and service

“When people say it’s ok, I don’t need a family, I don’t need a partner, I say bullshit.”

Woon Tai Ho is most known for being the founder of Channel News Asia & author of prolific books like the trilogy by George Yeo (Singapore’s former foreign minister).

But has the success been worth it?

What are some of his biggest regrets in life?

In Part 1 (which you should listen to if you haven’t), we explored all of his big career achievements and the challenges that came with it, including being summoned by China to answer for their coverage of Falun Gong.

But today, we cover something very different.

Deeper.

More personal.

Starting with Tai Ho’s major pivot from broadcasting to author.

Because nowadays, it’s common to make career pivots. It’s hard enough when it’s just jumping from one company to the next in the same industry, but Tai Ho has made that huge jump so…

❓ How did he do it?
❓ How does he think about the ‘Second Act’ of his career?
❓ How should people plan for their own Second, Third or even Fourth Act, especially when it comes to retirement?

And is there such a thing as living for too long and just ‘waiting to die’?

We also talk about some of his deepest regrets, his relationship with success and thoughts on relationships.

His advice to people: Go marry, have kids, then go back to your career.

We don’t have to be that woke. 😅

Do you agree?

Time to hear from Tai Ho again in the latest episode from STIMY!

Highlights:
3:14 Becoming a biographer by accident
5:29 What makes George Yeo (Singapore’s ex-foreign minister) so special?
6:56 Transparency & Lee Kuan Yew
7:53 Is living to age 102 a blessing or a curse?
9:35 “If I don’t have my second act, I don’t know what to do with my time”
12:36 Is all of Tai Ho’s success worth it?
15:40 Tai Ho’s biggest regret
19:31 His biggest advice for people
23:02 Why does Tai Ho collect bunnies?
25:57 Do you feel like you’ve found your why?
26:51 What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind
27:05 What do you think are the most important qualities of a successful person?


🙊 Want to support STIMY for $0.10/day? https://www.sothisismywhy.com/support-stimy/

📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/146

🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/U0_pVl_RsGM

💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter on the art of storytelling + building your personal brand (+snippets of STIMY behind-the-scenes): https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

Growing up, Woon Tai Ho - Channel NewsAsia founder & Bestselling Author of books like the George Yeo trilogy, Soul of Ink, Riot Green- didn’t know he was poor.

Until he invited his friends over and was asked questions like:

❓ Where’s your phone?

❓ Where’s your sofa?

None of which he had.

Which made him realise that actually, he was pretty poor. 😅

But he was never ashamed of it.

When his sister invited him to stay at the house she was working at as a domestic helper, that changed his world.

“I couldn’t believe it, the way they stayed… these people had a dimension of luxury that I didn’t know about. So I told myself, I need to work very hard.”

And work very hard he did.

We know Channel News Asia as one of the preeminent TV news channels in Asia, but that wasn’t always the case. As Tai Ho shares, the earliest days of CNA was very much a ‘wait and see’ game.

It was hardly easy too.

“Television is a very, very hungry animal. A news channel is a very, very hungry animal. Every hour, every minute, every second needs content. Otherwise it's black.”

❓So how did Tai Ho build CNA from the ground up?

❓Position CNA amidst other giants like CNN & the BBC?

❓ Gain support from the likes of former Singapore foreign minister, George Yeo?

❓Handle challenges like when he was summoned to China for their coverage of Falun Gong?

You’ll have to listen to Part 1 of this STIMY episode to find out. 😉

Part 2 will come out next Sunday!

Highlights:
- 3:00 Would you consider yourself successful?
- 6:34 Family
- 8:27 Becoming a chef?
- 11:00 Singapore is a pretty good place!
- 13:29 “I never thought about being the best”
- 14:20 “When I was a kid, I didn’t know I was poor”
- 15:50 Mediacorp
- 16:53 Founding Channel News Asia
- 20:48 The reality of founding a news channel (that most people don’t know)
- 23:09 How do you define “quality content”?
- 24:28 Establishing the boundaries for quality
- 26:01 Looking at competitors to figure out CNA’s value proposition
- 28:33 No government support?!
- 31:14 Pushing the Singapore government’s perspective?
- 34:32 Getting into trouble with the Chinese government
- 37:56 Knowing which stories and perspective to put forward
- 40:51 Time to move on?


🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy

📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/146

💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter on the art of storytelling + building your personal brand (+snippets of STIMY behind-the-scenes): https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

“Are you a masochist?”

“Do you love books that much?”

If you want to be a bookseller, than those are the questions you need to ask yourself - according to Kenny Chan, the former Senior Director at Kinokuniya Book Stores (Asia Pacific) - he spent ~20 years of his career there prior to his retirement!

But prior to bookseller, Kenny was a foreign diplomat at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore, where he was posted to London as their Trade and Culture Attache.

He then switched to bookselling, first at Popular Holdings Limited, then MPH Bookstores Sdn Bhd, and back again at Popular when they launched their IPO!

And finally interviewed for a position at Kinokuniya.

The President & Chairman of Kinokuniya flew from Japan to Singapore to conduct the interview and asked Kenny just one question:

“Do you love books?”

As it turns out, Kenny gave me the exact answer he was looking for!

And even after retirement, Kenny remains deep in the bookselling world.

If you haven’t already guessed it, Kenny is the latest guest on STIMY!

And we dive deep into all things books & the art of evangelising.

❓Why does Kenny not judge people by their educational level?

❓Why did he initially become a foreign diplomat?

❓What was it like opening bookstores throughout Asia Pacific, Dubai and New York?

❓What was it like working at his dream company?

❓What is the secret to buying books & why is bookselling a spiritual experience?

❓How can aspiring authors can get Kenny’s attention?

Are you intrigued yet?

The YouTube version is out now too. 😎

Highlights:

1:01 The Punisher
1:50 Don’t judge people by their level of education
2:59 Do your best in everything that you touch
3:58 My education was a roller-coaster
5:31 Didn't want to be a bookseller!
7:56 Getting into foreign affairs
9:51 Hunted down a book for Lee Kuan Yew & the power of connections
11:35 Lee Kuan Yew was a hard task master
14:54 Life isn't fair
18:32 How to get rid of inventory/books for bookstores
20:21 Leaving Popular for MPH
21:00 Introducing comics & Sanrio (Hello Popular) to Singapore
22:12 How Kenny knew it was time to bring Hello Kitty in
24:07 Memorable stories
26:43 What was it like working in his dream company?
27:46 Becoming store manager of the MPH Stamford Bookstore
28:22 You need to be a dictator
32:22 A great success
36:23 The IPO
37:11 The secret behind buying books & working at Popular
41:29 Moving to Kinokuniya
43:03 Meeting
43:30 The 1 question asked by the President & Chairman of Kinokuniya from Japan
44:44 Working with someone who doesn’t understand English
46:09 The spiritual aspect of book selling
47:01 Opening a store in Dubai
48:16 Love of books
49:13 The Kinovirus & training to become a great bookseller
50:45 The Speech
52:05 Biggest achievements while at Kinokuniya
54:44 Kinokuniya isn’t a bookstore. It’s a lifestyle choice
56:15 The importance of building a brand
58:51 The Twin Lemons Act
59:50 Getting Kenny’s attention
1:00:25 Ask a bookseller, what questions should you ask yourself?


🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy

🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/1uCeI8LOI5Y

📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/145

💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter on the art of storytelling + building your personal brand (+snippets of STIMY behind-the-scenes): https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

Gero DiMaria knows what it means to go truly viral.

He's an Italian chef & owner of Kucina - Singapore's first authentic halal food restaurant.

But he's also a bona fide Italian culinary superstar with over 500k followers on social media - 256k on Instagram & 252.6k on TikTok!

He took the world by storm with his recent series of viral reels on choosing the best pasta/cheeses in grocery stores, and that had a real trickle down effect on his business.

So we dig into all the juicy stuff, including:

❓ What does it mean to actually go ‘viral’?

❓ What kind of measurable impact has social media had on his business?

❓ What is his advice for leveraging social media for businesses?

❓ What have his toughest moments been?

❓ And who exactly is Gero?!

The goal: To understand the role of social media today, what it really means to go viral & how one can leverage on that social media reach to build your own business.

Highlights:

1:55 Italian childhood
4:11 What do Italians eat every day?
5:38 People in Asia aren’t taught to think?!
10:58 Entering the food industry
12:13 Work hard to earn your money
13:33 Your first job sets the bar
14:49 That English breakfast shift
16:52 Knowing that the F&B world was for him
17:33 How to cook the perfect pasta
20:04 Moving from London to Singapore
21:58 First job at Pasta Fresca
23:19 What’s an authentic halal Italian restaurant?
25:59 Chefs can only be chefs, they can’t run a business
29:43 Going into marketing & the lost $3000
31:22 The turning point
32:39 Content strategy
35:14 Going truly viral
36:18 Acting debut
37:58 Why accept collaborations?
40:00 Separating his personal brand from his Kucina restaurant
41:24 The content creation team
42:48 Advice for entrepreneurs
44:06 Do you feel like you’ve found your why?
45:25 What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind?
46:15 What do you think are the most important qualities of a successful person?


📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/144

💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter on the art of storytelling + building your personal brand (+snippets of STIMY behind-the-scenes): https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442

Would you die for your passion?

Most wouldn’t but for Swee Chiow, Singapore’s first professional adventurer, it’s a question he must face every day.

And it all began when he caught a glimpse of Mount Everest from a plane.

He was working in IT (Singapore Airlines) then, but he decided from that one glimpse that he wanted to climb Mount Everest - a dream that took him a mere 10 years to achieve!

The journey was hard.

He knew nothing. So he read many books & even went on a 10-day mountaineering course at Mt Cook that he flunked because he wasn’t fit enough!

In 1998, he joined Singapore’s first Mount Everest expedition. It was a disaster at first because:

❌ Their tent collapsed during a freak storm

❌ Their first attempt at the South Pole failed as they didn’t have enough rope - the Singapore media hounded them & issued headlines declaring that the expedition had failed

But they didn’t give up.

Their second attempt was a success!

But an exhausting one.

In the midst of the media glory, Swee Chiow knew he had to take advantage of it so he immediately launched Singapore's first Antarctic expedition.

Since then, he has:
Climbed Everest x3 and K2
8,000km cycle from SG → Beijing (China) = 2003
Swam 40 km across Malacca Straits
Kayaked 3,000km across Philippines
Broke his first Guinness World Records for the longest scuba submergence (220 hours)
Rollerbladed 6,000km from Hanoi SG in 94 days (and broke the Guinness World Records in 2008)

Highlights:
3:34 Why Why Why?!
4:12 Fear of heights
5:00 Computer science in Kansas
6:11 Saw Mount Everest from a plane
6:51 Not giving up after 10 years
7:24 The mountain is magical & spiritual?!
9:06 Lessons learned
10:27 Altitude sickness / AMS
12:04 Pulling Singapore’s first Everest expedition together
13:25 You can’t fail!
14:19 What should people know about Everest?
16:45 Quitting his day job
17:45 Antarctica
19:38 Commercialising his adventure business
20:32 Swee Chiow’s value proposition?
22:02 How he builds trust with his clients
24:11 Risks & death
25:11 Any trick to staying calm?
25:24 Drifting to Taiwan & near certain death
27:37 Never let your ego take over
29:28 Dealing with the media
30:55 Never doing K2 again
32:19 The ghosts at Tibet’s Xishapengma
36:12 Adventurers hogging the limelight
37:04 Collaborating with AirAsia X
40:16 How Swee Chiow decides on his adventures
41:43 Advice for those in their 30s
45:28 What’s next?
46:26 The second act of his career?
47:36 Leadership principles to be an effective guide for his team
49:15 What drives you to push yourself to the extreme each time?
50:23 Do you feel like you’ve found your why?
51:06 What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind?
51:27 What are the most important qualities of a successful person?

Special thanks to Limpeh Studios (Hepmil Media) for the studio!

🙊 Like STIMY? Buy us a ☕️?: https://beacons.ai/sothisismywhy
📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/143

💌 STIMY Newsletter on the art of storytelling + building your personal brand (+snippets of STIMY behind-the-scenes): https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062
✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442