However, when the pandemic came, it wiped out 80% of my retail business. Since I was doing events, – event sales and retail, I wasn’t able to run my retail business anymore. The factories we worked with were not able to manufacture our products for us for 18 months. So at the time, I was just weighing my options and I realised that there were not many options for me at all. A moment came when I was attending a webinar, where I wanted to understand more about online marketing. I watched this guru on the virtual stage, and he suddenly just triggered this dream that I had many, many years ago, 14 years ago to be exact, which is to become a speaker, a trainer, and a coach. And after that webinar, I was so inspired by what he said about the impact that he was making on the lives of his students. I cried uncontrollably for 30 minutes. And from then on, I started to think about what I really wanted to do.

Fast forward a few months later, I was in a Zoom session with a six-figure coach in Singapore, and I was trying to seek her advice because she seemed to be very experienced and was the only 6-figure coach I knew then. I told her about my dream to become a speaker, trainer, and coach. I asked her if she thought I could make it because back then I was a nobody. I wasn't a speaker or author. I didn’t know how to coach. She just stared at me sternly and said, “Hui Hui, you can’t speak well. You’re so shy and introverted. You don’t even have a social media following . Who are you to become a coach?” I was crushed. It was like a knife had pierced through my heart. I’m sure some of you have experienced this before, when someone poured cold, freezing water on you and discouraged you. And because of what she said, I gave up. I gave up on that dream. It’s not possible, she’s right. Who am I to do this?