16 March 2020. My company was just incorporated. I poured in my life savings, choosing a life as corporate trainer, life coach and possibly a professional speaker.
Little did I know, the most challenging time of the decade
for training industry was awaiting. Movement Control Order on 18 March 2020,
12.01 am. Every economic activity was frozen. My first client postponed their
project. To make things worse, the MCO was extended and extended and extended.
The life blood of the company – cash was drained. My plan was completely
disrupted.
I saw rays of hope when MCO was lifted in end of May. The
training industry was released from our invisible prison to run our livelihood
in a month later. This time, my plan was simpler. To recoup my earlier losses
in the shortest time possible. I got an opportunity to Sabah for a training
session. But alas, as much as I wished
my plan can work through, again I was disrupted by rude undoing of some
irresponsible leaders. The Sabah State Election had triggered the third wave of
the pandemic. It was not comforting at all to witness record high of cases
almost every single day. Seriously, not comforting at all.
I lost my focus. Yes, I may look calm on the outside, but
deep down, I was disrupted with intense painful agitation and fear. “Alan, we
can’t go on like this without a direction in this business. We decide to stop
the business activities by end of December,” my impatient investor said. I
planned to reward my investors handsomely by the end of the year, but again,
was disrupted with forces beyond my control. I wished they can allow more time
for me to work it out. I wished I can have Dr Strange’s Eye of Agomotto, so
that I could see the future and reverse the past. I wished my plans were not
disrupted.
Victor Emil Frankl, a holocaust survivor, the author of the
famous book “Man’s Search For Meaning” once said this: Everything can be taken
from a person except one thing; the last of the human freedoms – to choose
one’s attitude in any set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. Perhaps
what had happened to me was not bad after all.
If there is no MCO, I would not learn the power of
digitalization and connect with the veterans of the training industry.
If I went to Sabah for that training, I may be one of the
“not-comforting-at-all” statistics. Or worse, my family could be part of it.
If I continue to choose to continue to live under my
investor shadow, I may be crippled with the short-sightedness of “Making money in
business is the only priority”.
The painful agitation and fear were replaced by with the
realization of joy of disruption. It reminds of my strengths: agility, quick
wit, passionate teacher, and impactful communication. To win, first I must
change my attitude and mindset. I need to plan according to my strengths and my
vision, so that I can build my future in my way.
To continue to lead myself and ensure the survival of our
family, I came up with a simple 3 feet business plan instead of trying to reach
50 feet high business empire in single day.
1.
To be authentic with personal branding on my
communication platform, that aligned with my belief and professional skills.
This include to share thoughts, feelings and opinions that are not “mainstream”
so that I am true to my current and future self.
2.
To provide nugget size training and coaching
sessions (1 – 2 hours) through my network for a small fee and/or recommendations
on LinkedIn. With this, it allows me to maintain my livelihood improve my
visibility in the market.
3.
To maintain my mental and physical health, so
that I can continue to serve holistically as a father, husband, trainer, coach
and Toastmaster. This includes 12k steps every day and body strength training 3
times a week.
For things to change better, I must change for better. These
plans may not be grandeur, yet I believe it is less susceptible to disruption.
It is within my control.
While we are living in the time of great uncertainty, one
thing for sure is that we can consciously choose to change for better, so that the
surrounding things can change better. We can find our very own joy, in this age
of unprecedented disruption.
By the authority of Toastmasters
International vested in me, mandate given by club members as club President,
guided by the belief for things to change, first I must change, I declare our
meeting officially starts.
Photo by Davide Foti on Unsplash
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