The Unsung Heroes Behind My Upcoming Book

I’ve recorded nearly 300 podcast episodes, but haven’t listened to a single one in full.

My own voice makes me cringe – like nails on a chalkboard shagging a lawnmower.

It got slightly better over time, like getting used to a jackhammer lullaby.

It was the same when I had to read edits for my book “No More Bosses”.

Pure masochism.

But over those sessions, I had the chance to reflect on what actually made this book possible.

Do I deserve all the credits?

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You may have seen those LinkedIn personal story posts that every LinkedIn Top Voice and their spouse are peddling.

It starts at the period of pit bottom, cueing dramatic epiphany and leading to life-changing revelation.

But just like a movie cannot be just the leads and no one else, often the supporting casts are conveniently ignored.

The Chinese have a beautiful term – 贵人 (guì rén) – for such selfless benefactors.

As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child. Similarly, it takes a village to enable anyone’s success.

Without them, my life would have taken a different turn, and this book would not have been possible.

And so, with one hand holding an imaginary wine glass, I like to make a toast to the unsung heroes whose presence in my life cumulatively resulted in my upcoming book:

1. Mr Lee, my secondary school English teacher, ignited my passion for words with his humour, elegant penmanship, and inspirational teaching style – the sparks that kindled my writing pursuits.
2. Desmond Leow, a colleague from my first job at the StarHub call centre, wisely steered me toward business studies instead of IT, paving the way for my eventual entrepreneurial and marketing adventures.
3. Ryan Lee, a high school friend who started a business a year before I did, showed me it was possible to escape the corporate rat race. His fearless leap inspired me to found my first company.
4. Annie Oh, my girlfriend-turned-wife, worked as a recruitment consultant, which opened my eyes to that industry as a potential business avenue. She bravely joined as my first employee, holding our fledgling startup together while the rest of us learned on the fly.
5. Steve ZAG Network, a fellow recruiter and blogger, proposed combining our writings into a published book. That initial collaboration, while challenging, opened doors for me to transition into career coaching and solopreneurship.
6. My kids, to whom the book would otherwise have been completed way earlier (kidding! or am I?), are the key motivations for me to continue pursuing this unconventional life path so immensely rewarding and worthwhile.
7. Suling Lin enabled me to sharpen my writing by writing over 20  commentaries for CNA. That exposure undoubtedly brought my work to the attention of my future book editor.
8. When Nora Nazerene Abu Bakar from Penguin Publishing Group first contacted me on LinkedIn without a profile photo, I thought it was a scam. Thank goodness I didn’t dismiss it – that pivotal connection set me on the road to becoming an author.

You trusted me when most times, I don’t even trust myself.

You all did the heavy lifting. I merely showed up.

We forget sustainable success needs a village in our solo-genius fables.

So find your trail crew. Your coaches. Your long-haul companions.

That African proverb understates nothing: If you want to run fast, run alone.

But to run far? Run among friends.