Many years ago, in one of the Dale Carnegie’s class, we were told to draw a picture depicting our dreams and aspirations for our future. And this is what I drew.
- To establish Wisma Versa-Group – a force to be reckoned with
- A happy family of my own, where love, care and kindness is so over-flowing that no one can possibly feel left out of these fundamental feelings
- To serve, strive and never to yield in terms of loving and paying it forward back to the society I live in.
In the past 2 years or so, I can feel my body getting weaker and weaker especially with each major illness that I’ve been affected with. In many ways, not only others have told me, but I can personally feel that I won’t have a long time more left on this Earth to fulfill the 3 dreams I have set out above.
“Everything else in this world can crash but as long as I am still alive and breathing on this planet Earth, I will never let VG crash. Not in my lifetime.”
Those were my exact words, nothing more, nothing less. In spite of the struggles I am facing, I still have a dream I never lost sight of in this past 9 months.
Why?
VG is mum’s legacy and I grew up with the business. The nature of work flows so naturally, as though it is ingrained through my blood and veins. To be more precise, building VersaComm is continuing to honour the legacy that mum built through these 30 years. And at the same time, Bakat Arena is my own personal pride and joy that was just an empty shell company when I started it.
If there is one thing I dedicate my life to, the one absolute thing that gets me really excited and light me up with that sparkle in my eye – it’s the passion I have for what I do. Once I commit to a client, it will be the absolute best that I will expect myself to deliver.
With whatever time I have left on this earth, my pledge to myself and God is a never-ending and relentless pursuit to steadfastly build both VersaComm and Bakat Arena to emerge as the #1 medical marketing and consumer healthcare communications agency within Asia Pacific – with operations larger than MIMS and absolutely nothing short of a sterling and immaculate reputation of delivering only the best quality of work.
At the end of the day, I cannot ever deny that it’s only through God’s unconditional grace that enabled me the strength to rise up to the occasion particularly in the last 9 months, to overcome the struggles, anxieties and my chronic fear of failure, to get to where I am today. No, I am in no way great or perfect, but it has been truly a long time coming since I’ve felt this level of career satisfaction that makes every single struggle worth it, in the end.
Clients often ask if I ever do sleep when I reply emails at 3 or 4am. I go to bed close to midnight and am awake in front of my laptop, ready for a brand new work day by 4am. Coffee and my cut apple in hand of course! 😆What I have learnt with client servicing is that you have to simply work with them, according to their schedule. If they choose to attend and give attention to your work be it at 12 midnight or 5am, that will be the only time they will allocate for you – so you just have to be present at that time to catch them whenever they are.
And undeniably, the best ever reward and blessing isn’t so much the positive reflected in the monthly cash flow, but is hearing it from your client or Expert that you did a job well done. And it has been solely through word of mouth recommendations that I was able to turn my life around, which I am eternally grateful and thankful for.
This is my dream and goal in this lifetime which I have fixed my eyes on. If it is something I really want to achieve and pursue, I will not let rest until I reach my intended destination and not even any form of hail storm or tsunami can stop my tracks.
And if there is one thing that has truly governed my life these 35 years, it is the internal, insurmountable power of my determination. I believe in the power of my dreams and for it, I will fight any circumstances to get there.
Dear world, hear me now. Watch me rise, watch me spread my wings now and soar to places where I never knew I could go.
Dear God, if this is within Your plan for me, I pray you continue to grant me the strength, courage and unwavering focus to achieve this dream. And make me fearless in the face of whatever struggles, fears, anxieties and illnesses that stand in the way of Your greater plans for me. Amen.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
~Jeremiah 29:11~
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
~Psalm 32:8