If there is one thing I learn from my relationship, it is parallel with the first verse of the Tao De Jing ‘the name that can be named is not the eternal name’ — love does not need words. When he kneeled and asked, ‘will you marry me?’, I looked into his eyes and I knew I…
In Own Your Story, we strive to design ‘fun, explorative, experiential’ experiences that help people find joy in life through connection, creation and service. When we organize a poetry and art jam with the theme ‘courage’, our core belief is that everyone is creative and ‘creativity’ is a way of expressing who we are in a…
At the mark of the 40th episode of Own Your Story podcast, I decided to put a stop to this journey and focus on turning the audio contents into a book, something tangible that people could hold, a medium in which I could express myself most honestly. 40 episodes. They represented 40 times of putting myself out…
Ever since I met Jolene in Own Your Story community, we had a blast working with her to launch initiatives in the realm of happiness and mental health. It is simply wonderful working with a person who is so passionate and knowledgeable about a subject matter that she truly believes in. Challenges in the field…
I connected with Yi Xuan on social media before we met in an event. When I invited him to participate in a magazine sharing session as a curated sharer, he gracefully accepted and brought us a heartfelt story about quarter-life crisis. It took a lot of courage to share his struggles as a millennial who…
While Ridzwan and I got acquainted through a mutual friend, we got to really know each other through our work. I realized that there were a lot of parallels in our journey from an overseas graduate in the professional industry to finding our place as a creative misfit. I found my path as a writer,…
How do you learn to trust? I couldn’t find words to explain it. There were times when following my heart meant that I had to go against reasons, common sense, and wise advises of the important people in my life. Trust is something to be experienced, the result of work and intention, suffering and reconciliation.…
When I met Richard in 2017, I never knew that we would embark on the journey of self-publishing our first book together and changed each other’s life. Without him as a partner, I wouldn’t have the courage to go it alone. When we reunited on-screen for a podcast, many things have changed but Richard is…
Ever since I met Yong Tien Cin during Christmas season in December 2018, she injected a stream of fresh air into our community by initiating a monthly Yoga and Sutra session. Besides the relaxing and therapeutic activities that take place in nature, what we appreciate even more is her yummy and healthy homemade snack! While Tien always…
I’ve been swimming in doubt for a while in the midst of planning for a new book until a friend pointed me to the right questions: what is the big question that you are trying to answer? Why does the book matter? While I have the clear intention to gather all ‘Own Your Story’ podcast…
“If someone isn’t even seeing or hearing you, what they have to say isn’t relevant to the world you live in.” Zat Rana When I finished watching the movie ‘Temple Grantin’, I was engulfed in a mixed feeling of guilt, love, and gratitude. Temple Grandin was diagnosed as an autistic child and only started to speak…
It was hard to believe it when Heidy, the coach and captain of Malaysia dodgeball team, told me that he used to be a chubby kid who was bullied at school. Some kids could have resorted to drugs and negative demeanour, but he found sports. Maybe, it is also this experience that taught him to…