Things have been way quiet on this blog for over a year, and yes finally I am back!

Getting back to writing on this blog has been on my mind all through the past year but somehow I struggled to get down to it, even though I have so many blog drafts sitting on my desktop. I want to say a sincere sorry to all my subscribers and loyal readers.

So what happened over the past year?

Here were the key milestones:

In Jan 2015, I welcomed a new baby into my family. We are really blessed to have this sunshine baby in our lives and she has brought so much cheer and laughter to the family.

After my maternity break, I resumed my corporate financial enrichment talks and spoke at new companies including hotels like Mandarin, Fairmont and other companies like EMC, Teledirect and EM Services. Then in Sept 2015, I was promoted to management and began building and coaching my team of advisors. 

Time really flew and before I knew it, a year has passed.

Looking back on the past year, I learnt a lot – about myself and about life.

So for this first blog post of the year, I thought I would share some of the lessons and resources I learnt over the past year – hopefully you find them helpful and insightful as well!

#1. Learning to accept and be okay with imperfection

Part of the reason for this long delay in my blog posts was my need for perfection – me wanting to write a perfectly organised, informative, impactful post that has tons of value and great insights. But things have changed and with 2 kids on hand plus a team of advisors to manage, it’s hardly practical to spend 6 hours on a blog post like I did before.

Now that I have finally come to terms with this fact, I have decided to get past my inertia and just start writing – like how I started this blog originally.

I was inspired by Brene Brown, a researcher and storyteller who spoke and wrote about the gifts of imperfection and the power of vulnerability.

Here are a video which I enjoyed watching and got me thinking about the way I lead my life. (more about this in future posts :)

 #2 . Life is precious. Treasure the people in our lives and take good care of ourselves – we deserve that.

Last year was also a year where I helped several clients process their claims, from minor ones like small accidents to hospitalisation to serious ones like critical illness. Witnessing these events happening to people I personally know and seeing the impact on their lives and their loved ones makes me all the more present to this – life is vulnerable and we cannot take things for granted.

So often we get so busy rushing around chasing datelines, targets and leading stressful lives, that we forget to appreciate and enjoy the little things in life happening in our lives right now.. often until life changing events like a serious illness or accident happen to “wake us up”.

So this year, please make the time for yourself, take time to slow down, do the things you enjoy, allow your body to rest and rejuvenate.

#3. “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant”.

I remember how I started this blog years back in 2010 – by just starting to write, with a simple thought of sharing what I know with more people. Over the years I just kept sharing financial ideas that come up in my course of work and focused on adding value to people. Without realising it, more and more people started sharing my articles and my traffic drew steadily and organically.

Through this blog I got to know some of you and had the opportunity to make a difference to your lives directly. I am very grateful for the support and trust of the clients, friends and readers of this blog. In fact many have been asking me when is my next post (paiseh!) I was also very touched by some clients who even took the effort and time to give me suggestions and help me think of ideas to improve this blog. You guys are the motivation behind my work!

Sometimes I find it’s easy to get caught up in the rat race of chasing after results. But I wish to remind myself that basics done consistently and diligently will attract success naturally.

A little effort day by day adds up overtime and this is also what I want to impart to my team in our philosophy of business – by consistently adding value and putting the client’s interest at heart.

This year I wish you and your loved ones a year of peace, love, happiness and good health. May this year be a fulfilling and rewarding year for you!

To Your Success and Happiness,

Yong Hui