Have you ever wondered what’s the true purpose of your life? Many people keep finding different jobs, give up on personal life to climb up the corporate ladder but end up losing their own self because of all this and many other reasons.
You would also agree that it’s difficult to find a job that truly fulfils what you love doing. It could either be the management you do not enjoy working with, the unbearable organisation politics, or that you are not getting paid what you deserve, or you get bored of what you are doing and are unable to make full use of your talent.
Sandy Wong, Co-Founder of Ylemer, has also gone through the same experiences as you. But she decided to take a bold step and quit that road to find out where her life’s journey takes her and what destiny holds for her. She chose the path of becoming an entrepreneur and ever since she hasn’t looked back! So, let’s find out how Sandy found her way and sense of direction.
How would you describe your journey before starting this business, and did you ever know what you wanted to achieve in life?
I never really enjoyed being taught in my academic settings. With how our education system spoon-feeds every child, I think it does not help much to induce self-direction and provide avenues for personal growth.
Plus I have always hated exams, haha! But not for the fact that I wasn’t good at them but the fact that we use exams as a measure to test someone’s ability and intelligence, which I don’t agree to.
So, after graduation I tried many different jobs from video production, journalism, book and magazine editing and publishing to public relations. But I never really felt truly fulfilled and enthusiastic afterwards. I used to feel, is it what I really want?
There was a point when I got quite lost and I used to ask myself, what really is the purpose of my life? I have never been clear about what I wanted to do, so I talked to a lot of people with fancy jobs and stuff, but then again I would feel the urge to find out if this is even what’s going to make me feel fulfilled, and would that aligned with my talents, I couldn’t find an answer. I always wanted to do something bigger, something that makes me stand out and be able to make a difference in others’ lives.
What was your turning point?
In order to find out what is my life purpose and what are other possibilities in life, I decided to quit my job, and go on a one-year holiday and figure myself out. In the meantime I came across life coaching and self-hypnosis and I decided to give it a try and that’s when my life took a turn and I started to realize that this is it! This is what I want to do. And I started my brain training business, empowering people by setting the right mindset to achieve breakthrough in life.
Why Ylemer?
My Co-Founder, who happens to be my husband, we were randomly discussing our life purpose, the future of our planet and its people and is it really the kind of place where we would want our next generation to live, and we think that it’s far from that yet.
So many global problems exist and needed to solve. Instead of turning blind eyes on the pressing issues, we are eager to work towards the betterment of our future. Therefore, we build Ylemer, an Entrepreneurship Acceleration Marketplace where founders and mentors connect to build successful businesses that drive impact.
By connecting to the people who want to create an impact, we want to accelerate their growth and influence more people to contribute towards the future of our people and planet.
At Ylemer, we aim to transfer wisdom from mentors to aspiring and early stage founders, so that they can achieve their goals, and at the same time bring benefit to the community at large and also our planet.
Do you feel more fulfilled now doing what you are doing?
Definitely! My passion lies in fulfilling this role where I can help solve problems that humans are facing through shaping meaningful conversations and practical education. For example, with the problem of unemployment now, we are creating an online roundtable to talk about How Can We Solve the Global Unemployment Crisis?
We are inviting different stakeholders to discuss how we can solve this problem, providing insights about what could be its possible alternatives, how their mindset could be shifted and how they can create more possibilities for themselves.
We are also building a team of experienced mentors to share their knowledge and experience through our practical workshops called the Accelerator Workshops that are going to provide means and hands on tools for people with different problems that they go through as a startup founder or an aspiring entrepreneur which can create a big impact on their business and personal development.
What are your views on entrepreneurship?
I believe that entrepreneurship is NOW and the FUTURE. Entrepreneurs are frontiers of creating new opportunities and finding solutions to major problems.
Of course, other stakeholders are also important, but entrepreneurs play a crucial role of a guiding light for others to follow and we see that especially the first time entrepreneurs lack support. This is why we want to empower them by providing them with the right network, knowledge, tools and opportunities for anyone who wants to reach their full potential.
We are calling out everyone who wants to become an entrepreneur, to take that bold step, and at Ylemer we will provide you personalized events, workshops, training, mentoring/coaching sessions and so forth that will allow you to take confident steps for achieving your goals and making a difference in this world.
What do you want to tell other aspiring entrepreneurs?
- Hang on to the vision that you can see, as others might not be able to see or even understand it. Build this picture up as vivid as you can, with your strong sense of purpose. Make an intention of what you want to change, what impact you like to create. And you carve a way towards it, what you really want.
2. Identify what problems you have experienced “get” you, and turn that anger or frustration into your motivation to solve the problem. Try to understand the problem even more from different perspectives. Learn to listen to your intuition as well.
3. If you have been working on a particular business for a while, you need to step out to look from a different perspective, to check if it’s going in the right direction and the way you want it to head to.
4. There is a lot of hardship you might face during the journey, take that as a challenge and believe that you can overcome it! You will get better and better at solving problems and doing things!
5. Last but not the least, believe in yourself, and enjoy your progress as you get closer each step towards your vision!
So, Don’t give in and hang on to your vision with a strong sense of purpose.
About Ylemer
Ylemer is an Entrepreneurship Acceleration Marketplace where founders and mentors connect to build successful businesses that drive impact.
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Edited By:
Sadia Mehfooz Khan
Chief Copywriter @ Ylemer
