Ethan Lin’s many “ah-ha” moments researching personality types, led him to a corporate training business.
What’s your story?
I first learned about personality types on a boring day at work. Like many people who do these online personality tests, I found myself fascinated by how differently people thought and acted. For the next few days, my colleagues and I were talking about it non-stop and realised how much I enjoyed discussing this! It was then that I decided to find a way to make this passion a full-time business.
That led me to spend the next 3 years researching personality types. You can think of it as a course on Humans 101! I discovered so many “a-ha” moments again and again so I knew I was onto something powerful.
What excites you most about your industry?
The corporate training industry is evolving rapidly with technology. Nowadays with video, social media and software tools, practically everything about training is changing.
Today, I see other trainers who actively market themselves on Facebook and put out free content again and again. That’s something that you probably wouldn’t see just 5 years ago.
I’m always looking at new ways to present my training material more effectively with technology. In essence, it means less human work (lecturing and content delivery) and more automation – more time for practical application and facilitation work for me.
What’s your connection to Asia?
I was born in Singapore and have spent most of my life in Singapore, with the occasional travel to the Asian countries for holiday, humanitarian work and school trips. I’ve been to Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
I’ve been making regular trips to Myanmar. I’ve done humanitarian work at the orphanages and have been truly affected by the way they live their life even though they have so little. It reminded me to be thankful, but also a solemn call for me to do my business well so that I can help these children in a bigger way.
Favourite city in Asia for business and why?
My favourite city for business would be my own country. Every time I look around, I realize that Singapore has unparalleled infrastructure to help any start-up succeed. The laws here are in place to ensure that your property remains yours and your business idea can be protected.
Additionally, our government has so many grants for new businesses and there is venture capital just waiting for a good idea to emerge. I think if anyone wants to start a business, Singapore’s got to be a good place to start.
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
I think it has to be: “Be faithful,” from the Bible. Everyone wants to succeed, but not everyone wants to be faithful with what is given to them. There are so many people out there who look at the successful people with envy and try to ‘rush the process’ but it’s not sustainable.
Being faithful is simply to do your best with what is given to you. If we have clients that trust us with our training, then my job is simply to do my best for them – to keep on increasing the value I give to them.
Who inspires you?
I don’t exactly have a figure that inspires me. Ironically hearing stories like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Ma have no effect on me, because they are just too far disconnected from me.
The people that inspire me are those around me – Singaporeans who have found a way to beat the odds to become successful in whoever they are today. It is these people around me that remind me daily that whatever I set my heart to achieve is possible.
What have you just learnt recently that blew you away?
Recently, I attended a course by Marshall Thurber which was brought to Singapore by Melvin Soh. His business concepts are out of this world and applying them to my business means setting up my business for exponential growth.
He taught us to think with a new theory in the digital, networked economy. Besides that, he taught a few persuasion techniques that tremendously increased my sales – I think together, all the information he’s provided me truly blew me away.
If you had your time again, what would you do differently?
I would have wanted to live my life with more purpose. I felt that for a large part of my life, I did not know what I wanted and therefore, was willing to accept second best in everything I did. Whether it was my job or business, I never gave my 100%.
I feel that I could have gotten far better results today – but I also believe that all of these are a learning process that everyone needs to go through – as we grow older, we grow wiser as well, so our actions become more intentional.
How do you unwind?
I’m a natural introvert, so I unwind alone at home, watching videos, reading non-fiction books related to my faith, on economics and quite a bit on business, sales and marketing.
On work days, I have to stand in front of people, be vocal and be engaged for 8 hours at a shot, hence, on my off days, being able to be alone is how I recharge.
Favourite Asian destination for relaxation? Why?
I’m completely not a city person. Once, I went to Bangkok for 3 days and I spent practically the whole time in the hotel room, coming out only for food and (after much convincing) a massage.
If I had a choice, I would probably go to a beach. My idea of relaxation is simply just to laze all my time away, rather than go shopping.
Everyone in business should read this book:
This is a book recommended by Marshall Thurber – The Inevitable by Kevin Kelly. It talks about the 12 technological trends that will shape our future – If you want to start a business, you have got to know where the trends are. Grab a copy of this – it will excite you and help you see the possibilities for the future!
Shameless plug for your business:
I’ve developed the People Mastery System which empowers salespeople and entrepreneurs (and practically anybody) to profile their prospects’ Type in under 5 minutes. That’s right – in 5 minutes, you’ll be able to read your clients’ subconscious minds even without them knowing. You’ll be able to sell to the subconscious and tap on their hot buttons and of course, close the deal!
How can people connect with you?
They can connect with me on Facebook via the People Mastery System page (https://www.facebook.com/peoplemasterysystem/), or add me on my personal account here (https://www.facebook.com/yihan.lin.2005). I’m always glad to make new connections and meet new friends!
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This interview was part of the Callum Connect’s column found on The Asian Entrepreneur:
Callum Laing invests and buys small businesses in a range of industries around Asia. He has previously started, built and sold half a dozen businesses and is the founder & owner of Fitness-Buffet a company delivering employee wellness solutions in 12 countries. He is a Director of, amongst others, Key Person of Influence. A 40 week training program for business owners and executives.
Take the ‘Key Person of Influence’ scorecard <http://www.keypersonofinfluence.com/scorecard/>
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