STIMY #50

Wanna Hang Out?

Read past STIMY Newsletter editions & subscribe here!

👋🏻 STIMIES,

Can you believe that it's already December?!

Scary.

Since we're nearing the end of the year, I thought it might be time to do a final STIMY Hangout - which is happening next Saturday!

If you're around Kuala Lumpur and would love to make new & interesting friends, you're more than welcome to join us:

𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 14 Dec 2024
𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞: 2 pm
𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞: Somewhere in KL City Centre (Malaysia)
𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐝𝐞: Wicked meets Christmas (think Green / Pink / White etc.!)

3 Surprising Things About The Past 6 STIMY Hangouts

The official event lasts for 2 hours; people always stick around for 4+ hours 😅 (I guess that means that you like each other?!)
First-timers dominate each STIMY Hangout, with some repeat attendees.
Attendees come from everywhere. The last time we did this, we had sustainability experts, Heads of HR, bankers, fresh graduates, artists, lawyers, accountants, digital marketers, MDs, psychologists, regional buyers & heads of strategy etc come. The one thing that tied everyone together - a desire to make new friends 🥰
Many introverts attend - they're the ones mingling & sticking around the longest! (although I did notice some people creating their own little introvert corners to 'recharge' before mingling again 😂)
There is NO official agenda, which always works! This event is for you to mingle and get to know other people. You don't need me to disrupt this flow!

That said, one thing I've been trying to figure out is how to make this a sustainable community.

That you might find it easy to continue hanging out with each other outside the context of these STIMY Hangouts (which are infrequent).

We already have a Telegram group (which you can join here) but I thought that there must be something more that can be done.

Which is why this year's registration form is different.

(A) New Questions

I've included questions like:

What are your superpowers?
What is one problem you're struggling to solve right now?

The latter is important because often, we see 'successful'/more senior people as people who have their whole lives sorted out.

Why would they even want to talk to me?!

But that is never true.

And maybe, just maybe, if we find out that the other person is struggling with something that we feel we're good at, that can be another potential avenue for striking up friendships.

(B) STIMY Community Directory

I'm also setting up a STIMY Community Directory on Notion.

Think of this as a little black book for you to access - if you happen to be in a certain country or struggling with something, you can check the Notion page out to see if someone might 'fit your needs' and reach out on your own!

The only caveat is this:

You must be a part of the STIMY Community; and
Have consented to having your own details included in the STIMY Community Directory too.

After all, it's no fun when people just take, take, take but never give back.

I have no idea if this idea will work but fingers crossed! 🤞🏻

Can't wait to see everyone again.

I do hope you come.

Until next week!

Ling Yah

P/S: Here's a short reel I created of the last STIMY Hangout to give you an idea of what it's like.

P/P/S: If you want to be part of the STIMY Community Directory but can't attend the upcoming STIMY Hangout, submit this form instead.

I'll add you to the Directory & give you access too!

STIMY Ep 151: Jared Lee - Surviving Cancer + Creating An Award-Winning Production House in Malaysia

Imagine growing up in a hair salon.

Being thrown out of the house and sleeping in an abandoned cupboard.

Being bullied in school and almost failing SPM.

But knowing deep down inside that you love storytelling. You just… don’t know what that means.

And how to make that dream a reality.

That was Jared Lee - one of Malaysia’s most famous YouTubers and the founder of the award-winning production house, Grim Film.

Jared started his journey in an event company, while also freelancing as a storyboard artist and production assistant.

Being passionate about storytelling, he decided to create a short film called The Long Distance Relationship. A film that, for him, he had to make happen, no matter what.

And it blew up.

✨ Within a day, it hit 10k views.

✨ Within a week, it hit 70k views

✨ Within a month, it hit 1 million views

This short film opened doors and led to the creation of his production house which has since bagged multiple awards, including Best Drama at America’s Soul 4 Reel International Film Festival 2013 for The Long Distance Relationship and Best Pilot and Best Special Effects at the 2018 Vancouver WebFest in Canada for The Last 7.

His most recent piece of work, Horologist, even won Best Animation at the San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) Film Festival 2023 and USA Film Festival! It was also a finalist for Poland's Animator Film Festival (Best Animation & Audience Choice Award) and nominated for the 2024 Eisner Award in the Best Single Issue/One-Shot category.

Proving how Jared’s wild gamble has paid off.

Although… life wasn’t easy.

In 2018, Jared was diagnosed with stage 1 testicular cancer. And he later found out that he could not have children.

But in spite of these challenges, Jared is someone who has always believed in pursuing his dreams and hustling against the odds.

Which is why I’m so thrilled to share his story as the latest guest on STIMY!

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to triumph against all odds and pursue your passion, what it takes to go from being a YouTuber to a legitimate film producer, and the personal struggles with cancer and childlessness, then this episode is for you.

So are you ready?

Let’s go! 😏

Listen here: YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcast

Want to grow your personal brand?

Join the Build Your Why course to learn how to tell your story in simple, practical steps.

This is a beta launch so if you join now, you get a 50% discount as thanks for believing in a product that doesn't yet exist 🥺

You also get to build BYW with me!

Tell me more about BYW!.

LinkedIn Personal Branding Corner

Here some of the most viral LinkedIn threads published in the last week or so:

Personal Branding Tip

[This is a small snippet of the lessons taught in the Build Your Why course, which you can join here]

One of the hardest things to figure out is figuring out what makes you unique - the je ne sais quoi that allows you to stand out from the crowd.

Sometimes, that unique thing is pretty obvious. E.g.

You have a natural talent for drawing.
You have an eye for collating & summarising complex information.
You can walk into any room & make everyone laugh.

But not everyone is like that.

So how do you figure out your unique selling point?

↳ By asking asking yourself a series of deep, personal questions. One of them is this: What makes me special?

We could have grown up in the same hometown, gone to the same schools, studied the same degrees at the same universities and even ended up being product managers sitting side-by-side in the same office but we will still be different people.

To help you identify what makes you special, use the MILES Framework:

Money: The capital you have (or can easily access/raise)
Intelligence/Insight: Book smarts, social/emotional intelligence, creativity, etc.
Location/Luck: Being in the right place at the right time
Education/Expertise: Formal schooling and self-learning
Status: Your network, connections, self-confidence and self-esteem

The MILES Framework was first put forward in The Unfair Advantage by Ash Ali & Hasan Kubba, where the authors explained how you can identify the unique advantages in your own life and recognise how it isn't just down to luck or being born with a silver spoon in your mouth.

In particular, Ali and Hasan described the stacking effect as:

Unfair advantages build one on top of another and have a snowballing effect. They don’t just add together; they often multiply together… the more unfair advantages you have, the more you are likely to accrue. The key is to start identifying and developing your own unfair advantages as soon as possible, no matter your age.

Doing good work is no longer enough.

You must know how to stack up your unique advantages in order to stand out.

And that starts with understanding what makes you unique. 😉

P/S: If you were forwarded this email and want to subscribe to STIMY Newsletter or read past editions, CLICK HERE.