HOW THAILAND CHANGED MY LIFE

Kopisunduan...

For the past few days, I've thinking a lot about an experience that greatly impacted my life. What am I passionate about? The answer is still the same. Inspiring and empowering young people in my community has been my calling. It pleases me greatly to see them strive to reach their full potential. I've learnt that leadership is not about where I'm going, but it's also about the people that are travelling on this journey with me.

I've been a business travelers since 2011 but little did I know, I had few memorable trips. Talking about recreating memory, I would like to relive the moments of a trip to Thailand that changed my life.

My trip to Thailand last February was not only to meet one of the most prominent figures of the country like Thailand which I have posted about this few days ago, I was involved meeting up with a group of SMEs' who were delighted to work on their range of products to me.

The meeting sessions with the SME entrepreneurs gave me a good opportunity to also present some innovative ideas on product design and the manufacturing process. Some product prototypes as a result were then showcased a month later, in March, during the business networking session I coordinated at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

I would like to take the opportunity to express my sincere gratitude and give special thanks to my Thai counterparts, especially the officers from the Ministry of Industry Thailand and their team for the invitation and for arranging for me to meet the many Thai entrepreneurs and manufacturers who were all very keen to meet me and to discuss potential opportunities with entrepreneurs in Sabah. They were all indeed very welcoming of my visit to their factories in Bangkok. May this and the business matchings that ensued perhaps act as a catalyst towards becoming an economic game changer for our community and our people here in Sabah.

Even though my trip to Bangkok was supposed to be a short working visit over the weekend, the immeasurable knowledge that I gained as a result of my meetings proved to be invaluable especially on the aspects of learning about community spirit, economic development, communication and of bringing together people of distinct and diverse cultures.

During this time I have gained experienced in international negotiating, learned how to ensuring national position, national interest, and also our preferences. Business matters because international negotiations are based on personal contacts.

To my readers who aspire to become leaders, don’t wait for the fancy title or the corner office with a view. Leadership comes from within you. You can ignite your passion by beginning to act, think, and communicate like a leader. I believe that authentic leadership has opened my eyes in the area of self-development and improve the quality of my life not only in my professional career. A leader leads, others follow. Decide what you want to be!

Thai counterpart

Are you willing to find and release the leader in you? If so, stay tuned on my next posting tomorrow. Who knows, what comes next might just change your life.

I would like to wish all the readers have satisfaction in their life, which brings all the joy and delight. Thank you for reading and if you find this interesting, please share some thoughts below.

Love and light,
@madeve