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Turning your passion into a business - Derrick Siu's success story
So, you invested time and money into studying something that would lead to a well-paid and stable career, only to realise that you’re passionate about something else? You’re trying to set up your own business but don’t know where to start? Whatever your situation, you’re ready to make a big life change and get paid for doing something you love? But how should you go about it?
Everyone has a passion that they’d love to turn into a career, but how do you do this and pay the bills? Being passionate about a project is one thing but are people willing to pay for what you have on offer?
Money is a big factor in the decision process to pursue a passion. Oprah Winfrey once advised you should do what you love and the money would follow.
“What I know is, that if you do work that you love, and work that fulfils you, the rest will come,” she said.
“And, I truly believe, that the reason I’ve been able to be so financially successful is because my focus has never, ever for one minute been money.”
That’s exactly what Singaporean? Derrick Siu told himself, before completing his medical studies to become a specialist doctor in Australia at the age of 24. He was convinced to study medicine by his parents to have a stable, well respected and profitable career.
After completing his final step before becoming a general practitioner, he left medicine to follow his passion for “educating, presenting and entertaining people”. After an extensive career in the media and entertainment industry, he eventually set up a parkour school in Singapore at the age of 39.
“Hosting and acting is what I jumped into initially. I was clear on what I wanted and it didn’t include money as a motivating factor in my decision. I just wanted to pursue what I was passionate about,” says Derrick.
So where do you start?
You may know what you are passionate about, but you probably don’t have an exact plan mapped out, especially at the beginning. Diving in head-first is the best way to start things off. Business coach Marie Forleo says, “clarity comes from engagement and not thought”. You can’t find your passion by just thinking about it. Stop thinking and embark on the journey by taking action.
“I didn’t even know what parkour was a year before I set up the company. I spent over a decade to create for myself a career in entertainment, as a TV and radio host, as a performer. I also did production work, because it was critical to get presenting work in Australia as an Asian. So production was an avenue to remain in the game, while I was trying to set myself up as a performing artist, I did that for over a decade,” says Derrick.
“Your original idea may not be the thing you really want. But the important thing is to embark on the journey and really push that.”
Flexibility is the key to moving forward
Your road to success is not always going to be straight forward and you may have to make adjustments along the way. So it is important to be open to advice and feedback. Be flexible and proactive to take the steps that get you closer to your goal.
In his search to become a performer and presenter Derrick left Australia for Singapore, where he saw more opportunities in his chosen field.
“When I first came to Singapore I basically did everything, I organised events where I could bring together people from the media industry. It was also advantageous because they could see who I was. Though I mainly pursued the career as an MC. [Eventually] I worked out how I could fit into the entertainment scene. While that happened, I also got other jobs with CNN and other TV channels to host a couple of documentary series.”
It takes ten years or more to be successful
Conventional experts may advise you to think and start big, do many things at once and so on. The real key to success though is giving yourself time and following a realistic sequence.
“There is an old saying that it takes ten to twenty years to become an overnight success. Normally you need to give yourself a good decade, that’s the time span for many things, whether you’re trying to create a start-up or become a song writer, that’s how long it takes from what I’ve seen. Most businesses take that long. It’s just normal,” says Derrick.
Don’t see challenges as failure, but a lesson
It can be incredibly demotivating when you face challenges and feel defeated. But there’s great truth in what the American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.”
Derrick Siu faced his fair share of challenges along the way but continued to persist.
“What kept me going was that I really wanted to do it. I was a qualified doctor, but because I wanted to live the dream of trying to be an actor or whatever, I worked in a restaurant as a plumber; I didn’t even make it as a waiter. As a qualified doctor I could’ve done very well financially and comfortably. But there were periods where I was going mad over a $200 bill I couldn’t pay. That was a point in my life where I decided I’m never going to have this situation again when $200 is going to make me go nuts.”
Don’t compare yourself with others
When times get tough, people easily fall into the trap of comparing themselves with others. Bill Gates was right to advise: “Don’t compare yourself with anyone in this world…if you do so, you are insulting yourself”.
Derrick Siu was not immune from this everyday but negative habit.
“Of course you do the common thing that everybody does: comparing yourself to other people. You do question yourself. You think: what am I doing here? You look at your friends from medical school, they’re already specialists, they’re super established, have got multiple properties or drive Porches and have a family. But at the end of the day you’ve got do what’s going to make you happy,” he says.
Passion is a journey not a destination. Enjoy!
Many people who embark on the journey of turning their passion into a profitable business will understand that finding passion is a journey, not a destination. You may find that there are lots of things you are passionate about, but actual engagement is key and will lead you from one passion to another.
A series of incidents led Derrick to setting up his parkour school Superfly Monkey Dragon in February 2013 and he is still living his passion for educating, entertaining and inspiring people.
“I would’ve never gotten into parkour if a certain sequence of events hadn’t happened. [Following an injury when training for a marathon] I wanted to keep in shape and exercise at the gym. I bumped into a friend of mine and we became gym buddies. At that time he was doing parkour. He asked me if I wanted to do parkour. I wasn’t really interested; I had seen the videos online. I was thinking this is very extreme and bad for my joints. But I gave it a shot and pretty much after one session with him I got hooked on it. It snowballed from there”.
What stops you from becoming a world-class entrepreneur? Your mind!
Ramit Sethi, the New York Times best-selling author of I Will Teach You to Be Rich’ says one of the biggest obstacles that keeps people from performing well are the so called ‘invisible scripts’ in our minds.
“These are the assumptions so deeply embedded in our psyches that we don't even realize they guide our behaviour,” he says.
Derrick Siu agrees: “What stops most people is they have an idea but they don’t think they can do it because they don’t have the resource, the money, the time or knowledge or whatever. I think that’s one of the biggest things that stops people from doing something. I’ve always been very optimistic. If I don’t know how to do something I’m going to find out how to do it. Really in this day and age there is no excuse why you can’t find out how to do something. It’s crazy how accessible information is to everyone with the internet”.
He advises entrepreneurs to keep going and give their 100%.
“It’s the mind-set and the attitude. When I started the Parkour School, I had never set up a school, I didn’t have any knowledge, it was purely based on my intense passion and desire to share it with people that drove it. I would say don’t let what you can’t do stop you from trying something. If you really believe in something, you put in the energy, time and effort, people will see that and resources will come to you. But the thing is: you really need to give 100%. If you don’t give 100%, you’re never going to make it. Even if you give 100%, there’s no guarantee you’re going to succeed. But not giving 100% definitely guarantees you failure most of the time”.
To find your passion and get paid for it, follow this advice:
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Clarity comes from engagement and not thought. Just get started and dive right in head first.
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Be flexible and proactive to take the steps that will get you closer to your goal.
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It takes ten or more years to achieve overnight success. Be patient, realistic and enjoy the journey.
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When things get tough rise up and don’t compare yourself with others.
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Passion is a journey not a destination. Enjoy the journey.
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Don’t let your assumptions keep you from getting started and becoming a world class entrepreneur. You can figure things out as you go along.