Comfort & Growth with Crystal Lim-Lange

This week I'm thrilled to have my friend Sarah Samuel, a veteran leader and Head of Airport IT APAC at Amadeus, to share her candid insider views on the leadership game, career visibility, speaking up at work and being a working mom!Sarah has over 25 years of industry experience, having worked on airport projects such as KL International Airport. Sarah is a prominent voice within the Airport IT industry. As a leader, Sarah is passionate about diversity in the workplace. Both within her team and in the wider industry, she is an advocate for all people in aviation and ensuring they have the confidence and opportunity to pursue career exceptionalism.Follow Sarah on Linkedin here and enjoy the ep! ⁠Sarah Samuel | LinkedIn

I know so many of you have been waiting for the start of season 2 and in this special episode, I give you all a life update, talk about my birthday blues, the reality of being a working parent, and share my intentions for a very real and authentic season 2 of Comfort & Growth!

Have you ever wondered how some people seem to bounce back from hard knocks or cope with so many challenges without letting it get them down? In this mini-workshop episode, Crystal shares some science-based strategies, tips and practices to optimise your grit and inner strength.  Using her 5 Gardens of Resilience methodology, which she has taught to tens of thousands of people, we will go on a journey to discover how we can grow a bumper crop of resilience resources so that when life hands us hard things, we feel prepared to face them with confidence.Highlights —————00:00 Intro02:07 Resilience definition05:00 5 Aspects of Resilience model05:00 Mental resilience10:30 Emotional Resilience14:25 Emotional expression + how to deal with emotional flooding17:42  Physical resilience23:00 Spiritual resilience26:00 Wonder and awe27:50 Social Resilience33:30 Switching gardensUseful links——————Negative thinking styles article https://www.psychologytools.com/articles/unhelpful-thinking-styles-cognitive-distortions-in-cbt/Self-love and self-compassion  https://open.spotify.com/episode/44QKP5kfI0or1kex6rrZ1W?si=8dd529aacfe546fe (Book) Awe - Dacher Keltnerhttps://www.amazon.sg/Awe-Science-Everyday-Wonder-Transform/dp/1984879685

This week, we delve into the extraordinary journey of Jianhao Tan, Singapore’s OG YouTuber superstar and founder of Titan Digital Media. Despite his introverted nature, Jianhao has amassed a staggering 7 million devoted fans, captivating audiences with his unique blend of humor and relatability.Jianhao reflects on his remarkable rise to prominence, shares his origin story about growing up in Cambodia and Vietnam, and then returning home to Singapore and discovering a passion for making videos. With candor and insight, Jianhao shares the challenges he encountered along the way, from overcoming self-doubt to navigating the complexities of fame in the digital age.Beyond his professional endeavors, Jianhao provides a heartfelt glimpse into his personal life as a devoted family man sharing poignant anecdotes about balancing his career aspirations with the joys and responsibilities of fatherhood. Join us as we embark on an inspiring journey with Jianhao!Highlights————02:56 Jianhao’s origin story - growing up in Cambodia and Vietnam07:20 150 million views per month0830 Starting a business at 21 from the piano room1100 Adversity bonds people1200 Balancing advertising and being a creative1300 How to price yourself as a creator1455 Mentoring other influencers1700 Becoming a parent1735 Buncha and meeting his wife 1900 Navigating boundaries between public and private life2226 On Oversharing2400 Managing different types of people2615 Titan Academy hits 100 episodes and the importance of celebrating2812 Milestones that matter and balancing act2934 Working with a PA3100 Being a stoic and stoicism3230 The self-awareness deficitFind Jianhao at:Youtube⁠https://www.youtube.com/@jianhao⁠Instagram⁠instagram.com/thejianhaotan⁠TikTok⁠tiktok.com/@thejianhaotan⁠Facebook Page⁠facebook.com/thejianhaotan⁠Twitter⁠twitter.com/thejianhaotan⁠Twitch⁠twitch.com/thejianhaotan⁠And check out ⁠https://thestarry.co/⁠ Debbie’s jewellery line  of high quality diamond simulate pieces for everyday wear!

This week we are going to take a practical and insightful deep dive into difficult conversations and storytelling at work with regional communications expert Shruti Bose, Head of Communications and Public Affairs Asia Pacific for Roche Diagnostics.Shruti shares real life stories of influencing stakeholders using empathy and storytelling as a secret weapon, not taking conflict personally, and her tips for having difficult conversations at work.I also loved her groundedness and attitude of gratitude, and hope you are inspired by her story too!ShownotesOn the National Women’s Checkup Week with Singapore Cancer Societyhttps://www.linkedin.com/posts/rochediagnosticsasiapacific_sgcheckup-xproject-everywoman-activity-7064820493081608192-OM52?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktopGet screened - link to Singapore Cancer Societyhttps://www.singaporecancersociety.org.sg/get-screened/breast-cancer/mammogram.htmlHighlights========01:00  How we met in the Biopharma industry03:20 Shruti’s childhood and how it shaped her03:52 The Fs of Life challenges - Fairness, Failure, Fear06:00 On losing her voice08:43 How she came to work for the Biopharma sector13:20  Intellectual vs social friction and not personalising15:30 - reading too much into a situation18:00 - On asking for support18:55 - Her difficult conversation at work with her stakeholders20:00 - Don’t be married to an idea21:58 - What you can and can’t control22:54 - On our unconscious bias23:58 - Gratitude Quotient GQ 25:00 - The worst time to be grateful is after you lost it26:25 - Happiness, freedom and courage27:43 - Launch of National Women’s Checkup Week30:30 - Not every conflict needs to be resolved31:00 - Storytelling model - CAP - Connection, Appeal, Proof33:00 - The power of storytelling at work - examples in real life, Jack Ma, Indra Nooyi35:00 - Creating demand for what we need36:40 - Word of the year!

Want to be a luckier, calmer, more productive person in 2024? You’ve come to the right place! Join Crystal and Dr. Greg as they share their best little mindset hacks and rituals for success and positivity! In this episode, we’ll talk about developing a lucky identity, arigato in and out (or the joy of spending money), “off gassing walks”, magic sleep music and much much more!Enjoy this fun episode and let us know what you think!Resources:The “Arigato In Arigato Out” book we mentioned on money isHappy Money: The Japanese Art of Making Peace with Your Money Kindle Editionby Ken HondaThe amazing deep sleep music is https://open.spotify.com/episode/0vJYui0LnaQQEK8PamfKrp?si=93c3a1fa13c14161

We are super privileged to have with us Elaine Yew, one of the world’s most respected leadership advisors, making a rare appearance on social media! Although Elaine prefers to shun the spotlight, she is very well known to industry insiders as the go to person for advice on senior leadership, succession planning, board advisory and any sort of problem that keeps powerful organisations and leaders up at night. In this episode, we cover practical advice for anyone who wants to develop more gravitas, confidence and impact at work, and also delve into deeper topics such as developing your own leadership identity and how to navigate a bicultural Asian and Western context, especially for Asian women! Hope you find this episode as engaging and practical as I did :)00:00  Introduction1:40  Elaine’s career4:49 On having a unrelated career to what you studied and unfair advantages5:55 Passion and originality6:13 Egon Zehnder’s research on what the 4 factors of potential in people - Curiosity, Insight, Engagement, Determination9:00 Navigating male dominated workplaces13:12 Leadership styles - embracing the range and the “AND”14:50 Jo Chew’s Masters thesis on how Asian women in Singapore and Malaysia make it to the top of their careers in a bi-cultural context16:00 Tea Pouring Boss B*tch story21:33 On the quality of energy in leadership24:00 Developing your own identity at work - defining who you are, not who you are not25:15 Being realistic about whether you can bridge the gap or not25:35 On dealing with people dehumanising or objectifying you the workplace27:00 Consciously conveying to other who you are about and sharing about yourself29:25 How to develop gravitas 30:55 The importance of arriving and connecting in the boardroom32:05 On not rushing yourself - Crystal’s childhood story35:49 Setting the tone of a meeting37:00 The ability to adjust to different time parameters, prioritise and synthesise important points Resources: Jo Chew’s thesis on female Asian leadership https://flora.insead.edu/fichiersti_wp/InseadEMCtheseswave34/98788.pdfCall number link on the Insead catalogue:https://librarycatalogue.insead.edu/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=98788

Settle in for the ride of your lifetime with our signature power visualisation exercise and be treated to the tools and inner technology that I use with my coaching clients.If you haven't done the prep work in Ep 23 - please listen to that first!After this episode, journal, write and draw the most important and meaningful images, words and phrases that came to mind and share them with me on IG!Wishing you so much love and light!Thanks for being with me on this journey and I hope you slay all your 2024 goals with self-love, grit and resilience!Much love,Crystal

Learn how to use a powerful visualisation technique to envision and prepare yourself for success in 2024!This was one of the most popular tools from our recent round of sold out workshops on Manifesting Success, and Crystal takes us through some of the biggest misconceptions about visualisation, and how high-performers use the tool to create the conditions of success.Prep exerciseDo this exercise before you go on to the Time Episode visualisation exercise in Ep 24First write down a goal. Then write down 3 most likely obstacles or challenges that will derail you.For each of those 3 challenges, come up with 1-3 action plans to overcome them.E.g. I want to be a mindful person and practice 30 mins of mindfulness every day.3 likely challenges - I may forget, my kids may yell and disrupt me, I may get bored with thisAction plans - I will set a timer on my phone, I will have a backup plan to do a body scan at night before sleeping if I don’t get to practice, I will do my mindfulness in the shower if my kids are yelling, I will find an alternative way of practicing mindfulness with my children, I will switch to mindful listening at work, I will try a different type of mindfulness every month etc.Inspirational Quote (applies to men too!)“The women I love and admire for their strength and grace did not get that way because shit worked out. They got that way because shit went wrong and they handled it. They handled it a thousand different ways on a thousand different days, but they handled it. Those women are my superheroes.”― Elizabeth GilbertResources: Watch these videos of high-performance athletes at the Winter Olympics sharing about their visualisation processHow Conquer an Olympic Biathlon https://youtu.be/uzpOFOjbkBw?si=mylyTbJsJjyNgoQ9Before the Start of an Olympics Doubles Luge https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDmRwjBryu0Before She Skis the Cross-Country Course  https://youtu.be/pZf24MEemKI?si=I52BpK8bb_RAMy8XOlympic Athletes - Mental Imagery - Before The Snowboard Cross Gates Open  https://youtu.be/pZf24MEemKI?si=I52BpK8bb_RAMy8X

One of our favourite podcast guests - Juliana Chan, Very Cool Scientist and Queen of LinkedIn, is back again in this episode to discuss 2 major life crises that changed her life - her dad’s illness and her miscarriage. *Content warning- We discuss the details of miscarriage and processing grief in this episodeIn this candid and very real chat, we delve into how how we dealt with these confronting times, and what we chose to learn from them. We also explore how we can move from Victim mindset to Responsible Mindset and own our narrative.Juliana is also starting a new Find Your Superpower Linkedin Bootcamp! For more details see the link below:⁠https://www.julianachan.org/find-your-superpower-community⁠Highlights:—————1:41 Juliana’s 2 big life changing experiences03:00 Juliana’s relationship with her dad05:00 On helplesslessness07:00 Post Traumatic Growth09:09 Walt Disney’s 3 chairs11:10 Processing her father’s illness12:00 The power of awe & Dacher Keltner13:00 On moving from control to surrender16:46 Sending our daughters to girls schools vs mixed schools21:00 Juliana shares about her miscarriage26:41 Ambiguous loss27:45 Crystal shares about her miscarriage.  28:55 On shame31:30 On victim mindset vs responsible mindset (*I learned this exercise originally from Gareth McIlroy)35:20 Juliana’s LinkedIn Bootcamp  Resources:---------------Juliana’s Find Your Superpower Linkedin Bootcamp! ⁠https://www.julianachan.org/find-your-superpower-community⁠Dacher Keltner’s book Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life Hardcover – January 3, 2023⁠https://www.amazon.com/Awe-Science-Everyday-Wonder-Transform/dp/1984879685⁠