Team Size
Me, myself & I
Revenue
N/A
Location
Penang, Malaysia
STart Date
2018
Meet our interviewee today, Gladys Tan from Malaysia, who is encouraging people to practice their virtues daily. She went from flight attendant to stay at home mom to becoming a virtues educator and is sharing her story with us. Read on to find out more.
PLEASE TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF.
Hi, my name is Gladys Tan and I am a facilitator with the Virtues Project.
I was a flight attendant before becoming a mum. Working as a flight attendant was an eye-opening experience and I am thoroughly thankful for the experience. I learned how to get along with people from all walks of life and I traveled the world! It was a huge learning journey for me and so thankful for the experience.
WHAT DOES YOUR TYPICAL DAY LOOK LIKE AND HOW DO YOU STAY PRODUCTIVE?
Besides the webinars I conduct every now and then, the first thing I do in the morning is make myself a cup of tea, wake up kids then do yoga at 8 am. After yoga, I do laundry and prepare kiddos’ lunch or head out to pack. Then I spend a few hours working. It’s either writing blogs, design my course modules, post on LinkedIn or/and reply emails.
Every Wednesday morning, I am an assistant in facilitating an entrepreneur camp with three teens living in Australia.
Every Monday and Wednesday evening, I am on Zoom with a bunch of cool people revising and discussing ancient wisdom I have been learning for the past four months.
Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, the kids and I spend time doing house chores.
The kids keep me on my toes and I have been extremely productive in the last four months because of them. They too have been very accommodating on days I have to be on calls or training.
CAN YOU TELL US HOW YOU FIRST BECAME INTERESTED IN BECOMING AN EDUCATOR / FACILITATOR FOR THE VIRTUES PROJECT? HOW DID YOU START?
I first learned the strategies in 2007 when I was a new mum. Over the years, I experienced first-hand how virtues and the strategies can be applied in all areas of one’s life and decided to became a Facilitator in 2018.
I’ve had my hands in a few others things before and never felt passionate about them so they didn’t last very long.
Since virtues are what I strive to practice daily and the five strategies are meaningful and practical tools or living, I want my children to know them well. So I might as well use the tools in my life and teach them to people!
WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY FOCUSED ON IN YOUR ROLE AS A FACILITATOR FOR THE VIRTUES PROJECT?
I am now focusing on conducting webinars on Spendless Academy. I conduct Speak the Language of Virtues for Parents regularly on the free platform because communication is something we do all day and night.
The words we use have great power to inspire or discourage ourselves and others so it is very important we use virtues language to bring out the best in each other. In these webinars, I share the importance of virtues, how to give meaningful acknowledgments and guidance that replaces shaming and blaming that can develop negative self-image in our children.
The greatest gift we can give our children is the authentic self-esteem that comes from developing their virtues.
WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR THE FUTURE?
My vision is to see individuals and parents become passionate about practicing virtues in their life to create a world that is kinder, more caring of one another and lead purposeful and meaningful lives.
WHAT OR WHO HAS BEEN YOUR GREATEST INFLUENCE IN BUSINESS AND WHY?
I guess my children. I want to raise my children to be confident, to be of service and people of flexibility and resilience so that they can ride the waves of life with a little more ease.
And The Five Strategies of The Virtues Project are the tools to do this!
Related: How I Became A Bilingual Teacher
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHER WOMEN WHO WANT TO START THEIR OWN BUSINESS?
Go for it! I am 45 and I am just starting out. I may or I may not make it but what the hell, at least I gave it a shot!
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD?
In the past week, I have been reading this card a few times a day and it has given me some assurance in moments of insecurity.
I hope you find it helpful too!
Violeta Semenova
Founder
theBizLadies
Welcome to the Biz Ladies interview series!
If you’re new to these series, I interview women entrepreneurs on how they started their business, what was the idea behind it, how they got where they are, the struggles, the reality and more.
By sharing their stories, we want to inspire other women to get started.
If you are interested to share your own story on the Biz Ladies LET ME KNOW!