One Sneak Peek Into A Life of Faith and Adventure

I always thought that you chose a profession for life.

Yet, I came across the idea of pursuing a ‘portfolio career’ recently

Where instead of working at one job throughout, you pursue a variety of roles, both paid and unpaid

Despite this, I always thought career changes were rare, only done once or twice, and are almost always involuntary.

Meet Gabi, a lady who is the epitome of major career changes and an adventurous life.

She started her career in the army as an artillery officer, before becoming a military psychologist.

After leaving the military, she founded her own consultancy and spent the last 10 years scaling up various startups in the APAC region, before starting her own business in brand building.

That’s 7 job description changes over the course of a single career!

Here are some of the things that I learnt after speaking with her.

1. Embrace a growth mindset

“What is the worst thing that can happen if I fail? I can always just go out and get another job.

In society, we say we want to embrace failure, but most people are still risk-averse. They consult the wrong people before trying something new and end up never stepping out of their comfort zone. For some people, the resulting unhappiness can lead to disastrous consequences in their lives and relationships.

I have clients that think they are not worthy. There was this woman from civil service who tried to step out and run a business. The anxiety and doubt were extremely obvious. She was listing down all the ‘this cannot happen because….’ and ‘that cannot happen because….’

Please figure out your limiting beliefs and smash every single one of them.”

2. Set yourself up for success

“Before I transitioned into an entrepreneur, I was networking, volunteering and attending events on the weekends. The transition wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

Go and meet as many people as you can. Ask them how running a business, how working in a certain industry is like, what is the day and life of someone who works in a startup. Don’t go in blind.”

3. Product-Market Fit

“When I started my consultancy, we were considered to be ahead of the market and society. It was not socially acceptable to seek help for mental issues back then. After a while, our company closed down as we couldn’t secure enough customers.

I don’t like to start something with a huge vision in mind. I like to start small and test the market. For my current branding business, it is the same. I didn’t come online to start a business. Writing online was my grief therapy. But after a while I was approached by followers who asked me to coach them.

Start small to test your product and figure out what the market wants. Don’t push your agenda down people’s throats. You don’t need millions of dollars to start something, especially if it is a service business.”

4. Figuring out the real authorities on online subjects

“When you talk to so-called ‘experts’, they should be able to answer your questions on the spot without consulting the internet or AI.

Is the self-proclaimed coach able to understand and adjust their coaching according to your personality? Age can be a factor to determine their reliability. How can they coach you if they have no experience themselves?

There are some 19-year-olds that claim to be instagram coaches. Gain experience first. Expertise takes time to build and your audience can always spot a fake.”

5. Be authentic in your presentation

“You have to accept yourself first. You don’t need to tell people that you are authentic. Show it instead of telling. There’s no need to prove that you are better than others. Authenticity doesn’t have to mean offensive.

I might say, ‘this is happiness to me’, but I don’t have to push my own beliefs down your throat. Who you are in person should be the same person as you are online.

There is no need to blindly chase likes online. You have to decide what valuable online engagement is to you. A business owner might have different metrics from a Tiktok influencer. “

Connect with Gabi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielleloh/

And that is all for today’s One Sneak Peek Into.

Stay tuned for more insights from our interview series as we continue to explore the stories of trailblazers breaking barriers and redefining success.