When Arthur Kiong, CEO of Far East Hospitality, failed his A Levels, he thought his life was pretty much over.His dad even told him, &#34;I’m sorry, you had your shot but you missed it&#34; and in Arthur&#39;s own words, &#34;I was lost and I was discouraged and I was in a great deal of pain and despair.&#34;Arthur ended up selling slimming products on the streets because it was the only job he could find before applying to Mediocorp to become a stage technician.Things took a turn when he was asked to take a voice test and he ended up with a celebrity radio DJ because he could pronounce &#34;Thursday the Thirteenth”! Overnight, Arthur found himself rubbing shoulders with the who&#39;s who and celebrities of the world and you would’ve thought that this was where Arthur’s career was on a rapid trajectory upwards save that he gave it all up to work to become a greeter at Prego. People were astonished. Why would he take on such a &#39;demeaning&#39; job?!But Arthur was adamant.And Prego signalled the first step that Arthur took into the world of hospitality, where you&#39;ll find that he&#39;s had more than his share of incredible luck, ingenuity and adventures.Including:<ul><li>Being &#39;saved&#39; by a war and lauded as a genius</li><li>Landing his dream job (at Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong) because his dog, Silky, fell sick!</li><li>Launching a successful marketing campaign straight after 9/11 (despite being in the thick of a fight between the head office & owner!)</li></ul>To find out more, you’ll just have to listen to this STIMY Ep 147 with Arthur Kiong. 😏Highlights:<ul><li>2:49 Adrian Tan</li><li>3:52 You have to be on the right escalator</li><li>6:18 Being in despair</li><li>6:53 Selling Japanese slimming starch</li><li>7:04 Becoming a celebrity radio DJ because he could pronounce ‘Thursday the Thirteenth’</li><li>9:01 Giving it all up</li><li>10:36 No future?</li><li>12:17 Becoming a waiter at Prego</li><li>12:55 Oh Lord, what have I done?!</li><li>15:00 Sales wasn’t easy!</li><li>15:26 First big breakthrough in hospitality</li><li>16:33 Interesting initiatives</li><li>19:39 Being saved by a war</li><li>22:35 I found nothing!</li><li>23:58 That scares me… I like being in control!</li><li>25:21 The difference between knowing and knowing</li><li>26:35 Landing the dream job at The Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong because of my sick dog!</li><li>28:09 It was a spooky experience</li><li>30:42 Returning to Singapore</li><li>31:18 The significant career break that allowed him to get into the Ritz</li><li>33:42 Superman in New York</li><li>36:21 When the cucumber turns green, it means the time is ripe</li><li>37:43 If things go south, will the corporate body defend me? </li><li>39:37 I wanted to architect my resume</li><li>41:10 Why Singapore?</li><li>42:11 Building a Singaporean Hotel Brand</li><li>45:18 Living by Christian Values</li><li>49:05 Challenges of a CEO (that most don’t see)</li><li>50:23 Do you believe in God?</li><li>51:32 The Second Act in your career?</li><li>53:00 Biggest career advice</li><li>54:23 Do you feel like you’ve found your why?</li><li>55:18 What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind?</li><li>55:37 What are the most important qualities of a successful person?</li></ul> Special thanks to Limpeh Studios for making this in-person interview possible!🙊 Want to support STIMY for as little as $0.10/day? <a href="https://www.sothisismywhy.com/support-stimy/" rel="nofollow">https://www.sothisismywhy.com/support-stimy/</a>📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/147🍿 YouTube: <a href="https://youtu.be/lJkY_8igcxQ" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/lJkY_8igcxQ</a> 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter on the art of storytelling &#43; building your personal brand (&#43;snippets of STIMY behind-the-scenes): <a href="https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062" rel="nofollow">https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062</a>

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Ep 147: Far East Hospitality CEO: "I Thought My Life is Pretty Much Over"

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