Simon Alexander Ong grew up often feeling like he didn’t fit in. Which is weird when you look at his CV: He graduated from LSE before going to work at Lehman Brothers (until it fell into administration) then a hedge fund as a junior trader. Along the way, he attended a 2-day coaching seminar that transformed the way he saw coaching and kickstarted his journey into becoming a bestselling author, international keynote speaker and business strategist. His work has seen him invited onto Sky News and BBC to be interviewed, while he has been featured in the likes of Forbes and Harvard Business Review. He has also spoken at some of the planet's most successful organisations such as Barclays, Salesforces, Adobe, EY and Microsoft. And his debut book Energize, published by Penguin in 2022 became an instant bestseller, receiving endorsements from the likes of New York Times bestselling authors Simon Sinek, Marie Forleo and Marshall Goldsmith. In 2023, Energize was also awarded Book of the Year within the Wellness & Wellbeing category at The Business Book Awards! But… how did it all begin? ❓ Why does Simon believe that the best leaders are great coaches? ❓ How did he get big names like Simon Sinek and Marie Forleo to endorse his debut book? ❓ How has he built his coaching business? ❓ What gave him the confidence to take The Leap? ❓ What’s been the real game changer for his business? ❓ And why does he advise people to not wait because life has already begun? To find out, you’ll just have to listen to Simon’s episode on the So This Is My Why podcast. 😎 And to all those celebrating - Happy Chinese New Year! Highlights: 4:47 Not fitting in 6:40 What am I going to do with my life?! 8:18 Impact of mum passing away 9:46 The toxic environment at Lehman Brothers 11:36 Not stick to the same path? 12:38 The exploration journey 16:47 2 days to 2 years?! 18:07 Landing clients 19:41 Where Simon found the courage & confidence to take the leap 25:09 The game changer 26:46 How to decide on the right mastermind to join 28:34 The importance of building a personal brand 29:52 Defining good content 31:36 Saying yes to every interview?! 33:35 It was stupid to introduce myself as a coach! 38:28 Storytelling frameworks 43:04 Being open but not to open - how do you find the line?! 44:38 Google says that the best leaders are great coaches?! 48:40 The first session 51:11 How to decide on the right coach 52:17 Energy is everything 53:39 Multiplying energy 55:32 What is something that Simon wishes made it into the final edition of his book but didn’t?! 57:14 The last time Simon faced coach 58:46 The measured way to handle chaos 1:00:26 The strategy behind launching his bestselling book, Energize 1:03:03 How he convinced Simon Sinek & Marie Forleo to give him raving endorsements 1:04:36 Has a Penguin published book opened doors for Simon? 1:04:55 Do epic stuff that will make your Netflix documentary compulsive viewing 📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/137 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter on the art of storytelling + building your personal brand (+snippets of STIMY behind-the-scenes): https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062 ✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442