Simon Ong

From World Class Speaker To Penguin Author

Simon Alexander Ong’s mission is to inspire people to see their world differently and ignite their imagination of what is truly possible so that they can lead purposeful lives.

Simon is a life coach, business strategist and a world-class speaker. He has spoken at events organised by Facebook, Google, O2, Barclays, Docusign, Cannon and Chelsea FC.

Furthermore, he has been featured by Forbes, Harvard Business Review, The FT and the Guardian.

His new book “Energize” is due for publication by Penguin in April of 2022.

1. What are you most excited about in the near future?

I’m most excited about the publication of my new book! The new projects I am working on are designing a brief for a new Netflix show and potentially working with the United Nations. These projects excite me, not because they are guarantees, but because they expand my field possibility.

2. How did the work with the United Nations come about, and what’s the purpose of it?

This opportunity links nicely to one of the essential habits I embraced during my transition from employee to entrepreneur. Each week, I dedicated myself to expanding and diversifying my network with ambitious people, whatever their background, whilst ensuring they shared similar values and beliefs.

Through this practice, I connected with someone on Clubhouse who worked with UN women. This led to the opportunity to work with the UN.

“The beauty of expanding and diversifying your circle opens you up to opportunities you would not have come across otherwise.”

3. It sounds like you have been niche about your values but not about the background of those you connect with; very inspiring.

“One of the biggest mistakes in business happens when we only focus on the competition. When you only focus on the competition – you can only be as good as the competition.”

When you start to think broader, that is when you stand out in your industry.

4. The title of your book is Energize: how to harness your energy and make the most out of every moment.” Simon, how do you harness your energy and make the most out of every moment?

When I look back on my journey, energy management has been a crucial part of the journey. People often ask me, “What’s your best hack to improve my energy?” – my response is usually, no strategy or hack will help unless you have the proper foundation in place. When people consider productivity, they think about time management; I would encourage them to first focus on energy management.

“If we don’t go into the time that we have available with the right energy, we waste it.”

When I started to build my foundation with the energy of gratitude, a compelling vision, through optimising my social, physical and mental energy, then things began to shift in my favour. I began to feel like I could “bend reality”, as Vishen Lakhiani would say.

5. What psychological fears did you have to face when transitioning to a penguin author?

“If you don’t have fears and doubts, you are not growing enough.”

Whenever you embark on a new journey, you are always going to have fears and doubts. Confidence is not the absence of fear; it is the belief that you will be ok despite your fears. It’s the trust that you have in yourself that you will be able to navigate whatever the world throws at you.

When I was first in discussions with Penguin, it was exciting; it was like the engagement period before the wedding. Once the deal was done, the fear kicked in.

“I suddenly realised I have to write this book.”

At the same time of the deal, I also became a father; this magnified the doubt I had in myself as I had to juggle parental responsibilities and book writing. As I started writing, another fear crept up; would people enjoy the book? Will they read it? You can only overcome those fears by taking micro steps forward.

“Nothing beats fear like practice.”

“If you are not embarrassed by what you were doing one year ago, you are not learning or growing enough.” Alain De Botton

6. How has the writing process influenced your level of clarity?

The activity of writing is extremely powerful. If you have never journaled, I highly encourage you to give it a go.

“Writing is humanity distilled into ink.” – Diana Chao.

The writing process was beautiful for several reasons. Firstly, it allowed me to learn more about myself as I was extracting stories from my experiences. Secondly, it enabled me to understand the audience I was speaking to. I wanted to write the book in a conversational tone, so whether the reader was engrossed in eastern philosophies or western business, they could still say, “I get it.”

The reason why clarity is so important is that when you write on your subject, you have to communicate your topic in a way anyone can understand. I wanted to write in a way that even my child could understand.

7. What did you have to do to keep your energy on track during this project?

Firstly we must understand that life is a series of tradeoffs.

“I needed to ask myself, what are my priorities? And, do my actions tell the world what my priorities are?”

I had to clarify, what could I eliminate to engage with habits that would move the needle forward? It became clear that the two most important practices for me were building relationships and physical activity. Things unrelated to these habits had a lower priority.

8. What did you have to let go of to focus on your writing?

There was a planned idea of what to let go of and what actually happened. We had planned to organise support from parents and a nanny, but then COVID struck. This caused a shift in plan. At that point, I realised I needed to let go of coaching clients, and I needed to call in for extra support from my wife, who has been phenomenal on this journey.

This experience taught me the essential importance of being adaptable. Even though it is great to have a plan, we need to be prepared for the plan not working.

“Be attached to no outcome and open to everything.” – Chinese proverb.

When we remain open, we see miracles, serendipity and luck.

9. How did you cope with your shift in purpose, and where do you see your purpose going in the future?

For me, I separate vision, goals and purpose. Vision denotes your story and legacy; your purpose and goals are the milestones that help you attain that vision. The purpose and goal may change, but they are always aligned with my vision.

“My vision is to design and lead a story that will inspire others to step out from the shadows and be the light of their own story.”

Whatever my purpose or goal is, it always has that common thread. This is what moves me forward, staying open to whatever may lead me towards this vision. This is why remaining an eternal student is so important. It enables you to be non attached as to how you will achieve that vision.

10. How have you managed to attract people that are so aligned with your vision?

When I first started this journey of thought-leadership, I did not have a website or a particularly active social media account. So when I started the business, I needed to approach it one conversation at a time. Because I put myself into situations where I would regularly connect with people, I quickly learned the art of connection.

I learned early on how to respond to the “what do you do?” question. I quickly realised responding with a title like a coach and a speaker was doing me a disservice. I did not tell them the benefit I could bring to people. So I started to shift my introduction to a trailer of my business which usually prompted the other person to want to learn more. This led me to coin the term PBM – permission-based marketing, where the person in front of you begins to sell to themself.

After connecting with more people, I realised the most powerful conversations did not happen by me telling someone about myself; it happened by me giving them the space to tell me about their story. This helped significantly, as when people started to share their story I could harness that information to shape the conversation further.

Learning about others whilst creating intrigue about who we are, is a recipe for connection.

Standing out is also vital to ensure you connect with people. Voice messages help you stand out compared to standard text messages; they allow others to learn more about you and create further curiosity.

11. The last time we spoke, we delved into the imaginary board room; I wonder if you would be so kind as to reveal who sits in your imaginary board room and why?

In the book, I discuss designing your own MBA (mental board of advisors); this was so important to me at the beginning of my journey to seek counsel from incredible minds. The people who are consistently on my board include Nick Vujicic, Sarah Blakely and Tim Ferris. They each represent qualities that inspire me to serve from the next level. Nick’s achieved despite significant physical disabilities, Tim Ferris teaches me the art of winning and Sarah’s inspires me to persist and be consistent in the face of setbacks.

I access these individuals by going inwards – closing my eyes and visualising their counsel.

This activity gives you perspective.

“What you begin to realise is that perspective is reality, and reality is perspective.”

You can connect with Simon through his website and preorder his new book Energize here.