CRAZY RICH OKIEPOREANI come from the land of the 'Crazy Rich Asians' but I am not rich by definition of the movie. The many decisions I have made, including traveling across time zones and making Oklahoma City a second home, are considered by some ‘crazy’. However, I have embraced those decisions and learned that it is more important that our day-to-day actions point towards our ultimate purpose in life. I am rich but in a different sense of the word. I am the Crazy Rich Okieporean. Watch this introduction video before continuing below. THE FULLER STORY ...With a one-way ticket, two suitcases, and three stops, I flew almost 20 hours across multiple time zones and arrived in Oklahoma City in the year 2000, a place I only knew about because of the Federal building bombing in 1995. I left my home country of Singapore with an open-ended agenda; ready to fully immerse into college life as a full-time student and welcome any opportunities with open arms upon graduation. "What opportunities?" you might ask. If you know the Oklahoma City of the early 2000s in comparison to the opulence of Singapore, Okieland is not a land flowing with milk and honey at that time. So call me crazy for giving up living in a vibrant metropolitan city and moving to a developing one, where some still think Indians and cowboys roam the land on horses. In fact, I am kind of crazy and I am an Asian. Just not rich like the people in the movie. I have never been the 'norm' by the standards of society or my parents when it comes to my pursuit in life. I AM NOT THE 'NORM'My enrollment in a trade school as a young adult instead of pursuing a college degree immediately after secondary education was to my rich relative, an educational suicide. While three years spent getting an engineering diploma sounded like a waste of time and money, that was when my spiritual foundation was established with a group of Christians in a student-led faith-based ministry. After that, I signed a six-year civil service contract as a law enforcement officer instead of serving a shorter military term (all Singaporean male must be in active service as a full-time National Serviceman) for two reasons. One, I don’t like training for war in hot humid jungle and rather be fighting real crime on the streets. Two, I wanted a more predictable work schedule to pursue a degree that I wanted for a job in the creative industry. Besides having good undercover crime fighting stories to tell, the six years in law enforcement has exposed me to team training and project management skills, which I still employ now. My current side-hustle at a grocery chain while being a solopreneur of a brand coaching business and an author of an upcoming book sounded like the making of a starving-artist story. You will be surprised to hear that the two years of being in a grocery store has taught me more about branding than the 10 plus years spent as an in-house marketing professional. That’s another story for another time. And my current stage of singleness is one that baffles many. “Why are you not married?” and “You should have tons of children by now.” are typical reactions from Asians (and some Westerners) I meet. However, nothing beats the passive-aggressive question from my mom. She would ask in Hokkien (one of the many dialects of the Chinese language), “Do you have any friends?” . And in response I would say, “Of course I have tons of friends!” while knowing very well what she was hinting at. A: PURPOSE DRIVEN ACTIONSReflecting on my actions in the last 30 years, I have learned to be less concern with whether I have made a right or a wrong decision. And as I straddle between my two homes on a yearly basis, the decisions that I continue to make are also strangely inspired by the different time zones. When I am in Singapore, I will be aware that it is yesterday in Oklahoma. That kind of put me in a reflective state of mind where I learn to look back with no regrets. When I am in Oklahoma City, I take on another mindset of looking forward with anticipation because my home country is always about 12 to 14 hours ahead of the western hemisphere. Those mindsets frame what I must absolutely do every day as I make sure my day-to-day actions are pointing toward my ultimate business in life. Even though I am not rich by definition of a crazy rich Asian, I do feel rich because of the people I have gotten to know and the relationships which I want to continue surrounding myself with. And I want my day-to-day action to be all about that, whether I am a brand strategist or a grocery store worker, a single person or a married one. I feel rich because of an all-knowing God who knew me before He formed me in my mother’s womb, a God who set me apart before I was born. (Jeremiah 1:5). And I want my day-to-day action to be in anticipation of that kind of future; a future that I have full assurance of, even if there may not be total clarity. So, I am rich in a different sense of the word. And that makes me a crazy rich Okieporean; an Oklahoman by residential status and a Singaporean by citizenship. This is one of many stories I tell. This is part of my B.R.A.N.D. story. If you are a business owner seeking to make your brand more memorable, it starts with you and your personal brand story. The B.R.A.N.D. System is created as a self-directed tool for you to uncover five key components of your personal brand, which will start you on the journey towards mastering your business brand.
REAL-WORLD ENTREPRENEURSHIP SKILLS IN AND OUT OF A CLASSROOMFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 15, 2020 While online shopping may have become more of a norm during this pandemic, young adults from F.A.C.T. (Family Awareness and Community Teamwork) of the Oklahoma City Police Department recently gathered at a mall as part of a 9-week long Entrepreneurship Program. This field trip was not for retail therapy but a challenge to study strategies adopted by retailers to reach their customers. The 18-20-year-olds were placed in an environment they are familiar with but asked to put on the lens of a business owner as they learn entrepreneurial skills. "We naturally think of and react to marketing and advertising like a consumer," Vincent Lee, one of the program's coaches explained. "But as future business owners, we hope to train these youths to think like an entrepreneur." The students were asked to observe all aspects of marketing and advertising; from colors to the logo, from store layout to sensory experience, and from signage to staff interaction. "It was fun to see the students apply their new knowledge of marketing and strategy as they analyzed stores they have been in dozens of times before." Taylor Wood, Volunteer Coordinator of the F.A.C.T Unit observed. "I strongly believe the skills and knowledge they have learned will be beneficial as many of them are transitioning from high school to college or directly to the full-time work force." Business leaders like CPA and Process Improvement Specialist are also invited to the class to help the students understand the resources needed for the health and growth of their own business. "The goal of the program is to paint a real-world picture of the business world for our students," Rob Miles, creator of the Thousand Paces Roadmap System and this Entrepreneurship Program said. "I'm very grateful to be a part of this program. I've taken in a lot of basic and important information that I wish I would've had the chance to learn in high school, like the type of bank accounts we're offered, taxes, investments, savings, budgeting, and taking risk." Abigail G., one of the students shared. The program will end in a few more weeks with the possibility of helping a handful of students apply the knowledge to actual business ideas these young future entrepreneurs have. Rob Miles. Founder of Thousand Paces Thousand Paces helps small businesses and entrepreneurs find and determine their next milestones using their “Roadmap” system. Through this system, they help business owners secure funding for their venture, launch a new company, or navigate the structure of an existing company to overcome the peaks and valleys. The founder, Rob Miles, realized a blind spot in the banking system and started Thousand Paces to help small businesses navigate the complexities of commercial lending. Rob created the roadmap system to ensure all commercial loans also “fit” in line with the clients’ purpose and budget. It proved to be such a useful tool that it is now used in college classes at USAO, high school level classes with F.A.C.T., and all of Thousand Paces’ clients. Vincent Lee. Author, Brand Strategist, and Coach For the past 20 years, Vincent has straddled life and work between Singapore and Oklahoma City. Along the way, he has shown clients on several continents how they can become the master of their brand and move their company into space traditionally taken by huge corporations. As an author of an upcoming book “One Game Changer to Boost Your Business. Use the B.R.A.N.D.™ System to Go Deeper so can you Go Further”, Vincent continues to be a brand evangelist and advocate for his clients, while also devoting his time towards inspiring young minds to uncover and define their brand in life. MEDIA CONTACT: Rob Miles [email protected] 405-702-2005 or Vincent Lee [email protected] 405-596-3451 YOUTHS LEARNING ENTREPRENEURSHIP SKILLS BEYOND THE COLLEGE CLASSROOM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 8, 2020 On his first day teaching at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, Rob Miles found very few of his students knew what they wanted to do when they graduate. And for the handful who did, they had unrealistic expectations of the real-world. Being an entrepreneur himself, Miles created a program that would give students real-world exposure to the reality of owning and operating a business. As the founder of Thousand Paces, Miles also believes in giving back to the community. When Miles was introduced to F.A.C.T. (Family Awareness and Community Teamwork), he developed an entrepreneurship program to fit the needs of the F.A.C.T. students. F.A.C.T. is a community outreach program of the Oklahoma City Police Department aiming to mentor at-risk youth. “My goal is for the students to come out of the class with the understanding and confidence to open their own business, but I would be just as happy if they find their passion focusing on a single aspect of a business, such as finance or marketing.” Miles shared. Miles has collaborated with Vincent Lee, a brand strategist and coach, to aid in the program. Lee, who like Miles, believes in inspiring and educating young minds. Together, Miles and Lee are bringing their real-world experiences in banking and branding respectively. Through dual efforts they are teaching the students how to:
“Teaching the how-tos of business development, branding, financing, and marketing is the easy part,” Lee explained. “Helping students see their potential, despite their circumstances, is the true driver to what we do.” Derrick Sier, the Program Coordinator of F.A.C.T. stated, “The entrepreneur program provided by Thousand Paces has not only introduced the concept of business ownership and product development but has provided classroom and field application. It takes an idea from concept to implementation; immediately applicable to whatever individual idea the participant may have.” Rob Miles. Founder of Thousand Paces Thousand Paces helps small businesses and entrepreneurs find and determine their next milestones using their “Roadmap” system. Through this system, they help business owners secure funding for their venture, launch a new company, or navigate the structure of an existing company to overcome the peaks and valleys. The founder, Rob Miles, realized a blind spot in the banking system and started Thousand Paces to help small businesses navigate the complexities of commercial lending. Rob created the roadmap system to ensure all commercial loans also “fit” in line with the clients’ purpose and budget. It proved to be such a useful tool that it is now used in college classes at USAO, high school level classes with F.A.C.T., and all of Thousand Paces’ clients. Vincent Lee. Author, Brand Strategist, and Coach For the past 20 years, Vincent has straddled life and work between Singapore and Oklahoma City. Along the way, he has shown clients on several continents how they can become the master of their brand and move their company into the space traditionally taken by huge corporations. As an author of an upcoming book “One Game Changer to Boost Your Business. Use the B.R.A.N.D.™ System to Go Deeper so can you Go Further”, Vincent continues to be a brand evangelist and advocate for his clients, while also devoting his time towards inspiring young minds to uncover and define their brand in life. MEDIA CONTACT: Rob Miles [email protected] 405-702-2005 or Vincent Lee [email protected] 405-596-3451 |
|
RSS Feed