Libsyn Directory

"Nobody Cares About Your Story" - What Actually Gets You Booked as a Speaker | Simone Heng

Release Date: 05/19/2025

“Upskill. Adapt. Don't fall behind.” - Ok, now what? | Michelle Mah

EDIT HISTORY

We are drowning in advice about AI. Upskill. Adapt. Stay ahead. But underneath all of that noise is a question nobody seems to be asking: what is this actually doing to us? Psychotherapist Michelle Mah works with high-performing professionals navigating exactly this - and what she's seeing in her practice isn't a skills gap. It's exhaustion, dysregulation, and an identity crisis that the productivity conversation keeps skipping over. In this episode, we get into AI anxiety, the psychological cost of being asked to change at machine speed, and why the "adapt or fall behind" message might be...

He's Building a Time Capsule of Singapore's Greatest Minds | Keith Yap

EDIT HISTORY

What does it take to build a podcast that's designed to outlast you? Keith Yap, host of The Front Row Podcast, grew his show to 15K subscribers in under a year - not by chasing trends, but by doing the opposite. His mission: create a living archive of Singapore's brightest minds on geopolitics, economics, and technology. A time capsule for the next generation of Singaporeans. In this conversation, Keith reflects on how his role has evolved from nervous first-timer to confident interlocutor - someone who doesn't just ask questions, but challenges, supplements, and connects ideas across a...

Makeup Artist by Day, Million-Dollar Real Estate Agent by Night | Claire Tan

EDIT HISTORY

Claire Tan started her first business at 17 - not because she had a plan, but because she refused to work in a system where someone else decided how far she could go. In this episode, Claire walks us through how she built Ladyy Claire Makeup into one of Singapore's first makeup-only bridal companies, pivoted into luxury real estate during COVID, and quietly became one of the most respected agents working with high-net-worth clients - all while being a self-described introvert who hides behind the curtains at parties. We get into: why she broke her scholarship bond and never looked back, how...

I quit law school. Then I quit my PhD. | Cheryl Lau

EDIT HISTORY

When you've always been the straight-A student, quitting feels like a character flaw - not a decision. In this episode, my friend Jennifer Ho turns the tables and interviews me. We go through my three-page resume and look for everything it doesn't show: the shame of quitting law school, my mum telling me I needed to "bring harmony back into the family," and then quitting a PhD years later - terrified of becoming a two-time quitter. This is a conversation about high-functioning doubt, outsourcing your identity to systems, and how I eventually stopped making decisions based on what would make me...

5 Years of Podcasting. Still Not Sure I'm Qualified. | Cheryl Lau

EDIT HISTORY

For five years, I've been podcasting. Side Hustle Club. Thought Leader Club. Now EDIT HISTORY. And for most of that time, I built it while quietly wondering if I was actually qualified to do any of it. In this episode, my friend Rae Fung interviews me - and we go deep into the parts that don't show up in the highlights: why I rebranded twice, what I learned when my most casual episode outperformed my most carefully crafted one, and how I kept saying yes to opportunities I felt completely unready for. TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Trailer (00:49) Opening (03:11) What “success” and...

My Podcast Won Two Awards - But That's Not the Point | Cheryl Lau

EDIT HISTORY

My podcast won two awards at the 2025 Asia Podcast Awards. In this solo episode, I break down what I think actually makes a podcast stand out. TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Introduction (03:31) The Current State of Podcasts (05:12) Show Concept (09:29) Differentiation (15:14) Consistency (18:23) Success as a Podcaster (20:30) What Awards Don’t Measure CONNECT WITH CHERYL LAU Website: YouTube: Instagram: LinkedIn: WORK WITH CHERYL LAU I produce distinctive and deeply resonant podcasts for leaders and organizations who want their...

She Quit Law to Start a Podcast From Scratch… as a Cat | Iman Ibrahim

EDIT HISTORY

Everyone commends you for being brave when you start over. But no one tells you that your reinvention might also look… ridiculous. For our guest today, that looked like explaining to people - very seriously - that she quit her career as a lawyer… to start a podcast as a cat. Because that’s the thing about starting something new: More often than not, it doesn’t look polished or profound. It looks like curiosity, experimentation - and sometimes, doing something absolutely absurd, but quintessentially you. Today’s guest, Iman Ibrahim, embodies that exact spirit. After nearly two decades...

He Almost Quit Media. A Friend Paid His Phone Bill to Stop Him. | Aiken Chia

EDIT HISTORY

When Aiken Chia was broke and ready to walk away from media after six years of rejection, a friend paid his phone bill so he wouldn't miss a callback. That single act changed everything. In this episode, Aiken sits down with us to go beyond the Food King years and the viral moments - including the video where he sat with his mum to unpack her 18-year affair on camera. We talk about what it costs to make something that personal, the values that have kept him grounded through success and betrayal, and why he still doesn't run mid-roll ads on YouTube even when the money would help. This is a...

She Chose Not to Go Viral. Her Audience Grew Anyway. | Ainul Md Razib

EDIT HISTORY

When Ainul Md Razib first started posting about tech careers on TikTok, almost nobody in Singapore was doing it. No blueprint, no local creator to follow, no way of knowing if it would land. In this episode, Ainul - cybersecurity engineer at IBM and one of Singapore's first career-focused tech creators - opens up about what it actually takes to build something original in a space that doesn't have rules yet. We talk about why she's never done a salary breakdown video (it comes down to her faith and Malay cultural values around wealth), how she navigates telling her manager about her social...

He Lied to His Asian Dad About Quitting His Job - Until He Had Proof | Simon Alexander Ong

EDIT HISTORY

For years, Simon Alexander Ong told his strict Asian father that the job was "going okay." What he didn't say was that he'd already quietly started coaching clients on the side - building a business in secret, evenings and weekends, until he had three paying clients and a decision to make. Today, Simon is a bestselling author, international keynote speaker, and one of the most-watched creators in his space - his video "I'm 40. If You're In Your 20s or 30s, Watch This" has 3.9M views. In this episode, we go behind the highlight reel: the double life, the conversations he had with his father...

More Episodes

Most people trying to build thought leadership are doing it backwards. They share their story online, wait for people to connect with it, and wonder why the bookings aren't coming.

Simone Heng has a blunter take: nobody cares about your story. Not unless you're Michael Jordan.

Simone is a human connection specialist, award-winning author of Let's Talk About Loneliness, and one of the few Asian women speaking at the level she does - at Harvard, Google, the UN, and stages across the Middle East and Southeast Asia. She spent six figures educating herself before anyone paid to hear her speak. For four years, her former radio employer controlled her Instagram and stopped her from being herself. The week that ended, she built a six-figure business in a pandemic.

In this conversation, we talk about what actually gets you booked, why your story is the least interesting thing about your thought leadership, and what the "sophomore slump" looks like when your first book receives six international awards.

TIMESTAMPS

(00:00) Introduction

(01:57) “I’ve never seen an Asian woman speak like that”

(03:13) Developing a subject matter expertise

(07:17) Choosing your topic of expertise

(09:20) Being told to hide parts of you

(10:41) The behind the scenes work

(12:36) Your story isn’t enough

(16:09) Do you need a PhD to be a thought leader?

(22:24) Reviewing Simone’s past content

(26:52) Become a speaker or author

(30:49) What’s next for Simone

(35:43) Actionable Takeaways

CONNECT WITH SIMONE HENG

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simoneheng

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simone-heng-speaker

Website: https://simoneheng.com

Thought Leaders Now: https://www.thoughtleadersnow.com

CONNECT WITH CHERYL LAU

Website: https://cheryllau.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@cheryltheory

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cheryltheory

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheryllau

WORK WITH CHERYL LAU

I produce distinctive and deeply resonant podcasts for leaders and organizations who want their content to command attention, spark meaningful conversations, and attract high-value opportunities.

I ensure your podcast isn’t just another show in the feed - it’s an asset that elevates your authority and moves your work forward.

Here are 3 ways we can work together:

✨ 1:1 Editorial Podcast Production

✨ Corporate Podcast Producing & Consulting

✨ Hosting for Corporate Shows

Schedule a discovery call for us to explore what working together might look like: https://cheryllau.com/discovery

CONTACT

Please email hello@cheryllau.com for business inquiries.

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