000 | Welcome To The Self Mastery Show

It is I, David Wong, thank you for tuning into The Self Mastery Show episode 0, my origin episode, where you will get the low-down of what this show is about, my promises, what I’ll be covering, who the show is for, my story, my journey and the why…

This is my one at-bat and will be the foundation of my legacy, so if you’re here listening to the origin episode, give yourself a pat on the back because I’d like to think of you as a founding member of this community. And I appreciate you all.

The Self Mastery Show has been 3 months in the making. And to be honest, I couldn’t even decide on the name for this podcast until last week. I was stressed thinking about all the variations, and that all the good names were already taken but once I landed on The Self Mastery Show and checked that the domain was available, I knew this was it.

I’m excited to go live with you because if you really think about it… we live in a time where anyone can share their voice and make an impact on the life of someone who lives halfway across the world. So the fact that I can potentially bring value to a listener in like London, where I’ve never even been is pretty awesome if you ask me. Like if this were the 90s, I don’t even know how people were sharing their message because the internet was still a fad at the time.

Anyways, that’s aside from the point.

The Self Mastery Show revolves around the ongoing journey of becoming the best version of ourselves, whatever that means to you so that you can live your best life. Whether it’s as small as a slight habit change to something as big as speaking on an international stage… there’s nothing too big or too small that can’t be achieved if you put your mind and actions towards it.

You’ll be hearing from entrepreneurs, influencers, thought leaders from various walks of life and most famously… me! Because I’m why you’re all here… nah I’m just kidding. Really, you’ll be hearing from anyone who can provide us with value and context around becoming the best version of ourselves. Including individuals that I come across who are just getting started on this same journey and was maybe in your exact shoes, a few months to a year ago. All of which I believe will provide you with a greater perspective of what we as individuals are capable of, especially when we immerse ourselves in a community of like-minded people.

In coming up with this show, I also came up with 3 promises that the Self Mastery Show will live by.

And the first promise is that this show, with my voice, will be truly authentic and transparent. Which means I will not hold back on my thoughts and emotions, as well as my vulnerabilities. This on its own is a challenge to myself as most of my friends would tell you that I’m typically very kept to myself and I never say too much about anything. So I think producing this show and seeing my me use my voice will come across as a surprise to many people.

The second promise is this… we’ll be talking about a lot of techniques, habits, strategies etc. But I’m going to try my best to make everything applicable and actionable so that you’ll actually know how to implement certain things into your life. Rather than just letting it be another theory or idea that may not seem plausible to you.

And lastly, my final promise is that this show will be a true documentation of my journey. What I mean by this isn’t that I was planning to make up stories or anything but what I’ll be doing is telling the full story and create lots of context so that what is shared will really be relatable and can resonate with you to the point where you’ll think we’re living the same life!

Is that creepy?

Now at this point, you might think that's great David you’re just another podcast in the sea of alternatives that already exist.

So then what can you expect to hear from me… well I can speak about becoming and starting off as an aspiring entrepreneur, building small personal online businesses, developing high performance habits, coming to understand yourself, right, the self awareness, side hustling because I’ve done and still do a lot of that, overcoming fears and barriers, how to connect with mentors, personal finance and investing as knowing how to invest is also a big player in building your future. You’ll also hear about mental wellness and a bit about fitness as they’re both things that I’m working on as part of my journey to become the best me.

Probably the most interesting thing I can talk about that not many others can or have is how to step about of the stereotypical Asian kid expectations put on by their family… I think everyone has an idea of what this entails regardless of whether or not you’re Asian, but more on that later.

Again, with the overarching message and theme behind the Self Mastery Show to become the best version of yourself, I hope to be able to speak out for you and be the voice you need to get started by sharing my journey, experiences, thoughts, vulnerability and feelings so that my message will resonate with you and you’ll feel that “hey, he gets me, that’s exactly what I’m thinking and feeling, I’m not alone in this.”

That’s the emotional response I’m looking for because yeah, I’ve been there too, probably not too long ago either because I’m also just getting started!

Sound good to you so far? Perfect!

You should know that I’m not trying to serve everybody around everything. This show is for you whether you’re going through a bit of a rough patch right now, maybe a bit of anxiety, stress, confusion or you could already be living the best life and waking up excited everyday…

But the commonality that you both have is that you know this isn’t it, there’s a spark in you telling you that more is possible and that you’ll pull through that rough patch, it’s just temporary. And you can always be a little bit better than you were yesterday.
I think what’s great about being able to have both sides come together is that for people who are going through some stuff, they are able to see positivity on the other side and in turn feel encouraged. And for those who are living the best life, you can be humbled and reminded of where you came from and what life was like before…

Simply put this show is for you if you want to be able to do more, maybe break out of the 9-5 or start a side-hustle or passion project. This show is also for you if you just want to feel mentally clearer and feel at your best, I have habits and techniques on how to achieve that. Or maybe you’re in a bit of a rut and you just need to listen to some positivity.

I want to be the voice that empowers those who resonate with me and my journey.

Now, as much as I’d like to impact as many people as possible, I also want to be clear on who I’m not trying to serve.

This show is not for you if you’re here to troll or to judge others, especially if you’re using other people’s vulnerabilities to make yourself feel better and significant. That is not how you go about living your best life, I can tell you that.

My audience is open-minded and accepting of each other’s journeys and differences because there’s not one right way to do anything.

And hey if you feel a little bit repelled by what I just said and decide that this show isn’t for you then it’s okay too! No hard feelings, you’re welcome to put me on the back burner and maybe I’ll be of value to you a little later on in your journey.

Perhaps you know someone right now who needs to listen to The Self Mastery Show and you can pass this on to them…

I’m also open to new ideas of what I can incorporate into the show and community so don’t hesitate to email or DM me because I’d like to build something that’s valuable to my audience, not just myself!

With that being said, if you’re still listening, welcome to the Self Mastery Show! This show is about the ongoing journey of becoming the best version of yourself, regardless of what that means to you… You’ll be hearing me say that a lot, trust me… But I feel like its important to include that last bit in there because self-mastery to one person will look drastically different to another. My definition of self-mastery is being so good at being me for who I want to be, that people who resonate with me will take my vibe and energy and become fearless in doing what they want, basically a long way of saying, I want impact the lives of others.

But for someone else, it could just be being the best child, parent, or spouse they can possibly be. Or becoming the leader at work who everyone will look up to, you see what I mean?... It’s going to be different for everybody.

So in case you forgot my name already, my name is David Wong… if you ask me who I am, I really can’t say just yet… I’d hate to identify as one thing because I’m a few… and entrepreneur would probably be the broadest term to describe myself because I’m also an expert in e-commerce, Facebook ads, social media marketing, affiliate marketing, photo, and videography… I’m also an aspiring coffee and tea expert… so let's just go with entrepreneur for the sake of simplicity.

One thing you probably won’t ever hear me say is that I am a life coach. Because I’m not, I just simply can’t coach you on how to live your life. So then who am I to be speaking about all this?

Well, I’m someone who’s been through a bit of stuff and am now documenting my journey.

I’m currently based in Toronto, but home is in Vancouver where I grew up and went to school. I graduated UBC with a BA of Psychology in 2017.

I’m also a first-generation Canadian. Really grateful for my parents having immigrated to Canada 28 years ago with little to nothing to their name and giving up the life they had in China so that I can live the life I have today.

I was raised somewhat traditionally I’d say. Not to the extreme of what some of my friends but you know: get good grades, get a high paying job in the system with good benefits, go to tutor, don’t play video games cause it’s bad for you.

It’s a lot different now but that’s how it was…

I wanted to be a pilot or a firefighter, but that was too dangerous.

I wanted to a chef or an air traffic controller, but that would be too stressful.

So my ideal job in the eyes of my parents really was to work for the government. I have 5 cousins working for the government and that’s their idea of a good job that’s not stressful, pays well and comes with job security and benefits.

But since I knew I didn’t want to work for the government, I set out to just go to business school, work a corporate job at a Fortune 500 company or a start-up because that was the cool thing at the time with the emergence of Silicon Valley culture.

The only thing is, I couldn’t get into business school. I got into arts instead and that was probably the scariest thing for me up until that point in life. Not knowing what other options I have… like was I really just going to have to work for the government, is this what I’m destined to do?

Actually, I did try transferring into business after my first year but I didn’t even have the minimum grade requirement to apply since I was like a C student for the most part.

So I just turned towards finding work to see what else interested me. At my peak, it was my 2nd to 3rd year at UBC, so around 2014, I was working 4 jobs at once… I taught taekwondo, worked with the UBC Communications and Marketing department, I was a line cook at a casual fine dining restaurant, and I did a lot of freelance photo and video work. I basically worked full-time hours on top of a full course load at school.

Fast forward to August 2015, that’s when my life really changed and I gained a wider perspective as to what is possible for my future. Obviously, I didn’t know it at the time but looking back in retrospect, it was August 2015 that my life changed to allow me to be where I am today.

That summer, I spent 4 months in Toronto just doing freelance work, living out of a dorm room at the University of Toronto when I was introduced to e-commerce, more specifically retail arbitrage. Now keep in mind that in 2015, e-commerce on Shopify, eBay, and Amazon wasn’t the cool thing at the time… there weren’t all the courses and gurus there are nowadays.

So I started my own eBay store not knowing what to expect and honestly I expected nothing because I didn’t get my first sale until 3 months later in November… but I persisted anyways because all I had was time.

I was still in school, working and doing this online thing. And by April 2016, my eBay store took off… at my peak, I was profiting $7000 a month and generating $800K in revenue in that first year. Just imagine how you’d feel seeing that as a 22-year-old at the time…

That’s when I realized there’s more to life than just the traditional office job. There’s something out there that didn’t need me to be interviewed for, that I didn’t need good grades for.

I thought this was it, I made it!

On top of that, I also started reaching out to companies offering to help them with social media marketing. This is a funny one because like I’m sure some of you have done what I’m about to share as well… and I actually tell some people who ask me for advice to do the same thing. And it’s that I actually didn’t know anything about social media marketing at the time… I just knew enough to get the job and then I would Google to find out what actually needed to be done.

I then realized that you really only need to know a little bit more than the next person to be able to provide value. Anyways, all of that is something for another episode.

By April of 2017 I graduated from UBC and 3 months later I packed my bags and moved to Toronto with my girlfriend, Emily and 2 other really amazing friends, Jessy and Ryan where we lived together for a solid year.

I was still doing eBay and social media marketing, also some freelancing in Toronto. I should also mention now because I know it’s going to come up later and this would be interesting to some of you… and it’s that my family and some of my friends don’t actually know what it is I do… or they think I do what I do but as an employee of a company rather than on my own.

I think the reason behind that was I was afraid of the judgment and opinions of others. So if you’re on the same boat right now then you’re in the right place!

I tried to improve myself and build my network by attending conferences and events. I even got to meet Gary Vaynerchuk and got his limited edition Crushing It sneakers during my time here.

I think up to now you’re probably thinking what the hell David, it sounds like you have it all, what do you mean you’re just getting started?...

Well if you can imagine the stereotypical meme of a graph illustrating the path to success, there are many ups and downs. Up to this point, I was on a strong uptick, the whole time.

But by April 2018, that was when my line on the graph started to curve downwards. eBay was rolling out a bunch of changes making it harder for sellers to keep up. And I felt like my life was pretty robotic… work just felt like work. I didn’t like talking about what I was doing anymore and I was spending less and less time actively working on the business.

The money was there and great but I fell into the realm of what some may feel when working a job they don’t enjoy. First world problem, I know. But this is what self-awareness is supposed to make you realize.

So what I ended up doing is quit e-commerce, straight up, cold turkey. Just cutting out what I didn’t like while not knowing what was going to happen next. I knew I wanted something with more meaning and the ability to affect the lives of others.

I found myself an amazing mentor in affiliate marketing and tried modelling a business after him on how to make money online with YouTube and promoting affiliate offers. I did that for about 3 months but it still wasn’t it.

At that point, I was running short on cash because I was just living off savings for 7 months and counting. So I picked up more freelance jobs and even picking up shifts at an upscale catering company just to help pay for my living in Toronto.

That was just 4 months ago and I’d say my life was in a bit of a rut. I realized I was dealing with anxiety, you know I had chest pains and saw a cardiologist who said nothing’s wrong with me and I had never experienced anxiety before so I didn’t know. I felt unmotivated, I was down on my luck, I couldn’t sleep and when I did sleep and woke up, I couldn’t pull myself to get out of bed.

I’m going to steal a saying from someone who would describe my life at that point as just someone going through the motions of life. I forgot how to feel excited…

And that someone’s name is Jay Wong, I discovered Jay in November last year, and he instantly resonated with me. I still think it has a lot to do with the fact that he’s also Chinese and has the same last name as me and we sort of look alike, nah I’m just kidding.

Jay now is my mentor and empowered me to put a stop to my downward trend on my graph to success. He was the voice I needed to realize what was next. I realized what I needed to do if I wanted to fulfill my mission of helping people better themselves, was that I first have to be on that journey towards being the best version of myself and create the context that people can understand and be inspired, feel motivated by. As compared to being another person putting out content in the endless sea of content.

So it wasn’t to start another e-commerce store that I already knew how to do, or to just promote affiliate products and banking on commissions. But to share this journey of mine which is where the basis of The Self Mastery Show emerged.

Now here I am, sharing my message, sharing my journey, hoping to inspire you towards making that change, even if it’s just small change in habit that will set you on the path towards becoming the best version of yourself.

I think what sets this show apart is that I’m still early in the process.

I hope this will help resonate more with people who are just starting out or are looking to start on something. As compared to the great influencers like Tim Ferris, Lewis Howes, Patt Flynn, GaryVee, who are all my heroes by the way…

But sometimes it just seems so out of reach that you can only fathom on their message and journey because they’re so far ahead it almost seems as if we’re too far behind.

That’s why I hope that my show will be the voice and context you need to bridge that gap and bring the ultimate version of yourself a little closer to the surface as someone who’s just getting started.

Alright, guys, I think I covered a lot of ground in this origin episode and clearly many of which could be its own stand-alone episode. Once I again I appreciate you being here for the start of my movement, the Self Mastery Show. Stay tuned to future episodes because I already have several fire interviews and solo episodes lined up. I’m excited for you to show up. Subscribe to the podcast and maybe leave me some feedback and a rating if you’re ready to do so… And if you know someone who you think might need to hear this, I ask that you please share this with them, it would mean the world to me.

And finally, I want to dedicate this show to those who are curious as to what more there is about themselves that they’ve yet to realize and achieve and to those who are in a rough place. I’ve been in both positions, trust me, I get it, I feel you, let's trek on this journey together.

Thank you guys for tuning into the Self Mastery Show.