Do you have a book that transformed your life?

Mine was this orange book and it opened with this quote.

• 

“If you are lazy, this book is not for you. You can put it down.”

I vividly remember how livid I was upon seeing those words printed on the first page. I slammed it down on the meal tray of the plane that was taking me back to Singapore. Taking me back to my reality of failure – the red Fs in my high school report card. I knew I was lazy but I did not want any more person to rub salt into my wound.

So I did what the author told. I put the book down and never open it again.

…

It was not until the lowest point in my high school career that I decided to revisit the book.

…

What happened next was a magical journey that took the kid among lowest scorers in school to become the Harvard alumni.

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This book is written by P Noodee – Vanessa Race – who is an Harvard alumni. The book accounts her journey and the actions she took during her studies at University of Maryland to Harvard Graduate School of Education. It was a how-to. It was a personal story. It was a scientific tips & tricks.

To me, it was a bible. A study bible.

As I looked back, there were already hundreds of different book on the “how-to” to get the perfect A’s or the admission secrets to top universities. I have read countless of those when I was young but what made P Noodee’s book so special from others is her being – her character – that imbued into it.

Her tenacity towards something “impossible”. Her studying at the gym, with her flip notes during her free time. Her mindset towards challenge. Her resilience. It was her being that I admired and wanted to emulate. She was my vision board. If she can do it, I can do it too.

A girl from Thailand – with no national awards, incredible musical/physical talents, or prestigious competitions to her name – can reach the top. Why can’t another Thai girl do the same?

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Why I’m publishing my first book in 2021

It has been more than 10 years since that book transformed my life. While I have other blessings and resources that have helped me through my academic journey, this book inspired me towards a new path.

In the same light, I want to write a book that can become a beacon of hope for someone else too.

As I’m writing this post, I can sense how my fears – and old working habits – are dropping by and telling me blatantly that this book will be “just a waste of time, nobody will read this, go do something that actually bring value and money, do something else.”

Well, it’s clear that the fears have been holding me back since 2018 as I actually wrote down about how I wanted to write a book but never actually done so – with the same “lame” reasons.

To the visiting fears and old habits, here’s a treat 🍵🍰 for you.

Instead of a daunting task of writing a book:

• I’m dedicating a short post this week to get the ball rolling. Nothing grandiose. Nothing ginormous.
  • Just a post on what I learned from working as an admission officer at Sasin, the top business school in Thailand, and the leading company in college preparation, and helping my cousin prepare for her application to Harvard and MIT.
• All these are to celebrate my journey as a Marketing & Communication Executive at Sasin and a new challenge to designing learning for our MBA students and business school clients.

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Thank you my super corn 🌽✨

I’m dedicating this post to my partner who gave me the love and courage to continue to pursue my dream of writing a book that inspire myself and others.

Photo by Road Trip with Raj