"Life is full of surprises," said Annie Leung, MDRT MCC Regional Chair, who returned to the MDRT stage at the first-ever Singapore MDRT Day.
Inspiring the attendees with how she overcame challenges in her personal life and career, she shared that she believes everything happens for a reason. Being able to see things from a different perspective helped to overturn her unfavourable situation. It was only after stumbling through her early life that Annie started to see the silver lining in all her misfortunes.
~Follow her story “From attempted suicide to MDRT” to find out all the setbacks she faced ~
What is the “Big Why” in your life?
Born with a silver spoon, she had the perfect childhood. However, the sweetness didn’t last forever. Annie soon found herself to be the main breadwinner after her father passed away. Alone to fend for her mother, her younger brother and her baby daughter, Annie had to figure out a way for their survival.
She shared with everyone that finding out the “Big Why” in life will help keep the motivation going. For her, her “Big Why” in life was her baby daughter. She wanted to ensure that her child does not grow up in poverty. Remembering the times she had when she was young, she too wanted her child to grow up the same way as she did.
Finding out the big why in her life helped define who she is today.
Resistance to negativity
The 22-Year MDRT Qualifying and Life Member repurposed the bad news she received into motivation to do even better. The negativity and rejections she received from her friends and family pushed her to outdo herself. Her determination to prove to everyone she was a changed person is one of the main sources of her success today. Annie said, “At the end of the day, it’s how hungry you are.”
How a ‘No’ became a ‘Yes’ after 6 months
Being able to find her “Big Why” and being able to resist negativity, was how she managed to turn a “no” into a “yes” after six months early in her career.
Annie shared one of her early stories of being called “Bo Im Mui” (crude translation of Insurance lady).
Click here to watch her
Life is still full of surprises
Did you know that before she left to speak in the MDRT Day of Singapore and Indonesia, her mum was diagnosed with cancer?
She shared on LinkedIn that because she already committed to speak with a total of almost 8,000 attendees in total, she went ahead to speak and did her best to help everyone lead a better life and become a better person.
In Indonesia, she had Pastor Marcus as her interpreter and audience of some 6,000 gave their hearts and blessings to her mum. It was the most touching moment, she said.
She returned to Hong Kong and told the whole story to her mum before she entered the operation theatre. Her mum said with a big smile: “Annie I am so, so, proud of you, how you can help and influence so many people around the world.”
The first thing her mum said after waking up from her operation, was “Please say thank you to Indonesia, my dear, I can’t tell you how proud I am to have you as my daughter.”
Asia Advisers Network wishes Annie’s mum a speedy recovery.
Main picture credit: Annie Leung