About Steven

Email me at steven@retiredowhat.com !

I never wanted to ‘RETIRE’ — Like many of you, I’m a born optimist — but when I stopped working at Singapore Airlines after thirty years of service, I found that my sudden independence daunting. With my professional experience, I thought life afterwards would be easy. Boy, was I wrong!

In 2004, I started a healthcare business with three other partners in Vietnam – but that failed because of my unfamiliarity with local
business practices and the uncertain economic climate. Luckily I worked for several years more as a property manager in Singapore and
Malaysia – until the bubble burst again, and I found myself unemployed. I realized that no matter how lucky I had been in the past, I needed another kind of optimism for the future.

I started “Retire – Do What” to share how I overcame my fears, learnt new skills, and welcomed new experiences, including:

1. Undertaking the 4-day Salkantay Trail and climbing Macchu Picchu in the Peruvian Andes

2. Learning to blog and making myself more computer-literate

3. Starting a new business – the Sir Richard Branson Way of ‘Do Good, have Fun and the Money will come’

4. Overcoming fears of failure, embarrassment, rejection – especially with an Asian  mindset

5. Starting a community of like-minded people who want to work for themeselves!

6. Letting go of my attachment to my life on the “Corporate Ladder”, and be true to my honest self.

I’m here to share my experiences and to hear about how we can work together to make a new life for ourselves. I’ll be sharing my
experiences learning, teaching, traveling, and doing all the fun things I always wanted to do. I’ll be writing ‘how-to’ guides, sharing
insights that I’ve made while traveling all over the world. As Steve Jobs said in his 2005 Stanford commencement address (quoting Stewart Brand) – ‘stay hungry, stay foolish’.

11 Responses

  1. Lilian
    Lilian / 10-20-2012 / ·

    I will right away seize your rss as I can not in finding your email subscription hyperlink or e-newsletter service. Do you’ve any? Please let me realize in order that I could subscribe. Thanks.

  2. EverestGuy
    EverestGuy / 4-13-2013 / ·

    Steven, What you have to share is so necessary and with your background and experience you will be providing much value!

  3. Henry
    Henry / 5-15-2013 / ·

    I like what you have stated here, to learn IM and starting a 'retirement' community. I am sure the member of the community will be able to share their experiences across and benefited those needed. I always believe in following a successful person footsteps as it can be more effective. Keep continuing to post!

  4. Stepanie Andress
    Stepanie Andress / 6-15-2013 / ·

    I just want to mention I am new to weblog and certainly loved this website. Almost certainly I’m going to bookmark your blog . You amazingly have remarkable articles and reviews. Bless you for sharing your web site.

  5. Pam K.
    Pam K. / 4-22-2014 / ·

    Hi Steven,

    As a twenty something I am very inspired by how you are able to challenge yourself and do things that are beyond your comfort zone.

    I hope to see more posts from you as I will definitely be a frequent reader. Hopefully along the way I too will have the courage to do something that I only dream of doing.

    Cheers.

  6. Gerald
    Gerald / 8-5-2014 / ·

    I hope to be like you 30 years down the road.
    Join me in my wealth building journey at my blog, SG Wealth Builder (www.sgwealthbuilder.com).

    Regards,
    SG Wealth Builder

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