MotivationMY.com's 2nd Birthday!!!

In conjunction with motivationMY.com's 2nd birthday (and Founder Syafique's 27th!), we've been asked to blog about: 

What has turning 1, 5 or 10 years older taught you?

Before I start, I want to wish the Founder (Syafique Shuib) my heartiest congratulations. I remembered that very moment when I started getting in touch with motivationMY.com the twitter account, then followed by interactions with Syafique, leading up to the very first #twtupDOME with Achik and Fendi. Then, we got to know Kum Gheng, producer of Inspire.FM, and next thing we knew, motivationMY had its very own radio show! To see it grow so tremendously is truly inspirational and very encouraging! Here's to many more years to come! CHEERS! 

To be honest, I was cracking my brain about how to write this post. So, I decided to blog about what I remembered (or choose to remember) from 1, 5 and 10 years ago. :) 

One year ago: 

Me during Elaine's wedding in 2012...

One year ago, I was just one year into my job and things were starting to get pretty serious with my relationship. I also started playing host on Inspire.FM (actually, I only did 2 eps!) and I really got serious about this whole blogging thing. I think this was when I truly discovered my passion for Social Media and started blogging seriously. 

One year later, I'm still into the same things. My relationship is still just as serious (three years now!) and I believe I am the same person as I was one year ago, only with more experience and (hopefully!) a teeny bit wiser :) 

Five years ago: 

Ok, this is a bit tough. Did a bit to try and forget bits and pieces during five years ago. I was kinda stuck in a relatively bad, self-destructing relationship, and when it ended, I was pretty much self-destructive until my ex did something pretty horrible. Considering how bad it was, I was pretty glad that he let me go. I don't remember being into social media at that point in time. 

Five years later, my ex is married (honestly, I don't know that much) and I'm pretty happy for him. As for me, I am grateful that he let me out of that relationship. When that happened, I was able to fully understand myself and what I wanted and translate that into my current relationship. It helped me a lot and I believe in the term "You need to fail in order to succeed". I failed once and now, I work hard to succeed. :) As for social media, well, I'm here aren't I? :P 

Ten years ago: 

Back when I was 17, I was totally different. I didn't like people, I didn't like speaking to people, and I admit, I was a spoilt brat with a temper. Now that I think back, I don't think I'm that different. Just that, I wasn't able to find people that I could communicate with and now that I'm much older, I guess I kinda sorta broke those barriers and in fact, I make friends so much easier now. 

If I'm not mistaken, at this age, I also rekindled my friendship with Evonne Siew who has been my best friend since. The one I can really talk to, the one I can go to Singapore with and do absolutely nothing, because our company with each other is priceless. Ten years ago, I was afraid of many things. These days, the only thing I fear is not trying everything! :) 

I guess with this post, it's pretty evident. I've grown up. Matured. Lived with experiences, some I wish I didn't, but I am glad I did.

To be honest, in the past ten years, a LOT has changed and I just had to adapt to it somehow. In that regard, I am glad to be where I am right now and I look forward to living my next ten years with even more experiences under my belt.

Once again, HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to MotivationMY.com and thank you for all the opportunities that you have given me. Truly, it has been an honor and a privilege to have worked with you! May you go strong for many more years to come! :) 

Love always,
DancerGal Sheryl!

In the Life of DancerGal: Malaysia Social Media Week '13 WelcomeCocktail!

So yesterday evening, I attended the welcome cocktail for the Malaysia Social Media Week 2013. It was super fun and I had the pleasure of meeting quite a number of people whom I've gotten to know via Twitter but never really had the opportunity of meeting in person :)

The event was held at Berjaya Hotel, located next to Berjaya Times Square. My attire for the evening was relatively simple yet elegant. I wore a black dress from Kitschen (RM 59.90) paired with my beautiful Melissa Wings heels in nude (RM 475.00) and a black clutch from H&M (RM 99.90). I thought the ensemble would be under the category of smart casual. It was simple, easy, no fuss. Although note to self, I need to start looking into designing my own name cards and carry a smaller (and thinner) wallet with me for such occasions :)

I arrived insanely early, and so I decided that I would go for a quick cuppa at the Starbucks located in the mall itself. After the cuppa, it was still pretty early so I decided to be a nerd and look around RadioShack for some nerdy loves. Got myself a chic case for my phone by Uniq. The colors are so pretty (lilac and light pink!). Anyway, this cost me RM 99, but pretty worth it considering the fact I don't buy cases very often (or at least, I'd like to think so!) :P

After the shopping, I decided to take a break from all that shopping and hang out in the lobby at the hotel. I then got in touch with Aswin (tweet handle: @aswin_tweet), from My Events as well as Social Media Chambers. We finally met for the first time and I stole this shot off him while he was busy working :P

Then, I found out that Syafique was already on the 14th floor. Syafique, as most of you may know, is the founder of MotivationMY.com and is also the official online media partner for MSMW '13. I am so proud of how far MMY has come along and I'm honored to be one of those who have been there to watch it grow :)

Also met with Cherish, Syafique's colleague from Astro Awani. Have seen her on Instagram and Twitter, but haven't actually met her in person. So happy to have finally done that.

Also met with a couple others whose names are big in the industry like Christopher Tock of EYE Project and Social Grooves, Veron of Social Grooves, etc. It was pretty awesome :) I will let my photos speak for themselves from here on out :)

I must say that on the first night, I knew that the rest of the event was going to be awesome!!! <3 blog="" care="" experiences="" my="" nbsp="" on="" other="" p="" soon="" take="" will="">

Love always, 

DancerGal Sheryl! 

Self-Reflection: Motivation, Inspiration, Encouragement...

Being involved in MotivationMY.com and Inspire.FM, kinda makes me wonder...

Do I deserve to be called "inspirational" or am I in the right position to motivate others?

Generally, motivational speakers tend to be people who study social science or are licensed psychologists. There are also motivational speakers like Nick Vujicic who have lost everything, worked their asses off, and then gained everything back and more, which technically qualifies them to be motivational speakers. But what about me?

In all honesty, my family isn't rich, but I have generally lived a privileged life, which in turn, makes me quite snobbish (only in certain aspects though!). I have definitely been blessed in many ways, which then leads me to question myself on how I can motivate, inspire and encourage others? But then, I realized something.  While I have nothing to offer in terms of losing limbs or losing all my money, I do have much to offer considering that I'm a 26 year old with a professional job, not out wasting my life on drugs and alcohol, living my life exactly how I want it to be, without all the drama. And obviously, about 13 years ago, I would have never thought that my life would end up this way.

In between 1995 and 2003, I was a horrible friend to have. I disliked people in general, and only had my nose in books. Not textbooks, of course, but story books and novels. At the age of 15, I was already reading books like Harry Potter, CSI, Lord of the Rings, etc. Thick books which take me to a place that wasn't Malaysia or Kuala Lumpur. I didn't speak much to others, and I refused to speak in any other language other than what I considered to be my mother tongue, English. If you didn't speak English, I wouldn't speak to you. Simple as that.

I may not be inspirational or motivational or encouraging in the sense of losing something then earning it again, but I honestly do feel like I've finally started living a full life and I could not be prouder of myself.

I honestly believe that EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE has something to share. Unless you are sitting down and wasting your life away, I believe that at some point in your life, you would've achieved something.

This is what motivationMY.com and Inspire.FM have helped me realize. While I know that no one is perfect, I also know that we can and are able to learn from one another. It's about sharing our experiences. Our ups and downs. Let's help each other and spread more positivity and joy! Let's help make ourselves happier and more cheerful. :)

At the end of the day, I believe that it's about what we want to do for ourselves. I believe the question to ask would be, what do you want to do?

I am grateful for the platform that motivationMY.com and Inspire.FM have helped to provide. When I read and listen to motivating and encouraging stories, especially when I have a bad day, it makes me realize that there is no point being sad for too long because there is just WAYYY too much to be happy about! I am ever so happy when I read about a story or listen to an inspiring interview for the person telling the story! :) It never fails to make me smile :)

So my point. Everyone is positive in their own way. Do share your positivity with me, motivationMY.com or Inspire.FM because everyone deserves to feel like they are positive, encouraging, motivating, and inspiring in their own right!

Love always,
DancerGal Sheryl!

In the life of DancerGal: My FIRST ever DEEJAY gig!!!

It was a bright and early Monday morning, where I had taken a one-day annual leave. Thoughts in my head?

"Tidur, Makan, Main...." 

However, I was awaken by a whatsapp message by Mr. Producer of Inspire.FM (P/S: he's one of them in the photo above!) that asks if I could come in and stand in for Mr. Host of The MotivationMY Show (also in the photo above) !!! The following feelings literally RAN THROUGH my body when I saw that message:

• Shocked
• Surprised
• Happy
• Nervous
• Excited
• Scared

I was finally getting a shot at doing something that I've always wanted to do... HOSTING! But there wasn't even a guest, so I asked if I could interview SammoBammo4 on "Creative Education". It's a topic that I am currently very interested in, and who better to ask than a teacher himself? :) So Mr Producer gave me the green light. So I thought that was it. 

I walked into the studio with SammoBammo and was a freakishly nervous wreck. I nearly wanted to punch myself. My nerves kinda got the better of me. But I am so hilariously lucky. Mr Producer made the podcast sound good, Mr Host said I did okay, and SammoBammo said I did well for a first timer! :) 

Credits: Inspire.FM

Credits: motivationMY.com

You can listen to the final product here! 

Here's my personal review of me (could this sound any less narcissistic??)

I did okay considering that it was a last minute thing, but I am glad that it happened :) This will only push me to grow more in terms of hosting and being confident of my own voice. 

I cannot thank Inspire.FM and MotivationMY.com enough for giving me this opportunity to grow, learn and hone my love for talking! I will continuously push myself to do better and my next podcast, will only be better than the one I did before :) Thank you once again for the amazing collaboration between the two best platforms that have allowed me to come to where I am today. 

It was definitely the experience of a lifetime, and I simply cannot wait to push myself to the limits and do my best to what life is willing to offer me :) 

Thanks again to the following people: 

Syafique Shuib, Founder of MotivationMY, for believing in me :) 

Kum Gheng, Producer on Inspire.FM, for guiding me through :) 

Hisham Hamzah, SammoBammo, for being my first guest :) 

Thank you so very much for the amazing opportunity. I really don't know what else to say except thank you. Gratitude beyond expression. 

Credits: Inspire.FM

Love always, 

DancerGal Sheryl <3 nbsp="nbsp" p="p">

#SaferMalaysia - Being safe by feeling safe!

Recently, our social media has been filled with news/ statuses/ shares/ etc about people being mugged, robbed, stabbed, etc. It's quite depressing really.. as if you look at it from a different perspective, people are being so "desperate" that they'd resort to robbing and stealing in broad daylight, without any concern about the wellbeing of others. In my honest opinion, these type of people should no longer be around us, but I guess times have come to this.

Sorry for the ranting, but back to my main point... Ever wondered why you felt so insecure and unsafe?

Did you ever notice, that while walking in malls, there are women who cling onto their bags for dear life? Men keeping a tight hand on their pockets or even in it? Did YOU ever wonder what was in their bags/wallets that they were trying to hide/protect? Unless they are politicians, I seriously doubt that they are trying to protect the illegitimate photos or data of them, but rather CASH! And in today's day and age, who doesn't need some extra cash?

I honestly sometimes think to myself, "Are you serious?"!!! Cos don't these people realize that they are attracting attention to themselves? I have absolutely no intentions of taking anything from them, but even then, I am curious to the amounts of cash they probably have on them.

But in all honesty, they probably are only carrying around RM 200? Yet, why draw attention to it?

I hear stories of people getting mugged, car-jacked, etc, and I've come to realize the similarities:

1. They weren't really aware of their surroundings. Honestly, when you walk to your car in a parking lot, do you take notice of certain things like if there are people following you? Panic buttons? The area that your cars are parked in? There is a possibility of being alert without looking scared. Look confident, yet be alert. It's really not that difficult. Twisting your head around like a manic dog, isn't really going to help. 
2. They didn't really "see it happening". Seriously? Did you seriously "SEE IT HAPPENING"? Which moron in the right frame of mind would say "Oh, I'm going to be robbed in T minus 5 minutes"? SERIOUSLY! Come on people! 

I guess what I'm trying to say here, is that it's time that not only we help each other be on the lookout, but also, what I'm trying to say is, DON'T LOOK LIKE YOU'RE PROTECTING YOUR LIFE! It makes an ordinary person question what's on you, let alone someone who's looking and searching for vulnerability. 

Everyone, please stay alert and be safe always! Let's keep to a #SaferMalaysia! :) 

Love always,
DancerGal Sheryl <3