Mr. Tok Show

05/09/2022

Do you know that smoking causes 90% of all lung cancers and most of them are detected only in the late stages.

Lung surgeon, Dr. Koong Heng Nung shares more…

***cofreegeneration

05/09/2022

Dr. Koong Heng Nung is a practising Lung Surgeon at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, and Founder of TFG (To***co Free Generation) International.

TFG seeks to end the sale of to***co products to all born from 2010 onwards.

***cofreegeneration

05/09/2022

Ep. 18 features a tireless activist, Dr. Koong Heng Nung. (Fun fact, Dr. Koong is a descendent of Confucius!)

🚭Dr Koong is the Founder of TFG International Ltd. TFG stands for To***co Free Generation. It is a registered non-profit organisation that seeks to promote the to***co endgame.

🏥As a Specialist Doctor, he runs Koong & Ho Surgery Centre Pte Ltd, at Mt. Elizabeth Novena Hospital.

☘️At the international level, he is the global leader of the To***co Free Generation Endgame approach that is increasingly being adopted by governments to prevent smoking and va**ng related diseases.

🎤In this episode, Dr. Koong and I talk about how the TFG vision can save the younger generation from the harm of to***co, and what the potential tradeoffs are.

***cofreegeneration

22/07/2022

We have decided to be back on Facebook to promote the Mr. Tok Show, its episodes, behind the scenes, and sharing some general thoughts on current affairs, societal issues, etc.

It's been nearly 6 months since we launched Ep. 1 on 15 Feb 2022. We are now at Ep. 24, and will look to release a lot more content for the rest of the year.

If you know of guests we should be chatting with, drop us an email at [email protected]!

17/03/2022

I thank Cheyenne Seah for wearing her heart on her sleeve throughout the interview.

You can watch the full interview on Youtube, or listen to the audio version on your favorite podcast platforms. Links in comments.

I had picked up invaluable career tips from her and learned so much more about ADHD through her analogies and personal stories.

This is the last clip I am sharing from her interview, an impassioned plea for society to understand the neurological state of people with ADHD and the corresponding strengths and advantages it can come with.

15/03/2022

Cheyenne Seah explains why she believes people with ADHD may be more suitable for certain jobs and careers.

My takeaway is that, we all have our own unique strengths and weaknesses. We all can potentially lead a more fulfilling life by being aware of what they are, and playing to our strengths while finding solutions to our weaknesses.

14/03/2022

12 years ago, I was a newly qualified insurance agent, fresh from completing my 2 years of National Service. One of my first clients I had the privilege to do business with was a Lawyer from Norton Rose. That was in end 2010. I was introduced to him at a temple dinner at Chong Pang, Yishun.

The doctor who introduced me told me he's going to be a future MP (Member of Parliament). I didn't think too much about it. But I thought it would be nice if I can get a lawyer as a client. I took his card, and called him the next few days after the dinner. With sheer dumb luck, I made him a client.

Turns out, he is indeed a future MP. He would go on to be field in GE2011 as a new candidate for the People's Action Party (PAP).

I knew nothing about politics then. But when the offer came for me to help him out at GE2011, I jumped at the opportunity. I was young, hungry, broke, and honestly, had a lot of free time on my hand. I wasn't seeing many clients having just started out.

For 9 days, I diligently turned up at the PAP Branch every morning to help out, and would not go home until late at night. I made myself as useful as I could, to anyone who would use my energy or ideas (mostly energy). I made many friends, got to know a whole new world of people, and would eventually later become a PAP member myself.

I continued my involvement the last 10 years and more, and learned a great deal about Singapore politics.

When the time came for me to evaluate my life last year, I decided that I want to become quite serious about starting an interview podcast. And interviewing politicians is something I would love to do. However, not just PAP politicians. I aspire to interview politicians across the political spectrum.

I thought to myself that my affiliation and membership with the PAP will be potentially sensitive and cumbersome. The last thing I want is to have to seek approval or permission for any interviews I am planning to produce.

With that in mind, I decided to terminate my membership with the PAP. My request was accepted by Party HQ in April 2021.

The reason I am writing about this is, tomorrow, I release my interview with opposition politician, Mr. Desmond Lim Bak Chuan, President of the Singapore Democratic Alliance. It's a nearly 2 hours long interview where we discussed a wide range of topics.

I just wanted to declare and disclose my little piece of history before it's published, just in case, it may be a point of interest for anyone.

The full interview will drop tomorrow at 2pm.

14/03/2022

Do you know that ADHD is divided into three main types:

1. Inattentive type
2. Hyperactive-impulsive type
3. Combination type

Most girls with ADHD have the inattentive type, which means that they have problems focusing but are not hyperactive and impulsive. But even those who are hyperactive and impulsive present with less obvious symptoms than boys, so it often goes unnoticed or unacknowledged.

This is one of the key reasons why ADHD is sometimes diagnosed later for girls.

This is Cheyenne Seah's take on the topic.

14/03/2022

It may sound a little unconventional, but I actually do not have a target audience for my podcast.

Instead, I try to think of it as each and every episode having its own set of audience, interested to learn more about the guest and various topics of discussion.

And therefore, this is also a podcast without any niche. I am not looking to target any specific group of people as my interviewees. I am as interested to talk to a business owner, as I am to a student working on interesting projects, to a lawyer, to a politician, to a janitor, to parents raising special needs children, etc. They are all equally fascinating to me.

I will be releasing more episodes from, what I believe is a diverse background of guests. And I hope you find some value in the content.

Thank you!

13/03/2022

Cheyenne Seah has been raising awareness of ADHD, and some of the struggles the ADHD community faces.

She has done so by going on mainstream media interviews, and in our podcast interview, she went in depth to share her personal experiences very candidly.

I am grateful for her sharing. It has helped me understand the condition better and given me a new perspective when interacting with a cousin I know has ADHD as well.

Here's ADHD in her own words...

12/03/2022

What do you think?

Cheyenne, who does career coaching, suggests that we should enjoy at least 50% of our work, all in all.

This is an excerpt from a long conversation we had, and of course both Cheyenne and I understand there are complexities in individual cases and circumstances. But I believe it's fair enough and food for thought.

Why stay in a job you absolutely dread and don't even enjoy at least 50%?

10/03/2022

Cheyenne Seah shares why recognising, encouraging, or rewarding your good talents isn't always about dollars and cents.

"It's a basic human need, to want to be seen, to be heard, and to be appreciated for who they are."- Cheyenne Seah

10/03/2022

Episode 4 of the Mr. Tok Show is now available on Youtube, Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, and more!

Cheyenne Seah is a business adviser, and a career coach. In this episode, she dishes out nuggets of wisdom to improve your career. If you are a business owner, she shares tips on how to retain your best talents. If you are job hunting, she teaches how you can use key words in your resume to improve your chances to get called up for an interview, and so much more.

Cheyenne is also diagnosed with Adult ADHD. She has been very candid in sharing her struggles with the condition, and has spoken out on various interviews in the mainstream media as well. We spent the entire second half of the conversation talking about ADHD and what she hopes society can understand about the condition.

I thank Cheyenne for her great sharing, and admire her advocating for more awareness on ADHD and Adult ADHD. It's not easy to embrace your vulnerability as your greatest strength. She has done it, and she is also standing up for her community. Kudos to her!

All the best Cheyenne!

Timestamps of various topics discussed...
0:00 Introduction
2:39 Hard & soft skills
5:25 Childhood thoughts
6:14 Role of a career coach
9:35 Job vs. Career
11:20 Mentor vs. Coach
16:03 Goal as a career coach
19:25 Coaching in the self development process
21:04 Coaching in Asian culture
24:35 Role as a business advisor
28:44 Dealing with stubborn clients
30:04 Advising SMEs
31:24 How to retain talents/good employees?
36:44 How to cultivate charisma
39:27 Personality profiling (in the hiring process)
43:51 JJ's experience reading people
46:47 Work life balance
49:29 Entrepreneurship vs Being an employee
51:36 Job interviews
53:39 Using the right key words in resumes
55:39 Dealing with workplace abuse
58:43 Should we always be job hunting?
1:00:21 Career advice for students
1:01:42 Pain bringing change

On ADHD
1:03:17 What is ADHD
1:05:35 ADHD in our society
1:06:57 Facing ADHD
1:08:32 Treatment & dealing with ADHD
1:10:03 Struggles with ADHD
1:11:53 Why ADHD is becoming more common
1:14:24 ADHD at the workplace
1:15:30 Experimenting ADHD declaration when seeking employment
1:16:41 Message to people about ADHD
1:18:02 Capitalizing on the strengths of ADHD people
1:19:14 Leaders she admires
1:25:17 Goals for 2021 & short-term goals
1:26:45 Who should engage Cheyenne's services
1:28:23 Outro

Cheyenne Seah is a business adviser, and a career coach. In this episode, she dishes out nuggets of wisdom to improve your career. If you are a business owne...

09/03/2022

Today, I share this final excerpt from my interview with Natalia Rachel, Founder of Illuma Health.

I had asked her if we can totally heal from our trauma.

She put it across beautifully how we can strive to accept our past, come to terms with it and move towards a better tomorrow where that traumatic episode no longer activates our triggers.

"Our past... they do not have to define us forever..." - Natalia Rachel

Have you watched the full interview yet?

I thank Natalia once again, for her time, and wonderful nuggets of wisdom throughout the entire interview.

09/03/2022

You can see my little light bulb moment 💡when I heard Natalia Rachel share how she believes "no emotions are negative".

This is one of the biggest lessons I took away from my interview with Natalia.

"No emotions are negative... it's about how we allow them to express healthily, without doing harm either to ourselves or others." - Natalia Rachel, Founder of Illuma Health

05/03/2022

"Healthy anger tells us a boundary has been breached and something is not okay for us..."- Natalia Rachel, Founder of Illuma Health

I love this sharing by Natalia on healthy vs unhealthy anger, it's a concept that was never in my consciousness.

Understanding this has helped me become more aware of feelings surrounding my anger. Now, I try to reflect upon the "deeper reason" behind why I got angry, and understand that as my boundary. Next time, I am able to communicate my boundaries (my expectations, red lines, and values, etc) to my partner, co-workers and clients.

I realised that it's also become a conversation I start to have with myself, inside my mind. Exploring what these boundaries are.

I hope you found value in this excerpt as well!

Follow me on my other socials as well for other content, links in the comments!

04/03/2022

Have you been frustrated by people around you who seemingly always get into and stay in abusive relationships?

It's especially hurtful to watch when they are people we love and wish the best for.

Natalia Rachel, Founder of Illuma Health, explains why do some people stay in abusive relationships, and why they need a whole new paradigm shift.

02/03/2022

On childhood trauma.

Certainly not everyone is lucky enough to grow up in a loving and positive environment. Childhood trauma and its ill effects can affect and influence the decisions we make in adulthood. It can go on to shape our personality, our temperament and attitude towards life.

In this excerpt, Founder of Illuma Health, Natalia Rachel shares the effects of childhood trauma.

The Mr. Tok Show is a new long format podcast produced in Singapore. You can catch the full episode on Youtube, Spotify, Apple Podcast and more.

01/03/2022

I asked Natalia Rachel, Founder of Illuma Health what happens to our body when we experience trauma?

She shared that “trauma is the unhealed part of us”, an event that has left an imprint in us.

Understanding this may well be the first step towards facing up to our traumatic past?

Catch the full episode on YouTube, Spotify and all other major podcast platforms. Links to full episode in comment!

28/02/2022

Natalia Rachel, Founder of Illuma Health shares how she defines trauma as a "past experience of threat that is still living and breathing in us."

I will be releasing 7 excerpts from my interview with Natalia this week, you can catch the full interview on Youtube, Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast and Facebook Podcast as well.

27/02/2022

Links to the audio podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcast, for my interview with Natalia Rachel, Founder of Illuma Health

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6kVEGi1nw5FaOgYcwFbxMF?si=71c68d71f39547c4

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/mr-tok-show/id1558280398?i=1000552333428

‎Show Mr. Tok Show, Ep MTS #3 Natalia Rachel, Founder, Illuma Health, on Trauma, Trauma Informed Culture & Healing fr Trauma - 26 Feb 2022

27/02/2022

I thank Natalia Rachel for the great insights on the topic of Trauma.

You can now watch my full interview with Natalia, Founder of Illuma Health, on Youtube. I will be sharing links to the audio podcast later.

Natalia shared much of her knowledge and wisdom on the topic of trauma. Some of the topics we spoke about include, the effects of childhood trauma, why do people stay in abusive relationships, unhealthy vs healthy anger, whether we can totally heal from our trauma, why she strongly believes no emotions are negative, and of course, her work at Illuma Health.

Timestamps in Youtube
0:00 JJ's Introduction
0:41 Natalia's Introduction
1:14 What is Trauma
1:59 Natalia's 3 Key Areas of Work
3:09 JJ's Perception of Trauma
3:42 What Happens when we Experience Trauma
6:00 How has Trauma Evolved with Time/ How do we Deal with Trauma
11:34 Why do People Stay in Abusive Relationships
12:46 The Impact of Childhood Trauma
16:22 How does Untreated Trauma Manifests into other Mental Health Issues
18:55 How is Trauma Diagnosed
21:21 Views on Singapore's Mental Health Landscape
22:52 Difference between Singapore & Australia's Mental Wellness Landscape
23:44 What Is the Difference between Going to Illuma Health & a Psychologist
25:35 What is the Somatic Approach
29:20 JJ's Personal Experience with Trauma
30:16 The Therapy Process at Illuma Health
32:00 Trauma Triggers
33:06 What is a Trauma Informed Culture
36:15 Personal & Iluma Health’s Mission
38:13 Self Care Tips
41:17 Trauma Red Flags
42:30 Trauma Manifesting in Personal Relationships
44:53 Healing from Trauma
49:38 What Happens during the Healing Process
51:23 How do we Build Up Resilience
52:38 Harnessing the Power of Touch
55:25 Dealing with Sexual Abuse Induced Trauma
57:38 Putting “Negative Emotions” in Perspective
1:00:31 Can we Truly Heal from Trauma?
1:02:30 Misconceptions about Trauma
1:05:02 Can we Inherit Trauma from our Past Lives
1:07:16 Getting in Touch with Natalia
1:09:08 Outro

I hope you enjoy this episode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LuI0vuxK3c

Natalia Rachel is a trauma therapist, and Founder of Illuma Health. She is an advocate of a trauma informed culture where people understand the roots, effect...

26/02/2022

https://linktr.ee/mrtokshow

We all have a story to tell, don't we?

26/02/2022

Happy Birthday Natalia Rachel !

Natalia was very kind to give me her time, for a wonderful episode on the topic of Trauma, for the podcast.

I will be launching the full episode tomorrow at 2pm, on Youtube (where you can watch our conversation), Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Castbox, etc (if you are looking for just the audio podcast).

Natalia shared much of her knowledge and wisdom on the topic of trauma. Some of the topics we spoke about include, the effects of childhood trauma, why do people stay in abusive relationships, unhealthy vs healthy anger, whether we can totally heal from our trauma, why she strongly believes no emotions are negative, and of course, her work at Illuma Health .

It was only during the editing when I realised how wonderful a conversation we really had.

Please look forward to the full episode drop tomorrow, in the meanwhile, here's a teaser of her introduction.

Once again, Happy Birthday Natalia Rachel , here's wishing you and your family success and happiness. Nothing but the best wishes, cheers!

26/02/2022

I really, deeply appreciate Benedict's kindness and attitude towards life. This is a young man who, uses the same study desk put together by his Father nearly 20 years ago. They had salvaged 2 broken desks from the waste refuse and put the good parts together. An intact top from one table, and intact legs from another.

After he grew up, he learned that life can be difficult and we should cherish whatever little we have, be resourceful, and grateful to the people who have helped you when you were going through a tough time.

He volunteers his time with non profit, SG Bono, he helps to repair and refurbish damaged or unwanted laptops. These laptops are then given to children from low income families.

He speaks passionately about sustainability, and reuse and recycling. But, I know that a part of this interest and passion probably stems from this concept of survival since young. Growing up with little resources, he had no choice but to reuse and recycle, to sustain everyday items' functionality for as long as they possibly could.

But. Yet.

Benedict cultivated for himself an abundance mindset. His mind is rich with ideas, and his heart rich with love. He says that, "a life lived for others is a live well lived." He tells himself he wants to serve and not to be served.

For that, I have mad respect and admiration for Benedict. He is hands down, one of the richest person I ever come across.

He's a young man and has a long road ahead of him. I wish he can fulfill his potential, serve people the way he wants to, never forget his roots, and always be the kind man he is now.

Best wishes Benedict!

26/02/2022

Do you have a damaged laptop, or just one lying around which you are not using any longer?

You can consider making a donation to SG Bono.

Find out more about their work here.

https://sgbono.org/

24/02/2022

I asked Benedict why he spends time and effort volunteering with NGOs, etc...

24/02/2022

I am certainly guilty of not contributing sufficient individual effort to handling recyclables.

I will aspire to do better!

23/02/2022

We can do more to educate our young on climate change & . Starting in our schools.

23/02/2022

When facing inadequacies in life… we sometimes feel bad about them. We whine abit. We lament fate. We blame circumstances.

Or we can still practise gratitude and try make the best of life.

Benedict did. And I have mad respect for his attitude towards life.