Ask Anything Q A 3 Interview with Simon Ong
Ask Anything Q A 3 Interview with Simon Ong
Ahead of our third Ask Anything Q&A, looking at presenting your best self, we caught up with panellist Simon Ong to find out about his experience.
Tell us about your expertise
Everything that Simon does is built to inspire people to see their world differently and ignite their imagination of what is truly possible so that they can unleash their deepest potential. As an award-winning coach and international keynote speaker, he has been interviewed on Sky News, BBC and Forbes, and has spoken at some of the planet’s most successful organisations that include Virgin, Salesforce and Microsoft. He has also signed a worldwide rights deal with Penguin Random House to launch his first book in Spring 2022.
How long have you been a JCI member
Around Dec 2013 or Jan 2014.
What’s the best thing about being a JCI member
It has got to be the global network that you become a part of – something you can only truly understand when you attend the regional and global conferences. In fact, during my time as a JCI member and especially over the past couple of years, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting local JCI members while holidaying or doing business abroad, making the experience of travel that much richer! For example: hosting drinks at Park Hyatt’s iconic bar in Tokyo (made famous by the film Lost In Translation) with JCI Tokyo members, connecting with JCI Bulgaria members on the beach in Varna during their National Convention where I was invited to speak and sampling street food at night in Singapore with JCI Singapore members.
Tell us about a JCI highlight
I’m going to cheat here and go with more than one as there’s a couple that come to mind! The first is the incredible experience of attending a World Congress event – connecting with new members from across the world and catching up with JCI friends, learning and developing new skills, and the opportunity to visit new cities that I may not have done otherwise. And the second is receiving a JCI TOYP Award in 2019 from JCI UK at the National Convention held in Belfast.
How has JCI helped you in your career
Beginning my life as a JCI member coincided with the early stages of my transition from employee to entrepreneur. It gave me the opportunity to practice my public speaking in a safe environment through my involvement in delivering workshops and training with my local chamber. This helped to build my confidence as I then went on to speak at some of the world’s most recognised organisations/brands (Barclays, O2, Chelsea FC, Unilever, etc) and conduct media-related interviews. JCI friends have also turned into clients and/or partners over the years, and I look forward to sharing news about the publication of my first book in partnership with Penguin Random House with the JCI community in due course.