A Malaysian Millennial Who Is Publishing a Book

It started with an idea, a desire. It grew stronger and stronger.

The manuscript sat in my folder until a friend came onboard and said, ‘hey, let’s do this together’.

When I announced my book launch to friends and family, I stepped past the point of no return. From a passion project it elevated to ‘do or die’, I vowed to deliver great work.

I rose over fear and reached out to friends, stakeholders, and community.

Our generation needs a new story
My parents are the most important people in my life. They never had a chance to explore life with freedom, but they spent their life building a safety net for my brothers and myself.

Growing up under their wings, there’s always a desire lurking deep in my heart – I want adventures and new possibilities.

There were times when following my heart meant that I had to go against reasons, common sense, and wise advises of people in my life.

When I started a content solutions company in 2017, I finally understood what it meant ‘to do what you love, and love what you do’.

The past 5 years wasn’t rosy, but I learned that it’s okay to take the risk in 20s – we have time to learn about ourselves before anything else.

We are all given the tool
As a millennial author, this book summed up my 5 years journey after college. From corporate, coffee, to entrepreneurship, I constantly reinvented myself until I found the power of creation in writing.

Even though it wasn’t easy to quiet self-doubt, when people recommended my articles and told me that ‘I felt you’, they empowered me to keep writing.

I wanted to share about the dark places I had been, how I overcame it, and how I moved forward with a stronger fortitude in my heart.

I hope my story could inspire millennials to own their story and tell their truth, because it is the most powerful tool we all have.

Life is too short not to live it.

A bit of craziness, a lot of belief
It’s a blessing that I’m not obsessed with numbers.

Past the point of no return, I had an epiphany to find out the market size – how many Malaysians read books?

I laughed when I discovered that I was going against common sense yet again.

Looking at my task list leading to book launch, I am venturing far beyond my comfort zone. However, there is one reason that stands out among all the noises in my mind.

Why not?

From doubting myself to creating every single word in the 80-pages book, there’s nothing but pride.

If I tried my best and failed, well, I’ve tried my best. – Steve Jobs

Not all of us are made of stars

No matter how high one soars in life, how confident one appears under the limelight, how exciting one’s adventures seem, there are moments when one hides in the corner and asks, ‘am I worth it?’

This is my honest account of a 'non-success' story which is non-disheartening, non-deflating and non-defeating.

Not all of us are made of stars, and that’s okay.

If my story could inspire one person to make a tiny shift in life, it’s worth everything.

Hi, thanks for reading this far. I am Isabelle and this is my story.

I’ll be launching my book by end of March and I’ll be documenting the journey here.

For now, you can support my crazy goal by giving me an upvote. Thanks!