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The name’s TIME…. MAIM TIME.
It’s me again.
They thought I was dead.
Some said I escaped to North Korea.
They thought I was in jail, or worse:
They thought I went back to college to finish my theology degree.
But you can’t kill me.
I’m back, and better than ever.
And harder.
I cannot stop. I cannot give up.
I need that momentum to break free.
When a rocket is flying out towards the moon to escape the atmosphere,
it doesn’t pause halfway up the sky, does it?
No, it keeps going.
I’m in competition with the entire world.
Everyone wants to escape.
I cannot be lazy.
I am the only person who can make this work,
and I’m also the only person who can fuck this up.
Welcome back to another episode of MAIM TIME, a show where we talk about overcoming identity struggle to become the best versions of ourselves. Especially if you’re Asian diaspora.
I’ve returned from a cheeky 5-month hiatus.
The last episode I posted was on my birthday in July, and I was celebrating 5000 downloads.
I just got an email last week saying MAIM TIME hit 6000 total downloads. Doesn’t include YouTube video hits. I haven’t posted in 5 months. Barely did any of my normal promotions.
Each week, BuzzSprout sends me an email.
Even though I haven’t been actively promoting MAIM TIME, I still looked at it over the past months.
One week, I got 7 downloads. Another week, 12.
Another 15. Another, 75? What? I didn’t share it with anybody.
I’ve gained the slightest bit of traction.
That’s so valuable. I can’t give up on this.
Thanks to those who’ve been listening.
So, what’s going on Maim? Why haven’t you been updating?
Let me tell you a story.
Back in July, I flew on a private jet to Jakarta for a cheeky 4-day business trip. It blew my mind. My life hasn’t been the same since…
There are two airports around Seoul.
Gimpo International Airport was established in 1958.
When Incheon International Airport was established in 2001, all international flights were basically rerouted there and that’s how the whole world enters and leaves South Korea.
Except in 2016, the Seoul Gimpo Business Aviation Center was opened.
That’s where the private jets come and go.
That’s where I went.
It’s like a small domestic airport, 2 security officers checking your passports, one metal detector. Check-in and customs is a breeze.
Normally 2-3 hours before departure for international flights.
We were to check in 30 minutes before the flight although we showed up an hour prior, chilling in a lounge.
You go through and board a shuttle to take you out to the runway where we got on a Bombardier Challenger 850, holding 14 passengers, 2 pilots, 1 attendant.
6 hour flight to Jakarta. Comfy chairs. Nice bathroom.
Champagne and whiskey, snaccs on board. It’s really cool.
It’s like getting on a bus, except it’s in the f00kin sky m8.
We landed at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, I believe it was their domestic terminal.
See, private jets don’t land and take off on the same runways as airliners do.
VIP fast track. No airport queues. Waiting in a VIP lounge with food & coffee while waiting for our passports to be processed and our luggage to be collected.
We got into black Toyota Alphards, spacious dope VIP minivans and rode to the Grand Hyatt Jakarta, located in the heart of the city. One of the nicest hotels I’ve ever been.
Jakarta blew my mind. It was like going to Bangkok for the first time. An intoxicatingly exotic metropolis of 10 million people. Elegant mosques, sophisticated government buildings, skyscrapers, shopping mall department stores in which I spent way too much time getting lost in. Delicious food. Kind, warm people.
I knew nothing about Indonesia. Indonesia is a G20 nation. GDP 1.186 trillion USD. They have a population of 276 million people and 17,000 islands; rich in resources, history, and culture. They’ll surpass 300 million people before the end of the decade. By comparison, the USA’s population is 330 million.
Suits, hotel lobbies, black minivans, fancy restaurants, meals with movers and shakers of the nation. International conglomerates, billionaires, and dignitaries you’d never even heard of. Whiskey and cigars. Business cards. Parting gifts.
I’ve been learning bahasa Indonesia since then.
Halo, nama aku Maim. Senang bertemu denganmu. Aku suka kucing dan anjing.
Hello, my name is Maim. Nice to meet you. I like cats and dogs.
If you or anyone you know speaks Indonesian, please introduce me. I need friends to speak Indonesian with to improve my Bahasa.
Anyways, you might be wondering. Maim, how did you end up going on the craziest most lavish and important business trip of your life?
What happened is I got a new job. Now I work as an associate / executive assistant in CORPORATE FINANCE… which means I’m a NOBODY. I’m a SLAVE. I’m a f00king finance guy. That’s right, I’ve SOLD OUT and become just another cog in the global capitalist machine.
Just kidding, I was already a slave to the system anyhow. I’m still a cog in the machine. Listen, just because I flew on a private jet once and I’m exploiting this opportunity to use it as content for my podcast doesn’t make me rich. I haven’t “made it,” I still got bills to pay, trust me. What’s important, now I have more opportunity than ever.
I was most certainly the most junior and the most unimportant person on that entire trip, and it was my greatest honor and privilege to join. I’m forever grateful to the person who brought me on board; also, it wasn’t our company that paid, but another party that sponsored the trip. How I got this job is a story for another time.
You know, it’s funny. Back in episode 36, I talk about “What I’m Sacrificing for My Dreams – Past Dreams and Career Paths.”
A brief recap, I basically talked about my life experiences and how it’s led me to do MAIM TIME, and the deep burning passion and purpose I have to do this. I basically said, it doesn’t matter if someone offers me a great job opportunity or some seemingly worthwhile endeavor comes up, I still need to devote my time to MAIM TIME, and go all in on it, in a sense.
If you follow Alex Hormozi or Sam Ovens, they talk about the dangers of Shiny Object Syndrome, or trying to do everything at once. What happens is that you end up going nowhere. If you have 10 points of energy a day, and you put 1 point here, 1 point there, 1 point there… you don’t really make that much progress.
You scatter your force. It’s a trap. So I had the mindset at the time, that’s stupid, I don’t want to be doing a buncha side hustles. I really didn’t want to do that… but I didn’t want to turn down this opportunity. This episode is just a continuation of that conversation.
Life hasn’t turned the way I expected, amazing right?
Thought I was gonna be full-time independent copywriter & podcaster, but I’m working a full-time corporate job instead.
You know, sometimes I realize… I don’t know shit.
I think I want to do things this way, my mindset’s a certain way — oh I don’t want to fall into a trap doing tons of different things and get burned out. So I’ve been just focusing on my job for the past several months.
But now I realize, that was just an excuse. I just need to take as much action as I can and I can’t be lazy. I can’t make excuses. I can’t let this go by a day longer. I can’t wait for this job to make me rich. The most I can do, is take as much action as possible everyday towards the things that matter, health, money, podcast, and course correct while time managing.
I know that if I take consistent action toward the right path with the right mindset, day in and day out, there’s no way I won’t succeed. I have no choice but to do all these things. Full-time job, copywriting & podcasting, and giving each the proper energy with professional focus and discipline.
And actually, this job so far is perfect for me, and I love it. I’m learning so much everyday. Everyday, I’m getting closer to becoming a consummate professional. I’m just keeping my head down, sending emails, setting appointments, getting coffee, working on documents and presentations. I love this job and everyone I work with. I’m very invested. I’m giving it my all.
Mind you, I’m a f00king college dropout. I’m not from a finance background. AT ALL. You know I’m a party guy. I was a club promoter for 3 years, threw parties and worked different part-time jobs, freelance jobs for most of my twenties.
It just goes to show you: When you’re reliable and likable, it doesn’t matter what your pedigree is. If you demonstrate a desire to learn and grow with an ability to adapt and focus consistently, then you are already ahead of the pack. You just have to put yourself out there until you meet the right people. You have to be putting yourself out there and working on yourself all the way along the way. You have to believe in yourself and take massive action.
But while my job is going great, even if the company does really really well later on, I realize, I can’t depend on this job to make me really rich. It may, it may not, but I can’t wait for it. Can’t just do my job and just hope that it works out and that I become rich. If I want to become super successful financially, I can never just wait for a job to save me.
NOBODY IS COMING TO SAVE ME, EVER.
I’m responsible for everything in my life.
Nobody is ever going to care about me or help me really accomplish the things that I want, live the life I want to live, or help me be the person I want to be, except for myself.
Even though I am extremely blessed to have amazing people in my life who genuinely care about me, nobody is going to get it but ME.
It’s good to be hustling some skills on the side whether you have a crappy job or even a good one that you love just like me. Whether or not you love it, it’s good to have skills and options and different sources of income. If you find a way to make money with skills that translate into helping your job, you become better at your job. Also, it gives you more leverage, confidence, and more importantly, it’ll make you more money, and you can keep scaling it up and up till you become rich.
I have immense ambition. It’s a raging hunger. I want it all.
I want to be a multimillionaire, drive a supercar, fly in private jets, live in a balling ass place, surrounded by beautiful women, eating delicious foods all over the world, going on all sorts of wild adventures amplified with wealth.
More importantly, I want to help people. I want to take care of my tribe. I want to help others to realize their true potential.
Getting rich is going to help me make that impact. I still gotta be working on my hustle, executing on principles, day in and day out.
So, today’s sponsor is… ME!
Do you need good copy written?
Websites, emails, social media posts, all sorts of content…
You want your customers, your fans, your audience to know how awesome your product, service, or cause is.
They deserve to know how awesome your stuff is, through clear copywriting.
Don’t waste time or money figuring it out.
You may be an expert in your field, or a solid businessman or businesswoman.
That doesn’t mean you’re the best at writing copy, because nobody’s good at everything.
I can write it all out for you.
HIRE ME. My words will MAKE YOU MONEY.
Why? Because I’m the BEST. I will figure out how to write you the BEST copy, in the FASTEST amount of time.
Nobody can beat me, at my price point, for this time, for this quality.
Shoot me a DM or email me at [email protected] and we’ll get a consultation call set up right away.
So you can get good copy, so you can make more money, quicker and sooner.
Hey, if you’re not satisfied, I’ll send you your money back.
This is the Main MAIM TIME Motif: I grew up with abysmally low self-confidence, that I attribute to a lack of identity, being a third-culture kid, a first-gen immigrant to America who didn’t even speak his own mother tongue. I thought I’d never amount to anything, that I’d never be capable of even being competent or have any sort of ability, never have anything of value to offer in this world. I was always too dumb, too ugly, too stupid, too slow. I would spend my day to day moments in a nightmarish Hell of self-loathing and depression. It was really agony, I can’t even begin to imagine counting all the times I wish I wasn’t born or all the times I wanted to kill myself in my childhood up to my teens.
If this sounds like you, I’m telling you, you have value. You can make it.
You can learn to be a good, responsible person capable of doing anything you set your mind to.
I’m living proof of it. I’m accelerating my growth. I’m becoming harder, better, faster, stronger, smarter with each passing day. I have overcome mountains and still higher mountains to overcome, and I know that deep inside I have everything it takes to make it happen. If this power is in me, I dare believe that it is within you, too. Especially if you have had similar experiences. If you can understand what I’m saying, and if you can relate to my suffering, then you have the capacity for at least that degree of cognition.
I believe, if you have at least that ability to identify with the suffering, misery, and depression I went through, then in equal proportion you also have the ability to identify with the healing, love, and joy that I have experienced and continue to experience.
If you had told me 10 years ago when I almost tried to kill myself, that I would one day be living an amazing life in Korea and flying to some exotic Southeast Asian metropolis in a private jet, I would have said, f00k 0ff m8.
I’ve tasted it. I want it. I’m going to get it. In a few years, I’ll be paying for my own private flights around the world. I said, so I have to do it. You heard it here on MAIM TIME.
I know I have what it takes. I believe you do too.
I’m taking off. Let’s go together. HARD.