The #HighlySoughtAfter Talk Show

5. How to turn your mess into your message and inspire others on social media - Preston Sin

January 19, 2021 Eric Feng
The #HighlySoughtAfter Talk Show
5. How to turn your mess into your message and inspire others on social media - Preston Sin
Show Notes Transcript

In this episode of #HighlySoughtAfter, I had a chat with fitness transformation coach Preston Sin who also won the Social Media Personality Award by Fitness Superstar in 2018. 

With 92K followers on TikTok, his private clients are all over the world and they are movers and shakers in their own industries. So how did Preston stood out from the crowded fitness industry and became his clients’ preferred choice? 

Short answer: his backstory which helped his clients relate well to him. 

Pay special attention to 21:52 when Preston revealed the secret to getting strangers to fall in love with you on social media. Fail to do so and you will be doomed to a life of invisibility. Do it well, you will have a lifetime of raving fans who only want to do business with you, and you only.

Also listen out for Preston’s answers to the following questions. 

  • What is your story and did you already know you’d be a fitness coach? - 0:49
  • With 34K Instagram followers and influence on social media & how do you stay grounded? - 16:17
  • Now that you’re highly sought after, what is some of the craziest things that your followers have done for you? - 19:27
  • What would you advise those who are in the process of building their personal brand online? - 21:52
  • How can we get more recommendations from existing customers & get them to proactively recommend them us others? - 33:43
  • What’s your words of advice to inspire us for the coming year? - 35:12

If you want to keep in touch with Preston, you can reach him on Instagram @pressonpreston or email him at preston@pressonpreston.com

Read these books to become highly sought after in your own industry -> www.pickericsbrain.com

Thank you for listening to this episode of #HighlySoughtAfter! 

If you enjoyed this episode, please help me hit the ‘subscribe’ button if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts or hit the ‘follow’ button if you are listening on Spotify. 
 
I would also love to hear your biggest takeaway from this episode! Here’s how: take a screenshot of you listening to #HighlySoughtAfter and tag me on Instagram. My handle is @ericgoesglobal. This way, I can personally thank you!

Preston Sin:

When times get tough, accept the things that you cannot change, have the courage to change the things that you can and have the wisdom to know the difference. So when it's time to change, change. Can't change, accept it, let it go.

Eric Feng:

Hi, this is Eric here and you're listening to #highlysoughtafter.

            In today's episode of #highlysoughtafter, I have with me a very special guest, his name is Preston Sin. He is a lifestyle fitness coach, extremely famous in Singapore and I'm pretty sure in Asia in time to come. In fact, this year he won the most influential social media personality of What Buy The Fitness Superstar 2018. Now, most people think that this guy is a pretty face, hot bod, but I tell you something.

            He is a smart guy, budding entrepreneur, who has run many lifestyle events in Singapore, the most recent one being Show of Strength that was attended by a thousand people. Very impressive. So please join me to welcome my guest Presto Sin. Hello, welcome to the studio and welcome to the talk show. Now tell us, what is your story, man? When you were young, do you really know that you're going to be a fitness coach?

Preston Sin:

Well, if you've seen the photos on Facebook you would have guessed it. So I started off as a skinny kid, believe it or not, in primary school all the way onto early secondary school. I was quite insecure about who I was actually because I wasn't really... I wasn't very social. I actually preferred to play games at home.

Eric Feng:

So you were a gamer.

Preston Sin:

So I was quite a gamer. I actually liked playing a lot of computer games back then.

Eric Feng:

What's your favorite computer game?

Preston Sin:

So as you remember, my favorite game back then was this first player shooter called Wolfteam.

Eric Feng:

Never heard of it.

Preston Sin:

This shooting game where you can transform into werewolf and it's pretty quirky. I kind of love it actually. So yeah, I was always at home playing games.

Eric Feng:

And you're skinny.

Preston Sin:

I was skinny. I was skinny and short actually.

Eric Feng:

Did you get bullied a lot?

Preston Sin:

Yeah. So because of being short and skinny, I was the butt of the jokes. So people actually tease me. They called me names. They made fun of me basically. And back then, I wasn't really sure how do I handle it? I didn't know how to handle this sort of ostracism.

Eric Feng:

So you hide in computer games.

Preston Sin:

So, I hide in computer games or I tried using humor actually to mask it or just laugh with them. But it still hurt back then as a kid. So in late secondary school, I actually let myself go in a sense because of exams. I had ice cream while studying, I was so stressed. I started snacking on ice cream chips and I kept sleeping because I just didn't want to study. So it was because of that, that I actually got chubby. My waist size was 34.

Eric Feng:

Guys, I cannot imagine Preston being chubby.

Preston Sin:

So, you wouldn't believe it, but maybe you can see some photos later.

Eric Feng:

[inaudible 00:02:59] That was the worst one?

Preston Sin:

So yeah. Obviously, teasing didn't stop. Because now I'm short and chubby. So, I wasn't really confident, then now I have body image issues. I wasn't confident, I didn't want to take off my shirt and it didn't help that I was bad at sports.

Eric Feng:

You were bad at sports?

Preston Sin:

Yeah, I was bad at sports. Can You can believe it? So as you remember then, just backtrack a little bit, so I remember in primary school I joined the track and field team because I thought I could run really fast. On sports day I was quite okay, second place, occasionally first place. So I was quite a sprinter back then, so I joined track and field thinking I could do well.

            So one day after a training, a few competition and meet, the teacher told me, "Oh Preston, you don't need to come anymore." So I was like, "Oh, okay." Then I went back home, only to realize that I was actually kicked out. I was like, damn, that took a hit on my self esteem a bit. So, I also remember I joined basketball, that was in secondary school... No, sorry in primary school. So I thought, hey maybe. I played basketball with my friends at home and stuff. So I thought was okay.

            So, I did not realize I was not very good also. So I say, "Oh, it's like,"-

Eric Feng:

You're just failing in a lot of sports.

Preston Sin:

I just failed in a lot of things, so it didn't help my self esteem back then? So fast forward, I was chubby in late secondary school, I think it was about sec four. So back I was like 16 or 17-

Eric Feng:

16 years old?

Preston Sin:

16 or 17 if I remember correctly. So, came to a point whereby I was facing a lot of rejections in [inaudible 00:04:41] on a social level, people still continue to bully me. I remember the one the worst, okay let me say it right now, but there's this guy, he used to call me like [inaudible 00:04:53], like maybe because I was-

Eric Feng:

There may be international people watching this [inaudible 00:04:57] what does it mean?

Preston Sin:

I don't know.

Eric Feng:

[inaudible 00:05:00] that you are-

Preston Sin:

Stupid sissy basically.

Eric Feng:

Smelly sissy. That means that you are effeminate. You don't behave like a man, whatever it is. I mean, we were boys right back then.

Preston Sin:

Probably brought it down because it was a combo thing. So we have a group of friends that we hang out with, played basketball a lot. So I wasn't very good at basketball as I mentioned earlier. So, it was because of that I actually stopped playing basketball for many years.

Eric Feng:

Even now?

Preston Sin:

Even now I don't play basketball anymore. I do have good air right now. So, that was then I decided enough was enough. I was this big. I was just sick of feeling so rejected, feeling so insecure about who I was, didn't like how I looked. So I thought, you know what, screw basketball. I'm just going to... I lived in a condo back then so there was a gym. So I went to the gym, I went running. I ran too much actually only to realize now looking back that I actually did something I call, you know what they call crash dieting?

Eric Feng:

No.

Preston Sin:

So, crash dieting is when you eat too little, you eat too clean, like plain chicken breasts, broccoli, so it's boring and painful. But I did anyway. And I ran a lot, almost everyday I ran. So I got lean in a very quick period.

Eric Feng:

But unhealthy way.

Preston Sin:

But unhealthy way. So now looking back, I wouldn't change a thing but now I know better and if someone were to tell me, a person, how can I lose weight? I probably wouldn't advise it.

Eric Feng:

So let me. So you were skinny.

Preston Sin:

Yeah.

Eric Feng:

And then you became fat.

Preston Sin:

Yeah.

Eric Feng:

And then you lost weight.

Preston Sin:

Then I lost weight. I was lean.

Eric Feng:

So back then you were still in secondary school.

Preston Sin:

So, that was when I was transitioning into a poly, so that was first year poly, where I started to see some results. And then, I think it was around the end of the year one where I look better, basically. I look [crosstalk 00:06:54] so I got abs really-

Eric Feng:

And got chest?

Preston Sin:

Chest. Yeah. Yeah.

Eric Feng:

And got biceps? Everybody is distracted by these biceps. Is it that big back that then? The mouse.

Preston Sin:

I remember my mum-

Eric Feng:

This is mouse got radioactive toxic.

Preston Sin:

So I remember my mom actually, "Oh, your mouse" because as a kid you're flexing and stuff but everyone does it now. But anyway, that's beside the point, so what's... ?

Eric Feng:

So when you were poly second year, you started realizing that you start looking good.

Preston Sin:

Yes. I started looking good.

Eric Feng:

How do you feel about that?

Preston Sin:

So it was strange. I started getting attention that I didn't thought I could receive. I felt validated and I felt that I was worthy finally. In a very strange, inset way, I felt like, "Ooh, this is finally what makes me feel good about myself," but looking it was then that caused me to realize, now looking back, I realize that it was very superficial, but I didn't know better. I finally got attention.

Eric Feng:

Exactly. Which you did not get for 16 years.

Preston Sin:

Yeah. Right. For most part of it.

Eric Feng:

So, you got confident?

Preston Sin:

So, then I got confident.

Eric Feng:

What kind of benefits you've got when you started having a nice body, started feeling confident, what kind of perks do you yet?

Preston Sin:

So of course because back then I felt confident. I started socializing more. I actually had more friends. I could speak to people. I could... I basically was a better version of myself because of how I looked.

Eric Feng:

So what was the biggest lesson you learned from this whole journey?

Preston Sin:

So, from the whole journey?

Eric Feng:

Yeah. At least from your thin through your poly super-hunky body.

Preston Sin:

So in that journey itself. Fractional of that journey. I learned that, "Oh, maybe looking good is the answer." Okay. So, we'll come back to whether that's a good thing or not? So, that was the answer. That was the learning for me. Oh maybe I should look even better. So I started to continue to train.

Eric Feng:

Working at it. That's how you got confidence.

Preston Sin:

Yeah. That's how I got confidence.

Eric Feng:

Is that the wrong way to get confidence?

Preston Sin:

Whether wrong or not it's debatable. It's very subjective. So, it was also during this time that I started Instagram. Where I started to document my journey because, "Hey, why not?" I really look good. I shared, just post my physique on Instagram. So it was actually, I wanted to start off like an anonymous kind of thing and did that on my face, just to-

Eric Feng:

Cover your face.

Preston Sin:

To cover my face, basically I darkened the shadows so nobody knows it's me. Just post me body, just in case. So maybe back then you can really tell that, "Oh, am I actually really confident or is that a facade, because why hide my face?" I don't know. Now speaking about it I realize.

            So, I did that for about a year, posting my physique shots, and that was how I grew my initial followers on Instagram. So it was about a few hundred to a thousand but it eventually lost meaning. I was thinking, this is so superficial, why am I constantly posting pictures of my body only? No proper messaging, of course you have those wannabe quotes like, "Go hot or go home."

Eric Feng:

And I always laugh at people who do that. We all know that the quote is just a site thing. The main thing is you want to post that picture. Because, you look good. And then you start thinking, "Okay. Seeing as though I post, I'd better make sure I've a caption." So there's a by the way or a by the way.

Preston Sin:

So people won't think you're just like and ego.

Eric Feng:

But we all know you are.

Preston Sin:

But we all know there's the ego thing. So, it's because of feeling so superficial it felt like, "Is this what I really want?" So, I just say, you know what, screw it. I'm not going to... I decided to just not post anymore. Just let do. So, I went off my Instagram basically for a one year hiatus. So one year of posting regularly one year of hiatus.

Eric Feng:

And then what happened in that one year?

Preston Sin:

So, in that one year, all right. That's fine [inaudible 00:10:54] I actually got chubby again.

Eric Feng:

You got chubby again.

Preston Sin:

So, my defense back then was, "Oh, I'm bulking." This is very ridiculous. So I give myself that because I wanted to bulk and get muscle. So, I ate nonsense. I had a lot of fast food, a lot of snacks and chips and ice cream being my most favorite, even until today. But believe it or not, I don't look like that anymore. Yeah. So, that's another topic for another day. So, I let myself go basically. And it kind of made me feel... It made me lose confidence again.

Eric Feng:

Because, you realized your confidence is tied to your physical body?

Preston Sin:

Exactly. So now looking unhealthy, why was my cell phone based on how I look? So after a year of like suffering, for lack of better word, I decided enough was enough again. And I decided to get back on track, but this time with the right intention to actually do it for myself, not to get the validation of other people. I wanted to... So I started posting Instagram again, to document my journey, so it's like, okay, day one, day two, to just share my story for myself.

Eric Feng:

So, from showing off, which is year one Instagram, you started moving into sharing your journey.

Preston Sin:

Yes. So documenting my journey, what I ate, how I look, how I train, slowly showing the fat melting away, slowly showing the crafting of the muscle and stuff like that. So it was then that I grew quite a substantial following because one thing that could be the reason, was that I was able to relate or people were able to relate to me.

Eric Feng:

To you.

Preston Sin:

Because I'm sure many of you looking, watching this video, would have this dream to look a certain way. And it's because of me sharing my story that you are able to relate to me, maybe because you were bullied before, maybe you are chubby before and you are chubby now and you want to see a difference. It's not too late to start by the way. So then, just became sharing.

Eric Feng:

Got it.

Preston Sin:

So, yeah.

Eric Feng:

And how was it, what changed for you? Your intent. So you came in with the intent that you want to share your journey and do you see a spike in your followers after that?

Preston Sin:

Yeah. So, I saw a spike in my followers and the intention at the start, it was very self-serving in terms of just documenting my journey for myself.

Eric Feng:

And to get people to just say how nice your body is it validates your self-confidence.

Preston Sin:

I don't remember that, but maybe, highly possible back then. And gradually, as the year progressed, as we go deeper into the transformation, I realized that hey, wow. Sharing my story can actually inspire people. There's people are like, "Oh, good job man. Wow, I see a difference. Keep it up."

            So I was like oh, maybe I'm doing something right. Maybe I should continue. So I continue posting regularly as this, for my longtime followers and other friends, you remember that this phase there's this period of time where I also posted a photo, a black photo with a quote and this alternate thing, doing that alternating thing. So it was then also I decided to share more about mindset.

Eric Feng:

Why?

Preston Sin:

Why? Because I realized that as I grew into the process, as I progress, I realized that my mindset changed. I became a more positive individual and a more authentic individual, rather than someone who's just very superficial, very attached to my looks. Back then, there was still a lot of growth to happen but I felt that I was actually really, really growing. I became more positive. I was able to share my messages across. I was able to-

Eric Feng:

But how do you switch from somebody who was self-serving like, "Oh, come look at me," to, "Hey, look at me improve. You can do it too."

Preston Sin:

Yeah.

Eric Feng:

It's a dramatic change from narrative. Did it just happen overnight or what?

Preston Sin:

I think a big awakening back then was because you know that that's shit, when for that one year you look good and then suddenly-

Eric Feng:

You lost it.

Preston Sin:

You lost it. They're like. Why did it happen? It doesn't make sense. I looked good. Why wasn't I confident? So, there's a big [inaudible 00:15:15] maybe, yes looking good it's one part of the equation but what is the next part? So, I realized that, I don't know, as I progressed in the journey, I realized that looking good was part of the equation but actually feeling good about yourself and accepting yourself for who you are, no matter your weight, however you look, as long as you are comfortable with your own skin, as long as you know where you want to go, you want to progress in a certain direction and keep working at it and this way I felt that the confidence came from that.

Eric Feng:

But the thing is that you look better, so obviously you feel better?

Preston Sin:

Yeah. But as I progress in terms of the mindset, I actually didn't tie my myself up in terms of how I look anymore.

Eric Feng:

I got it.

Preston Sin:

It was just very natural. The confidence came very naturally.

Eric Feng:

So, even though you look better but you don't feel too attached to your body anymore and your confidence is not attached to that?

Preston Sin:

Correct. As I continued to share, I felt that my confidence came from being able to impact other people.

Eric Feng:

Nice.

Preston Sin:

It's like-

Eric Feng:

Knowing that your story impacted someone gives you more validation than having just a nice body?

Preston Sin:

And more so, assurance that I'm actually doing something right. I didn't need to feel accepted, but maybe back then I just needed to feel like I'm appreciated for who I was.

Eric Feng:

So Preston went from looking good to doing good?

Preston Sin:

That's a good way-

Eric Feng:

Doing good gave him a lot more satisfaction.

Preston Sin:

Yeah. Yeah.

Eric Feng:

So today Preston, you have 37,000 followers. I pay attention to his post. Every post you get about 3,000, 5,000 likes and I also know that his DMs are endless. So you have 99 plus the average means that he has endless DMs. How do you stay grounded?

Preston Sin:

Okay. So how do I stay grounded?

Eric Feng:

Exactly.

Preston Sin:

That's very good question. I think back then, there was a period of time where I let the numbers control my perception. I was very numbers driven. I wanted a lot of likes. I wanted a lot of comments. I cared about who saw what my posts and stuff like that. But then I realized, "Hey, I'm actually becoming who I was before."

Eric Feng:

Which was?

Preston Sin:

Which was, let's show off. Trying to validate myself with the attention.

Eric Feng:

Through other people's response.

Preston Sin:

Through other people's response. Yeah.

Eric Feng:

Which you can't control.

Preston Sin:

Correct. So, along my journey as I continued to train as I continue to progress and more and more people come to me and tell me how it inspired them. I think it's a very natural shift.

            I actually slowly moved away from the show off into more of a-

Eric Feng:

Serving.

Preston Sin:

Serving. Yeah, actually. So it was then I became very intentional with my Instagram posts. I was very intentional to share things like positive mindset stuff, share stories about my own life. One big thing that I shared a lot last time was the transformation journey. Like what I just shared with you, going through the rejection phase, training and then realizing that it's just not about just the body as being confident with who you are and how you really look. And if you want to change yourself outside then go for it. Which brings me to another point.

Eric Feng:

Which is?

Preston Sin:

One of the big epiphanies that I got from my journey is that for many of us yes, we realize that we have things that we want to change about ourselves.

Eric Feng:

Correct.

Preston Sin:

Something they want to change internally. But for most of us it's very hard because as people we are visual. We want to be able to see things, we want to see tangible-

Eric Feng:

See then we feel.

Preston Sin:

See then we feel. Feeling [inaudible 00:18:52] is sometimes very hard for a lot of us.

Eric Feng:

I agree, yeah.

Preston Sin:

So one big epiphany that I got from my journey is that sometimes, maybe you just need to change what we can see first.

Eric Feng:

Which is your physical look.

Preston Sin:

Which, is our physical look, how we look first. And then gradually the confidence comes. So, like my story, changed how I look, became confident, realized I shouldn't attach my self-worth too how I looked.

Eric Feng:

And then you find something a bit more steady. Serving other people.

Preston Sin:

I found something that's a bit more steady. Serving other people. Actually really doing good. And then, two points, two points to change. One way, change internally first and then the external will come. The other way, which I feel can be faster for a lot of people, is actually to change what we can see first which is our external and then internal will come.

Eric Feng:

So do whatever works for you?

Preston Sin:

I'm not advocating one or the other but I'm just saying that-

Eric Feng:

It works for you.

Preston Sin:

It works for me and a lot for my clients, my friends, my family. So find out what works for you guys. Yeah.

Eric Feng:

Hey, this is Eric here. Just dropping in to check in on you. Are you getting value so far from this interview? Because if you are, I'm very happy for you and I'm really curious to know what are some of the key takeaways. So after the interview go to social media, screenshot your learnings and tag me. All right. So, that we can connect. Okay. Okay. I'm going to leave you to listen to the rest of the interview. Enjoy.

            So now that you are highly sought after what are some of the craziest things that your followers and fans have done for you?

Preston Sin:

I just remember, one of the most memorable yet, but weird I guess or something that's overwhelming for me, that's the word, was that back then in 2015 I was doing a shorts feature. I actually had a follower or supporter that noticed that I was in a pageant. I have no idea who this guy was.

Eric Feng:

To today.

Preston Sin:

We are not friends.

Eric Feng:

Have you not met before?

Preston Sin:

We met, because on the finals, he came down in support, I was like, "Oh God, I don't know how to rep with the tension."

Eric Feng:

What dis he do for you?

Preston Sin:

So this stranger who I do not know, was actually very overtly nice. Yeah. He helped me get advice on how do I do well, my competition, asking his friends. So at the same time, I am thankful, I am a bit overwhelmed. I did know-

Eric Feng:

Too much love.

Preston Sin:

Too much love. Who are you and why are you helping me?

Eric Feng:

And a stranger.

Preston Sin:

And a stranger. And in the voting phase of the competition as well, he actually spent a few hundred dollars on me. I was like, "I just spent $200 to vote for you." I was like, "Oh, wow. Thank you. You don't need to do that." I felt bad. I didn't know who he was and why so many nice things for me. And then I think he spent about total 800 plus.

Eric Feng:

Oh my God.

Preston Sin:

On me. I'm like, "We do not know each other."

Eric Feng:

I have no followers that spent $800 on me.

Preston Sin:

Maybe after this?

Eric Feng:

Maybe after this. Guys, I don't mind you spending $800 on me.

Preston Sin:

Being a young chap back then, I was 18, I didn't know how to handle that tension. So I was a bit withdrawn. I reject it. I kept the distance because maybe it's a way to protect myself.

Eric Feng:

Yeah. Makes sense. Sorry, I really feel that I think my biggest takeaway from you, was how you move from being self-serving, being a show off, moving to just wanting to share your journey and then realizing that sharing your journey actually gives you a lot more satisfaction than being ogled at. And it gives you so much more meaning that you decide to go even deeper and that's why now you go into a service mindset.

            A serving mode, which is the Preston I got to know right now. So, could you help serve my followers and many of them are probably at the beginning stage of building a personal brand on social media whether is it Facebook, Instagram or YouTube? What would be your advice to them, when you start building that personal brand online?

Preston Sin:

So the intent when you start an Instagram page is not to sell, but rather is to connect with people.

Eric Feng:

All kinds of people?

Preston Sin:

Connect with people who you are interested in connecting with.

Eric Feng:

And to sell to eventually.

Preston Sin:

And to sell to if you have service you want to provide. Yeah, sure. But the intent has to first start from a good place.

Eric Feng:

Okay. And it's connecting.

Preston Sin:

Connecting.

Eric Feng:

How. How do you connect?

Preston Sin:

For me, I connect with people who are inspired by my transformation journey because they themselves want to transform.

Eric Feng:

Got it.

Preston Sin:

All right. So someone who is skinny, wanting to buff up. Someone who is a chubby and wants to lead down. Whether it's for health reasons, whether it's for family, social, whatever the reason it is. So you should know who you want to connect with.

Eric Feng:

So what I'm hearing from you is that we need to connect by common interests.

Preston Sin:

Common interests, exactly. What can you build rapport based on? And of course, what moving forward, where are you all going? What's your common identity? How do you all envision yourself? What do you all want from a particular space or interests or maybe service?

Eric Feng:

Got it. So either a common interest. Something that you are genuinely interested in and you want to attract people who have a common interest as you. Maybe it could be as simple as badminton. It could be as simple as bot games. Could be as simple as... What other interests?

Preston Sin:

Women's fitness.

Eric Feng:

And fitness. That's for him.

Preston Sin:

[inaudible 00:24:15].

Eric Feng:

And in my case, reading, in my case, I think people who are connected to me have a common interest in being successful in the things that they do.

Preston Sin:

Exactly. It can be as... Is that intangible?

Eric Feng:

Intangible.

Preston Sin:

It can be something that's intangible like that or it can be something as tangible as even food cooking.

Eric Feng:

Yeah, exactly. And identity, which is, I think people connect with you because you were once a fat kid and now you're a hunk. So the identity is something that people can relate to. But you guys can also create identity. You are a first-time dad or you are cancer survivor. In other words, what's your story that people can relate to? We find more people like that.

Preston Sin:

Yep. Yep.

Eric Feng:

Excellent. I'm getting it now. Okay. So, that's number one. Set the intent and then start connecting with people either based on common interests or common identity. Then after that, what about a content piece?

Preston Sin:

So then the content comes with about continually sharing that story that you want to share. So like for me, I do two things actually. I share story and I provide information or other education and system. So I share a lot of fitness tips and I share a lot of mindset.

Eric Feng:

So that's education part?

Preston Sin:

Correct. The value add portion. So there's a value add portion, which is what I just said. And the other portion would be the storytelling about yourself. What's your journey? Who were you before? Who are you now? Who are you going to be?

Eric Feng:

Got it. So this is the part where it allows people to connect with you.

Preston Sin:

It's the relatability portion.

Eric Feng:

Any entertaining things that you do as well?

Preston Sin:

Okay. Time to time when I feel very spontaneous, I actually... So there was once, I was actually training a friend. So after gym does this escalator, I wouldn't advise you to do it anyway, but does this escalator. It was quite narrow, so I thought hey, why don't I just horn through it? I just held on to it and lifted my legs. So it was quite well received actually.

Eric Feng:

The video?

Preston Sin:

It was like, oh my God, I'd better be careful and they commented, commented, commented. I was like, ah, interesting. So there are times where I do stuff like that.

Eric Feng:

So, summarize. You either teach on social media or you socialize on social media. Tell them a little bit about who you are, your story, connect with them or you entertain and have some fun.

Preston Sin:

Yeah. In some sort of spontaneous manner basically.

Eric Feng:

I love it. I love it. So discipline. So by the way guys, in this segment was where I actually did a promo for today's interview and I asked my followers, if you get to meet Preston in person, what questions would you ask? And I got a lot of questions, obviously because of time, we're not going to be able to go through everything. Maybe this one. This is by Ilene Fara. She asked you, how do you stay consistent? I think what she meant is how do you stay consistent with your fitness regime? Because she's having a lot of trouble being consistent and being disciplined.

Preston Sin:

Right. So there are a couple of... Okay. Maybe just to keep it simple. So, Ilene right?

Eric Feng:

Ilene Fara.

Preston Sin:

Ilene Fara. Okay. So, one thing that you might want to ask is what is consistency to you? So for instance, maybe you decide to get fit. And like most people, like me back then also. When I find a first decided to get fit, lose that belly fat and everything, I ran almost every day. I went to the gym almost every day. I eat super clean almost every day. It was very, very drastic, very extreme.

            It's because of this drastic change that didn't allow me to stay consistent and I eventually fell off the bandwagon. I managed to stay so for a year.

Eric Feng:

That's pretty good.

Preston Sin:

That's not bad really actually. But at the same time, for many of you watching this as well, I'm sure you have had these moments before when you wanted to drastically lose weight but usually you can't stay consistent because you're doing too much too soon. With life happening, maybe you've got family, you've got kids, you've got work.

            It is unrealistic to think that from not working out to working out six times, seven times a week. Why don't you just start with small steps.

Eric Feng:

I like that. Okay.

Preston Sin:

So, instead of just diving straight in, why don't you just maybe start off with once a week working out at the gym, working out at home, maybe playing some sort of sport that you like.

Eric Feng:

So the action has to be small enough to do so that you don't have to use willpower?

Preston Sin:

Manageable.

Eric Feng:

Manageable.

Preston Sin:

There will still be an element of willpower involved, but the thing is about doing something that's manageable for you at the moment. And as you get comfortable already with that slight discomfort, get uncomfortable again and repeat the process and repeat the process.

Eric Feng:

So change small, but change often.

Preston Sin:

Correct. Change small, change often. That's a good way of putting it. So, you might be doing too much too soon and that's why you can't stay consistent. So do what you can at the moment and slowly add in a bit more.

Eric Feng:

Fantastic. And guys, it's the same thing... I tell my followers all the time, it's the same thing when it comes to content creation and growing your brand. It's not about spending all of a sudden six hours a day working on your personal brand. You haven't even spent a day an hour. Why would you spend six hours? So I always tell them that spend 15 minutes a day creating content, spend another 15 minutes a day increasing your followers. That's just half an hour. And when you can keep that 30 minutes consistent, I told them usually for about 21 days, that's roughly how long a habit gets formed, then you can add on, you can stack. So I guess it's the same thing with fitness.

Preston Sin:

Yeah. Pretty much similar.

Eric Feng:

Pretty cool. Amos has another question for you. He said, how long did it take for you to get your body to this shape and how much time does it take to maintain? So two questions. Maybe the first one first. How long did it take to have this body of yours?

Preston Sin:

So Amos, I'm going to answer you slightly differently. So the normal answer that everyone would give is a timeframe. So I did this about six years. Other question that I want to ask you or other thing I want to bring up is that, don't have a destination mindset. You know what I mean?

Eric Feng:

Love it.

Preston Sin:

A lot of times we have people who want to lose weight because they want to reach a certain thing.

Eric Feng:

And they get very impatient.

Preston Sin:

Very impatient. And most of the time they don't actually achieve that.

Eric Feng:

Or they take shortcuts.

Preston Sin:

Or they take shortcuts and then they end up back to square one which is a lot of people. So instead of asking, how long does it take and then to tell somebody whether it's possible, what if I told you it took 20 years, would you give it up?

            So what if I tell you two months? Would you want to go all the way? So don't look at it as a timeframe. After all, you've got a whole life ahead of you. So what if you took 10 years? Are you going to look back and say, "Oh damn. I took 10 years to achieve this." No. You know what? You're just going to be living in the present moment and going to be like, "Yeah, I look like that now and I feel great about myself. I look great. I'm confident," and so on and so forth.

            So don't look at it as a timeframe thing. Don't look at it as a destination, look at it as a journey instead. So when you look at it as a journey, it's more likely for you to start.

Eric Feng:

So what's the distinction? Okay. We get the distinction, a destination journey is I want to get through your kind of body within a certain timeframe. Okay. What would be a journey goal?

Preston Sin:

What would be a journey goal?

Eric Feng:

Because, that's the destination goal. To look like you. Journey goal, how would that look?

Preston Sin:

So when it comes to achieving your body goal, it's a lot to do with adjusting your current lifestyle. So for instance, Ilene asked about how to stay consistent working out. First thing you need to do is to start working out. Just this one. Start.

Eric Feng:

So working out is a journey goal?

Preston Sin:

So working out is a journey goal.

Eric Feng:

Eating well?

Preston Sin:

Eating well is also a journey goal. Don't look at it as just eating and training in general but look at is how can it fit into your lifestyle? So, if you have kids, you're having a full-time job, you're meeting clients, it's don't try to do things that's impossible for you at the moment, like working out six times a week. Do something that's manageable.

Eric Feng:

Fit into your lifestyle.

Preston Sin:

Fit into your lifestyle and that's the journey itself. Along the way, you will know what else needs to be adjusted.

Eric Feng:

Got it. So it's more like a process.

Preston Sin:

It's a process. Life itself is a process.

Eric Feng:

I like that.

Preston Sin:

Every day we are growing, every day a new day comes, a new year comes, so it's a process.

Eric Feng:

And I know that Preston works out a lot. I mean literally every day.

Preston Sin:

Okay. So in the past, yes. In the past, because maybe like two years ago yeah, I worked out every day. Because firstly, the two reasons why I worked out every day. One, I worked out every day because I thought it was going to give me results, which actually now that I realize it's actually not so because your body actually needs to recover.

Eric Feng:

Oh, thank God.

Preston Sin:

So, don't have to do it every day if you don't want to. But I did it anyway also because I love going to the gym. So back then, as insecure kid, loved playing games, then a few years ago, Preston loved going to the gym. So I just did, because I love it.

Eric Feng:

You can get pleasure through this.

Preston Sin:

I just loved it. I just love going to the gym. So that's why it's easier for me.

Eric Feng:

Yeah. Well, so maybe that's it guys, for us to be able to build a habit, what is it about creating content on social media or working out for that method, it's about learning how to connect pleasure to that particular action.

Preston Sin:

And small steps.

Eric Feng:

And then take small steps. For you, what's the pleasure working out?

Preston Sin:

Transformation.

Eric Feng:

You enjoy seeing your body change?

Preston Sin:

Yeah. I enjoy seeing the growth that comes with it also. And having shared my story, being able to inspire people, that pushed me to continue to want to be the best-

Eric Feng:

Even more pleasure.

Preston Sin:

Exactly. Best version of myself.

Eric Feng:

Got it. So you, wanting to be the best version of yourself. You see your body change, you know you can impact people, all that creates a lot of pleasure for you working out. So I guess it's the same thing for all of us watching this. That for every action they want to take, we need to link it to as much pleasure as possible. Whatever that makes it pleasurable.

Preston Sin:

The motivation that lies behind every action they want to do.

Eric Feng:

I love it. Well let's... Well, not much time left. Let's ask another question. Can I stick this question? How do you get... Right now you do have your followers who are busy, your customers, so this question is like this. How do you get more recommendations from existing customers? So people who are already consuming your content, people who are really engaging you as a private coach, how do you get them to proactively recommend you to all their friends so that you can share essentially how you become shareable?

Preston Sin:

Yeah. So be good at what you do.

Eric Feng:

Mastery.

Preston Sin:

Basically, right? You need to know your stuff. You need to be able to help others in the way that they want to be helped.

Eric Feng:

Okay. I like that. Mastery is a good summary.

Preston Sin:

And of course the next thing is that people need to like you. You need to be able to really connect with them. Like Eric mentioned earlier, how are you relatable to them? How do you establish that common identity and common interest? And then you establish that likeability.

Eric Feng:

Got it.

Preston Sin:

So if, like today, I know Eric, Eric knows me. So if today, somebody maybe in Eric's circle who wants to work out. Well, they call.

Eric Feng:

Obviously.

Preston Sin:

Because, we are friends.

Eric Feng:

And you are good at what you.

Preston Sin:

So same thing for yourself also. Think about it that way, how do you become likable and how can you be great at what you do?

Eric Feng:

I love it.

Preston Sin:

Does that make sense?

Eric Feng:

Totally makes sense. Totally makes sense. And you know Preston, it has been a huge pleasure having you on #highlysoughtafter. Would you have some words that you want to share with all my followers, but give them some word of advice, inspire them for the coming year?

Preston Sin:

Sure. Okay, so maybe I'll share two quotes.

Eric Feng:

Awesome. Massive value.

Preston Sin:

Okay. So the first quote that really kept me going when I first started or rather in anything you are starting right now is, "That you don't have to be great to start but you've got to first start to be great." So I mean, it speaks for itself. All right. So, that's one.

            And the next one I want to share is, "That when times get tough," remember this quote, "Accept the things that you can not change, have the courage to change the things that you can and have the wisdom to know the difference." So when it's time to change, change.

Eric Feng:

Very good.

Preston Sin:

If you can't change, accept it, let it go.

Eric Feng:

This is so cool. Can you try it one more time, because I think it's so important. I want to take notes as well.

Preston Sin:

Accept the things that you cannot change.

Eric Feng:

Like my biceps? Cannot change.

Preston Sin:

But have the courage to change the things that you can and have the wisdom to know the difference.

Eric Feng:

I'm sure every one of you right now watching this video, you want to stay in touch with Preston. And the best way to stay in touch with him is to click on the link in the description and you'll get access to him and feel free to pick his brain and get a little bit of his positive vibes.

            Okay. Now thank you very much for spending your precious time with me and Preston today at #highlysoughtafter. I have many, many, other interesting guests that'll be coming on a show to help you become highly sought after.

            Thank you so much for listening to the entire interview. I trust that it was valuable to you. Now, it would mean the world to me. If you could write me a review, so who knows your review maybe feature it in the very next episode. So what are you waiting for. Go, go write a review now.

Speaker 3:

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