Banker turned comedian…. nothing funny about that!!

I worked for an investment bank in Tokyo called Bear Stearns.  I never felt comfortable giving presentations to management, even if I knew what I was talking about, so  I decided that I was going to improve in this area. Who are the the most captivating public speakers?  I ended up at “Tokyo Comedy Club”, where they did stand up in English. I knew if I could do stand up I would definitely be able to do successful presentations. I put my name down for 3 minutes open mic, practised for a month, nearly chickened out the day of my first gig due to nerves, (I was physically sick, the 2 hours before I got on stage). After those three minutes I was on a high, I felt I could do anything; a world of opportunities opened to me as my limiting beliefs started to fade away. Presentations became easier simply because I was much more confident speaking in public. Since then I have also became the person nominated to give toasts at parties / events, which is always fun.

Apart from being comfortable speaking publicly, the greatest breakthrough in my life is that now I realise when I see something and say to myself, “I could never do that”, I am wrong. That belief has now changed to; “I can do it. It is simply about following the right steps”.

Bear Stearns collapsed, along with the rest of the financial world.  It became clear that the financial world was based on an empty perception of a transparent illusion. As people are starting to lose their jobs, they are also losing belief in themselves. I realised that it is most important to add true value to yourself. I left the bank to travel the world and do a number of interesting courses which add value to myself; from Thai massage to psychology.