Tribute: The King of Singapore | Adrian Tan (President, Singapore Law Society) - a podcast by Ling Yah

Yesterday, we lost the King of Singapore.

I never had the privilege of meeting him, but a year ago, I sent a cheeky email to Adrian Tan asking if he’d share his life story on the So This Is My Why podcast.

In a true spirit of generosity, he said yes.

And we spoke for over 2 hours! 🤯

Podcast hosts shouldn’t have favourites but… Adrian was one of my favourites. It is true.

Today, Adrian’s episode has been rereleased as a tribute to him. It is the almost 💯 unedited version (minus the umm & ahhs), so you’ll hear some of the parts that didn’t make the cut the first time around in 1 full episode.

I hope this interview did justice in showcasing the kind of person that he was.

If you don’t know Adrian’s backstory, here are some highlights (found in the episode too):

🔥 Adrian grew up in a HDB flat that had zero concept of privacy. His neighbours crowded outside his flat every day to watch their TV & would get mad if it wasn’t available! 🤣

🔥 He was the subject of maternal gaslighting 🤣 which helped him become very, very good at English

🔥 His English was so good, he was refused a scholarship to do law and told to do English instead! 

🔥Adrian ended up writing multiple bestsellers - The Teenage Textbook & The Teenage Workbook (they’ve been turned into a play, TV series & movie!)

🔥 Ironically, Adrian was very embarrassed by the success of his novels. Because he was a tough, hardened litigator but his clients just wanted to talk about his silly teenage romance novels?! 😫

🔥Despite being a lawyer, he found it impossible to stand up for himself in real life.

🔥 But he realised that he needed to start speaking up. On LinkedIn. 

Because it was time to strip away the “mystic” around the legal profession & that begins with lawyers becoming legal influencers.

🔥 Finally, his vow as the President of the Singapore Law Society to “fight cancer, fight my cases in court & fight for lawyers as their President, until the clock runs out”.

I hope you enjoy this re-released, unedited episode with the King of Singapore.

📍Show notes: www.sothisismywhy.com/101

🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/QOEeOIiQvyk

💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

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