JOURNEY to the sky
Creating One's Own Fate
Though Persistence & Determination
"Who Inspired You as a Child?"
According to Mr. Collin Lam in one of his former magazine interviews, one evening he was watching a documentary about one of the greatest basketball players and the God of All Time (GOAT) in world history - Michael Jordan - and how he became the legend he was.
At that moment, Collin realized that he should learn from the best of the best, the world champions or the number one person in their fields if he wants to be successful.
"So even if the goal is unbelievably high and I may never be able reach their levels, I can still push my limit to the highest level and by indirectly learning from them - their skills, their knowledge, their mindsets and their paths to reach the top - by observing and listening to their stories, I will be able to excel in any field. From then on, I set the number one player in every field as my virtual idols and role models. It was really a game changer for me." Collin added.
Other role models of Collin included Arnold Schwarzenegger (the number one bodybuilder who became an actor and then the Governor of California, United States of America), Pete Sampras (the tennis world number one at that time who have won 14 singles Grand Slam titles) and Warren Buffet (the Oracle of Omaha, the world-famous investor who had a successful investment record for over 60 years non-stop). These successful individuals had one thing in common : they were the highest achievers in their respective fields and accomplished unparalleled successes.
"I would say, they were the ones who truly inspired me as a child and gave me hope and dreams to fight for.” Collin said.
How Can We Deal with Doubters and Learn from the Achievers?
“When you are young, you may hear a lot of opinions from others about what you should or shouldn't do, what you can or can't do, who you are or who you will never be. Most of them may mean well, but they may also reflect their own limitations or ideas, sometimes even personal failures." Collin quoted.
In his view, it is crucial for us to clearly evaluate the situation and see whether those people who discourage us have accomplished anything remarkable themselves. If they have done a great job themselves, it will be great to listen to their advice and even better ask them how they did it. Their advice will be invaluable to your life and future.
However, if these nay-sayers have not achieved much themselves, it may mean that they were just projecting their own insecurities and subconsciousness onto others and trying to persuade others (and themselves) that their paths were right and other people should follow them, so that they could rationalize their own shortcomings and failures in lifetoo.
"Don't listen to them. What you need to do is to plan your life, look for and find those people who have done what you want to do, and do it.” Collin stressed.
How Can a Youngster Start with Little or Even No Resources & Still Achieve Big Results?
"Having more resources can make your life easier, yes. But that doesn't mean you can't start with less. You can always break down your big goals into smaller goals - the 'mini-goals'. Focus your efforts, resources, and time on these mini-goals first and you will see progress." Collin added.
>> 1994 <<
BREAKING OUT FROM THE PAST
Collin achieved top result in Hong Kong's public exams (i.e. Hong Kong Certificate Examination and Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination), admitted to the top university in the region and graduated with honors.
Subsequently, at the age of only 25, Collin became the first Management Trainee of the HKHA to be promoted to the Manager level in less than 18 months, leading the commissioning projects for new operations & hospitals projects in Hong Kong.
>> 2007 <<
STEPPING UP TO REGIONAL
Collin joined Ralph Lauren, the number one luxury retail apparel company of the United States of America, as their first ever Director in Learning Development and also People Director for the Asia Pacific Region. The Company has over 45,000 workforce worldwide in more than 27 countries.
In 2011, Collin obtained a post-graduate executive leadership qualification from the Stanford University, one of the top tertiary education institute in the world.
>> 2018 <<
ELEVATING TO GLOBAL Role
Collin's career took another big jump and became the Group Head of Human Resources for a renowned private jet company (Metrojet), and subsequently became the Chief People Officer / Group Head of People for two famous multinationals, FANCL Asia Pacific, PURE Group, leading teams of groups of more than 40 professionals in major country office across different countries, namely Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines, Mainland China, India & New York, supporting the founders & CEOs.
>> 2024 <<
CHAMPIONING FINANCIALLY
In 2021, Collin successfully completed in an initial public offering project (IPO) which put an international e-commerce company in the mainboard of the Hong Kong Stocks Exchange.
Collin later moved to the backstage to become a business investor, exploring excellent companies to invest in in the global resources, advanced technology, artificial intelligence and retail markets. Up till today, Collin still travels around the Globe & experience life (last updated 2025).
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Mini goals are important because they give us a sense of achievement along the way, which boosts our confidence, gives us motivation and fosters our determination to pursue bigger goals.
One of the key idea Collin kept reminding us was that everyone starts small at first.
"Many people though entrepreneurs all started with big plans, clear visions, and strategies to achieve what they have at the very beginning. I have talked to hundreds of successful entrepreneurs and billionaires in person, and I asked them how they discovered their potential for greatness. One key point that I heard from almost all of them was - contrary to many people’s misunderstanding - these successful businesspeople had no clue at first what they could have achieved when they first started! Instead, they started small, took baby steps, experimented, and gradually moved towards bigger and bigger targets. After a few years, they finally found the 'right' ways to get what they wanted." Collin explained.
Therefore, we should remember that we shouldn't be afraid to start small. Every successful person started small at first. They just didn't tell everyone in public.
If you want to be successful, don't waste your energy on envying others. Instead, you just need to learn from them to improve YOUR life, even if you may not like their appearances, their wealth or their lifestyles. Always bear this in mind, as Collin reminded us : "Your life is your goal. Everything else is just background noise."
The Athlete
"Although I didn't grow up with the proper resources, training or mentorship like some professionally trained athletes, that didn't dampen my enthusiasm for sports. When I was younger, I used various methods to observe the techniques and moves of world's number one athletes and players, and then pondered their skills and tactics."
"In this way, even if I didn’t have the resources and professional training, I could still learn from the most successful athletes with the limited channels. It worked perfectly."
"Of course, it's not enough for you to just observe, you need to make time every day to practice. The amount of time that everyone has every day is the same. The gist is how much time you can squeeze out to do something you are passionate about. Even if you are a naturally gifted player, if you do not properly manage your time to practice and improve yourself, you will only end up being mediocre and played down by those who work harder."
"One of the ways I had was to get up an hour or two earlier than others to practice and study, or to practice when others are having fun. I would visualize those number one players as my opponent and think about how to interact and handle their strongest moves."
"While many people think that I am just born with talents, they do not know that behind the scene I have spent way more effort, time & energy than ordinary people to improve myself."
“This mode of time management has a great effect for me not only in sports, studying, exams preparation or career. And it worked pretty well so far."
So what are the most important advices Collin has for the younger generations and readers?