Welcome to another “Inspiring Interview Series” where I introduce you to successful women with a strong sense of themselves. High-achievers, who trained themselves to see opportunity inside any obstacle. Great individuals, having the skillset, the knowledge, extremely qualified and inspiring other women to be better.
“Inspiring Interview Series” is a collection of everyone’s practices and hopefully anyone can integrate something into their own life.
It’s special to me because I only interview women, whom I find truly inspirational – a woman who inspires me to a be little braver in my life.
Like any young woman in her 20s, I want to know what I could do better and what I could do less of.
We worked with Joy on a project together in Singapore. She was calm, confident and insightful in ways that few people I’d met before were. She is someone to learn from, to stick close to. I saw this right away. From the very first moment, my intuition told me that Joy was just unapologetically and instructively herself. A clear-headed woman, constantly challenging herself and growing in difficult situations.
Joy is the founder of The Style Atelier (www.styleatelier.com) which runs a signature Style 360 programme designed to hone your personal brand in aspects related to appearance, behaviour and communication.
Realising that soft skills are the new hard skills in a world that are increasingly challenged by volatility and ambiguity, Joy develops the Style 360 programme to help individuals thrive amidst the changing landscape with savoir-faire. Besides Singapore, she has also conducted training in countries including Malaysia, Myanmar, Hong Kong and the USA.
As an accomplished makeup and hair artist, Joy has worked with many international beauty brands such as Max Factor, Guerlain, Clarins, Nivea, Revlon, etc, to educate consumers, media and KOLs on the art of beauty. She is the winner of the Shu Uemura Beauty Art Makeup Competition 2016 in Singapore.
Joy loves art and in her free time, she explores museums to seek inspirations for her projects.
Connect with Joy on Instagram for more inspiration
- How would you describe yourself to a total stranger?
Introspective, grounded and focused on goals.
- What is the first 1 hour of your morning looking like? Share with us, any morning routine you have.
The first thing I do when I wake up is to be thankful for the start of a fresh day. Then I go through mentally what my goals for the day are. I make sure that I start my day with gratitude, clear goals and an action plan. This helps me to take charge of my time and be more productive.
- What is your thought process, before making a decision?
I typically think through matters thoroughly before making a decision (sometimes too much!). I also like to bounce ideas off my friends and glean perspectives from people who specialise in different fields. It isn’t just their knowledge that I am interested in, but also their emotional response to situations which I find equally intriguing.
We cannot explain life away solely based on cost-benefit analysis. Sometimes the heart knows better than the mind- no matter how illogical it seems. So I think it is important to consider both what your heart and mind say when making decisions.
- We live in a digital world. What are some apps you use on an everyday basis?
I am definitely on Instagram a lot as it is critical for my work. Having said that, I do take time off social media and try not to let it run my life. I think it is more important to obsess over real living than a virtual existence. In the media/ beauty business, vanity is rife. If you don’t keep your reality in check, you’ll start to attach your importance to the number of likes and followers that you’ll have, which I think it’s not healthy.
5. When was the last time you changed your mind on an important issue? And can you tell us more about it?
I don’t usually change my mind or regret once I make a decision. If I do make a change, it would be for strategic reasons, so I don’t sweat over my decisions too much.
6. You are very successful in your field. What are some of your tips/strategies on overcoming fear?
Fear is a troublesome thing and I try not to let fear run my life. Well, I am certainly still fearful of things, for sure! But I am pretty logical, so I just focus my energy on finding solutions to problems that create those fear. Once I channel my energy to create productive outcomes, fear usually fades away on its own anyway. As I grow older, I realise that most fears are actually unnecessary, and I can simply kill them by not feeding them my attention.
- You travel a lot! What is the best vacation you can think of and culture you like the most? Do you have some travel tips/tricks
Every travel is a great way to discover the world through fresh eyes. Being mindful and respectful of others’ culture is always helpful, especially when you are in a foreign land. For a start, you can consider what type of dressing is deemed appropriate in the country that you are visiting. Although we all have the right to dress however we like, choosing to dress well and appropriately for others demonstrates consideration for them.
- What do you do when you feel anxious. What are you doing to gain focus?
Just know that all of life is peaks and valleys. All things shall pass.
- How do you define success and who comes to mind, when I say “successful person”
I am successful when I know my calling, live to fulfil it and do so joyously. I think anyone who achieves this, regardless of their station in life, is successful.
10. What are some spiritual practices that you have
Christianity
11. What are 5 books, you read that influenced your life
The Dip, The Little Prince, Sputnik Sweetheart, Stories of the Sahara, The Bible
12. What is advice, you wished someone gave you when you were in your 20s?
Live a little more! A little bit of madness is key to feeling intensely alive.
13. What are you excited about right now?
I am very clear of my life goals (professionally, romantically and financially) and I am working towards achieving them. Living a purpose-driven life energises me immensely and helps me to eliminate unimportant opportunities from my life.
Related reading :
Inspiring Interview Series with Sarah
Inspiring Interview Series with Vivien Liu
