This is the second of a two part series about my post cancer treatment journey. the first post is found here: The Post Treatment Plan The Post Treatment Plan

This torii is part of an art installation (Rainbow Church) found on Cijin Island, Kaoshiung, Taiwan. I took this picture during my first solo trip last October. Beyond the gate is the rough waters of the Taiwan Strait, and before it is the calm man-made pond. This divide is symbolic of my post-treatment journey in the past year.

“I’m a Hammer”

(When everything became material for innovation)

In Bali, I had already decided how I will spend my time.

I decided that I will focus my energy into being an educator and reduce any entrepreneurial endeavours. I will continue teaching, and also engage with SMEs consistently through a newsletter series. I even designed AI prompts in each issue so that the reader can easily start the process, and I can supplement as a coach where necessary.

So when I went about Taiwan during my solo trip in Oct 2024, I was fervently hunting for materials that I could use in my LinkedIn posts. This is a summary of what I wrote about (all of the posts can be found via my LinkedIn and in this website):

• The Goal Wasn’t the Point — adoption, getting people to see the possibilities by setting a stretch goal
• It’s a Hypothesis — having courage to change because these are just hypotheses
• Chasing Shiny Objects — impulse to chase fast-moving targets rather than what’s useful
• May I Borrow Your Tofu — resourcefulness
• Possibilities in Mess — breaking out of knowledge corridors
• The New That Honours the Old — seeing an old Japanese home being transformed into a library for a primary school triggers reflection above heritage businesses
• Silvergrass Can Wait — being fluid in response to unexpected circumstances
• 20 Scoops of the Same Idea — innovation through the explore and exploit lens

I was really pumped up.

I had my laptop with me during the trip, and when I came back to the hotel, I would write and post the LinkedIn posts. I did it despite feeling tired, and my back was literally breaking (which I would later come to know was a function of the medicine, which I didn’t know at that point in time).

I Can’t be a Hammer

(The burnout that stopped everything)

Between January and April 2025, I was burnt out because I taught many classes and tried to revamp curriculum based on some new inspiration. But it was too much a stretch for the students and it didn’t go well. I was juggling three courses at some point in time.

My body hadn’t recover to the stage that I thought it would be at. I was usually tired after working for half a day, and on some days, I couldn’t do much. Teaching full days was too strenuous. I also had a bad fall in January, which affected my mobility and my mood.

Not only did I shelf whatever plans I had to create the newsletter, I also declined most teaching engagements for the rest of the year.

“I am…” (Why Do I Even Care?)

(Working for myself, not for the world)

Then what?

Maybe I will “work for myself.” I wanted to rest, which meant I didn’t want to do any time-sensitive work. I wanted to spend time on what I wanted, not to serve other people. So that’s when I thought I wanted to spend the little time I had to work on my cancer memoir — which was really for myself, not for anybody else.

I had spent the last few years starting a new business, and much of it was making sure people liked what I did enough to pay me. But I didn’t want to do that now. I wanted to place myself at the highest priority.

One day, I was listening to Craig Mod’s podcast with Tim Ferriss (in preparation for the Nakasendo trip), and he said that he sends one image to his subscribers per day, accompanied by some of his thoughts. I thought that was so cool, because I spend a lot of time in my head, and I also wanted an outlet of expression.

I like to take photos, and I like to think, so maybe I could do something similar. But if I didn’t want to be bound to servicing people, then I could put it up on my blog site — totally within my control, without needing to ask people whether they liked it or not.

So I started to write what came to me. Of course, a lot was still about innovation and adoption, but no longer restricted to that.

The photos became a kind of jumping point — visual inspiration that represented the topics, even if not exactly about them. I branded it Postcard in Passing. I wrote about hearing the birds sing (and why they sing in a particular sequence). I wrote about my experience trying to get down a steep slope during a Japan hike.

I am…My Boss

(Rediscovering what I really want to do with what I have)

I felt liberated that I had created space and time to be my most authentic self. That’s when I began to appreciate the physical and mental valley during the January to April period. It forced me to take a break and come face to face with what I really wanted to do with what I have.

I think realising “what I have” is critical. Even since Bali, I hadn’t stress-tested myself back in my old job. When I did the Bali plan, I didn’t know that I could no longer act as before.

When I go on hikes, sometimes I come across dead ends that I didn’t expect. Just yesterday, I went on an exploratory trip trying to follow the Kallang River. However, I met a dead-end and I had no choice but to pursue alternative pathway. That’s when it hit me “Things will become other things”.

God doesn’t speak to you and say, “Hey, that’s the wrong way.” If you see that there’s no road ahead, don’t despair. It’s God’s way of telling you, “Hey, back up and go somewhere else where I’ve also got great things in store for you.”

In a way, I would say this is the best thing that happened to me out of the cancer episode — to find out what I want to do for myself and live it well.