He may look younger and quieter at first, but 29-year-old Ryan Nicholas Leong is more than what he seems. An adventurous creator at heart with a passion for interdisciplinary education, Singapore’s first GENIUS Generation Youth Coach takes his work seriously, backed by ambitions beyond average.
Strategic during his youthful years, Ryan stretched his career dreams as a multihyphenate, soaking up experiences from hundreds of diverse events, hustling in the evenings and taking on part-time and freelance teaching gigs for multiple enterprises.
He has also singlehandedly developed business projects that nurture ‘apocalypse-response life skills’, to help humanity thrive in the VUCA 21st Century. These are supported by a host of resources; 100+ prompt cards and hacksheets, a growing suite of eBooks, workshop talks and online courses, all personally crafted with care over his years of learning. He even keenly designed new frameworks and pedagogies that improve the quality of daily living, for anyone looking to take charge of their life.
But what is the driving force behind such ambitious goals?
“Being introverted, small-built and easily-trusting in my younger years… I would easily end up being ignored, manipulated, exploited and blamed as the scapegoat, by peers and adults alike. I was even a ‘punching bag’ not just for the bullies, but also the bullied who needed someone to vent onto. Bottom of the food chain, so to speak.
And when given the rare chance to speak up, I was poor at articulating my defence, even though I had compelling evidence to prove my innocence. I was thus easily stressed out, anxious and afraid on a daily basis, and would end up making mistakes even in basic tasks. Frustration and ridicule from others would then pour in.
The turning point came when I was diagnosed with childhood cancer at 12. Interestingly, it was a blessing in disguise as it withdrew me from the outside world back home, where I could have space to reflect and recover.
The experience also enabled me to comprehend the fragility of life. Seeing how loved ones and strangers around me who still believed in my potential – coming together to ensure I had the chance to live another day – it made me cherish every breathing second, to come back better than before and to give back manifold.
With all that I’ve suffered through, I could have gone bitter… but I chose to go better.”
Years later, Ryan continues to ensure his ambition is matched by his style of delivery.
Oftentimes, ambition brings to mind a charismatic rally of big, hairy, audacious goals. Charging first into the fray. Seizing the lion’s share of wins in a blaze of glory.
But Ryan finds this is not the only way to achieve success. Instead, he plays from a different angle – Consistent efforts in silence, sowing seeds of confidence, competence and connection. Eventually, the results speak for themselves without him having to breathe a word.
“It doesn’t sound as sexy as a once-in-a-lifetime epic breakthrough… but even the mundaneness of daily continuity is essential. Where opportune, every second can be invested into an effort that enriches the next one.”
“Through nature and nurture, I am an auditory-digital thinker.” Ryan explains. “This means both my subconscious and active mind are problem-solving 24/7, for holistic, long-term solutions to root-cause problems. Lots of mental gymnastics!”
The results? Accelerated learning, leading to compounding wins and exponential growth.
“This creates the standards of success and fulfilment I am content with. Then I stretch these standards further, based on revised ambitions and the prevailing trends of the time. There is a lot of strategic and tactical thinking required.”
In just 5 years, he pivoted from the world of architecture to youth coaching, rising from shunned newbie to being award-recognised on the world stage for his contributions to education.
Ryan’s credits the power of mindsets and technological advancements across his journey. In recent talks he has given to both local and global educator communities, he encourages strategic leverage of emerging tech tools, to amplify and personalise transformative curricula.
Establishing credibility as a leading learner, he actively partners alongside emerging EdTech organisations to explore the frontier of new-age education – GeniusU, the world’s first Metaversity for superhuman learning, and the Global Mentor Exchange, the world’s first AI-Powered People Development Metaverse.
But Ryan not only looks forward into the future. He also remembers to look back, happy to share stories of his failures and successes and empower the next generation with lessons learnt, so his juniors will suffer unnecessarily less, and achieve greater than he ever did.
When dealing with adversity that happens to all of us, Ryan adopts an antifragile mindset – not just enduring but improving from daily hardships. He learns to tactfully reject requests that do not align with his ambitions, and disrupts his outdated ways of thinking, despite effortful investment beforehand.
“In a world of constant change, being agile and able to let go can change your life, as significantly as being rigid and stubborn.”
Above all, Ryan advocates the power of discernment to the reader. “It is easy to be drowned out by the large, loud waves of fleeting whims and demands by others. But if you are continuously focused with an informed strategy, you can surf your way through to the next sunrise.”
Follow Ryan’s ambitions on LinkedIn at Ryan Nicholas Leong.