Saying Goodbye To My Trusty Toyota Vios

Posted on by Edmund

My second car was a 2006 Toyota Vios 1.5G that I bought used in 2009. I was in my early 20s, paid it all off on my own, and good enough for the time. 6 years later, I passed it on to my mother and sister for their daily use.

The Vios may be a Yuppie’s car, but now that I think about it, this was probably the TRUE chick magnet; more girl sat in this passenger seat than in all my previous BMWs combined. LOL

It was also this car that shielded the explosive blast when I rescued a drunkard from a burning vehicle in 2013.

This was also the same car that got me stopped by the cops quite a few times (profiling much?) Heck, it happened as recent as a few nights ago! Thankfully, all without incident.

This morning, I drove this car to the dealer’s to trade in, pending PUSPAKOM inspection.

I’ll be “upgrading” the ride to a Proton X70, although it’s mainly for my mother’s daily drive as she’s just become a real estate agent.

I’ll still drive, though not as often as I work from home most of the time now and thankfully, I live in a rather convenient location where everything we need is 5 to 10 minutes away.

14 years later, and it’s end of the road for the silver dolphin.

Took one last picture, to compare to the first time I got it (2009 vs 2023)

Weekly Webinar Circuit

Posted on by Edmund

Since last year, especially November 2022 onwards, I’ve been pretty much running a live webinar every single week.

It took me a while to dial this one in. Initially, it was the “6 hour webinar” model and while I got started on a beginner’s luck, the next 4 runs proved it to be non-viable and not profitable.

In the end, I switched to what is considered “old school” today but it simply works: a free 1.5 hour webinar presentation that leads to a paid weekend class, then to an optional Mentorship upgrade.

In as much as I’d love to front-load on value, the sad reality is: anything given away for free (especially in massive quantity) is usually taken for granted.

And it’s true that those that pay, pay attention. Those that don’t, won’t.

I was stubborn at first, but in the end, I defaulted back to the proven model of first giving previews that in turn lead to weekend paid class.

It’s also a curious choice to my friends in this industry that I’m opting to do it LIVE instead of automating it a.s.a.p.

I will – eventually. Right now, honest personal assessment, I have a lot more to improve in the way I deliver and present. So I prefer to do it live every week, get all the practice I need, hear every single objection and rejection I can, and hone my presentation and messages to the optimum.

Russell Brunson did his webinars live for one whole year, and that was why ClickFunnels was worth $100 M (at the time). Personally, I’d be happy with even a fraction of that. 🙂

And as someone who was running a circuit of live, physical seminars in 2019 – 2020, I find doing webinars to be a lot easier and less effort and stress in comparison, which is why I’m content and thankful. 🙂

Douyin Frog Mascot

Posted on by Edmund

Repeated exposure to Douyin froggo on TikTok has turned me into one!

I found this on Shopee by looking up “china frog mascot” and it was shipped from mainland China. Took about 2 weeks to arrive here in Johor.

Interesting back story on how this Douyin frog costume became viral:

A couple years back, toy sellers in China dressed up in these frog mascots to sell their inflatable frog toys. A lot of people find them amusing, and after it was listed as one of the top 10 ugliest products on Alibaba in 2022, that made it even more popular.

The exaggerated salute by the frog also has an origin: because these frog ‘mothers’ are selling away their ‘kids’ i.e. the inflatable toy frogs, passer-bys and Customers often salute them for their ‘hard work’.

Since then, the frog ‘seeds’ have spread to other countries including Vietnam, Thailand, and even Malaysia and Singapore.

Interestingly, I’m far from the first Malaysian to have this. There are already some people dressed as the Douyin Frog in KL, and at least a couple more here in JB. I think there will be more to come, and as a friend of the green, I am happy!

Finally, I’ve Let Go Of Brown Cow

Posted on by Edmund

Didn’t think it’d be anytime soon. I expected to drive Brown Cow for much longer. But after a few episodes of the car dying on me – usually right after a long trip from Johor to KL – my mom and I think it’s high time we let her go.

I’ve already changed the battery, ECU and even serviced the car just a few months ago. Alternator is OK though.

At first, I wasn’t in a hurry to sell off. I posted in FB Marketplace and would have been cool whether there’s a buyer or not, but given how frequent I had to jumpstart the car of late, meant that I’d better do it pronto.

In the end, I drove my car to Carsome at Johor Jaya and after a speedy inspection, put the Brown Cow up for online bidding. Within 24 hours, I’ve gotten a buyer. Even though it’s lower than expected (obviously), at least it pays off the Hire Purchase balance and I can use the excess for paid ads.

Given the circumstances, it’s better to let go a.s.a.p. so I might as well snatch the W for what it’s worth.

2017 – 2023. 6 years. The Brown Cow and I have been to many places together. But the time has come. I hope my successor will take great care of her as did I.

Pictures from my last ride.

In the mean time, I’m not in a hurry to buy a new car. Ever since I moved back to Johor, I hardly drive out and when I do, it’s in town.

Wiser to rebuild my financial forces in other areas like hard assets (gold, silver) and scale my webinars in the next 6 to 9 months. For now.