I want to share my personal story with you.
Many students on our Forest Bathing certification training program know that I work in hospitality. 2020 was the worst year for our industry and many people lost their jobs. That includes me.
Along with many employees, I was made redundant by the beautiful wellness retreat I had worked at, due to plummeting number of international travelers normally visited our resorts. It started with an extended mandatory vacation leave to reduce the financial obligations for the company, and eventually we were all let go in December 2020.
During that period, I focused my energy on expanding The Mindful Tourist, something that I have built alongside with my full-time job since 2017. We initially had our training, which was a live training, in Japan. But as we could not travel to Japan, neither could our students, we quickly adapted and created an online course in a matter of weeks. We put our time and focus on creating the most authentic training experience and created an environment for our students to express their views and emotions, connect with each other and learn Forest Bathing in the most immersive manner possible via an online medium.
We now are thriving with happy customers who trust and will support us, and we are so grateful for that. These are the people who share the same belief and vision. And this made me realize that we do not want to attract the mass. We want to thrive as a relatively small community, so that we could really engage with our students and help them to pursue their “ikigai” or “life purpose”, too.
On January 28, 2021, I signed an employment contract with a renowned luxury hotel in Bangkok, as a Director of Spa and Wellness. I felt incredibly lucky as I was able to secure this job with a reputable hotel company, at the time when people are fighting for any job just to make ends meet.
During this period, here is what I learned for life.
Have savings that allow you to live modestly without any income for at least 2 years. – I was able to wait for the right job opportunity because I am financially worry-free. Having this safety net will help you to make sound decisions.
Hone your skills, always. The important thing to know is this: 1% better each day, compounded, is 3800% better each year. 1% worse each day, compounded, means you lose 97% of your value each year.
Always work on monetizing your passions. Relying on one source of income is unwise. You DO have time for both a full-time job and a side business. If you don’t believe me, listen to Gary Vee.
Turn your hobby into a hustle, only if you want to. Start doing it on your weekends and by telling the world about it. – I added what I do on the side on my CV and LinkedIn, so my future employer knows that I am serious about this. This is also to be transparent. And if you side business is aligned with your full-time job, it helps you to stand out from other candidates.
Here is to the new beginning and we have started a few exciting things. See updates below.
Pin Chinnapat – Founder, The Mindful Tourist
