A very talkative and bubbly little girl that she has always been, Niney Chong grew up in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, and always had been a Sabahan even now she had moved to Damansara after she got married to her beloved husband, Carliff. Niney is one of the Malaysian most successful entrepreneurs where she owns the Ministry of Marketing. Asia and co-founder of Mompreneur Asia. She is known for her inspiring talks and dazzling positive thoughts where she delivers them at a conference.
Niney, who is a 40-year-old inspiring woman, might appear as she’s 20 as she has a bright and bubbly personality, but age is just a number and it doesn’t stop her from doing what she loves; to inspire others.
When Niney was young, she had a wonderful and awesome childhood, yet she was very competitive. Niney was an “all-rounder” during her younger days. Her full of energy and excitement had put her into a very active person in school. She was a prefect, a school dancer, a school speaker, and she was into sports like basketball and baseball too. Not even once, that she did not hold any position at school. Even though her parents were strict, that’s for her greater good and they were always so supportive towards her.
Her dad inspired her to be hardworking because while she was growing up, she remembered how hard-working her dad was because her parents were not well-off. That’s where she realized that she arrived at the conclusion that if “you want to make it big in life, you need to work hard”. Despite having strict parents, she had a very good childhood, that’s what makes her who she is today.
Having always loved to be on stage, the younger Niney wanted to be a singer when she was a kid. She loved to be on stage since she was young and up until now, she would conquer the stage with her energy that kept her going as a conference speaker.
One of her utmost dream jobs is to travel the world with her family and to work remotely. She aspires to be talking on national levels, where her children could experience a different culture in different countries. On a side note, Niney said during rainy days she would spend time with her children or snuggle them to sleep.
Like any other person, Niney has her role models too. One of her role models was Oprah Winfrey. She admired how Oprah brought herself and talked gracefully on her show and that one of her goals is to have her talk show someday.
In her bygone days, Niney too had her greatest regret. “It’s always been my teenage years,” she said. Niney was a rebellious teenager that she ran away from home a few times to the point where her dad had to hire a bodyguard for her. “I’ve caused heartache to my parents that I regretted”. If and only if she was more serious and didn’t play around so much, she could’ve scored better in studies.
Despite having the greatest regret, Niney also shares her greatest learning in life. According to Niney, every human being has their world and the way they think is very different. “Be where I am now as a 40-year old, I think I’m doing well in life and one thing for me, there is no need to put another person down”, she said.
As gracious as her soul, Niney said kindness is one of the biggest things. She addressed how important it is to be kind to people, being kind in your intention towards people because everyone might face different challenges in life and that’s why being kind is the biggest thing to her.
Even though Niney has a busy schedule, she managed to juggle her time for one of her hobbies, reading. As much as she loves to read, she also likes to spend time with her friends as her friends came from a different circle.
As Niney shares her stories, she said her favorite place to be as a child is when she spends time with her family. She treasured those moments as it is very meaningful to her.
When asked if she could change one thing from the past, Niney hoped she had managed her finances better because she has a habit of splurging her money onto anything. She has come to her senses that if she started saving up sooner, it could be a good habit by now.
Her major turning points in life is when she went to personal development programmed at 24. She had always thought that she “had it all” where she got the full package. Instead, she was a grumpy person. She didn’t know she was an angry person until she went to the personal development program where she graduated and got to be a trainer.
Although her earliest memory was very clear in her mind that she moved into a new house, that didn’t even have a door. Her dad had to nail plywood onto the door as the “door”. On the other hand, it is not always sunshine and rainbows, her saddest memory was when her dad cried to her when she ran away from home. That has given her a huge impact on herself because of what she did. Even though she had the saddest memory, she still could remember her happiest memory was when she gave birth to her son, and being married was her clearest memory.
Even though Niney always appears as a positive person, there is 1 significant fact about her that many don’t see. She maybe has a long face at times but she is very approachable. Niney described being fun, rebellious, and confident when asked to describe herself as a child.
“Life has ups and downs, during downtime, the only way that is available is up again, have faith when you are at the bottom that the only way to be at the bottom is to go up”, is what Niney would tell her younger self.
Notwithstanding, Niney depends on her beloved husband for practical advice. Besides, Niney has a different mentor for her different elements in life. Niney is a very type-A person, with that, she went to see therapy so that it’s okay for her to calm that down, that to not take herself seriously at all times. Her different element in life has led her to have a different mentor in the business and community world. Jeevan Sahadevan is the perfect fit to be her mentor in business and Datin Jeanette Tambakau is her mentor in the community world.
Also, Niney would always go to her therapist for emotional support because sometimes emotional clouds our mind for making a very objective decision so her therapy helps to spread it out like on canvas and for moral support is her dearest husband because her husband is the closest person to her. Besides, her husband had given her moral support since day 1.
Niney’s major turning points in adulthood was when she was involved in the community. When she did that, she finally found her purpose in life because she has always loved working with people that she feels like it’s aligned with the professional development that she went to.
Not many know this, but Niney is a street-smart kind of person. Her strong beliefs in certain things make her an optimistic and extrovert person. Besides, her ultimate dream job is to have an autopilot business where she could travel the world with her family like was mentioned earlier.
Like any other human being, Niney too has her flaw. Her biggest flaw is she tends to procrastinate a lot. On the other hand, she has the biggest strength that she’s very resourceful that it is manifested through the way she thinks. Niney also is very good at negotiation.
Following her biggest fear, she said she wouldn’t want to get sick beyond control. According to her, everything in life can be handled except for being sick. “Once you’re sick, you can’t do anything,” she says.
Despite all her stories, Niney’s biggest accomplishment is knowing her purpose in life by getting into the community world through NGOs. Through that credibility, it will translate to her credibility as a business owner.
Niney shared her wisdom “Power comes with a lot of responsibilities and the intention behind the power is important”, it sure has a strong message behind it. Through this, Niney said that “ambition is evolving from time to time depending on our experiences and I think that there is always a way for us to get what we want in life as long as we are clear of what are the prices to pay” when asked how she would approach ambition.
Niney’s loving character has taught her a few strong principles that she held on to; that love is kind, love is so much of forgiveness to give and love is taking care of herself.
Niney sure has a strong moral compass as an individual. When asked whether she is willing to compromise her morals, she said doing the right thing is important as it has so many circumstances. She has been thought to do so since she was little.
On the other hand, her children motivate her to be better and her children taught her how to be a mother. She surely wants to be the best for them and wants to be her children’s inspirations.
Niney, as always seen as a laid-back and outgoing person, may not know her personally. Yet, she has so many things that happened in life and she managed to come out strong and get through the obstacles she faced during her younger days.
Her Rise Story #MyWellness UnConference is jointly organized by Ministry Of Marketing.Asia, Association of Malaysian Spas (AMSPA) and Tourism Malaysia in conjunction with the World Wellness Weekend 2020. Her Rise Story Is A Social Impact Brand Under Ministry Of Marketing.Asia, And We Help Businesses Activate Social Impact Initiatives As Profitable & Sustainable Marketing Tool.
