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Read Time: 6 Minutes<\/p>\n
Hello<\/p>\n Ahem! Clears throat. So, where were we? [<\/em>awkward silence + the sound of crickets.] Oh, yeah! Um, right. Okay, I got this!\u00a0<\/p>\n Time for some retrospection<\/strong><\/p>\n Welcome to chapter ten and the year twenty seventeen, squadron! We’ve come a long way, haven’t we? At this time of the year, we can look back and gauge our personal and professional progress, or it’s digressing if you swing that way.\u00a0<\/p>\n Not judging.\u00a0<\/p>\n To all the new recruits: Read why I started the SQUAD<\/a> or read previous chapters here<\/a>. (Password: topgun)<\/p>\n Back?<\/p>\n Were goals met? Resolutions achieved? You finally asked that girl you’ve been eyeing from third grade out on a date? It turns out she only went out with you because she’s a Scientologist trying to meet her monthly recruitment quota. \u00a0<\/p>\n There there.\u00a0<\/p>\n Or the time you lost a bet to a bunch of gay bikers at a sketchy bar, outside of town, and had a dyke perform a Brazillian while you laid passed out on the bar, pants hanging down to your ankles. That night you were made aware of deep-seated issues inhibiting your ability to have relationships with people that are not Siri. \u00a0<\/p>\n Ripping the band-aid off analogy would’ve sufficed? Meh!<\/p>\n Here’s what to expect in this chapter. It’s unlike my regular formats which the squadron are familiar with. The first half is a curated collection of articles and blogs I wrote in 2016. Don’t miss them. Back? The second half is an attempt to connect where we left off last year. This isn’t exactly textbook smooth but bear with me.\u00a0<\/p>\n The SQUAD<\/a>, unlike Project 365<\/a>, has had it rough. My intentions are to make it a regularly weekly affair. Commitment issues? Tell me about it. Sigh.<\/p>\n Who is Paul Syng?<\/strong> How I got my first job in advertising (Series)<\/strong> Is Instagram aspiring to be VSCO?<\/strong> How I was caught shoplifting<\/strong> School days in prison<\/strong> Dating in India<\/strong> Five Life Lessons My Coach Taught Me<\/strong> Twenty fifteen slash twenty sixteen, for me, was a year of change and reinvention. Not wear a different colour of pants sort of change but drop everything I was doing \u2014 leave the company I founded, sell the car and move to a different country \u2014 requiring every iota of courage in my bones sort of change.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ruffle a few feathers, why don’t we.\u00a0<\/p>\n I returned to Canada after a 15-year long stint away to India at the end of 2015. Moving to and from India deserves a chapter which I will certainly address in the future.<\/p>\n Today, however, is not about that. Today I want to share how a negative became a positive or how isolation worked in my favour.\u00a0<\/p>\n It was the end of twenty fifteen.<\/strong><\/p>\n There I was at the bottom of this mountain looking up at the peak. Even a step in the direction seemed impossible at the time given the circumstance. No money, no job\/work and no connections. I was terrified but not depressed.\u00a0<\/p>\n btw. At the slightest swing of sadness, why do we convince ourselves of depression? Have you met someone clinically depressed? E-zactly (love how Chris says it<\/a>), I thought so. \u00a0<\/p>\n When I moved back to Canada, it was Brampton where I landed. An anomaly if you ask me. It’s a town outside of Toronto. Nothing happens here or allow me to rephrase that. It sucks if you’re not a family man and not into “downtown stuff”.\u00a0<\/p>\n The isolation was my lowest point personally and professionally. Away from my social circle, my company, the cloud that was my life \u2014 a bubble I lived in, one I had nurtured and built over a decade.\u00a0<\/p>\n Taking everything that mattered once upon a time away left me with nothing to fall back upon. I had to come to terms with not realising everything I took for granted.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the bottom of this aforementioned mountain, I reset to my defaults. I focused on the positives by putting all my time and effort into doing things I cared about \u2014 design and wellness. The isolation of living in Brampton played a pivotal role in keeping me away from “downtown stuff” or distractions in other words.<\/p>\n With nowhere to go or things to do (the lack of money being one tiny condition) I started Project 365 (to make stuff daily and post it online). And focused on wellness (read 500 days of CrossFit<\/a>). In my period of self-study and exploration, I came across this fantastic article: The \u201cBrute Force\u201d School of Design<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Just put in the hours, mate.<\/strong><\/p>\n The past year has taught me that by sheer brute force transformation in one sphere of life plays a domino effect, trickling across other aspects of your life.\u00a0<\/p>\n What I have become in the process and learnt is something I will be sharing in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n Before you go<\/strong> Share your views on today’s Chapter either by replying to this email or tweeting<\/a> me. Always happy to improve, learn and answer your questions. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Have an epic week!<\/p>\n Yours truly, Access the\u00a0Locker<\/a> to read any\u00a0Chapter online or T\u2013S\u2013F<\/a>\u00a0to download 365<\/a> open files. The Locker<\/a>\u00a0&\u00a0T\u2013S\u2013F<\/a>\u00a0are classified and exclusive to squadron only. (Password: topgun)<\/em><\/p>\n TWITTER<\/a>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0INSTAGRAM<\/a>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0ELLO<\/a>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0OFFICE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u265b Chapter Ten You’re Not Alone Read Time: 6 Minutes Hello Ahem! Clears throat. So, where were we? [awkward silence + the sound of crickets.] Oh, yeah! Um, right. Okay, I got this!\u00a0 Time for some retrospection Welcome to chapter ten and the year twenty seventeen, squadron! We’ve come a long way, haven’t we? At […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"","rank_math_canonical_url":"","rank_math_focus_keyword":""},"categories":[91],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-90010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-digest-archive"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90010\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1d1491f5-088b-4e2e-af6a-5e43aa62177a-scaled.jpg\")
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A guy in his early thirties sporting bald head. He\u2019s shy, at first, but talkative and witty at provocation. People mistake him for being an extrovert. Honestly, at best, he\u2019s a closet ambivert.\u200b
\u261e\u00a0<\/u><\/em><\/a>Start Reading<\/a><\/u><\/em><\/p>\n
The bell to our one bedroom hall kitchen rang. We were expecting burgers and fries from McDonald\u2019s this afternoon. But, this wasn\u2019t your regular delivery.
\u261e\u00a0Start Reading<\/a><\/u><\/em><\/p>\n
At first glance, my knee-jerk reaction is Instagram\u2019s new look appears to mimic VSCO (commonly labelled anti-Instagram or the artistic and curated version of Instagram). Let\u2019s not pass on the judgemental baton, yet.\u200b
\u261e\u00a0<\/u><\/em><\/a>Start Reading<\/a><\/u><\/em><\/p>\n
With nothing on the cards for a sunny Sunday afternoon, my mother announced a trip to the local mall. I was in the 3rd grade that year.\u200b
\u261e\u00a0<\/u><\/em><\/a>Start Reading<\/a><\/u><\/em><\/p>\n
Ever hear people wax nostalgic about their school days, and if they\u2019d get a chance to go back in time, they\u2019d do it in a blink of an eye? Well, that is certainly not my case.\u200b
\u261e\u00a0<\/u><\/em><\/a>Start Reading<\/a><\/u><\/em><\/p>\n
For over a century, people from across the world have travelled to Indian shores to witness the Indian rope trick. It consists of a man climbing up a rope that disappears into the thin sky above…
\u261e\u00a0<\/u><\/em><\/a>Start Reading<\/a><\/u><\/em><\/p>\n
The calling card came early 2015 disguised in shoulder and neck pain. A consequence of long hours at my desk doing client work I no longer enjoyed and the lack of inertia-destabilising physical activity…
\u261e\u00a0<\/u><\/em><\/a>Start Reading<\/a><\/u><\/em><\/p>\n
I encourage you to fill out this\u00a0survey.<\/a>\u00a0Tell me a little bit about yourself, it only takes sixty-two seconds. Your suggestions are appreciated and help me shape and improve the SQUAD.<\/p>\n
Paul Syng<\/p>\n