If you read my previous post Interview with Merry Riana, here's the part two:
6. Was there ever a moment where you wanted to quit the work you were doing and go on to something which wasn’t as aggressive? What kept you going?
No. I enjoy my business. I love the people in my Organization, MRO (Merry Riana Organization), who are outstanding young individuals who believed in my vision and have been working together with me to achieve our dreams together ever since.
I started my entrepreneurship journey with a dream to be successful while I'm still young so that I can share my successes with my parents.
Now, my motivation comes not only from the desire to provide a better life for my parents, but also from my desire to help other young people to be able to do the same, to provide a better life for themselves, their parents, and their families.
My vision is to raise up a new generation of successful young people who take charge of their lives, live their dreams, and eventually contribute back to society.
7. What are your views on the perceptions which people have and the barriers of entry which these perceptions have created for careers which are considered “women’s jobs” or “men’s jobs”?
I always remind myself that these so-called 'barriers' are created by people's perceptions, which means they are not real, they are only perceptions in people's minds.
8. How do you balance your professional and personal life (with regards to being wife, woman, mother and boss)?
I believe in a balanced lifestyle. I enjoy spending quality time with people that I love and very close to me; my husband, my 8 months daughter,my family back in Jakarta as well as people whom I work closely together with in my organization.
Eventually, you want to reach success because you want to be able to share it with your loved ones and to be able to enjoy it long-term optimally by having good health.
Remember, money in itself is just a medium of exchange. However, money, if used wisely, is able to enhance the more important things in life like relationships and health.
So, at the end of the day, we want to be successful not only with overflowing wealth, but also with outstanding time-tested relationships and abundant health. One of my mentors once said that happiness consists of 3 things: love, health and wealth.
And I could not agree more with that.
9. What do you feel about maternity and having children? Do you think such discrimination exists and if there’s a way around the issue?
We're fortunate to be living in Singapore, a country where there are many rules and guidelines that favor women during their pregnancy period, the few months just before and after they deliver their babies, and the next few years when they are raising their children.
Unlike other countries, which may even implement a policy that you can only have 1 child, Singapore government has always been encouraging us to start a family and have children, if possible the more children the merrier.
10. Do you believe that a woman can have both a successful career and a great family? What’s your secret?
My life revolves around my family and my close friends.
As I have mentioned so many times before, the reason why I want to be successful while I'm still young is so that I can share my successes with my parents. My parents played a very important role in my early days of entrepreneurship; they were my main driving force.
Currently, I live with my husband and my baby girl. I enjoy building this great Organization together with my husband, my 2 brothers and my close friends.
So, this is what my life is all about.
There is no meaning to life if you do not have love. In fact, that's what life is all about. To love and be loved.
Look closely to those people in your life who are close to your heart. They are not immortals. There will be time when you will not have them around anymore. Treasure them now, while you still can.
11. What do you feel about women’s rights in Singapore as opposed to Indonesia?
In this modern times, I guess women's rights both in Singapore and Indonesia are very similar, at least on paper.
However, in its real implementation on daily lives, I believe Singapore has definitely reached a much higher level of achievement in terms of championing women's rights compared to Indonesia, or any other countries in the region.
12. What do you think an ideal environment could be to promote equality and productivity among people in the workplace?
I believe that success is not a solo project – it needs to be shared. And success is not a competition. There is plenty of it to go around. You have to work with a team that shares the same dreams and objectives. A team will give you leverage. It makes success quicker and easier. It's all about synergy – the concept of adding 1 plus 1 and getting 11 – not 2.
People working together can accomplish far more that they can separately. Incredible power can be released when people work together. Associating with like-minded, success-oriented, joyful individuals – a Dream Team – is one of the most amazing success tools that exists. Anyone who achieves great success – anyone – must have a Dream Team.
Instant solutions exist in Dream-Teaming. This process helps you to take your ideas and expand them into greatness.
What characteristics should a Dream Team possess? A successful Dream Team consists of a group of people with a common purpose, where both hearts and heads are constantly in harmony with one another. There should be a spirit of joy and contribution within the group. Only a dedicated, committed, and joyful Dream Team can achieve great successes.
13. What do you think about lifestyle choices of youth today? (Promiscuity, etc)
I believe there is a period of time in our lives when we are trying to find our true self, our true identity.
This is the time when we are experimenting with ourselves, e.g. trying out different hairstyles, trying out different outfits and accessories, trying out different activities, different environments, and different experiences.
As long as you know how to control yourself in not crossing the 'healthy' boundaries in your pursuit of getting new experiences, then I guess it's okay for you to experiment and explore more possibilities.
14. Do you see any big issues with youths these days?
There are many young people I know, who know exactly what they really want and are committed to working very hard day and night to achieve their dreams. The sad thing is sometimes they do not have proper guidance which eventually causes them to make silly mistakes , that are not only wasting their time and money in the process, but worse, it may even discourage them to the point that they give up their dreams and return to those
normal 9-to-5 jobs.
I was fortunate to have learnt from many entrepreneurs and business gurus through their personal sharing, seminars, and books. But how fortunate are those who really have a personal mentor that is willing to invest time and money in their growth.
Such personal mentors are made in heaven and are a very rare breed indeed.
Remember, there is no synergy on your own. It takes at least two. Almost all successful people have mentors. They recognize the need to have a mentor.
Actually, there are few more questions, but if you want to know more … I guess the best way is to wait for the issue to be out. After that you can read everything from there!
I think other site proprietors should take this site as an model, very clean and excellent user genial style and design, let alone the content. You’re an expert in this topic!