When Dan Lok goes onstage at TEDxStanleyPark on May 28, 2016, he will be talking about “Why Great Ideas Don’t Succeed”. He says that – rather than sit and be entertained for 18 minutes and then forget about the whole thing once it’s over – he will show the audience exactly how to take the content of his talk and apply it immediately to their lives with the help of an ‘invisible force’.
Dan and his parents came to Canada from Hong Kong when he was a 14-year old teenager He was only one of the three Chinese kids in school so he stood out in more ways than he would have wanted. Being very shy he attracted the attention of bullies and often got picked on by his classmates. Dan harbored so much fear and self-doubt that he would skip class whenever he had to do presentations in front of his classmates. Life became even much harder for Dan after his parents got divorced two years after moving to Canada. His father sent him and his mother a regular allowance but that stopped after his father’s business went bankrupt after being swindled by a business partner, who ran off with the company’s money.
This is when Dan realized that he could not rely on anyone except himself. So he got his first job bagging groceries at the nearby supermarket. Money was tight for him and his mom as they lived in their one-bedroom apartment in Surrey. In fact, life had gotten so desperate that he would go to a nearby bakery just before it closed at 6 pm so that he could retrieve whatever unsold baked goods were thrown into the trash can just so they could have something to eat. It was a life that Dan decided to turn away from permanently so he recalls making a decision during those bleak times to never be poor ever again. In fact, it’s a thought that he echoes now that he’s achieved success, which is that ‘motivation is good but sometimes, desperation is even better’
Dan Lok got into business by accident. His first venture – which was a lawn mowing business with some friends – was a dismal failure, and so were 13 others that followed. In his 20s he stumbled across a man called Allan who would become his mentor. But first, Dan had to work for Allan for next to nothing for a year. This, says Dan, is where he got his “million-dollar apprenticeship” by learning copywriting & marketing. Not long after that, he started his own one-person advertising agency and began generating $ 10,000 dollars a month doing e-bay, affiliate marketing and click bank. He says that his success came about due to a combination of hard work and timing (this was when internet marketing was at its peak). Dan also spent a lot of time learning how to overcome his various insecurities, including getting on a stage to deliver a talk. In fact, teaching has become Dan’s biggest passion. He finds himself happiest when he is in in front of an audience imparting his hard-earned knowledge and wisdom.
Dan recalls that one of his early dreams was to open a martial arts school, which never materialized, but he does a lot of bigger things these days like teaching CEOs of million-dollar companies how to grow their 7-figure business to 8 figures and being CEO of Charm Junction, which is an online retail business of world-renowned Pandora Jewelry. Now that Dan lives the dream he is mostly focused on giving back to other entrepreneurs. His current mission is to impact 1,000,000 entrepreneurs worldwide thru his YouTube Channel, his books, his podcasts, his keynote speaking and his Vancouver Entrepreneurs meetup Group, which is a private mentorship group that he holds once a month with other entrepreneurs to help them grow their businesses. Dan says that at this stage of his life, he’s more than happy to simply share his good fortune and help other business owners succeed just as he did in Canada.
Be sure not to miss Dan’s talk. You can book your tickets now at TEDxStanleyPark and type in ‘George’ in the promo code box to get $20.00 off.
Photo Credit
Photo courtesy of Dan Lok
Guest Author Bio
George Verdolaga
George Verdolaga is an author, educator and speaker. He helps people get out of their own way so that they can reach their career and lifestyle goals faster and more efficiently via The Job Farmer and The Contractor Lifestyle books and his Sitting Pretty Course.
Read his blog here and be sure to subscribe to his e-Newsletter.
Blog / Website: Verdolaga Learning Systems
I really need to meet this man