Cham Tang - Founder & Head of Marketing Authentic Education

Inspired by a book to raise his ambitions and change his life, Cham Tang now helps others do the same.

What’s your story?

In 1978, my parents fled Vietnam by boat to Australia and we arrived as refugees. I don’t remember too much about the experience, but what I do remember is my Mum working so much behind a sewing machine to make ends meet.

I didn’t do well in school… not because I was stupid, but because no one ever had really given me any other options.

I came across “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” and to cut a long story short, I read the book, resigned from my day job and decided to do what I love – personal and business development.

What excites you most about your industry?

Just how this industry has changed my own life; the personal development industry continues to change other people’s lives for the better. We open people’s minds to see what’s possible in their life and show them how to achieve any goal that they want to achieve.

Our company specifically helps people find fulfilment in their work as difference-makers (coaches, educators, speakers, etc.) and they also learn how to achieve financial freedom through their service-based business.

What drives you in business to push beyond what other people consider normal?

Seeing our students succeed is what drives us as a company. Whether it be in their relationships, finances or overcoming their own limiting beliefs, their success is our success.

What have been the most useful skills you have learnt and applied in your journey?

Dropping my ego. Since I worked with Tony Robbins and all these other companies, I thought I knew it all, which almost led to the demise of our company two years in!

But when I dropped the ego and started buying other people’s products and just voraciously consuming and educating myself, that’s when the business really started to take off. And here we are 12 years later – bigger and better than ever before.

What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?

“Nothing is particularly hard if you break it down into small pieces.” – Henry Ford

This has helped me and our staff to achieve our goals and to increase productivity during days where you just don’t feel like doing anything.

Just break things into small steps as opposed to tackling and diving into the whole task at once.

Who inspires you?

My Mum for all the things that she’s done for our family. She definitely has played a big part in who I am today.

My wife and our kids for the love, the inspiration and the motivation that they bring into my life.

What have you learnt recently that blew you away?

That I could run and grow our company through a pandemic from the comfort of my own home.

If you had your time again, what would you do differently?

I would probably start investing at a younger age on things like cryptocurrencies. I don’t think I would change anything else though because my past experiences have moulded me into who I am today.

How do you unwind?

I like exercising in my home gym or going for a jog to de-stress. I’m not really into meditating, but I do like to lie down in a dark room and just close my eyes for 10 minutes.

What is a major mindset change, belief shift or ‘ah ha’ moment that you’ve experienced in relation to your business?

In business, the one who is most responsive to change wins. Once the pandemic started and lockdowns were imposed across Australia, we quickly pivoted our business model from doing in-person events to running online events.

And in doing so, we’ve kept all of our staff, here and abroad, no salaries were cut, and we’ve managed to smash our financial goals for 2020.

Everyone in business should read this book:

As mentioned before, “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki. It’s a simple yet life-changing book that’s great for anybody interested in business, investing… or just plain wants to be rich! Definitely one of my top 10 of all time.