MATTHEW YAO
Winning at Life with Matthew
the story just begins
"Today is the best day of your life" - Matthew Yao
Have you ever felt like you were lost in life and the whole world was against you? Matthew Yao wasn't your typical success story. He wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth but he was always a dreamer...
MATTHEW'S STORY
Matthew went from a delinquent teenager from getting arrested and kicked out of school, to running his own business & being mentored by billionaires & CEOs while now inspiring hundreds of people and changing the world.
17 April 1999
Auckland, New Zealand.
Born to Chinese immigrant parents.
That's me in the blue jumpsuit and my older brother, Daniel in the red.
2001
As a boy, I always had a wild imagination and was very curious. I wanted to become an inventor and a big businessman!
2006
I had an amazing childhood growing up in Auckland, New Zealand with my two brothers, Daniel and Christophe.
2007
Like any little boy, I wanted to be a fighter and a warrior. I loved Star Wars and I wanted to be the HERO of my own story!
2009
I moved with my family to Singapore. It was exciting and fun to get a taste of the world outside of small town Auckland. My little sister was born soon after.
2011
I studied hard and got into one of the best schools in Singapore. I was proud of myself and this was the first time I understood that hard work lead to success. It felt amazing!
2014
Nearing my mid teens, the pressures of moving around too much & not being able to fit in lead me down a tumultuous path.
I started smoking cigarettes, weed, drinking, partying and other dangerous and illegal things.
2014
I found solace in this unhealthy lifestyle. It made me “cooler” than everyone else. I was part of the “in” crowd. I had respect. I had status. But I didn't know that I was headed fast on a one-way path to destructiveness.
Rock Bottom
Then one night, as I was out and about my antics, I was arrested. The police had caught up to me, they tied me up in handcuffs, and I spent the night on the floor of a cold, hard jail cell.
Very soon after, I was kicked out of school. I was 15 years old.
2014
The next week, my parents bought tickets for the family and put us on a plane to Perth, Australia. Moving again didn't help. I still didn't know what I was doing in my life.
March 2015
I woke up one day and I decided I had enough of the old life and I broke all my cigarettes in half. The old Matthew was dead.
August 2015
I needed something to replace the bad habits with and something to take the place of the old life that I had decided to leave behind.
So I got into bodybuilding and starting exercising at the gym. After a few months of working out almost everyday, I had another taste of success that I hadn't tasted since 2012. I felt good. I looked good. It was amazing.
December 2015
I used the positive momentum I was getting from working out at the gym to start planning my life seriously. I wrote myself a letter that I would open when I turned 18, on 17 April 2017.
August 2016
Life was getting better. I was in my last year of high school, and was working hard on myself.
I went for a networking event and met my first mentor, Uncle HC. This was the start of something amazing. (He's camera shy!)
November 2016
I graduate high school!
November 2016
This is one for the history books! I take a selfie picture with my principal on stage at my graduation ceremony. Everyone was talking about it for weeks!
November 2016
March 2017
I move back to Singapore by myself and start working as an intern for an award-winning social enterprise start up company called Wateroam. I learn what it takes to be an entrepreneur and help the company raise $25,000 in seed funding.
17 April 2017
I turn 18 years old and I'm finally an adult! I open the letter I wrote to myself from two years ago. I had accomplished all my goals.
I start giving talks and presentations. Here I am talking to a bunch of graduate students (they don't know I'm 18!)
2017
At Wateroam, we worked on some really important stuff, we were creating a water filter to bring clean water to the poor. 700 million people around the world don't have clean water!
The team was recognized by the United Nations as the first Young Leader's for the Sustainable Development Goals in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene.
2017
Our filter works! Gotta put it on my Instagram story ;)
2017
Working hard to change the world. I'm starting to get the hang of this entrepreneurship thing...;)
2017
I do a lot of watching and learning during this time. Here I am with David the CEO, one of my mentors. Learn from the best!
2017
I humbled myself and continued to find mentors and older people to learn from! Try and spot me! ;)
2017
I'm ready to take on the world!
2017
I spend some of the best months of my life here. Learning big things and being mentored by true blue entrepreneurs changing the world. But now, time to go to college...Thanks Wateroam!
2017
Melbourne Uni, here I come!
2017
While at uni, I teach myself social media marketing and how to make money online. I continue to learn from my mentors and travel the world.
2017
I've always loved reading. Learn from the greats, dead or alive! I especially enjoy biographies :)
2018
I met here with Tai Lopez - he's a really good internet marketer. (TEDx Speaker, Investor, Business Adviser, Forbes 2017 Top Influencer, Entrepreneur Magazine Featured)
2018
I find myself in New York City! I always dreamed of coming here.
2018
I make it to London, United Kingdom!
Tokyo, Japan! The food here is amazing.
2018
Why not Hong Kong as well?
2018
Gotta stop by at Guangzhou, China!
AND TODAY...
I'm working and studying hard to create the life I want for myself and the people around me!
TODAY...
Life is great! I'm here catching up with my mentor and someone I really look up to, Philip Ng, a multi-billionaire and the Richest Man in Singapore. Forbes estimates Uncle Philip's wealth at $12 BILLION USD!!
My Mission
The Hero Of My Own Story
In order to have the best life possible, you must know what the best decisions are and have the courage to make them.
I have dreams of becoming a world-class investor and businessman one day, and I won't stop till I'm there!
My name is Matthew Yao. And this is my story.
What's yours?
Copyright © 2018 - Matthew Yao