GET YOURSELF A COACH — find a coach that believes in you and your abilities beyond anything else. My coach and mentor Gerry Robert always believed in me. My income multiplied 10X more and I was able to develop a new business set up and system.
Resilience has been described as the ability to withstand adversity and bounce back from difficult life events. Times are not easy now. How do we develop greater resilience to withstand the challenges that keep being thrown at us? In this interview series, we are talking to mental health experts, authors, resilience experts, coaches, and business leaders who can talk about how we can develop greater resilience to improve our lives.
As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Vincent Cheng.
Vincent Cheng was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and presently resides nearby in Ajax, Ontario.
Although Vincent calls Canada his home, he has explored 32 countries across the globe. This exploration has anchored his connection to diverse cultures formulating a deep understanding of humanity at large. Since 2013, Vincent has traveled to Japan annually and lived with a Zen Buddhist monk in a 600-year-old temple until COVID-19 prohibited travel in 2020.
Vincent’s accomplishments are just as diverse as his travels. He began his career as an electrical engineer in 2004, and a year later, alongside this, Vincent began his quest of conducting orchestras, choirs and operas. He coached and conducted hundreds of amateurs and professionals across Canada, USA, Europe and the Middle East in voice and musicianship.
Feeling a deeper calling, Vincent retired from engineering to fully devote his pursuit of the music profession. In 2012, he sold all his possessions and booked a one-way ticket to Berlin, Germany. From there, he conducted operas across Europe and won 3rd prize in the 2013 International Conducting Competition in Budapest, Hungary. In 2014, he returned to Canada and began his studies in psychotherapy, meanwhile continuing his conducting career as an ongoing passion.
These diverse worlds of work and life experiences have built upon one another and connect as a whole. They are what led him to develop ‘Heal The Source’, a method that helps people fast-track their own healing based on their need for change and development. It is through this one-of-a-kind approach that Vincent’s intuitive leadership and integrity shine through. His visionary way of thinking and his intriguing ability to motivate and inspire is what guides him in serving others through Heal The Source to heal the world!
When he is not traveling, you can find Vincent passionately enjoying culinary arts, creating cuisines of all types. He also revels in hiking, reading, meditating, piano and organ playing, and of course singing.
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory?
I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada from Hong Kong descent parents. Ajax is my home however I have traveled to 32 countries around the globe where the diverse culture has been my backbone to understand humanity as a whole. I am an accomplished electrical engineer since 2004 however my passion for music led me to be an orchestra conductor, my calling. I studied Psychotherapy for deeper understanding of the human mental behavior. My multi-faceted work and life experiences has led me to develop “Heal the Source.” When I am not in my whirlwind of activities, you will find me in my kitchen or someone else’s kitchen, cooking culinary cuisines of all types. I love traveling, hiking, reading, meditating, singing, and composing music.
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
My passion for music that led me to be an orchestra conductor was and is still is my deeper calling. I gave up being an accomplished electrical engineer, sold all my belongings, booked a one-way ticket to Berlin, Germany. I conducted across Europe, won 3rd place in the 2013 International Conducting Competition in Budapest, Hungary. I learned that following your heart’s desire feeds the soul which gives you a deeper understanding of everything and everyone around you.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
“Heal The Source™” is a revolutionary method that breaks through one’s obstacles to move into
attaining a life of meaning and fulfillment. Picture this… You have achieved a high level of success, to other’s it might even appear as if you have it all. Yet, internally, something is missing. Your success somehow falls short of what you truly desire out of life. “Heal The Source™” helps you master transcend fear to trust, help you build a deeper relationship of yourself and learn what you really want. I am my own story; When I was 30, I had a huge awakening and began to reflect into what was actually making me happy and I concluded that nothing was. I bought into beliefs that things were supposed to make me happy (i.e… partying, making lots of money, having a relationship, having a nice house, driving a fancy sports car), but really, I was miserable, and I was too afraid to admit it. Upon reflection, I realized that what I really loved was making music as a conductor and composer, teaching others how to make music as well. It is something I would do for free and love it.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
I would say my late mentor Kerry Stratton who was a conductor and radio host. Kerry’s faith in me and giving me a chance made a huge difference in my life. He agreed to have coffee with me, I showed him a video of me first ever conducting (not really knowing what to do), he then took me in as his student and also offered me as the orchestral pianist position in his orchestra. It was so surreal.
Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. We would like to explore and flesh out the trait of resilience. How would you define resilience? What do you believe are the characteristics or traits of resilient people?
Resilience is the determination to achieve one’s desire. It is a flower giving its very best to grow on a pavement or cemented road. The CAN-DO IT attitude with empathy, motivated yet with self-control, realistic and optimistic are trait of resilient people.
Courage is often likened to resilience. In your opinion how is courage both similar and different to resilience?
Both Resilience and Courage have the CAN-DO IT attitude however resilience adapts positively to the consequences of a situation while courage is doing something without fear yet not cautious of adverse impacts.
When you think of resilience, which person comes to mind? Can you explain why you chose that person?
The person that comes into mind instantaneously — Beethoven — despite his siblings suffering from sickness and he succumbing to deafness — he produced a legacy that is enjoyed by the world many years beyond his life.
Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us?
Establishing myself as a conductor in Berlin. Booking a one-way ticket from Canada to pursue my dream. Most people thought it was impossible and that I was crazy but guess what, I conducted operas across Europe including a festival in France. I went on to win as 3rd place in the 2013 International Conducting Competition in Budapest, Hungary.
Did you have a time in your life where you had one of your greatest setbacks, but you bounced back from it stronger than ever? Can you share that story with us?
One of the lowest points in my life was the divorce from my estranged wife after two years of marriage. I was physically down, depressed, and disoriented. After months of melancholy, I rose. I realized that at your lowest point is then you get to do some deep soul searching, it deepened my spirituality and connect with the divinity around me like never before. This has led me to a life I never thought possible; author of a book, build an enterprise, create a method of healing power and effectiveness, hence the birth of Heal The Source.
How have you cultivated resilience throughout your life? Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share a story?
I cultivated resilience throughout my life with the I CAN attitude. My father played a huge part of that resiliency. He would always say, whatever I put my mind into, I can achieve and if I do anything, do it WELL. My wins and achievements continuously add on top of each other because of having the I CAN attitude. I excel in almost anything that comes across my life such as academics, athletics, spirituality, creativity, conducting, being an Engineer and even in video games.
Resilience is like a muscle that can be strengthened. In your opinion, what are 5 steps that someone can take to become more resilient? Please share a story or an example for each.
- BELIEF — believing I can do it paves the way to possibilities, there is no such thing as I CANNOT, only I CAN.
- GET YOURSELF A COACH — find a coach that believes in you and your abilities beyond anything else. My coach and mentor Gerry Robert always believed in me. My income multiplied 10X more and I was able to develop a new business set up and system.
- ASK QUESTIONS — do not hesitate in asking questions. There are no right or wrong questions.
- NEVER GIVE UP — don’t give up. No matter how many times you have fallen, always get up, learn, and do it all over again.
- LEARN — learn something new every day. There is no limitation to learning.
I, Vincent Cheng, is good example of all the 5 steps I mentioned.
I believed I can be a conductor, I did it and won 3rd place. I got myself a coach, I have generated income ten times more than I did before.
I was not afraid to ask questions, even though at times I ask them repeatedly and consequently, I asked.
I never gave up on what I believed in; I always tell myself that I can do more.
I learned a whole lot of new things; some are even jargon to me however my I CAN attitude gets me forward to the next big thing.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
HEAL THE SOURCE™. If people are aware of their inner conflicts and deals with them, then any outer conflicts will be resolved. An individual that is healed may lead a new world with ultimate potentials.
We are blessed that some very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them.
I would definitely want to have breakfast, lunch, snack, or even just coffee with Tony Robbins, who doesn’t, right? I’d pick his brain on how he connects and gives off a global energy to transform and inspire the entire world. Being in his presence will be an ultimate inspiration and a motivation for me to be a force for change. My desire to learn is infinite. Think of Tony’s five decades of applied knowledge from countless mentors and influential teachers all rolled in to one person and the boundless, efficient, powerful, and impactful learnings that I can accrue…mind blowing!
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Follow me:
Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/vincentchengenterprises/
Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/vincentchengenterprises
Let’s connect — https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincentcheng08
Check out my website — www.healthesource.com
Vincent Cheng
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!