Dear Tauke Najwa,

I had listened to your talk as I was interested in your work on Instagram. From the talk, I have been very immensely inspired by you. Your dedication and passion for your love of yarns and even better the driving force behind why you do what you do. What inspired me the most is that instead of a full-time job, you chose to take the courage to do what you love even though it meant you had to start from zero, it is definitely no easy feat. I am someone who is afraid to take risks and always likes to have a safe zone to fall back into. However, after listening to your talk, I want to pursue doing what I love and am passionate about even though it will be a risk but at least I will be happy and enjoy what I am doing. Just like what you quoted; “If you don’t build your own dreams, you assist others to build theirs”. That saying alone, and the story of your journey, inspired me a lot. Thank you, Najwa for inspiring me and all the other youths. Keep doing what you are doing and keep inspiring others!

Dear Tauke Erica,

As a teacher-to-be, your talk has inspired me on how learning should be to students. I feel sad to see the students struggling for an A in their exam as I was before. Learning is not only to gain knowledge, but we want students to be prepared for the world. I wonder what I can do to help the students? I strongly agree that studying is an active thing. I wish to ease their struggle of study too, but I wasn’t sure until you said to take learning as an adventure more than a chore. Learning as an adventure! How exciting it would be!

I appreciate how you face challenges. You said if we know how difficult something is going to be, we might end up not doing it. I guess that was me. Your words indeed gave me confidence and courages to try on some fun learning projects in class. I know I might encounter difficulties or failures sometimes, but still I will gain something from it as learning is an adventure! I love teaching and am determined to make learning fun for my students. Thank you Tauke Erica for your inspiring talk.

Dear Tauke Jenny,

How are you? I hope that you are doing well. When I first saw that you were going to be in Tauke Talks I felt a wave of nostalgia, because I remember eating at your stall when I was younger, before I moved away.

I honestly admire how you've managed to keep your stall thriving for so many years. An aunty of mine is rather similar to you. She was also a strong independent lady who sold western food at a kopitiam, but she only managed to keep it open for 2 years before closing down. I think the main difference between you and her is the amount of support you received. While she had to manage everything all on her own with no help from her friends or family, you started your own business with the help of several friends, who showed you the ropes. You’ve even managed to get through Covid-19 without much of a challenge because of your loyal customers who still support and order from you. I think this just shows the lovely community you have built in your years of being a Tauke.

As someone who has difficulty asking for help a lot of the time, hearing your story has reminded me that it is okay to ask for the help and support from the people around me sometimes. Thank you so much for telling your story.

Sincerely,

Abigail Ang

Dear Tauke Wan,

我很喜欢您的概念，用废弃布料去做出新物品，以减少垃圾来爱护地球。在影片中，您提到新鲜人应该先去打工，才开始创业。我很认同您的想法，我也想像您一样赚了第一桶金，才开始创业，开一间独一无二的手工艺品专卖店。我现在都会打临时工，一边学习经营店面的知识，积累经验，一边赚取以后创业的基金。您在影片的分享让我更清楚及明白，我现在所做的一切都是正确的，只要坚持和不放弃，就能达到成功。这是因为我已经知道自己需要什么。您的这句话，“不需要去羡慕别人，走自己的路就好”让我知道只要做好自己就是对自己的人生负责任！

Dear Tauke Neil,

Your start-up journey of the artisan chocolate business has been so inspiring and empowering. When watching your Tauke Talk session, it was my first time coming across Malaysian chocolate. I realised that the local cocoa is capable of being produced into artisan-quality chocolate bars. This inspired me to learn more about how to utilise our rich local resources to produce high-quality products through sustainable and environmentally friendly processes. By using Malaysian cocoa, not only improve the local economy but also help to tackle the child labouring social issue that is common in the overseas cocoa industry.

Also, I was so motivated by your entrepreneurial spirit of consistent hard work and strong determination to succeed. Although your background was not from the business sector, you are willing to learn from different resources, people and feedback. This has inspired me to always be curious and resourceful to enhance my lifelong learning experience. Through understanding why and how you have started the chocolate business, I also come to appreciate how small businesses in Malaysia could contribute to our economy. I am also encouraged to get involved in looking for creative solutions to solve the challenges in our society. With these pieces of advice and motivations, I am inspired to share my skills and knowledge with other young people to start-up businesses that help our economy grow.

P.S. I look forward to your one-stop chocolate website to learn all about chocolate!

Dear Tauke Justin,

I was quite confused and annoyed by once I needed to choose my career path for my hobby or my strength. But I have heard the past memories of Tauke and you said once you have your strength as your career then you only have a backup for you to do your hobby without worries. And in the end what I saw is Mr Justin doing well in maintaining career, family and hobby and the precious meaning was given to the café. It is not just a café, it is a place for passion, family and food. Hope one day I would visit your café and say hello to you as it was a pleasure to draw this postcard to you, using my drawing talent to give Ms Ellie Tea House encouragement and happiness through the postcard. :)

Dear Tauke Bernard,

thank you & congratulations in your current endeavors! Your unending passion & enthusiasm in what you do is highly commendable. Your love & attention for creating a platform & avenue for the special & differently-abled folk instantly outshines the heavy shadow that is often cast on them. You’ve also created & are continuing to create highly unique & elegant apparel & tools for them that not only ease their everyday tasks but elevate their own true identity as special as anyone else. These kinds of deeds & campaigns are hardly present amongst many of us today & with your steadfast business skills & mindset, it will definitely bring a paradigm shift to our country for this matter. You stand as a warrior & a beacon of hope for these groups of people whom many of us today aren’t grateful for & you’re bringing an eye opening view that will be the catalyst for more people to hopefully do something similar & play a part. I wish you all the best in your future endeavors & keep doing what you’re doing as this world & the differently-able’s realm would be a much merrier place with your passion. Bravo, Mr.Bernard.

Dear Tauke Kerry,

When I listened to your talk, I was deeply moved by how passionate you are in instilling a zero-waste mindset into the community. The problems caused by inappropriate waste management can be heard in the news all the time, but many people remained ignorant and have not made any action in saving our environment. Unlike them, you and your husband managed to do something which most of us would not have dared to do - by opening a zero-waste store just because you both witnessed a beach filled with trash and the lack of such stores in Malaysia.

It is understandable that running a business is not easy, especially during tough times like this. However, you never lose sight of your dream and constantly try to improve yourself to increase your company’s visibility so that more people will take their first step in having a zero-waste lifestyle.

When you said, “It doesn’t matter if you start it slow, but you HAVE to start it.”, it really hit me. Everyone should do their part in saving this planet and practicing zero-waste lifestyle can do that.

Thank you for your inspiring words, Ms Kerry, and for trying to make a difference in this world.

Sincerely,

Qi Ning.

Dear Tauke Ivan,

It is inspiring that you start a social enterprise starting from scratch. Managing a business and serving the community at the same time by helping orphanages and children underprivileged is not an easy task. I am glad that the children can express themselves through arts and the clothing designs are inspired by the shelter home children in Malaysia.

The postcard is actually the shape of a T-shirt where Havan Clothing is a social enterprise related to fashion. The little girl symbolizes the orphanage where she carries her own dreams along with her friend which is the whale where it has a dream too. Based on what you shared in Tauke Talks, it is sad that some people in the society neglect them or give helpings that are one off or touch-and-go basis without taking them seriously. Every orphanage is a special one and unique. They deserve equal opportunity and respect. Through your sharing, you encourage us to “Start Something That Will Make Your Heart Sing”. Same as the little girl in the postcard, every orphanage has something in their heart that makes them sing. Thank you.

Dear Tauke Huda,

Your appearance in Tauke Talks really inspired me to take risks and seize the opportunities presented to me. You talked about making the best of what you have and being creative with whatever around you. You made me see the world in a new light and notice the hidden art in everything.

You also inspired me to pursue my passion and work hard to achieve my dreams. You said that you studied architecture but decided to follow your passion in art and education, as well as opening up a business to share your art with the world. I can definitely relate as I am also an architectural graduate and is running a small art business too!

Your talk also inspired me to help others realize their potential. You mentioned that you held art classes to help others unleash their inner creative talent and skills. You aspire to share your art and knowledge to the world. Recently, my interest in art lessens because I don’t have time to draw and feel like my arts wasn’t getting enough recognition. You encouraged me to keep doing what I love and realize that my art is good enough. You also made me want to share my art to the world and help others to get creative.