Kitty Yeung Downer is a Truth Sleuth, aka mentor and author. She guides professionals to tap into their Truth to create their legend whilst making an impact on those around them and living a soul-fulfilling life, truthfully with their hearts and strategically with their minds, in that perfect alignment.

Originally from Hong Kong, Kitty made her first 6 digit income at the age of 27, has lived in 6 different cities globally and can get by with 5 languages.

With over 15 years of experience in the people development field, she’s been featured on TV, in newspapers, and in magazines.

Can you tell our readers about your background?

Hi, I am Kitty Yeung Downer, you can call me a Truth Sleuth or “Mirror Mirror on the Wall.”

I have worked with people from all walks of life, including senior executives with multi-million dollars budgets at a corporate level and entrepreneurs and domestic helpers on an individual basis in the last 15 years or so.

I was came from a government public estate in Hong Kong. Like many I finished school and then started working without knowing what I really wanted to do. I climbed the corporate ladder and made my first 6 digit income at the age of 27. Everything was going well in my life. Yet, I felt somewhat unfulfilled.

It is in this space my journey on Self started as I found myself being drawn to meditation, crystals and energy healing. To the point I ended up doing hands-on and distant healing.

In the summer of 2002, I joined a group for a spiritual journey to Peru and Costa Rica. Then a strong calling to relocate to Los Angeles came with no apparent or logical reason! After many internal dialogues, I left my established life in Asia for Los Angeles, a city I knew very little of with no job, friends or visa lined up. I was there for just less than 2 years. It was challenging and amazingly rewarding at the same time as I had to start from scratch and find my ways to sustain my stay financially and legally.

Looking back, the time spent in LA was like a meant-to-be turbo-charged self-discovery and reflection course as I had to dig deep within to get me through the challenges I faced physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually without fully understanding why I had to be there!

After 18 months, the journey in LA was coming to a close, a door opened up for Dubai, the Middle East. I was offered a senior regional role back in the corporate world. Whilst in Dubai, I met my English then boyfriend now husband who was ironically living and working in Hong Kong at the time.

A career change from high-heels to a bare feet yoga teacher marked my brief return to Hong Kong as I joined my then boyfriend. We then relocated to Singapore where our first child was born. Then our journey took us to Bangkok, Thailand where we stayed for about 18 months until an unplanned move back to Singapore came up as we became parents for the second time.

After my son was born, I wanted and needed to do something for myself. With my experience and passion, I launched myself as a mentor, aka a Truth Sleuth as I found people often ask me, “how do you know when to do what in life?” once they have heard my life journey.

I became an author with my first book, The Code – transform your mind from the inside out published in 2017, sharing my experiences and stories on how to gain the clarity needed to make the so-called “bold moves” in life.

Two years or so ago, we moved to Bangkok, Thailand for the second time. I don’t know how long we’ll stay this time around but I am very glad to say we are all very happy with life here.

What inspired you to start your business?

The world has been focusing so much on the power of the mind, leaving behind that of our heart, where our Truth lies. I always feel that they can both exist in our daily life. It needn’t be one or another at any one moment.

With a corporate world background, I witnessed many professionals quietly battling between what makes sense in their minds versus what they sense in their hearts.

When it’s time to do something for myself after my son was born, I knew this is what I wanted to pursue, especially having immersed myself in both sides of the world. I am passionate to share my experience and how others how we can live a soul-fulfilling life and do the “bold moves” in life truthfully with our hearts and strategically with our minds. This opportunity isn’t reserved only for those few “lucky ones.”

Where is your business based?

I currently live in Bangkok, Thailand. But my services are available online. However, I still love meeting people in person whenever possible.

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

I came across an event on MeetUp when I was searching. It was an event where people pitched their business live in front of people, a bit like a Dragon’s Den. The difference was they weren’t pitching for investment. Rather, they talked about why they did what they did. It resonated with me a lot.

The event was put together by a company that offered a business accelerator course, and it was their participants pitching in that event as I found out later.

I signed up for the course and the journey began from there.

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

Thus far, the most effective way is through word of mouth and LinkedIn. I am also playing with various social platforms and see what works best.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

The biggest challenge is getting myself laser-focused in the hours that I work. I need a lot of me time and time alone, not for work but for myself. With 2 young kids, school runs and a household to run, there are many small things cropped up during my working hours.

The working hours are often also my windows of opportunity to unwind and have my me time.

As much as I have a system to have everything takes place, it can still be thrown out from the window at any given moment. Learning to be flexible without losing my focus has been key.

I can’t say I have overcome it but am addressing it better than before. Reading Atomic Habits by James Clear is also helping me shape my system.

How do you stay focused?

Keeping myself accountable to my daily small tasks whilst working towards my long term goal is crucial. It can be very demotivating when you don’t see much return from your daily input. I chat with my marketing guru friend bi-weekly as it helps us stay focused and motivated.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

I use and share what I have learned and done on myself again and again. I also learn from others over the course of my life. What I offer is a combination of what works for me and what I learned that resonates with me. My method changes according to the people I work with. We are all different. There is no one fixed formula in achieving what needs to be done.

I am also an author, The Code – transform your life from the inside out published in 2017 sharing my stories and experiences to inspire others to live that soul-fulfilling life and take those bold moves. I also have my framework as detailed in the book.

I was also invited by Radio Television of Hong Kong to help them facilitate a TV programme on “Think about thinking.” A subject like that isn’t talked about much in Hong Kong or Asian cultures in general. It was really good to see a spotlight being shone on that area.

My work has been featured in newspapers and journals. And I will be a guest speaker in an upcoming Podcast about fear.

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

Thus far is by working with someone who knows marketing and also understands me as a person, not just another client following her method. Having that someone to talk to as a sounding board and guiding me at the same time is invaluable.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Being a Truth Sleuth as I am, my advice is do what you are drawn to. Learn from others but also listen to and learn through yourself. There is no one fixed formula and the best formula is the one that you create for yourself.

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

There is so much out there these days it’s hard to pin point. I have been catching up with some reading of late. I love The Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer. Many think spirituality is too out there or only reserved for those who don’t have a real life to live.

Michael tells his story, walking his path of spirituality, from living off grid to being a self-made billionaire to losing it all and being sued by the government. It is spirituality in practicality and reality. So many books out there are either on spirituality or practicality. This book has a good mix of both. And to see how it works in reality makes it even more amazing.

The Lost Connections by Johann Hari is one book that I couldn’t put down. Even though the book may seem like a mental well-being focused one, it also explores and covers a lot on how our society isn’t functioning in the way that supports us all. I enjoy reading his conversations with the experts involved, his own reflections afterwards and the highlights on how important it is that we need to be aware of our Self and our environment. His new book The Stolen Focus has just been released so I am looking forward to reading it.

Steal like an Artist by Austin Kleon is a simple, short, visual and to-the-point book that is full of daily wisdom. It is so good and simple, I passed it onto my 9 year old daughter to see if she would enjoy it, too.

Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance is a detailed yet fascinating read. Elon may not be well liked by many but what he has done is absolutely amazing and inspiring. His ideas may be crazy. And his way of doing things may also be crazy. But the strength he has within him is undeniable. He stands against all odds and is so determined within to achieve his goal, putting his life and money on the line with the world watching. Utterly admirable.

Exceptional by Daniel Cable also captured me. We all go through highs and lows in life. And often we don’t say what we truly want to say to people who matter to us until it’s too late. And also we rarely get to hear the best of ourselves until we are gone. His exercises are great to do. I also need to credit him. The idea of calling myself a Truth Sleuth comes from his book.

Who is your business role model? Why?

I don’t have a business role model per se. I learn different things that resonate with me from different people and then see how best I can make them my own so that not only does it work but also it works for me more specifically.

Everything works but not everything works for you.

How do you balance work and life?

Life and work is all in one life; I don’t see them as separate items.

As much as there is a structure to ensure my time is spent as equally as possible, it’s also very organic. There may be a period of time I put more focus on what you call life and another period of time more on work. It is a dynamic and organic balance of having my priorities and focuses well attended to.

The most important element in “balancing work and life” is to ensure I have enough time for myself such as metime, downtime, read time or exercise etc. If I don’t feel good about myself as an individual, I will never be able to balance anything, work or life, especially I have a family to take care of.

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

I love catching up with friends with whom I can have a decent conversation with. That for me is a good dose of energy. Sometime, when I need a bigger break, I will take my journal and go somewhere by the water. I will just sit, watch the world go by and allow my mind to wander. I also write down my thoughts and feelings in my journal as it helps me clear the clutter and release bound up thoughts and energy.

Going off somewhere for a retreat alone is another great way. And I do that when I feel I am called for one. I do small things daily such as yoga practice, short meditation to help maintain my well-being and sanity!

What do you have planned for the next six months?

Continue to raise awareness and the importance of self-development by tapping into our Truth. People often think it’s about learning something with our minds about Self. It is. But it is also about feeling and honouring Self with our hearts. Learning doesn’t always involves words or logic. And it certainly isn’t about understanding. Sometime, a deep sense of knowing within us is enough, even when we don’t necessarily understand with our minds.

How can our readers connect with you?

Email: kitty@kittyyeungdowner.com

FB: https://www.facebook.com/kittyyeungdownerpage

IG: @kitty.yeungdowner

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kitty-yeung-downer-621646b6/

Website: http://www.kittyyeungdowner.com

The Code – transform your mind from the inside out, available on Amazon as paperback or ebook.