Mock Yi Jun

Mock Yi Jun Co-Founder & President, Advisory Singapore | Obama Leader | Young Leader | Queen's Young Leader | Forbes U30 | Schwarzman Scholar

“Worry less about what you want to be… if that’s your focus, if that’s your moral compass, then you’re consistently goin...
22/09/2025

“Worry less about what you want to be… if that’s your focus, if that’s your moral compass, then you’re consistently going to be making decisions solely on the basis of how do I get, for me, what I want. If you think in terms of what you want to do… then even if you don’t get to the place you wanted to be, during that entire time you’re going to be working on stuff that’s real. And getting stuff done.”

I listened to and watched President Barack Obama speak these words in a video clip on Facebook, to a class of White House interns, in February 2016. I was struck by the simplicity of this advice - but also of how much it resonated with me. It articulated in words what I had always believed but could never fully explain - the conviction that each one of us has the ability to make a real difference in the world, and how much more important that is than striving to be a congressman, a senator, a president.

Five months later, in July 2016, we started Advisory, to empower young Singaporeans make informed career choices. President Obama’s words weren’t the genesis of our existence - but they were certainly on my mind as we started out on our journey as a charity.

Fast forward nearly a decade, and it feels surreal to be joining the 2025-2026 class of Obama Leaders. The Obama Foundation Leaders Program, inspired by President Obama’s approach to leadership, will offer us the opportunity to dive into the Foundation’s “Hope for Action” curriculum over a period of six months.

Thank you to everyone from the Obama Foundation team for giving us this space and platform. I’m excited to take time to reflect on what values-based leadership means to me - and to meet the global network of Obama Leaders who’ll be going on this journey too.

A decade on, I still believe in President Obama’s words. And through my work - supported over the next year by the Obama Foundation - I hope I’ll be able to do a better job, working on stuff that’s real and getting stuff done.

You can learn more about the Obama Foundation Leaders Program - and this year’s class - at: https://www.obama.org/press-releases/the-obama-foundation-introduces-2025-2026-class-of-more-than-200-global-leaders/

How do I even begin to describe the last week in the beautiful country that is 🇼🇸 Samoa?Every two years, the leaders of ...
26/10/2024

How do I even begin to describe the last week in the beautiful country that is 🇼🇸 Samoa?

Every two years, the leaders of the convene for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, or . marks the first time that a Pacific Island nation is hosting these important meetings. (Fun fact: 🇸🇬 Singapore hosted the very first CHOGM, in 1971!).

It speaks to Singapore’s commitment to The Commonwealth that both our Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and our Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan attended this year’s CHOGM.

As part of CHOGM, the 13th Commonwealth Youth Forum brought young people from across the 56 member states together with the theme “Navigating Our Course, Building Resilience for a Common Future” or “Matimatiga for a Stronger Future”.

At first glance, the people of the Commonwealth of Nations could not seem more different. We hail from Asia, Africa, Europe, Oceania, the Pacific (not forgetting our friends in Canada!). Yet from all our conversations at , what struck me most were the shared challenges that we all face - from addressing the impacts of climate change and building climate resilience, to promoting trade and investment that is sustainable and inclusive, to embracing the opportunities that digitalisation and connectivity bring to our communities.

Beyond the shared challenges, what was clear was our shared commitment to address them together as one Commonwealth family. And the people of Samoa, with the warmth of their welcome, really made us feel like part of a family this last week in . There is much we can learn, including from the Fa’a Sāmoa, of how to treat one another with respect and as a Commonwealth ‘aiga.

The biggest highlight of this past week for me was meeting up with old friends from the Queen's Young Leaders and the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust, and the joy of meeting new friends from all over the world.

Thanks to the National Youth Council Singapore for nominating Sheila Manokaran and I to serve as Singapore’s National Youth Delegates to the Commonwealth Youth Council for 2024 to 2026. We expressed our appreciation to Patricia Scotland KC, Commonwealth Secretary-General and Samoa Minister of Women, Community and Social Develooment Mulipola Anarosa Ale-Molio’o for their strong support for young people.

Even as we head home, we look forward to supporting the priorities of young people across our Commonwealth family.

Fa’afetai, Samoa!

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