A Letter to Myself Podcast: Deep in delinquency, a book he read in juvenile detention changed his life

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Trapped in a world of violence and delinquency during his teenage years, the third-generation owner of SanDai Fishball tells host Joel Chua how his past failures made him unafraid of taking risks.

Deep in delinquency, a book he read in juvenile detention changed his life

Delonix Tan was a textbook bad boy.

Struggling in school and falling in with the wrong crowd, he walked the well-worn path towards violence and delinquency. But after his second stint at juvenile detention and being expelled from school, his cousin gave him a book that would change his life’s trajectory towards a life of entrepreneurship.

That book was Rich Dad Poor Dad, written in 1997 by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter. It advocates the importance of financial literacy and is written in parables - where a “rich dad” accumulates wealth through savvy investments but the "poor dad" (claimed to be Kiyosaki's own father) worked all his life but didn't achieve financial security.

One book led to another and eventually, what ensued was a relentless pursuit to become a “progress junkie” – from pursuing higher education to opening new business ventures and helping his family’s fishball business grow.

In this episode, the 26-year-old third-generation owner of SanDai Fishball, tells Joel Chua how his past failures have made him unafraid of taking risks.

On his second stint at juvenile detention:

"The first time I went to lock-up, frankly speaking, I was really quite scared but it wasn't enough to get me out of it. It was only the second time when I (was) expelled from school and my mum told me that she (didn’t) want to see me continue like this.

That was when I asked myself, 'Do I really want to continue living like this?' I started to really reflect and told myself that I need to make a change at some point in time.

So the second time was really a giant wakeup call, because I was only six months away from graduating from ITE.

On failure and what it taught him:

"I was a bad student in the past, and I didn't do well in school. And in Singapore’s education system, if you don't do well in school, (it) means that you're a loser in life, and you can't amount too much, and you (don’t) have (many) options in life.

When I was younger, I was bitter about this because I (felt) I couldn't study.

But as I grew up, I realised that it's a strength that I have - because I'm used to failing … I'm willing to try out new things ... even though (my ventures) didn't turn out well, I still dare to try new things, because I just wasn't afraid of failure.

On being a “progress junkie who loves business”:  

I enjoy challenging myself. This interview, for example, I'm actually very nervous.

But whenever I do something that makes me feel nervous, but at the end of it, I feel like, oh actually, I unlocked my potential. I made progress.

(This interview was first broadcast on 22 August 2024.)

Listen to Delonix's story on A Letter to Myself. This podcast, hosted by Joel Chua, features people with remarkable life lessons to share and airs every weeknight on CNA938.

If you know someone with an inspiring story, write to cnapodcasts [at] mediacorp.com.sg.

Follow A Letter to Myself on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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