In this Business Blast Podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Alan Yong, author of Improve Your Odds: The Four Pillars of Business Success and co‑founder of the digital currency DNotes. Alan shares a formative personal story about helping the YMCA in Malaysia in 1969, which earned him an unexpected scholarship to study in the United States, illustrating his belief in selfless assistance. He explains why digital currency and blockchain represent a technological wave larger than the internet, emphasizing decentralization as a disruptive force for money, governments, and banks, and urges entrepreneurs to learn and leverage it. Alan offers core business advice: treat business as a profit‑driven enterprise, avoid conflating it with charity, work hard, be patient, and run efficiently. He tells his younger self to avoid over‑excitement, validate ideas on a small scale, then scale up. On happiness, he stresses surrounding oneself with trustworthy, respectful people and building a supportive inner circle. The book that most influenced him is Jim Collins’s From Good to Great, from which he draws lessons on unified mission, humility, and relentless commitment. His favorite personal quote is, “Where you are now matters far less than where you’re going from here,” a reminder to focus on future direction rather than current limitations. He closes by directing listeners to his LinkedIn profile and his book website fourpillarsofbusinesssuccess.com.
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Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by WagsMedia. WagsMedia provides you with everything you need to generate more customers and grow your brand. Head on over to wagsmedia.com, W-A-G-S-M-E-D-I-A dot com, to enter a contest where you can win a free, done-for-you custom website valued at $2,500 for a limited time only. Now let's jump into the episode.
All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Alan Young with us. He is the author of Improve Your Odds: The Four Pillars of Business Success. Which is a business guidebook for all entrepreneurs and the blueprint for DNotes, the digital currency and alternative to Bitcoin. Alan is also the co-founder of DNotes and DNotes Global. He is a well-regarded tech visionary. So welcome to the show, man.
Thank you very much, Tyler Wagner. Great to be here.
Of course, great to have you here, man. I can tell this is going to be a fun episode. So we'll dive in. The first one I have for you, Alan, the first question is, what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
The best experience that I have is to have the right attitude of always wanting to help others do the best for anyone you can without expecting anything in return. Because if you do, you'll be disappointed. But if you don't, you could be pleasantly surprised. Because of that attitude, I was able to help the YMCA in Malaysia. This is like in 1969, a long time ago. And because of my attitude and my contribution, I was being awarded a scholarship to study in the United States, and that's why I'm here. I didn't even apply for it, I didn't even know it, and people just respected my contribution and thought I was the one who deserved it. And I think that is a very good thing for everyone to remember. You always try to help other people If you are expecting something in return, you'll be very disappointed. But just help for the sake of helping and you'll be pleasantly surprised.
And what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
I believe that what is going on that we need to know is we are already in the digital age. Where anything that can be digitized will be digitized. And digital currency with its underpinning blockchain technology that everyone has been talking about is going to be the next greatest technology revolution. Personally, I believe that it's going to be bigger than the internet. The future of money is already here. It is going to be very disruptive, disrupting our centralized control like the government, the banking, and so on, to something that is going to be decentralized where a lot of transactions, a lot of the interaction can happen between two parties without the control of any central authority. I think it's important for your listener, for business owner to understand that this is going to happen. Just like the way personal computer, wireless communication, and the internet has taken place. It takes time, but it will happen. It is best not to fear it, but to learn all you can about it, and use it as your competitive advantage in whatever you do.
And what is your best piece of overall business advice?
Um, I think it's, it's important for business owner, entrepreneur to remember that you are in business to make money and don't ever mix up with charity, or even think that, you know, it doesn't matter, you're willing to work hard, you have the patience to wait, and treat it like a hobby. If it's a business, learn all you can about it and make sure that, you know, you are running a business, you treat everyone fairly, And everything is being done in such a way so that it'll be efficient. Everyone work together so that the company can be profitable and continue to grow from there.
And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
I would say it is important not to get excited about anything and place all your bets on that. But make sure that things have been done in a small scale, proven to be the right way, and then go ahead and execute and scale up from there.
And in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
I believe that the key to happiness is to make sure that you're surrounded with the people who trust and respect you. And make sure that you build up your inner circle of friends and family that you can truly work with, who can help promote what you're trying to achieve in life. Don't waste time with people who don't respect or trust you. You don't have to fight it, just keep on moving. There are a lot of good people around. Make sure you hang out with the right people who would encourage you to do even more and be able to support you, God, in good time and bad time.
And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
I would say that the best book that I've read is by Jim Collins, and it's called From Good to Great. And what he really talks about a lot is, you know, that when you and your people are committed with one mission, one culture, you can accomplish just about anything. He also pointed out that the greatness of most leaders are that they are very, very humble. They are very committed. They don't just change their mind every now and then. They know what they want and they are relentlessly committed to fulfill their goals and missions.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
Well, I would say that my favorite quote is actually from myself, and that is, "Where you are now matters far less than where you're going from here." The reason I came up with that quote is I have met with a lot of people who felt like, you know, they're at a disadvantage they don't have a chance, they don't have a future. Stop thinking like that. It is not where you are right now that really matters, but where you are going from here. You have to be able to figure out what is it that you really want to do in life. If it's something that you have to learn in order to better yourself, Do it today. Don't look back what you are unable to accomplish compared to other people.
Yes, I love it, Alan. Thank you so much for coming on. The last question I have for you before we let you go is where is the best place for people to find you online?
The best way to connect with me is actually to connect with me on LinkedIn. We are extremely active. But if you want to visit my book website, it's called fourpillarsofbusinesssuccess.com. It is spelled with four, F-O-U-R, pillars of business success dot com. And thank you very much for the opportunity. I totally enjoy it.
Of course. Thanks again for hopping on.
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