When you are immersed in a book, a movie, or a conversation, the experience sometimes transports you to a different place and time.
And when you return, the way you see the world slightly changes.
Each time it happens to me, words will crisscross my mind like meteor showers.
I then patiently arrange them into strings of insights that others can practically use to move forward.
My name is Irwan Hanish.
I help lifelong learners in finding meaning through learning.
How this helps you:
1. If you want ideas that enrich your life
I write about lifelong learning and communication psychology. You can get them through Letters for Learners.
2. If you want career progress through communication
I coach non-native English professionals to master clear, confident communication. You can learn as an individual or as part of a corporate team.
Eleven things about me
1. ‘Irwan‘ means ‘insightful‘ in classic Indonesian.
Many Indonesians are named ‘Irwansyah’, which means ‘the insightful king’. I am a Malaysian, but my ancestors are Indonesians (with a bit of Chinese ancestry on my mother’s side).
‘Hanish‘ means ‘the herald of the storm‘ in ancient Mesopotamian (Mesopotamia was at present-day Iraq and Iran). In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Hanish forewarns the upcoming tempest so terrible than even the gods fear it.
I seek insights worth sharing, even when they unsettle us.
2. I score high towards the introvertion trait. It means I love people, but my energy drains faster when in gatherings. I would later need to hide somewhere to recuperate.
3. As a child, I was fat. I suffered the consequences of childhood obesity until early adulthood, even after I lost the weight. It has shaped how I view health.
4. Too often, I’m captivated by ideas from unrelated fields (a trait called high Openness).
It’s a weakness. Success often requires staying in one field. But staying in just one field suffocates people like me.
I’m learning to embrace this part of my personality.
5. I was sorted into Ravenclaw, and suited to a 12 and 1/4 inches hornbeam wood containing a unicorn hair core, with solid flexibility. It conjures up a hedgehog on my happy memory.
6. I love reading. My idea of fun is sitting quietly in a beautiful park with a good book and a mug of hot chocolate.
7. At university, I did better in subjects I didn’t enjoy (I got the best student award in my least favourite subject).
I did worse in subjects that I liked.
Our interests and strengths aren’t always aligned.
8. I overestimated the value of exams and academic learning until I did my PhD.
I now invest more in learning things like communication science, Islamic philosophy of science, and practical psychology; mostly things not taught to me at university.
9. My mind drifts into thinking about death a few times a month. It started in Australia when I got really sick when I was 26.
The thoughts don’t make me feel sad or anything depressing. But it does make worldly ambitions less attractive than meaning.
10. People who inspire me are many. I will just name a few: Prof Osman Bakar, Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, Dr Umar Faruq Abd-Allah, Dr Jordan Peterson, Tony Robbins, Nouman Ali Khan, Chris Nolan (Tenet is my favourite movie), Yasmin Mogahed, and Michael Saylor.
If you love their works, I’m glad we have found each other, because you are my soul brother or sister. If you are, let me know here.
11. I once had a strange experience looking at Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers.
Like many science students, I embarrassingly knew very little about art and why it matters.
Yet, for the first time in my life, I was utterly absorbed by a painting: everything else in the gallery faded away. It felt like a pleasant conversation about the beauty of the ordinaries and simplicity.
Writing for you
I later learned that van Gogh painted the Sunflowers for Gauguin, a friend he admired.
Perhaps that sincerity is what we deeply respond to.
So I want to fill each of my writing with sincerity, and write it for you as a close friend who I admire.
Then hopefully, you will find it useful, or at the very least, a pleasant conversation.
Letters for Learners
Enjoy bursts of insights on
LinkedIn,
WhatsApp,
Telegram
or
X platform.
Or better, get high-quality ideas on lifelong learning and professional communication directly to your inbox.
When there are limited gifts, you’ll get them first.
It’s free. If it doesn’t suit you, simply unsubscribe later.
English / Melayu