When we hear about a successful person’s rise from the bottom rung of life, we find ourselves thinking of it as a stroke of luck, a one-off act of kismet that we regard wistfully, never realizing that we too are capable of such “magical” acts; it’s all a matter of putting your everything into it, working your ass off, and conquering life… at least according to YouTube star Lilly Singh.

Singh started her vlog in 2010 as a way to cope with her depression, using it as a platform to share her thoughts and views on family, culture and life. Pretty soon, she found herself hanging out with Hollywood celebrities on her award-winning channel, and as of 2016, Forbes lists her as the third highest paid YouTube stars with reported earnings of $7.5. million.

Recently, Singh also released her first book, “How To Be A Bawse,” her personal guide on how to conquer life and how she achieved success and happiness. Inquirer Super had a chat with Singh about her book, haters, dream projects, and how to be a legit Bawse.

How did “How To Be A Bawse” come about?

I am so grateful for the good, bad, and truly unbelievable experiences I’ve had over the past years, and I felt a book was the perfect format to share those lessons with others. I’ve learned so much from smart people who I admire along the way and wanted to share those stories with my audience. I hope it will inspire others to see beyond the mentality of “dreaming for their dreams.” I want readers to work for their dreams, conquer life and fight for their happiness!

What’s a day like for you?

No two days are ever the same for me, which is both a blessing and a curse. Right now I’m busy traveling for my book tour around the world, but I still find time to vlog my daily adventures and still publish new videos every Monday and Thursday. When I’m back in Los Angeles, it’s a lot of shooting/producing videos, meetings, working on upcoming projects, eating Skittles, and occasionally going to a cool event like a movie premiere, all while trying to fit in as many naps as I can.

Haters are inevitable in your world; how do you deal?

I have a sticky note on my computer that reminds me to focus on what deserves my attention every day. I know that negativity exists, but I choose not to engage with it.

What advice would you have for people who wanna be like you?

When you start your career, you’re often starting at the bottom. There is this idea that constant growth is necessary and we are tempted to “use escalators” to get to the top as quick as possible. My advice is to put in the work and take the stairs or climb the ladder. This way you can make every day count instead of spending that energy scheming a way to escalate to the top which will make the end result even sweeter.

What other dream projects are on your to-do list?

I would love to pursue more acting opportunities and possibly write my own film or pilot. Lately I have been learning a lot about screenwriting, directing and producing. I would love to put what I learned to use, especially since I now know how to format a script properly!

Which other celebrities would you want to have on your show?

I would love to collaborate with 6ix God, Drake. He is so talented and versatile. I admire him a lot, I met him during his Summer Sixteen tour and he was so kind and extremely down to earth. Being from Toronto, he has done so much to put our hometown on the map. It’s impossible not to respect that!

How does one become a big Bawse?

Being a Bawse means you are not someone who survives life, you are someone who conquers it. I really do believe in the idea of being a Bawse and making heads turn.

How do you conquer life every day?

I conquer my life every day with positive self talk, and embracing the roller coaster that is life with all of its ups and downs.

Even though YouTube FanFest Philippines is sold out, fans still have a chance to win a pair of tickets to meet Lilly at her FanFest meet & greet and attend the HOW TO BE A BAWSE show! To enter, they have to enter their information into the Google form (goo.gl/MYa8bI ) and tweet to confirm their entry using #YTFFPH for their chance to win. Tickets are free and limited to 200.

Check out Singh’s Twitter (@IISuperwomanII) on how you can still score tickets to her meet and greet event at the YouTube FanFest Philippines on May 7.

Singh’s “How To Be A Bawse” will be available at National Book Store.