From survival to Purpose
I have become a working professional rising from poverty as an Asian immigrant that has moved forward with grit, resilience, and self-belief. I’ve charged forward without emotional support from my single parent father and gained the experience necessary to develop a career at Microsoft without any role models to pave the way for me. I’ve done it mostly alone and I’ll be able to fulfill this American dream so many are seeking if I keep pushing forward. If I can do it, anyone can.
Well, at least that’s the story that I used to tell myself. A story that I created while being blinded towards my own privileges and wholeness. A story I needed to tell myself to survive, but one that has continued to lead me away from my own authenticity and sense of belonging.
But that's just the beginning of my story. A story that I have changed into a narrative of empowerment and use to propel me towards my purpose. One where I now choose to surround myself with people who have and will be helping me live with magnetic purpose and abundance. And where I will be boldly helping others find their narrative and use it to change their world, the world of those around them, and the collective world.
Discovering a life of inclusion
The search for my truth began at an early age when my family immigrated to the United States to pursue the American dream. The norms I grew up with led to me believing that I had to forsake my heritage and instead put on a cover to fit into American society.
I grew up a good kid, graduated from a good college with limited resources, and advanced my career to a leadership role while faking it until I made it. I was the "role model" for others. Yet I never felt like I was living my authentic life. Instead I felt like I was living a life others decided for me and lost track of myself time and time again until i finally asked myself.
“Am I Dat, Dan, or Dot? Am I Asian, or am I American?”.
And then the magic moment came and a spark had lit in me during the pandemic after watching a TEDx talk by Gavriella Schuster on BeCOME an Ally: How to achieve gender equality.
With a desire to learn more, I began hosting listening circles across Microsoft to give people a safe space to share their own stories of allyship, unconscious bias, privilege, empowerment, diversity, equity, and inclusion. It led to me peeling away layers of armor that I had put on and discover what it meant to be authentically me.
Through the experience, I started finding my authenticity, my voice, and my own path of how to be intentional in supporting others with allyship. Now I am committed to using my own lived experiences to pass on common languages and frameworks that will empower more authenticity and inclusion into the world.
My Path towards Resiliency
I felt like I had found my purpose in early 2021 while I was at Microsoft. Feeling super excited, I went on a mission to figure out how to live with purpose.
Life took a different turn than expected though. The road became an arduous one as I began facing challenges after challenges. The reality was that my purpose did not did not lead to the recognition or abundance in my day job that I had hoped. I felt full of purpose but neither the clarity or resilience to continue live it. And so I burned out.
I decided to invest in myself through coaching instead of giving up in 2022. The me after coaching was night and day different from the me before. I learned how to stop my own self-sabotaging and began finding hope in a new beginning. I started setting healthy boundaries, transforming my relationships, and became a person who inspired hope in others.
As if though magic happened, I began flourishing in a way I never knew was possible. This path then lead to me transforming leaders in and outside the company through coaching and delivering over 50 workshops and keynotes in the time span of 18 months. And led to me driving excellence in my day job, lighting up my purpose at Microsoft, and be rewarded with the abundance I had hoped for.
And then I found the courage, clarity, and resilience to embark to live my purpose full time which brought me to where I am today, living a life without limits, and pursuing my purpose with an abundance mindset knowing I will change the world through others.