Enter The Dragon | Be Like Water

Two years ago, I summoned the courage to write one of my first posts on LinkedIn to welcome in the Year of the Tiger. It garnered 13K impressions. While that’s not enough to go “viral,” it led to many new connections, not just LinkedIn connections, but meaningful conversations around navigating a career. 

Writing a post takes guts and a whole lot of time. I find it scary.  I believe this fear was rooted in my experience as Editor of the Asian American CPA Society Newsletter back in the 1990s. I received anonymous criticism about my editing skills - or the lack of them.

It has taken me almost three decades to realise what I tell my kids about social media is also applicable to me.  When I put myself out there, I need to embrace the “likes” as well as the negative comments.  If the critics remain anonymous, their intent is not to be helpful, not to be constructive.  So I need to anchor on the positive.   If sharing my experience can help someone else, it’s worthwhile.  I am finally ready to bring out the writer in me.

What is the importance of this backstory?

At the start of my garden leave from my corporate job, I told everyone that I was diving into writing a book.  Why do I embark on this scary journey?

“What is your book about?” they’d inquire.

“I don’t know yet.” my reply.

But I know WHY I want to write this book.   I want to share how I’ve navigated my career and embraced many unexpected currents. 

It’s like what Bruce Lee said  “Be Like Water.”  If you Googled its meaning, “people shouldn't allow themselves to be trapped in a certain mindset. Instead, a person should be able to adapt to certain situations, grow, and change; that's how one can adopt the qualities of water.”

At the moment, I am navigating another unexpected current.   Through my writing, I want to delve into the question of why, in the later stage of my career, I look to be a job-hopping millennial with three jobs in four years.

The Chinese philosophy within me would attribute it to bad “Feng Shui” suggesting that I should enlist a Feng Shui master to recalibrate the energy forces surrounding me.  Feng Shui, rooted in the Taoist belief of Chi, the life force inhabiting everything, posits that smoother energy flows could mitigate the bumps in my career.  

Meanwhile, the millennial within me would argue that I am embracing my millennial spirit.  

Millennials often bear the brunt of criticism as entitled job-hoppers with fleeting attention spans.  Red flags go up when hiring managers see 1.5 years of tenure on the resume. 

However, I see millennials' desire for personal and professional growth, their willingness to take risks, their commitment to social responsibility, and their penchant for driving disruptive change as valuable contributions to diversity and growth.  

My pattern of job hopping is more about selective attention rather than a deficit in attention span.  I embraced the messiness because I was in search of something purposeful.

Ah, yes, that ubiquitous buzzword: Purpose. Eye-roll.  It’s the modern-day equivalent of ‘world peace” in a beauty pageant.  Purpose might sound simple for some or just another trendy word for others.  

Cambridge Dictionary defines purpose as "why you do something or why something exists." I distill it down to something more universal: life is too short to do something you don’t love and being able to drive impact feels  rewarding.

Over the past three decades, I have woven a purpose-driven career, but is this a successful career?  

From the perspective of my late father, I can almost hear him bragging about the "Chief" in my Chief Financial Officer title and about being part of an organization which won the Nobel Peace Prize. After all, the yardstick for success for Chinese parents is often measured in promotions, salary increases, career advancement (the proverbial corporate ladder climb), job security, financial stability, recognition, and respect.  

Yet, simultaneously, I’d expect him to remind me of the Chinese proverb 一山還有一山高.  “There is always a taller mountain.”  To avoid showing up as smug about my achievements, he would expect that I share nuggets from my journey to help others.  That’s purposeful.

What I am trying to say is that it’s not a black-and-white choice between success and purpose. Each of us must seek a balance that aligns with our values and aspirations.  The purpose is anchored on how we feel about something and that reflects authenticity. It shields us from succumbing to others’ definition of success.

But the definition of  success is ingrain in us, sometimes it’s hard to adopt to certain situations and Be Like Water. 

Let me share an example as a parent.  When I sent my 13-year-old son to a therapeutic boarding school, there was a new humility in defining success.  Success, I realized, is synonymous with his happiness.  Yet, I couldn't help but revert to the conventional definition of success, fretting over how universities might perceive his mental health struggles as a weakness. My ability to support him in discovering his purpose and his happiness will ultimately unlock the doors to his intellect.

And so, these are the seeds of thought for my book: #Purpose #RedefiningSuccess #BeLikeWater

As the Year of the Dragon enters, I look to you to grow these seeds into flourish into my book. Please share with me:

• How you managed the unexpected currents in your career?

• What keeps you going in your career?

• How do you see success?