What if we became leaders that people want to follow because we design choreography takes into account their gifts and capabilities? What if we inspire people to do more, be more, and want more?

What I wish for my daughter is to be courageous, adventurous and confident--all the qualities that the Tiger embodies. After nearly 20 years of fighting my Tiger Mom tendencies, I realized that the best way to show her how to actualize her own Tiger presence was by leaning into that myself.

So many of us work toward some penultimate achievement, be it professional ascension or a safe, stable happy home life. And when we reach it, something emerges from the dark underbelly that says, “is that all there is?”. But we won’t say that because, well, it would seem ungrateful.

Well meaning friends say “I don’t think of you as Asian; I think of you as white like me.” Except I am not. So even in the spirit of inclusion, I can’t help but feel erasure and invalidation. Because I didn’t feel like I was “white just like them”.

I’ve taken Corporate Finance three times. Failed it twice. The first time was as an insane decision to take one of the hardest classes as a second semester senior. So clearly, rational judgement was not a strong suit at age 22.

The second time I failed, the stakes were much higher.

My longest mentor relationships span as long as 20+ years — women I met as 12 year olds who just turned 30, a woman I hired out of college who is now in her 25th year at her company, a once seventh grader who is now a mom and a budding filmmaker. In all cases, there is no set recipe, but here are some ideas on how to get the most out of the relationships you build during your career.

“WAIT!” I say. “Give me another chance. I bet if I do the last two lines again, I can read them PERFECTLY!”
At this point, my eye doctor looks at me like I’m crazy.