How to turn challenges into opportunities
What’s the story do you want to tell your children when they grow up?
12 months ago I left my home in Hong Kong with my 2 daughters for what was supposed to be a “holiday”. I’m not an “expat” in Hong Kong: I lived there for 15 years, I have my house and my dog, I met my husband, my 2 daughters were born there, I had my business, and I speak Chinese. It’s home.
Due to the strict COVID related policies and the strict quarantine rules, we never came back.
We never came back.
But guess what…this is not a venting post. Pretty much the opposite!
A growth mindset
After 6 months, what was initially a holiday became a permanent move, and I have spent the last 6 months in Australia with our kids, while my husband and puppy stayed behind in Hong Kong to try to sort things out. We have been apart for 8 months out of 12.
When I first arrived here, I spent the first months “playing the victim”: I don’t have experience, I don’t have a network, I don’t have time, etc. And one day, I asked myself:
Is this the story I want to tell my daughters when they grow up?
I knew the answer in my heart and one day, I woke up and I completely changed my mindset, my narrative and my behaviour:
This is my journey and I own it.
Building a personal brand
I started working on my branding: I changed my profile on LinkedIn , reinvented how I position myself and started to create my own brand based on my value.
I started building my own network, and it has now doubled in a few months. I connect, I reach out, I support.
I write, I create content, I try to motivate others and share what I have learned from experience and mistakes
I have started collaborations with 6 different Podcast host as a speaker (Petra Zink, “5 minutes for me”, “Change Makers”, “INTENT!ONAL”, “My first step ever”, “The Crossing It Off Podcast”)
I have used this time to study as much as I can, focusing on Business Chinese and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
I have just started as a freelance expert for a Consultant company and a project for an awesome company in the DEI field I am still figuring things out but I know this IS the story I want to tell my children.
Take a moment today to pause, reflect on what you are doing, what you are not doing, what you would like to do, and ask yourself:
What is the story you want to tell your children when they grow up?
