I am not talented.

I am just not adventurous.

I am terrible at eating healthy.

We’ve all uttered phrases like those in nature at some point in our lives. These phrases that draw a set conclusion about how we see ourselves. We surrender ourselves to these stories. What if we could change the stories we tell ourselves?

I used to have a very strong story I told myself:

I am just not athletic.

What I was really telling myself was that I wasn’t strong-willed, focused or capable of being physically healthy. Being athletic represented those traits and I just simply didn’t embody any of them.

In high school, I was painfully insecure. I was too afraid to try out for any sports or extracurricular activities in high school. So I joined the one sport where tryouts weren’t required- tennis. Regardless of how skilled of a tennis player you were, you would make the JV team at the very least. I spent that season floundering around and frankly, not trying very hard because I believed I wasn’t good enough.I was ranked a whopping second to last in the team. I vowed to not try anything else athletic again. I thought, “What did you expect? Serves you right.”

It wasn’t until I tried a dance classes in college that something changed. I wasn’t an amazing dancer right off the bat but something about the act of it moved my soul. I simply needed to dance. But did I represent any of the things that “athletic” represented just because I took dance classes now? No way.

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This weekend I attended the third annual World Domination Summit in Portland, Oregon. WDS is the brainchild of Chris Guillebeau and this year’s event was attended by nearly 3,000 people (up from 1,000 last year). It is extremely hard to sum up the whole experience in one concise post, but ultimately what makes WDS so special are the core values that the attendees and speakers demonstrate.

I’ve been to many conferences where the goal is to change the world, build a business and/or make more money. Rather WDS is about expressing who you are at the core, what makes you come alive and using THAT to be of service to the world. Everyone you meet is bound and determined to be the best, most whole person they can be. There is a belief that it’s possible to live your most authentic, joyful life AND do work that creates a better world.

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This past weekend was the culmination of a 10 week workshop I participated in through Blue Bear Music School. The school facilitates band workshops where people sign up with their availability and instrument of choice to get matched with others to form a band.

The bands work on a set of cover songs for 10 weeks and perform a showcase at the end. Sunday night was our showcase and boy, was it fun! Our set consisted of songs, from the likes of Aretha Franklin, Amy Winehouse, The Kooks, Stevie Wonder and The Lumineers.

I reflected a lot throughout the whole workshop. The whole 10 weeks reengaged a part of myself that I had stuffed away for a long time. The last time I took the stage to sing was over ten years ago at my high school talent show. I learned and gained so much by dusting off my pipes.  Here’s what I’ll take away with me.

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Welcome to my new online home! This will be the space where I explore what it means to live and be your best. I believe we are all meant for awesomeness and I am fascinated by understanding what keeps us from fulfilling that in ourselves.

I’m insatiably interested in topics like productivity, business operations, personal development and anything related to dance parties. You know, the normal stuff.

Why oh why are you starting this blog?

I grew up in a home that frowned upon coloring outside the lines. My parents are Chinese immigrants and they wanted a life that was predictable and stable. They didn’t have it easy when they moved to another country to start a new life.

So they wanted different for me and my sister.

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