My why

My why showed up as a pink slip.

As the first born son in an asian family, I was expected to take over the family business. My family was supportive of my “hobbies” But they expected me to come around — eventually.

It was fine. I wasn’t ambitious. So, the certainty was comforting. And I used that certainty to eject from hobbies that became “boring”.

I wasn’t prepared for the market to collapse. I wasn’t prepared for the family business to fail. I wasn’t prepared to by laid off — By my dad. I wasn’t prepared.

Being unemployed is something. Being unemployable is something else. My “experience” was a liability to legitimate companies. I’d never worked for anything. In 2011, Masters in Finance were taking massive pay cuts to keep food on the table. A company couldn’t legally pay me the pittance my inexperienced deserved. I was 28 with a mortgage, family, parents in poverty, and a skillset that couldn’t get an internship. I was cast off and hopeless.

This led me to my why.

We humans are silly. We want to prove our worth But we keep attaching it to external things: A job, A car, Instagram followers, Likes, Retweets…

We’re more than those accessories. Humans are adaptable. Our worth transcends position, knowledge, And even celebrity.

We’re only as stuck as we believe ourselves to be. Character can grow from anything. After finding my character, I discovered my worth. I work to help others discover their character.

How do you value your worth?

💓 chantastic