12/19 - 7:08pm Update: Ok wow you guys are getting the snail-mail a lot sooner than I expected! Currently in a restaurant @ Vegas publishing as much of this as I can! :)
12/20 - 11:50am Update: In the car-ride. Currently passing by this tiny town called St. Goerge in Utah! it's my turn to drive.
12/21 - 10pm Update: 10th hour in the car from Grand Canyon to home. Here's a picture from today..
2015
You are reading this because in some way or another, you shaped my year - everything you are about to read. For that, I am grateful beyond words.
If you’re not into reading, I’ll have a nice photo gallery in the bottom!
By January 30th, 2015, I had already made up my mind: I was going to leave the startup I was once so excited about. I was 6 months away from the end of my vesting schedule. My stock options were attractive but I woke up every morning feeling like shit, I couldn’t do it anymore.
That begun a month of soul searching, a quiet one. Most of you reading this had no idea about this because I did everything I can to isolate myself. It was the first time in 6 years that I had no “real” responsibilities - only Rotaract/Rotary commitments.
When I graduated from USC in December 2014, I knew I had to explore “serious” jobs. The startup world is fun but I felt like it was expected of me to make at least $60k/year in an entry-level corporate job. The thing is, I wasn’t good enough to land a corporate job. I was rejected by E&Y, Bain & Co., Salesforce, Oracle, PwC, AEG, and a few that I don’t even remember anymore. Most of the rejection came before I got a chance to interview; my GPA was too low (2.6 total).
I did what I do best. I knew that 9 out of 10 things I do will fail; so I set out to do 10x the work just to level the playing field. That’s when Mitty came to me with the idea of partnering in starting a digital marketing agency. (www.candeavor.com)
We needed a way to communicate WHY, WHAT and WHO we are. So we came up with our own 4P’s, a witty spin-off of the marketing 4P’s. It’s cheesy, I know. These 4P’s is how I lived this past year. It’s the type of culture I want to build to attract the people who believe in the same things.
Partnerships • Practical • Perspective • Purpose
I don’t want this recap to feel like a sales pitch so If you are interested, I wrote an article @ Candeavor about this: Candeavor 4P's
These values are also the same things I used to build the other organization that defined my year: Big West Rotaract (www.bigwestrotaract.org)
For you non-Rotary people, Big West Rotaract is the collaboration, non-profit organization, that connects young leaders ages 18-30 across 7 states in West Coast of the USA. There are too many great minds and inspiring people - it’s a shame to not equip them with the proper tools to do well.
Here’s a picture of our annual conference in Seattle:
The speech I gave in Seattle: "State of Big West Rotaract"
Here’s a picture of the intensive training session in San Jose:
I’ve averaged about 80 hours of “work” per week. The biggest change happened when I realized that I needed to maximize the 24 hours - so I started waking up between 5:30am to 6:30am daily. There’s no such thing as an average week but I want to be certain that I could not have worked any harder and smarter.
I’ve never been more stressed in my life. On the flip side, I’ve never had better support in my life.
Ending my week at LA5 on Fridays helped me stay positive about many things. Some weeks when things are rough with Candeavor, Big West, etc.. someone at LA5 would give me hope and a little more strength I need just to squeeze by.
Lastly, this is the first year in since 2007 that I have my family, all 6 of us, in the same city. It’s the first time that on a weekend, I can count on having somebody to have dinner with. They provided me the foundation I needed to stay positive. I knew I could always go home. On top of that, all my work with Rotary and Rotaract has allowed me to get my entire family involved. On birthdays & holidays, we pick a cause of our choice and do it together.
Still reading? Wow. Here’s the conclusion/summary
“1 is better than 0”
1 shot at bidding for a project is better than 0
1 new connection is better than 0
1 birthday wish is better than 0
1 person reading this is better than 0
1 more day to do what I love is better than 0
My work with Rotary has allowed me to see the privilege I’ve been blessed with. The only reason why I have what I have is because I was born into a compassionate & generous family living in a decent zip code.
I’ve been told that sharing my story in full will help many people, especially aspiring entrepreneurs. In 2016, I want to get better at telling stories. Everybody is fighting a battle we can't see. Things I have not talked about much are the 20+ days I spent in ICU, losing bids (Candeavor), teaching a class at USC, and the number of times I cancelled on my friends (and sometimes dates) because of my intense schedule.. I'm working on it.
2015 wasn’t easy and/but I’m ready for 2016.
Onward.
Photo Recap
The most recent picture of my family from our trip.
Picture: Taken at Antelope Canyon, Page, AZ
I was telling Mason about the special shiny Rose pin on my label. It was his first Rose Parade and he was wondering why we wore white suits so early in the cold morning
Picture: Taken right before my 6th Rose Parade Rose Parade by Mason's Dad
Went back to PCC to speak to the club that taught me how to be a leader.. We had 800+ members at some point of my presidency. This was the club that led me to an internship with the Tournament of Roses.
Picture: Taken at the Forum @ Pasadena City College
3rd Valentines Day without a significant other, I spent it at an elderly home with a group of friends
Picture: Taken by Christina Moses @ Salvation Army
Of course this would make the cut. That one time I got to act like I'm famous with my mom
Picture: Taken at the annual Chinatown Lunar New Year's Parade
My first time speaking at LA5. Quite intimidating to be honest.
Especially with all the people I respect so much!
Picture: Taken by Past President Jay Richardson @ the California Club
Attended my first Rotaract-related wedding. It was super cool because Elsa is from Mexico and Beau is from France!
Picture: Taken somewhere near the border of California/Mexico
Here's a better picture of my beautiful friend, Elsa. I met her in Berkeley when we were both standing in-line to register for a conference. In our short month of friendship, we've watched the sunrise together, she's visited me in LA, and I've mailed a ring to her (non romantically, of course - Elsa, text me if you're reading this!)
Picture: Taken by the Groom in Mexicali
Familiar view but different mood every time. I always choose to sit on the right side of the plane so I get to see this view of the bay and the LA Colisseum when I land at home..
Picture: Taken on an American Airlines flight between SFO - LAX
My "baby" sister is kind of a big deal. This is her playing Club Nokia back in October
Picture: Club Nokia @ LA Live, Los Angeles, CA
First time giving a speech with simultaneous translation to 6 languages in Sao Paulo, Brazil! Someone from Bangladesh came up to me after and told me, "I was about to give up. Your story is what I needed to hear to keep going"
Picture: Taken by Yvonne Kwan
Spent 2.5 days and about $120 at this Starbucks. It was at this exact spot on March 2nd, 2015 that Mitty and I launched Candeavor & finalized the paperwork for Big West Rotaract to be chartered.
Picture: Taken in Starbucks @ LINQ in Las Vegas, NV - approx 3am
My mom, the person who instilled in me compassion and forgiveness. I love that I get to share Rotary with her
Picture: Angel City Celebration
LA5 and partners gave away toys to over 4,000 kids in the South Los Angeles community. My brothers worked through their Interact Club to help run a toy drive.. I am so proud of them!
Picture: On our way to Angel City Celebration
Training future Presidents with one of my best-est-est friend in the whole wide world, Mr. Robert Marsh
Picture: Taken at San Jose, CA at the Big West Institute
The founders of Big West Rotaract
Picture: Jermaine, Bobby, and Mitty
That one time we went to Mexico to build a house for a deserving family
Picture: Somewhere in Tijuana, Mexico
The day I became a Rotarian. Not just any Rotarian, but a LA5 Rotarian. I wasn't expect the turn out to be so incredible. When I look back at August 21st, I still get chills.
On the left is Past President Ken Chong, the person who brought me into Rotary/Rotaract. On the right is President Jose, my advisor when I was USC Rotaract president.
Picture: LA5 @ California Club
I got to carry the Malaysian flag at the International Assembly! Many of you may or may not know that I spent about a decade living in Malaysia. A country that is near and dear to my heart.
P/S: This is how I know that muslims are not the problem - I went to a high school where my friends prayed 5 times on Friday.
Picture: I forgot who took this. Grand Hyatt Manchester, San Diego, CA
Some of my peers still think that I grew up rich and that all I do everyday is Rotary-related work. I can't blame them though - I've done a very bad job showing how much I work on Social Media. It's okay though - sometimes it works in my favor that other's perceive me as a spoiled brat. As they say in marketing, under-promise and over-deliver, right?
Picture: Taken on a Caltrain between Palo Alto to San Francisco
I realized that business owners workout in the morning and employees workout in the evening. So, I started waking up between 5:30am to 6:30am every day to be in the gym. I've met some amazing individuals and got some incredible stories out of this.. A few of you are reading this - see you tomorrow bright and early!
Picture: LA Fitness