You Don't Live Once
Reinventing ourselves, connecting the dots looking backward, and living many lives.
Hi friends, welcome to the 24th volume of Morning Pages, a newsletter sharing inspirations to help you cultivate creativity and fulfillment in life.
Six years ago, I was designing at Twitter. One day, while having lunch at the rooftop deck with my coworkers, we started discussing creative pursuits. At the time, I was doing my 100 days of Chinese ink painting project. I spoke of the idea of having a small studio and making textiles inspired by Asian traditional patterns. I remembered someone made a comment, “That sounds like starting it all over again. What are you going to do with all these years of design experience?”
The further we've made into our career journey, the harder it seems to reinvent ourselves. That uncertain feeling of having to start over is terrifying. So often we view our career journey as a linear pathway with no turning back point. The moment we take an exit, we feel falling behind.
In a recent podcast interview Design To Be, I shared how I reinvented my professional identity from working in corporate to working independently.
“How I got over the fear is to see this shift as a new beginning on top of what I already had. I'm packaging my unique qualities and skills into something valuable and new. I'm applying the problem-solving lens to new places. I'm leaning on my previous experience as a designer to stay nimble and agile. That makes reinventing myself feel less scary.”
“I’d like to think about career progression as a honeycomb instead of a linear path. The honeycomb starts from the hexagon at the center, which is your core value. No matter where you go, it's always coming from the heart. Find opportunities to align your goals with your core value. That makes growing a career more heart-centered and fulfilling.”
Connecting the dots looking backward
In a commencement speech in 2005, Steve Jobs encouraged Stanford University graduates to trust where they're going and to know that the dots will connect in the future. That only after you’re there, can you then connect the dots.
He mentioned visiting a calligraphy course in college, though he had no idea if this was ever going to be practical in his life. Later he used his knowledge in calligraphy to create great text styles on the Macintosh.
You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.
— Steve Jobs
Life never goes as planned. We will only understand what happened when looking backward. Trust that everything we do will make sense one day, though we couldn't connect each part when it came into our life.
In 2018, I followed my heart to start a mentorship program for women designers at Airbnb. That experience had taught me a lot about program design, mentoring and coaching, and talent development. Looking back, it's evident that the experience planted the seed for me to become a coach and educator.
Maybe the hardest part about taking a risk isn’t whether to take it, it’s when to take it. Big decisions are rarely clear when you’re making them—they’re only clear looking back. The best you can do is take one step at a time.
— Alex Banayan, author of “The Third Door”
You don’t live once
Here’s something true: one day you’ll be dead.
Here’s something false: you only live once.
It takes about seven years to master something. If you live to be 88, after age 11, you have 11 opportunities to be great at something.
Most people never let themselves die and cling to that one life.
But you have many lives. You can spend a life writing poems, a life building things, and another life looking for facts.
Each of them is an opportunity to try something new.
Speaking of trying something new, Feb 21 2021 is the last day to enroll in my group coaching program: Design Career Jumpstart. Excel together with a group of designers who work at agencies, high-growth startups, and big tech companies. Develop essential mindsets and self-awareness to jumpstart your career and personal growth. I can’t wait to get the program started in March! :)
Thank you for reading this volume of Morning Pages. All views in this newsletter are my own. If you’re enjoying this newsletter and want to express your appreciation, spread the word and support the studio for the price of a cup of ☕️.
Yuan Studio is a space that explores the intersections of global cultures and identities. Currently, the studio is incubating a series of creative projects, such as Morning Pages, and coaching women and people of color to unleash their creativity and leadership potential. You can reach out on Twitter and LinkedIn.