Edith Yeung.com Dream Think Act

Let’s go back to August 13th, 1993 when I was 16 years old. After an about 24 hour plane ride, I arrived in the small town of Ossian, Indiana.  This town has about 3000 people - farmland, cows, corn, and acres and acres of flat land. 

Some of you may think what is the big deal about this town?  Well, it was an especially big deal for me, who was born and raised in Hong Kong - A place with about six and a half million people at the time.  In Hong Kong my parents and I lived on the 15th floor in the middle of a concrete jungle.  I didn’t know there was another world out there.

So… now you may ask why in world did I fly to Indiana by myself at the age of 16?  Well… I was an exchange student.  My parents didn’t think I could survive and get into university in Hong Kong, so they decided to send me to the US and thought that I could manage.

It was a life changing year for me.   Every night for the first sixty days after I got there I cried at night.  My host family never knew about this.  Don’t get me wrong, I had an amazing host family with my host mom, dad and sister.  They were wonderful people. 

But, I just didn’t want them to know.  I did not want to admit it but I was in culture shock.  I didn’t want to appear to be weak.  The fact was that I was not sure if I wanted to be there.   I left my friends, family, and my dog and landed at this small town in Indiana.  I was very quiet because I barely could speak English.  There was so much slang and words that I did not have a clue about what they meant.  I would just keep nodding my head and saying, yes.   I didn’t want to look stupid.

I was the only Asian in the whole town and always the object of stares and attention.  I remember there was once a little baby who started crying when he saw me because he has never seen an Asian before. 

I didn’t want to acknowledge my difference.  I pretended that I was just like everyone else.  I wrote letters after letters to my friends every single night.  There was no email back then.  I probably wrote about 300 letters that year.  I wrote about my day, the people I met, and the thoughts I had.  It was my hiding place and a place for me to submerge into my own thoughts.  After my 1st year in Ossian Indiana, I got into the university and extended my stay in the  US.  For my first 10 years, I continued to pretend that I was just like everyone else. I studied hard.  I got good grades.  And I found a great job.  On the surface, I was doing very well.  I lived up to my parent’s expectation and the standard of most Chinese families. 

About 4 years ago I read a book.  For most people this book was about financial literacy and independence.  For me, it was a book about mental liberation and emotional independence.  The name of the book is ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’.  This book made a huge shift for me.  I started questioning.  Do I want to live my life just like this for the rest of my life?  Why am I doing this?  When did I decide this is how my life is going to be?

I have been so used to going to work, working on projects and acting busy every day.  But wait… when did I decide this is what I really want?  Somehow I was trained to follow these routines; but I never once asked myself, “Is this what I want?” 

Four years later, I finally left corporate America.  It took me a while, a long while.  But I am very happy that I finally did it! In fact I am ecstatic. Not just because I don’t have to go to the office anymore, but because I am excited that I finally made my own decision that this is how I am going to live my life.  My life is to serve, share thoughts and stories with people like you.

Are you happy with where you are today?  Do you know where you are heading?  Do you know what you want?  This is not a project that can wait or be delayed.  Now is the time to put you, yourself, under the microscope, and honestly assess yourself.   You can choose not to think about it, but you know you are ready to take the challenge.  You know you are capable of more.  You know there is more to life than what you have today. 

EdithYeung.com was created to help you to find your purpose, passion, gain courage, and expand your mindsets to achieve a higher level of personal and professional achievement.  This website is packed full of inspiring, yet practical ideas that anyone around the world can apply immediately after reading. 

I encourage you to read through all the free articles, blogs and audio programs on this site.  Of course you can always call or email me if you want me to come to speak in person.

I am fortunate that I am here with you at this moment.  Again, this is just the beginning.  Remember dream think & act.

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