Breaking Out of the Box: Embracing My Multi-Hyphenate Self

This is for those of you amazing souls in transition or currently questioning your current situation!

As another wave of tech layoffs is in the news and reshapes the industry, I felt compelled to share this today (though it’s been on my mind to write about this for a while!)

That "weird" career path I've been living? That "unconventional" career path that raised eyebrows for years?  It's not just normal now—it's becoming the secret sauce to future-proofing your career! 💫 

Fun fact: I've been rocking this multi-hyphenate life since WAY before it had its own hashtag! (Throwback alert! 📸 ) Back in 2014, Female Magazine actually spotlighted me in a piece about multi-hyphenates—though back then, I called myself a "parallel entrepreneur" because I was juggling multiple businesses and communities like it was my superpower! Read the full article here.

From those early days of breaking moulds to my transition from Meta, I've always been that person who made traditional career counsellors scratch their heads. (Anyone else feeling seen right now? 😉). I've always been that person who wouldn't fit in one box. And now? It feels like the world is catching up to embrace what I have felt all along.

We're living in this fascinating moment where "Portfolio Careers" isn't just a quiet rebellion anymore—it's gaining momentum and i’m seeing it crop up on my LinkedIn feed daily! The very path that used to raise eyebrows at dinner parties is becoming the smart strategy for navigating our ever-changing world. (Who's laughing now, Aunt Susan? 😎)

So if you're exploring new career paths, discovering more layers of yourself, feeling de-motivated at work or navigating what's next in life and work—you're not just following a trend. You're part of a revolution that's been brewing for years. And trust me, you're right on time...

The Problem with Boxes

For years, I thought I had to pick a lane, choose one thing and stick with it. You know the drill:

• One career path 📍

• One title 🏷️

• One neatly labeled box to fit into and explain myself/yourself to the world ⬜

And let me tell you, it felt like trying to breathe underwater. Completely suffocating!

Society LOVES to put us into tidy little categories.

Why? Because boxes make people comfortable.

Pick a lane. Stay in it. They're easy to explain at dinner parties. "What do you do?" becomes a simple one-liner instead of the beautiful, complex story it could be.

Society's favourite mantra? "Choose one thing and be great at it." 🎯

But deep in my bones, I knew I wasn't wired that way.

I wrestled with this uncomfortable truth: I didn't fit into a box. 

Not the kind society expects. Not the one my 8-year-old self dreamed up while filling out career day forms (hello, aspiring astronaut-veterinarian-artist! 🎨). Not even the box I spent years trying to force myself into.

I wasn't meant to flatten myself into a single mould just because it made others more comfortable at networking events. I still feel these days that I can’t share everything I’m working on with everyone, so I choose what to share depending on who I’m speaking with.

And if you’re still reading this, chances are, you don’t fit into a box either, or perhaps are questioning diversification of your career and life.

The Wake-Up Call I Didn’t Ask For

In my early years, I wrestled with this truth, feeling like I was lost because I didn’t have a “clear” path. I tried to explain my “scattered” career interests. People around me seemed to have everything figured out, linear career paths, clear five-year plans, the works. Meanwhile, I felt like I was playing career hopscotch! 🎲

Then, in 2011, my life changed forever. My father passed away. With his passing came the most profound wake-up call I never asked for.

Grief has this way of stripping away the nonessentials and removing all the noise. It forced me to confront something I’d been avoiding: 

I was living my life for everyone else's highlight reel. I wasn’t living for me. I was living for everyone else’s expectations.

That realisation? It changed EVERYTHING. 🌅 That was the moment I began to shed the boxes:

• The "traditional" path.

• The need to explain myself to people who didn’t understand.

I discovered I had so much more to give to this world, but that meant:

• No more shrinking

• No more apologising

• No more trying to fit into neat, traditional boxes

Instead, I chose alignment:

• With my values ✨

• With my energy 🌟

• With my uniquely beautiful layers and dimensions 🎭

I decided to embrace ALL of me.

Building a Life That Aligns - The Journey to Self-Discovery

This wasn’t a quick fix. It took work—a lot of WORK.  (Capital letters intentional, because wow, was it intense!)

I started with deep self-awareness. I took more than a month out (thankful I could, because not everyone can!). I became the queen of self-discovery:

• Every personality test? Took it.

• MBTI? Check.

• Enneagram? Double check.

• Strengths assessments? You bet!

• Human Design? ALL of them!

• Read books on career, life and spirituality

(Stay tuned for another post into my exploration of these assessments)

But here's what made it different: I wasn't just collecting badges or letters after my name. I was noticing patterns, peeling back layers, and confronting truths I'd been running from or had buried long ago. 

I studied psychology and human behaviour to understand what energised me, what drained me, and what truly mattered.

The more I learned, the clearer it became.

The breakthrough? 🎯

I wasn’t unfocused. I wasn’t scattered. I was multi-hyphenate. Multi-dimensional.

And that’s not a weakness, it wasn’t just okay -  It was my superpower.💪

Connecting the Dots (Or Not!)

Your choices don’t always have to make sense to others.

Let me take you behind the scenes of my own journey a little more. This might just change how you see your own path! 🎯

Growing up, I lived in this fascinating tension between two worlds:

• In one corner: An Asian mother who dreamed of her kids becoming doctors, lawyers, or [insert prestigious title here]. (You know, the kind that makes relatives nod approvingly at family gatherings! 😅)

• In the other corner: A father who lived life completely outside the box, colouring outside every line and showing us daily that unconventional paths could lead to extraordinary places. 🦋

Talk about a recipe for inner conflict! For years, I danced between these worlds, trying to figure out which voice to listen to.

As I mentioned earlier, everything shifted in 2011 when my father passed away. Sometimes it takes losing someone who truly saw you to finally start seeing yourself clearly. 🌟

That's when I made what felt like the most radical decision of my life: I stopped trying to make my story make sense to anyone else. (Best decision ever! ✨)

After I let go of the boxes, I felt more aligned than ever.  

My career path looks like a creative's vision board on caffeine ☕:

• Built a marketing, PR and new market entrance agency and collective for fashion & lifestyle brands in APAC (First chapter: Breaking business norms! ✨)

• A joint-venture for one of Asia's first e-commerce group buying site for US fashion brands (Think Gilt Group, but make it APAC! 🛍️) - ended in a disaster!

• Worked with tech and social impact companies and initiatives expanding into APAC. (Back in 2012 when "tech for good" wasn't trending 💫)

• Built communities across tech, social innovation and the creative ecosystem in APAC

• Founded The Change School (My baby for years! 🎓) A life-long learning institute working with Fortune 500 companies, government bodies and individuals navigating change.

• Launched and led a regional team at Meta (Hello, Big Tech chapter! 🚀)

• Now? I'm back rocking multiple titles, doing fractional work, advising and coaching - including wearing titles such as: Chief Growth Officer, Chief Partnerships Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, COO, Chief Community Officer (collecting them like infinity stones! 💎), while leading a “Worth Revolution” that empowers individuals and advocates for ethical tech.

Did any of this make sense on paper? Nope! 
Does any of this still make sense on paper? Nope!
Did people wonder what the heck I was doing? You bet! 
Do they still wonder what the heck I’m doing? Yup!
Did I care? Not one bit! 😎
Do I care? No I still don’t care!

Because they made sense to me - and still makes sense to me!

Because here's the truth about being multi-dimensional: We don't always make sense to others. That's not a bug—it's a feature! If everyone gets your journey right away, you're probably playing it too safe! 

This is what being multi-dimensional looks like: You're not a connect-the-dots puzzle for others to solve. You're a masterpiece in progress, and the only person who needs to understand the pattern is YOU. 

Why This Matters

Fitting into a box might feel safe, but it's the comfiest trap you'll ever find. 

Fitting into someone else’s version of “success” will only suffocate you. It's like a cozy prison cell with:

• Limited potential 📉

• Restricted growth 🌱

• Stunted creativity 🎨

If you’ve ever felt like you didn’t fit the mould—good.

When you embrace your multi-dimensional self, you:

1. Thrive during life’s curveballs. Resilience becomes your middle name. 

2. Open yourself up to magical unexpected opportunities. Alignment attracts doors you never knew existed.

3. Start living in deep alignment with your truth. No masks. No shrinking.

4. Build the confidence to pivot without losing yourself

5. Create a life that feels like YOU, not someone else's expectation

You stop trying to survive in a box and start thriving in alignment.

The Worth Revolution (It's Bigger Than Us!)

Ready for something bigger than the next linear career move? Something that could reshape how we think about value itself? These days, I'm leading what I call the "Worth Revolution." Not the kind with pitchforks (although, wouldn't that be interesting? 😉), but something even more powerful.

This isn't just another business philosophy—it's a complete shift in how we view worth, value, and impact.

This is a revolution about how we define worth.

Here's how this revolution is reshaping in the different spaces and people I work with:

• For Individuals: Rewriting Your Worth Story 📝
  Imagine breaking free from the tyranny of titles and the LinkedIn popularity contest! This is about:

  • Discovering your intrinsic value (hint: it's NOT in your job description or your salary!)

  • Transforming your relationship with wealth and financial wellbeing

  • Reframing those sneaky narratives that keep you playing small

  • Building confidence that goes beyond external validation

• For Founders: Scaling Deep & Intentionally 💫

  This is where I get REALLY excited! As a right-hand partner to visionary founders, I help them:

  • Craft and align magnetic personal narratives that truly reflect their mission, transforming their unique story into a powerful business asset

  • Build founder-led marketing that feels authentic AND drives business growth

  • Help them scale their business purposefully into new markets, while building authentic, community-driven brands - ensuring they never lose sight of human connection.

• For Leaders & Tech Innovators: Ethics Meets Innovation 🎯

  I’m flipping the script on how technology serves humanity:

  • Creating worth-centred leadership approaches

  • Designing ethical products that enhance human potential

  • Building technology that serves people, not the other way around

  • Leading with values while driving innovation

• For everyone - Embracing Your Whole Self

  • Bring your whole, beautiful, complex self to every table

  • Stop apologising for being multi-dimensional

  • Turn your unique perspective into your competitive advantage

  • Create success that feels authentic to YOU

Think of me as your strategic partner in this revolution. This work lights me up because it allows me to bring my whole self to the table. 

Every hyphen. Every dimension. Every layer.

The Moral of This Story? You Get to Choose Not to Choose!

You don't have to fit into a box to thrive. 

You don't have to pick just one path. 

You don't have to explain yourself to those who don't get it.

Stop fighting to fit into a box that wasn’t made for you. 

When you live in alignment with who you truly are, something magical happens: You stop surviving... and start THRIVING! ✨

By embracing your multi-dimensional self, you’ll find resilience, alignment, and yes—joy—in places you never expected.

So, go ahead. Rip up the box. Step into your full, layered self.

The world needs exactly who you are—all of you. ✨ The world is waiting for YOU—in all your multi-hyphenate glory.

This is your reminder: you don’t have to choose. Today isn't just another day. It's YOUR day to break free.

The paths that make everyone comfortable rarely lead to extraordinary destinations. So embrace being the plot twist in your family's story. Take the career path that makes people tilt their heads and say "Wait, what?"

Your Turn to Break Free! 🦋

Now I'm curious (because that's what multi-hyphenates are!):

• What dimension of yourself have you been holding back?

• What boxes are you ready to break out of?

• What would your life look like if you embraced ALL of who you are?

Let's start a revolution of worth & authenticity together!

Connect with me directly on LinkedIn or via my personal website to start the conversation and engage me to innovate and grow. Together, we can create a future where technology truly serves human flourishing.

Visit The Worth Club to join my movement on building Worth-Centred Leadership. Reclaim your inherent self-worth in a world that requires you to fit into confined boxes.