The work for productivity, satisfaction, and growth starts with individual choice, to not take the easy road, but have the courage to take the path less traveled. Marie Cheong (a participant of LinHart’s first LIFE2 program)’s recent career choice (as told in her own words) illustrates this character forging process, how she sacrificed a higher salary and approval of others, to keep uncovering herself.
In July 2019, I was 18 months into an early-stage startup that I had taken a leap of faith and a financial hit to join. As the general manager and close personal friends of the founders, I had given my all, but it was clear our objectives and values were no longer aligned. It was time to look for a new role.
An alumna of Huijin and Tsun-yan’s LIFE programs, I had spent five years putting in the work to re-discover, or uncover, who I was at my core. Like so many young professionals, I had internalized external markers of success — brand names, promotions, salary, and titles — as who I am. The pursuit had left me unmotivated and dissatisfied. Through my journey with LinHart, it became clear to me that for me to be fulfilled, I wanted to build something great for the world. The only downside: I had no idea what that was.
A few months into the job search, I had an attractive offer on the table. A large tech company was building out a new product and was looking for a customer success manager. It was an exciting, dynamic team. I would have the flexibility to work around my young family and the compensation was more than double what I was earning.
The offer felt good. A big brand wanted me, and they were willing to pay! The job would justify the risk I took joining the startup and was something I knew I could do well. I was tempted to fall back to past behaviors.
Using my LinHart training, I built a framework (based on the LIFE2 ‘sweet spot’ and Ikigai framework) of what I could do well, what I enjoyed and what I felt the world needs. At the intersection of all three was my driving motivation: to build something great for the world. When I evaluated the opportunity through this framework, I realized the job on offer would be paying me for what I was already good at and a little of what I enjoyed, but nothing on my list of impact on the world. This would not get me closer to my sweet spot of building something great for the world.
The day I turned down the job, I felt an incredible sense of freedom. This gave me the courage to be vulnerable and speak more about what I wanted from life, sharing ideas from my framework, even when I thought people wouldn’t understand. I was surprised by the overwhelmingly positive response and how this deepened my connection with friends and people in my network. It was through these conversations that I discovered what building something ‘great’ meant to me — building startups that fight climate change. I was ‘all-in’.
Nine months later, I was in a new role building climate tech startups and learning as much as I could about what it would take to transition the world to a carbon-free future. I kept growing and got better at evolving and articulating my purpose. Momentum started to build and life got more and more exciting.
In October 2021, along with four other founding partners, I launched Southeast Asia’s first climate tech venture builder VC fund. Our mission is to build a portfolio of startups that can reduce the global carbon budget by 10%. I go to work every day with an incredibly passionate and motivated team that shares this mission. I’ve chosen to dedicate the rest of my career to becoming better and better at building climate tech companies that can have the biggest possible impact on reducing carbon emissions. I found my sweet spot, and the journey is exhilarating.
Note: This story is from chapter 3, page 31, of Positive Influence: First and Last Mile of Leadership by Tsun-yan Hsieh and Huijin Kong.
