Today is the last day of 2019, and we're about to welcome 2020. Every year we set new goals, but we always forget to look back and take stock of what we've accomplished this year. We often feel like we haven't done much and end up criticizing ourselves. But if we pause and think carefully, we're actually making continuous progress every single day! How can we not reward ourselves for our hard work?
I'd like to invite everyone to create a year-end summary for 2019. Let me start!
【Karen's 2019 Summary】
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Left my TV station job in March to join a Hong Kong media company
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Completed 10 speeches starting from March
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Organized 5 cross-industry book clubs
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Completed 2 full English presentations
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Quit my job and studied in the Philippines for 3 months, becoming a remote worker (and accidentally visited Boracay, Bohol, and swam with whale sharks)
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Featured in interviews by 2 print media outlets (appeared in The News Lens)
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Collaborated with Tutor ABC to complete 10 hour-long online livestreams
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Recommended 12 books through partnerships with multiple publishers
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Hosted a 100-person XChange event
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Wrote one article that drove an entire year's worth of traffic, leading to a website upgrade
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My article was finally published on The News Lens
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Became a columnist for The Daily News / appeared on a radio program and was featured in an interview by Chen Le-rong
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Wrote 46 WordPress articles of 1,000+ words each
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Completed three articles on the anatomy of knowledge economy
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Organized a large-scale cross-industry book club event
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Obtained a PADI diving certification
As I reviewed this list, I realized I've accomplished so much!! Without properly reflecting on my life, I would never have known how hard I've worked. After completing the list, I discovered I've moved one step further forward. This year, I also turned down many seemingly great opportunities, but I knew they weren't what I truly loved, wanted, or what suited me.
Being able to understand what you truly love is genuinely rare. I hope you can also find your personal goals and start by summarizing your own life. Because taking inventory of your life's resources is truly important. For next year, I hope I won't limit myself with predetermined goals, but will keep taking action to create more unexpected possibilities!
2019 Reflection
On the very last day of 2019, let me share what's really on my mind. Truthfully, at the beginning of this year, I wasn't doing well at all. I even felt like the world was about to collapse. After going through a major setback (which is resolved now), I learned that "before things happen, nothing is guaranteed. Don't overestimate yourself."
#Titles are given by others, only your real abilities stand the test
I'm grateful for this experience because it made me profoundly aware of my own shortcomings. This drove me to continuously improve myself in every way. I learned to apply what I studied, and I dug deeper within myself to rebuild my confidence.
Midway through the year, I felt confused about my career. Someone told me, "If you don't become a manager before you turn thirty, you'll never become one in your lifetime." So when a multinational company approached me with an opportunity to be a manager, I didn't question my own ability and thought I could take on that position. But things didn't work out as expected. A title is just appearance; the real work doesn't distinguish between senior and junior positions—you just have to take it on. After recognizing this reality, I didn't accept the opportunity. I profoundly realized that "titles are given by others, but only you know your true abilities. Only real ability can stand the test." There's no need to pursue these external labels. Of course, society is often quite superficial. I'm still myself, and you're still you, but the titles others give you can make you "appear different in others' eyes."
#There's nothing in life you can't let go of
Finally, I left my fifth job, quit without another lined up, and went to the Philippines. Filipinos earn around 6,000 NT per month, and prices are about 60% of Taiwan's (though coffee and drinks are slightly more expensive). With such a salary, how is anyone supposed to survive? That's why about 90% of people have a second job—or even third.
To avoid traffic, they wake up at 4 AM, arrive at work by 6, start at 8, leave at 5, sit in traffic for two more hours, and start online English tutoring at 7. They can teach 2-3 students in an evening, but they never complain—they just say that's life.
Or like the 6 or 7-year-old children I saw getting diving certifications—using bamboo poles to steer the boat, helping carry oxygen tanks, and after we surfaced, using our leftover oxygen to dive themselves, with no complaints or envy of others' lives. They were having a blast. This taught me that "there's nothing in life you can't let go of." Whether you live seriously or lazily, it's still just one day. There's nothing worth clinging to. When all your choices are bad choices, what difference does it make which one you pick?
#The world needs sharers, not just experts
Back in Taiwan, life remained busy. But those days overseas rekindled my confidence and courage. I gave two speeches, hosted a 100-person event, wrote honestly about my journey, and traffic jumped to 30,000 daily visits, which led me to directly pay for a website upgrade. I also organized a large book club event. I did all the preparation work, but ticket sales fell short of expectations. Discouraged, I bought a book to comfort myself and found these lines in it (you can search for #The Daily Injuries of a Foreign CEO yourself—they moved me to tears):
"If you can't overcome your fear of price, you'll struggle to imagine value."
"You can underestimate yourself, but never underestimate your team's value—and never undersell it."
"What's irreplaceable can't be compared, and therefore can't be priced."
Yes, that was my fear. Knowledge is priceless, and people willing to share are actually more valuable than experts. Every person's life story is irreplaceable, so how can we judge whether someone's life story is worth watching or reading based merely on a title?
#There's nothing shameful about asking for help
After sharing my worries, it was as if I received an olive branch. A mentor reached out with help, accelerating everything. "Let's work hard together, and remember to ask for help earlier next time!" With just this one sentence, regardless of the outcome, at least I tried my best. I don't know why asking for help seemed so difficult in the past, but today I'm filled with such comfort.
Jesse Tang Astrology mentioned something in a 2020 Taurus forecast video that resonated deeply with me: "Conviction is a kind of non-compromise. When you want to do what you want to do, and it's not something you can achieve in the short term, you're often doing things others don't understand—because you're playing a bigger game, something that takes ten years to accomplish. So misunderstanding from others is the reason you feel so lonely. But if you walk in your own conviction, you must have your own persistence." (You can search for it yourself—it's so warm it made me want to cry.)
On this last day of 2019, I want to thank all of you who've kept reading my articles. Next year, I plan to expand to YouTube. I'm not sure how far I can take it, but I hope to break out of my current circle and communicate my ideas in more ways.
Also, I'm finishing my book next month, and I hope to publish it in March or April. It's about how people like me—unsettled 90s-borns—can survive in the workplace, build personal brands, and navigate this new era bridging old and new generations while still being kind to ourselves in this rushed society.
"If the world wants to label you, run fast enough that it can't catch up to stick the label on."
