By Karen Girl
"If you're not a manager by 30, you can't succeed for the rest of your life!" My university professor said this during my student years as a threat, and then…I turned 30.
The book "Principles: Work and Life" covers all aspects of career and life. Among them, it introduces the【Five-Step Life Process】, stating that a successful life involves completing these five steps repeatedly, allowing individuals to evolve toward higher levels of success:
- Have a clear goal.
- Identify the problems that are preventing you from achieving those goals, and don't tolerate them.
- Accurately diagnose the problems and identify their root causes.
- Design a plan that can solve the problems.
- Do whatever is necessary to execute these plans and achieve results.
I think the essence of "Principles" is this section, which mentions "Pain + Reflection = Progress." This resonates deeply with me.
My professor's words stayed with me over the years, but I delayed graduation due to graduate school and later did a student exchange abroad. Compared to my classmates, I started working quite late, which made me extremely nervous and anxious when I entered society, terrified that I would have accomplished nothing by 30.
At 28 and 29, I was earning an unbelievably low salary and always felt like I couldn't turn things around. Yet I believed I had decent abilities—so why could I only earn so little? I fell into the trap of obsessing over age and job titles, hoping to gain a respectable title and be recognized by others. My goal was to be seen and valued for my abilities.
However, my immature mindset trapped me in a maze of my own making. Within six months, I applied to 7 or 8 companies, hoping to switch industries or jump up in rank. During that time, I had many interview invitations, but the outcomes never met my expectations.
There was an internationally renowned conglomerate that wanted me to be an MA manager. I passed the interview and the manager agreed to hire me, but HR called and said, "Your experience isn't sufficient; we need to lower your rank. Since we're lowering your rank, we also have to lower your salary." A double blow that shattered my confidence.
There was also a company I really liked—I made it to the final round of interviews, only to receive a rejection notice. And there were companies with decent connections where, after negotiations, I always felt like I was being taken advantage of.
That period was like being haunted by a ghost in a loop. When I calmed down, I discovered the real problem was actually me—my "insufficient abilities." To prevent myself from falling into this confusion again, at the beginning of 2019, I decided to "seriously build up my skills and stop being stuck, becoming someone who can take control of their own life."
In other words, I seriously diagnosed my problems and found the root cause. Of course, besides lacking ability, I also believed the issue was "lack of confidence," which caused me to waver and unable to make decisions for myself.
Next, to escape this stagnant life, in the second half of 2019, I quit my fifth job without a backup plan and flew to the Philippines to reflect on myself. I carved out time to let my understanding settle and decompose properly, hoping that a change in environment would also bring a change in perspective. This was the solution I designed for myself.
Why did I make this decision? Actually, because seven years earlier, I had spent half a year in Korea, which was the first time in my life I felt incredibly free and did a lot of reflection. During my time in the Philippines, I truly shifted my mindset. Seeing the real life in the Philippines, yet watching how they maintained their optimistic nature, I suddenly realized "in life, you must live in the present." After returning home, I worked hard to do everything well, no longer pursuing a specific job title, name, or fame. Because no matter how much you chase, those are things others give you. From that point on, I resolved the confusion I once had in life and took a big step forward.
Invited to give a speech with members of the Agile Girls organization.
Friends who have followed me for years often say I've made "tremendous progress" in the past two years. I believe this is closely related to "Pain + Reflection = Progress" mentioned in "Principles," and it perfectly aligns with the five-step life process. Acknowledging your shortcomings, being willing to face problems, designing solutions, and pushing yourself to solve them allows your life to upgrade. This is an incredibly valuable experience.
Hosting a large-scale event at Breeze Center.
In October 2020, I published my personal book, launched a high-efficiency writing course, became a lecturer at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, and was invited as a speaker at the Taipei Education Expo. In 2021, I'm preparing a new online course, building a new scale and platform for cross-domain book clubs, creating an offline community with extremely high engagement, developing my own organization and reach, while also maintaining balance in my full-time job.
What will be the story of your "Principles: Work and Life"? I'm sure it will be equally fascinating.
2021/02/07 13:00-18:00 Come listen to 12 selected cross-domain book club members share their thorny yet touching life stories through the lens of the book "Principles."
#Life is Not a Multiple Choice Question Buy Here https://reurl.cc/MZdLpk
