Sum On Sleeve Podcast

All of us know at least a dozen people who do not share all of our beliefs. With over 7 billion of us, there is bound to be conflict. I can agree to disagree on topics like the correct way of hanging toilet paper or whether pineapple is an acceptable pizza topping (it is, btw). The bottom line is that if the point of contention isn’t something close to my heart, I’m not going to fight over it. I d...

Listening is a life skill. Everyone knows that. We’ve all seen self-help gurus, thought leaders, TED talks, psychologists and the latest news and research share how we should all be listening more than we speak…especially in a society where attention is scarce and distractions are plentiful. Everything seems to be TL;DR. Listening skills are crucial for developing strong relationships. I mean it’s...

When we accomplish a goal, reach a dream, or win a fortune…how do our past and conditions affect the way we share that type of information? Recently, I’ve been pondering about how we decide to share the good news we have in our lives. From inflation, global warming, an ongoing war and of course, that pesky pandemic we’re still trudging through…the world seems rather quite bleak right now. Good new...

It’s been almost six months since I left my 9–5 job to become a freelance writer. Here are a few things I’ve experienced so far: Full Transcript here  

The most common and basic rule about being a successful writer is to keep writing. But since starting my freelance writing journey, my desire to write for pay has slowly taken over my desire to write for pleasure. Before freelancing, I would sit in front of my laptop and write and write until I ran out of time. Like my son would wake up or I would need to get dinner started. Time would fly by beca...

Lately, I’ve been thinking about my old dreams so I wrote an entire list that I’ve given up on despite thinking they’ll make me happy. Through that reflection exercise, I realized there are some old ones I’d like to revisit and some new ones I’d like to pursue.  Here are 8 Dreams I’m Holding Onto For Now Never say never… Full Transcript here

Everyone talks about how we need to keep dreaming, set goals, aim high and work hard. Because if you work hard enough, any dream is possible. Bleh…I don’t think that provides the full picture. Don’t get me wrong, I love to dream, not only when I’m sleeping. I love visualizing the future of what may be. What will a year from now look like? 5 years? 10 years? 20? 30? Where will my new freelance ende...

When I was on maternity with my first child, the monotony of routine allowed me to rediscover my passion for writing. As a kid, I wrote stories upon stories, from true, and untrue, to never being told to. It was a way for me to express myself by making those irrational thoughts into concise words and sentences, especially during that rollercoaster journey of becoming a new mother. This rediscovery...

There are three of us: my eldest sister, my middle sister and me. The relationship I have with my eldest sister is like a snow globe; it stays dormant for most of the year but gets shaken up during the holidays. My childhood memories of her are patchy, most of which were of her babysitting me and holding my hand while we crossed the street. By the time I started kindergarten, she was a pre-teen th...

Becky Choi (Tummy Warrior™️) “Follow your heart and have a big vision.” Becky Choi is a Certified Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist, and the founder of Tummy Warrior diastasis recti coaching program. Becky is a mom of 2 little ones with a passion for diastasis recti (DR) as she experienced severe DR twice. She helps moms heal their diastasis recti, strengthen their core and improve th...

In this episode, Authentic Energy founder and Body Confidence Coach Jing Fang and I have an open and honest conversation about how our culture affected how we view our bodies. We dive deep into our postpartum journeys and how challenging it was to see our bodies change after pregnancy. We compare East Asian media with Western media and how each has a different lens of body image.  We sha...

After our wedding, I started wearing both my wedding band and the engagement ring. It felt very official like I’m a married woman now. Every morning, like clockwork, I would pop them on my finger before heading for work. I would be typing an email and then I’d look down at my hands and be in awe of my new status. For years I wore them whenever I went out. I kept wearing them throughout both my pre...

As I entered relationships and became sexually active, I would keep a tally of my partner’s good and bad behaviours. For instance, if my partner did something that made me happy, I would be more inclined to have sex because I felt he deserved it. And if he did something that upset me, I would be less inclined because I felt he didn’t deserve it. Sex became a reward and withholding it became a puni...

As I finished school and became a young adult, I noticed many non-Asian peers go on self-discovery journeys. From travelling the world, exposing themselves to different cultures, jumping from job to job, attending personal development seminars, getting (and becoming) life coaches to reading self-improvement books, they were working on themselves to define who they are. Their value for personal ide...

I turned 36 earlier this year. It was a simple celebration with my husband, our kids and a very decadent chocolate cake from Whole Foods. It was perfect. As I made my wish and blew out the single, pink candle, I realized my life had changed quite a bit in the past 5 years. I no longer try to impress people I didn’t care about. I declined events I know I won’t enjoy. Lastly, I stopped spending mone...

One of the toughest and daunting parts of being a freelance writer is finding work. As an introvert with a touch of social awkwardness, asking people to hire me isn’t exactly my forte. However, I’m 3 months into my freelance writing journey and so far, getting clients hasn’t been too much of a headache. Here’s how I landed my first clients without getting too far outside my comfort zone. Full Tran...

I turned 35 this year and as I reflect on all those years of adulthood, I realized how much money I frivolously spent on things I didn’t care about. Maybe if I didn’t spend that, I would be a millionaire by now? You know, if I had taken every penny I earned from my part-time job in high school and invested it into Google in 2004 (the year I turned 18 and when it IPO’ed), I would be laughing right...

I value getting paid for my work, not for the time I spend at work I have a plan to leave my 9–5 I made a decision earlier this year to start freelancing so that I could leave my 9–5 and focus my time doing what I love. So in the last two months, I’ve been side hustling like there’s no tomorrow. As I continue this adventure, I’ve realized why freelance writing aligns more with who I am,...

In my late 20’s, I ended an 8-year long relationship. As part of my healing and recovery, I started digging deep into myself about my toxic habits and behaviours. With less time focused on trying to resuscitate a failing relationship, my mind freed up space to dedicate to myself. I realized how terribly I was treating myself. It’s an ongoing journey but one of the most important insights I discove...

Although I’ve been blogging since 2017, I only officially started my freelance writing journey a little over 2 months ago. I’ve dibbled and dabbled with selling books and courses but the amount of money I was making just wasn’t enough for me to leave my 9–5. But most importantly, it was leading me down a path that didn’t align with my passion for writing. When I made the decision to start freelanc...

Two months have flown by After debunking some serious misconceptions about freelance writing , I started my journey with zero expectations. I don’t regret it for a second as the last 2 months have flown by. I am doing this as a side gig in addition to my 9–5. Those additional hours have proved to be more rewarding and more meaningful than the 8 that I spend in the office, zoning out in meetin...

Growing up, I struggled to love myself. From social pressures, the media to overly critical family members who constantly compared me to my skinnier peers, I never felt like my body was good enough. I went on my first diet when I was 8 years old. My plan was to skip breakfast, eat half my lunch and only vegetables for dinner. I failed miserably. Then as I entered my teen years, I developed an eati...

I never thought I would be a freelance writer When I first started blogging in 2017, I had no idea where it was going to lead me. I was a new mom who was working her 9–5 and trying to find some balance at home. Writing became my source of reason and means of therapy. Jump forward 3 years later and I’m at home on my second maternity leave, changing my son’s poopy diapers. I knew I was going back to...

After having a fight with my husband in front of our kids, I wasn’t able to do what my daughter wanted me to. I felt like I was repeating my parents’ behaviour but this incident inspires me to keep trying to be a better person. Full Transcript Here

Experiencing new cultures and immersing myself in the day-to-day life of people who grew up in a different environment than me is one of my favourite ways to learn and grow. Travelling helps boost my creativity, practice empathy and broadens my horizons. And when I return home, finishing the adventure allows me to truly appreciate where I live and practice gratitude for the simplest things I have....