I am an Asian American, born in Texas to Chinese immigrant parents from Vietnam. As the middle child of three, I learned that achievement could help me get attention/love. My parents taught that happiness is having a lot of success and money, and I was an eager student. I studied hard, did a lot of extracurriculars, got into a top college, and was on my way on the fast track. Marrying my wife at the age of 25 – right before starting my MBA – I made a promise to her that we will be millionaires by 40 with healthy kids, a large house in the suburbs, and a life of love and happiness.
Fast forward almost a decade, and I am a Vice President of a Fortune 200 company at the age of 35. I was making nearly $800k a year, beating the goal of becoming a millionaire by several years. We had the healthy kids. We had the large house. And we had this Instagram-worthy life seemingly filled with love and happiness.
But I wasn’t happy.