Leadership and Storytelling

MKTG 754
Finding Purpose through Storytelling – Journal #1
Student Name: Je-an Kim Lim

DISCOVERING MY PURPOSE: STORYTELLING

Theme 1
WHEN I WAS YOUNG

Back when I was young, I was my parents' little princess. I had four
brothers, and honestly, they were my ultimate bullies, but I knew they were
just teasing me. Most of my childhood memories revolved around school. . In
my class, my classmates and I would obsess over collecting and showing each
other our sticker books. This was the fad in our class that formed a small
economy. As you can see, the business part of my life started very early. If we
saw something we liked that wasn't in our sticker book, we would buy the
sticker by issuing a "check" as a form of payment. My classmates would simply
write their checks on a piece of paper, but me, I wanted it to be more official,
so I had taken and used my mom's real bank checks. One day, my mom needed
to issue a payment through a check, and she searched hard for it. Being young
and ignorant, I didn't admit my mistake until she searched my room and
happened to find it in my bag—used up, covered with marks, and some were
even torn. I was clueless that it could have been worse if my mom had signed
all the checks and my classmates had given them to their parents to deposit
into their accounts. It could have been my mom's worst nightmare.
My mom got really mad at me and scolded me so badly. It even led to a
punishment which is I can’t do any extracurricular in school and will be picked
up in school right away after my dismissal in class. Through this incident, or I
could say accident, I learned a very valuable lesson, which is to simply ask
permission from my parents, no matter how small the matter may be. Also,
this happened before I knew what was right from wrong which most children
would say they were “young and ignorant”.
 Theme 2
SPARKING MY PASSION

Flashback to 2019, the year when everyone needed to change and

adjust because of what was happening around the world: COVID. It was
probably the time when I had several anxiety attacks, and my mind was filled
with questions. Month after month, after the world had announced a
lockdown, I kept asking myself, "When would this end?" Little did I know it
was the start of something that I didn't know I would be passionate about.
A year after the lockdown happened in my country and cases were still
not solved, I found myself eager for another habit: to lose some weight through
exercise and a proper diet. I tried weightlifting and doing cardio routines since
we had a gym at home, but then I was still stagnant, and no improvements
could be seen. I got bored, and my extroverted self wanted to be reconnected
with nature. By the way, I have always been a nature lover. If I were to choose
between city or countryside living, I would choose the countryside. My brother
one day told me, "Do you want to borrow my bike? Go try it." Without a doubt,
I answered, "Yes, of course," giggling deep inside because I was so happy. That
was the start of my passion for biking.
Biking had helped me release my stress and take a breather through
nature. I fell in love with biking, and after 3 months of borrowing my brother's
bike, I bought my own and didn't realize I was already cycling every day,
reaching up to 200 sometimes, or was into trail rides. If there are days that I
want to step outside of my routine and wanted to relax, I cycle my heart out
and take a deep moment to appreciate the wonders of nature. I found myself in
different cycling groups after 6 months and was about to join a bike
competition not until I got into an accident 4 weeks before my flight to Canada.
I was rushed into the hospital as I lost consciousness after I fell off my bike and
cracked my helmet. Due to this accident, my parents didn't allow me to ride my
bike to avoid any chances of another injury before my flight 2 weeks later, I
asked them a favor if I could ride my bike because it would take some time for

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 me to buy a bike when I arrive in Canada. They said yes, and I promised myself
that if I saved enough, I would buy my dream bike and continue pursuing my
passion for cycling here in Canada. At this time, I am on track to purchasing my
dream bike by the end of the year.

Theme 3
THE CHALLENGE THAT SHAPED ME

Who loves to cook? Who loves to eat? I must say my grandmother is the
best cook in the whole wide world. My mom comes in a close second. Joking
aside, my grandmother used to own a couple of restaurants before she retired
due to old age. Some of her recipes were passed down to my mom, and then to
my brother, who not only enjoys eating but is also a food enthusiast.
My brother started a backyard business selling frozen foods to his
friends. This venture was fueled by his passion for food and the desire to
perfect our family recipes. After a few months, we noticed repeat purchases
and received words of encouragement from friends and acquaintances,
suggesting that my brother take the business seriously and invest in it.
That's when I entered the picture. My brother’s professional experience
was in medical technology, thus a lack of business practice. I was working as a
full-time Marketing Professor, which led my brother to hire me as the Sales
and Marketing Head for our frozen food business. Working for my own
brother's business added a significant amount of pressure on me because of
the expectations and deliverables. We had our fair share of arguments but
learned to separate business discussions from family gatherings.
I had a thought in my head, “If I work hard and put my heart into
everything I do, how much more can I contribute to my family's success?” This
thought motivated me to do more and be more. During the pandemic, we
leveraged the growing popularity of e-commerce for health and safety reasons
and launched several marketing campaigns. We partnered with different

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 distributors and retailers in our province, resulting in a growing number of
resellers. As our production increased day by day, we even hired more people.
Although I wasn't paid much for all the work I put in, at the end of the
day, I am incredibly happy that I could help my brother with my expertise in
the field of marketing.

Theme 4
MY SUCCESS STORY

My success story may not sound as successful as it may seem, but for
me, I can say it's a personal achievement, and I am proud of myself.

My decision to leave the comfort of my own country was a constant

battle I needed to fight for the first few months after I approached my
parents about it. It would be my first time being away from home, and given
that I have four brothers and I'm the only girl in the family, my parents still
saw it as an opportunity for me to grow and know myself better. I have
always been a risk-taker, an adventurer who loves spontaneity. However,
when I submitted my application in October 2021, I suddenly doubted
myself. I felt like canceling my application since I was already sheltered and
comfortable with my life. I keep on asking myself, “Why would I even go to a
foreign place, be uncomfortable, and not even know what's in store for me
there?” The only thing I know and am confident about is that I have wanted
this for so long, and again, I want to embrace the discomfort for I know that’s
the only way for me to grow.

A month later or 25 days to be exact, I received an email from IRCC.

Before opening it, I already told myself that whatever the results, I would
accept it. If I got denied by immigration, it meant that it simply wasn't meant
for me. If my application was granted, then it was meant to be. I was full of
doubts because the results came in less than 30 days, even though 30 days is
the average processing time for the application or even more. What weighed

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 me down, not to mention, was the fact that my classes were starting in
January of the following year, and I needed to fly to Canada by the last week
of December. My emotions were scattered when I tried to log into my IRCC
account. I felt like I might faint or vomit at any moment. I took a deep breath,
counted to five, and logged into my account. I couldn't believe what I saw—
my visa got approved, and it was even less than 30 days! I literally cried a
bucket of tears, ran to my Mom, told her I was going to leave her soon, and
locked myself in my room. he kept knocking on my door and was crying as
well. I then opened my room, and she told me, "You haven't even left yet, but
look at you, you are crying a lot. How much more when you leave?" And I
cried even more. Deep inside, I was so happy, my heart was filled with joy,
and at the same time, sadness tried to consume me, knowing I would leave
my loved ones.

But honestly, making the decision to move away from home is the best
decision I've ever made in my life. Do I regret it? No. Did I want to delay it?
No. Do I want to go back? No. This is my success story.

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