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Permission to Become

Permission to Become

By Joyce Bao

This is a podcast about the untold tales of Asian American women breaking out of who they should be, becoming who they truly are, and living their dream life. This podcast is for any Asian American women who are curiously exploring their boundaries and permissions around self-discovery and personal empowerment. This podcast is also for any curious souls who want to learn more about the journeys of Asian American women's own becoming.

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Ep. 22: Holly Emmerson - Permission to Become a Dream Oracle

Permission to BecomeOct 20, 2021

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Ep. 36: Permission to Become a Healing Practitioner with Liz Andolong

Ep. 36: Permission to Become a Healing Practitioner with Liz Andolong

Liz Andolong is a first generation Filipina American, first to complete a college degree and first to go into the healing arts profession in her family. In this episode, we unwrapped her life journey of unpacking the different identities and hats she’s worn, her journey to seek spirituality, how she came to reclaim her cultural identity and identity as a woman, and finally how her own health crisis led to her work in energy healing, trauma-informed work, and ultimately as a healing practitioner and teaching at Esalen Institute.

I hope you will enjoy this conversation!

About Liz: 

Liz Andolong is a healing arts practitioner, facilitator, and intuitive educator who is passionate about holding spaces for folks to do less and feel more. It is within this space — or what she likes to call “the sacred pause” — that she believes folks are able to truly tap into the limitless healing power that is accessible within themselves through body centered experiences like nervous system regulation, energy work, subtle body exploration, somatic emotional release, and guided visualization. She believes every body possesses the power and the responsibility to heal themselves. A certified Usui Reiki Master, E-RYT200, and former teacher-in-residence at the Esalen Institute, Liz guides you from the outside in, in hopes you discover the infinite ways our bodies are our greatest teachers.

Born and based in San Francisco and Oakland, she is passionate about making healing accessible for every body, most especially sharing offerings through a trauma-informed lens for the BIPOC community.

To learn more about Liz: 

www.lizandolong.com

https://www.instagram.com/lizandolong/

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Feb 26, 202301:00:13
Ep. 35: Permission to Become an Integral Coach with Aerin Lim

Ep. 35: Permission to Become an Integral Coach with Aerin Lim

In this episode, I interviewed Aerin Lim, a coach, writer, storyteller, and teacher at the Hoffman Institute. Aerin was born and grew up in Korea. Before Aerin embarked on her spiritual journey, she followed the path of achieving material success, getting an Ivy League degree at Brown University, taking up prestigious roles in Investment Banking in NYC and later at tech startups and venture fund companies in the Silicon Valley. However, her world was shaken up when we lost her mother to cancer, led her to begin a profound journey of self-discovery, healing, and transformation. Her experiences led her to create her own map of healing that incorporated different modalities of healing and carved her unique path to serve, surrender, and channel her passion into writing, coaching, and teaching. She shared with us how she found her personal mission statement, how she recommitted to her path over and over again, despite fear, her daily process to stay spiritually grounded, the one question she asks herself everyday to stay on course, what wholeness means to her, and how she engages with her meditation process to be in touch with extraordinary consciousness in the present moment.

I hope you will enjoy this episode!!

About Aerin: 

Aerin is a coach, writer, storyteller and teacher at the Hoffman process. She inquires, explores, and holds space for others’ unfolding. She is driven by her curiosity to understand consciousness, people, and the world so we take care of each other collectively as a community. Her personal mission is to meditate, play, and serve. She hopes to make our world brighter by deepening our presence and elevating our well-being through coaching, teaching, and authentic storytelling.

To connect with Aerin: 

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Feb 19, 202357:22
Ep. 34: Permission to Become a Dating Clarity Coach with Kat Nieh

Ep. 34: Permission to Become a Dating Clarity Coach with Kat Nieh

This is a special Valentine’s Day edition episode where I am sharing my conversation with Dating Clarity Coach Kat Nieh.

Prior to becoming a dating clarity coach, Kat worked at a fast growing tech startup. While she was passionate about her work and her company’s mission, she found herself burnt out and searching for something more to life. This sparked her journey of self-discovery, where she learned to surrender to the process of becoming, taking responsibility for the life she wanted to create, to explore what it means to be a woman, to be Asian, to grow up bicultural, to be a creative, to let go of her tech job and labels she has attached herself to. Since she gave herself the permission to embark on her personal evolution, Kat became an NLP Master Practitioner, award-winning author, speaker, writer, and fulfilled her dream of traveling to all 7 continents within 12 months. More importantly, we talked about how she stepped into her own femininity and was called to channel her own passion into her current as a dating clarity coach, to help others step into conscious relationships and be transformed in the process. 

Also, given the timely release of this episode before Valentine’s Day. Kat just released her latest guided journal called "Love Vision Clarity" on Amazon. This is an amazing guide that will bring you clarity on your ideal partner and relationship whether you’re single or in the early stages of a relationship. The best part is, it is FREE on Kindle before Wed 2/15/23! So make sure to grab your copy today! 

I am SO EXCITED to share my conversation with Kat!

About Kat:

Kat Nieh is a dating clarity coach that empowers frustrated and discouraged singles to get clear about who and what they want in a relationship to manifest their partner. Prior to becoming a coach, writer, and award-winning author, she was a burnt-out workaholic who left the tech industry and her 12-year design career where she honed her resourcefulness and creative problem-solving skills. Now she passionately brings her years of knowledge and expertise to guide her clients in boosting their self confidence, elevating their dating perspective, and taking aligned actions towards co-creating their dream relationship.

Check out Kat's guided journal "Love Vision Clarity" on Amazon (available in paperback, hardcover, and kindle). Whether you’re single or in the early stages of a relationship, this guided journal will help you discover and create a clear vision and detailed blueprint of your ideal partner and dream relationship. After you’re done, the clarity you get will boost your confidence and empower you to manifest and co-create what you truly desire.

Website: www.thoughtfullykat.com/journal

Social: @thoughtfullykat (Twitter + Instagram)

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Feb 12, 202358:52
Ep. 33: Permission to Become a Bestselling Author with Joanna Ho

Ep. 33: Permission to Become a Bestselling Author with Joanna Ho

Joanna Ho is a New York Times bestselling and award winning author who has written a number of picture books, including Eyes that Kiss in the Corners, Eyes that Speak to the Stars, and Playing at the Border, which received numerous distinguished awards, including the Golden Kite Award, an Ezra Jack Keats Honor, and a Golden Poppy Award. Most recently, she published her first young adult novel, The Silence that Binds Us, which just received the Asian/Pacific American Award from American Library Association. 

In this episode, Joanna shares her personal evolution from being an educator and advocate for anti-bias, anti-racism, and equity work to becoming a full-time writer, novelist, and best-selling author with a mission of elevating AAPI representation through literature and picture books. It was inspiring to learn that her racial awakening at Camp Anytown in high school inspired her passion to devote herself to public education, which had an underrepresentation of AAPI. She also shared with us her journey to becoming a best-selling and award-winning author, after years of rejection and having written several unpublished books before landing her first acceptance.

I hope you will enjoy this episode! 

About Joanna:

Joanna Ho is the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of many books for kids. She has received the Golden Kite Award, an Ezra Jack Keats Honor, and a Golden Poppy Award. She is a writer and educator with a passion for anti-bias, anti-racism and equity work. She holds a BA in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, and a master’s from the Principal Leadership Institute at Berkeley. She has been an English teacher, a dean, the designer of an alternative-to-prison program, a creator of educator professional development, and a high school vice principal. She lives in the Bay Area, where she survives on homemade chocolate chip cookies, outdoor adventures, and dance parties with her kids. Keep your eyes open for more books to come!

To connect with Joanna:

Pre-order Joanna's latest book, One Day (to be released on March 14, 2023), a mother's love letter to her newborn son, a dreaming of all the ways he will grow up and embrace the world. ⁠https://www.joannahowrites.com/one-day

Check out her other books: https://www.joannahowrites.com/books

Twitter: @joannahowrites

Instagram: @joannahowrites

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Feb 05, 202354:40
Ep. 32: Permission to Become a Spiritual Teacher with Jovinna Chan

Ep. 32: Permission to Become a Spiritual Teacher with Jovinna Chan

In this episode, we dove into the life journey of a spiritual teacher and seeker, Jovinna Chan, through the many seasons of her personal evolution, from immigrating to America to study global marketing in Louisiana, then moving to New York City to pursue her passion for theater, arts, and dance by moonlighting as an actress and dancer while working in her day job at CitiGroup. Her life took another turn when her life circumstances led her to pursue her spiritual path and she ended up devoting 8 years to study yoga at the Kripalu Yoga Center. Because Jovinna is one of the few Asian American female faculty members at Esalen, we unpacked why there are so few Asian American female representation in the spiritual community and how Jovinna is, once again, redefining her own life journey and chartering the path for the collective evolution by bringing more diversity, equity, and inclusion, through her unique gifts, personal experiences, and Asian representation, in the healing space.

About Jovinna:

Jovinna Chan is a seeker who desires to know the truth of who she is and to experience spiritual union with the Divine. Jovinna Chan, E-RYT 500, YACEP, co-founded Shakti Initiation Yoga Leadership School and A Wild Life Sanctuary™. She served as the assistant dean and 200- and 500-hour teacher trainer for the Kripalu School of Yoga and is a certified Soul Motion™ and LetYourYogaDance Teacher. Jovinna is a co-founder of Pranotthan School of Yoga and leads transformational programs around the world. She has taught many workshops and trainings at Kripalu Center, Omega Institute, Esalen Institute, and 1440 Multiversity.

To connect with Jovinna:

Website: https://jovinna.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/jovinnachan

Instagram: @jovinnachan

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Jan 29, 202355:04
Ep. 31: Permission to Become a Creative Novelist with Kyla Zhao

Ep. 31: Permission to Become a Creative Novelist with Kyla Zhao

It was the summer of 2020, at the height of the pandemic, Kyla Zhao (@kylazhao) was living alone in California while completing her last year at Stanford University. Being all alone for months and not being able to unite with her family in Singapore led her to turn to books for comfort. During the height of anti-Asian racism, Kyla realized that many of the books she read did not feature characters of color with whom she could relate to. This realization inspired Kyla to write her own book—one that features an entirely Asian cast of characters and is set in her hometown of Singapore. Although Kyla never thought she would publish her book, after completing her entire draft in 3 months, she eventually found an amazing agent and publisher who believed in her story and in Asian representation.

In this interview with Kyla, she shares with us her journey to becoming a creative novelist, from her early exposure working at fashion magazines such as Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Tatler, how the pandemic inspired her to write her first novel, how she managed to complete her draft in 3 months, how she found an agent who believed in her work and eventually received multiple offers from major book publishers, and finally her tips and advice for aspiring Asian American female writers!

About Kyla: 

Kyla is a lifestyle writer, fashion journalist, and author of her first debut novel, The Fraud Squad, a story about a working-class woman who worked her way into high society in order to get her dream job at a posh magazine and the world that unfolded from there. She grew up in Singapore and moved to California to attend Stanford University and majored in psychology and communications. She graduated in 2021 and has been working at a tech company in Silicon Valley since. But before that, she worked at several fashion magazines such as Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Tatler, which brought her up close with the glitz and glamor of high society. In addition to The Fraud Squad, she has two more books coming out in the next two years, another adult novel and a children’s novel.

To connect with Kyla: 

Check out her book, The Fraud Squad: https://kylazhao.com/the-fraud-squad/

Twitter: @kylazhao_

TikTok: @kylazingaround

Instagram: @kylajzhao

Email: kyla@kylazhao.com

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Jan 22, 202352:17
Ep. 30: Yi Lin Pei, Permission to Create Your Soul Hustle

Ep. 30: Yi Lin Pei, Permission to Create Your Soul Hustle

In this episode, I interviewed Yi Lin Pei, who is the director of product marketing at Teachable, an edtech start-up in New York City. At Teachable, Yi Lin and her team help build products that transform experiences and know-how into thriving businesses. In her spare time, Yi Lin is also a tech career coach (www.techgrowthcoach.com) who is helping high-achieving individuals find and land their dream jobs. She has 11 years of experience across various tech companies in Silicon Valley and New York. She is also a mother to an 8 months old daughter.

In this episode, you will learn about:

  • Yi’s unconventional upbringing and how she embraced her racial identity, growing up as an Asian woman in Zambia and later immigrating to the U.S. when she was 16.
  • How she made her career pivot, after realizing she was unhappy and unfulfilled in her first job before transitioning to product marketing.
  • How she started her “soul hustle” in the midst of the pandemic in 2020.
  • Three core value lessons that she learned from her career pivots and creating her soul hustle.

Links:

This podcast episode is sponsored by Audible: Go to https://www.audibletrial.com/permissiontobecome to get 1 month free trial!

Follow this podcast on Instagram @permissiontobecome for the latest updates! Also, if you love this podcast, I'd love for you to leave a comment or review on Apple Podcast. I'd love to hear from you!

Apr 27, 202241:37
Ep. 29: Elena Chen, Permission to Create Self-Worth

Ep. 29: Elena Chen, Permission to Create Self-Worth

In this episode, I invited Elena Chen onto the podcast. 

Elena is a lead product manager for Google Play Points Rewards, the loyalty program of Google Play, a multi-billion dollar marketplace. Outside of work, she is passionate about sharing her learnings about PM leadership and people empowerment with a broader audience. She is an ICF-certified leadership coach and a Youtuber. Prior to Google, she was an investment banker at J.P. Morgan and Credit Suisse. She holds an MBA and a Master of Education degree from Stanford University.

I loved Elena's radical honesty, humility and self-awareness that transpired through this episode, as we chatted about her "typical Chinese upbringing", working in the finance world and finding herself not happy nor fulfilled, going on the soul-searching journey that eventually led her to Stanford GSB, starting a coaching business, and being a Product Manager at Google. More importantly, we talked about her inner journey of wrestling with her tension between her need for safety and spaciousness and balancing her analytical, problem-solving nature with her empathy and creativity. Finally, Elena shared with us her secret to building self-worth that completely changed her life. 

Links: 

This podcast episode is sponsored by

Audible: Go to https://www.audibletrial.com/permissiontobecome to get 1 month free trial!

Follow this podcast on Instagram @permissiontobecome for the latest updates! Also, if you love this podcast, I'd love for you to leave a comment or review on Apple Podcast. I'd love to hear from you!

Apr 14, 202250:50
Ep. 28: Ann Shen, Permission to Create Your Own Path

Ep. 28: Ann Shen, Permission to Create Your Own Path

In this episode, I am so excited to have Ann Shen (@anndanger) on the podcast. Ann Shen is an illustrator, letterer, and best-selling author based in Los Angeles. With over 10 years of industry experience, Ann has worked with major clients, such as Disney, Adobe, NY Times and she’s designed everything from theme park artwork to fashion doll packaging. She has written and illustrated 3 best-selling books and has been featured on Forbes, Huffington Post, and many other major press journals.

I first came to learn about Ann and her work during my year of career sabbatical, when I decided to embark on my own journey of becoming, to find and reclaim my true self. On that journey, I found her books, especially Legendary Ladies, 50 Goddesses to Empower and Inspire You, to have helped me reclaim my own femininity and personal power as a woman. I also fell in love with her illustrations that captured the magic of our imagination, creative play, and beauty.

In this episode, we will be diving into her own journey of becoming and how she gave herself the permission to CREATE HER OWN PATH.

In addition to writing and illustrating three best-selling books: Bad Girls Throughout History (2016), Legendary Ladies (2018), Nevertheless, She Wore It (2020), all published by Chronicle Books, Ann will be releasing her 4th book, called Revolutionary Women, on October 18th!!

Links:

This podcast episode is sponsored by

Follow this podcast on Instagram @permissiontobecome for the latest updates! Also, if you love this podcast, I'd love for you to leave a comment or review on Apple Podcast. I'd love to hear from you!

If you are seeking more support from other women who are walking on a similar journey, I'd like to invite you to join the free Permission to Become Community!

Mar 23, 202251:30
Ep. 27: Sha Hurley, Permission to Create Personal Power

Ep. 27: Sha Hurley, Permission to Create Personal Power

In this episode, I invited Sha Hurley (@sha.hurley)on the podcast. Sha is currently a global program manager at Google. Outside of her professional career, she also runs a holistic coaching program where she helps women who are burnt out to achieve self-mastery and personal fulfillment.

In this episode, we dived into Sha's own healing journey, as she navigated through her own shadows, the shadows of her emotions, and eventually emerged as an empowered woman who has not only discovered her true self, her soul purpose but also founded her soul-aligned business to support other women on their path of becoming. I hope you enjoy this episode as we tune in to hear Sha's incredible journey! 

Sha’s Bio:

Sha Hurley (@sha.hurley) is passionate about transformation, both digital and self transformations.

By day, Sha is a Global Program Manager & Digital Transformation Advisor at Google Cloud helping hi-potential digital-native companies and F500 companies accelerate growth and impact.

By weekend and night, Sha guides compassionate and creative women in Tech who feel stuck, anxious or burned out to achieve self-mastery for an empowered, peaceful and purposeful life with her signature "Inner Peace Journey" 1:1 coaching program (https://shahurley.com/services/inner-peace/) as a certified Holistic Well-being & Leadership Coach and Yoga & Meditation Teacher. Her vision is "One peaceful, connected and empowered soul at a time for a better world and solid foundation for our next generations." More specifically, She aims to bring spirituality, well-being, and humanity to the Tech Corporate world through coaching, well-being workshops, yoga & meditation teaching. You can learn more at shahurley.com

I'm so excited to share that Sha is offering a special discount to her "Thrive Essential" offering on her website. Promo code: thrive2022. 

This podcast episode is sponsored by

Follow this podcast on Instagram @permissiontobecome for the latest updates! Also, if you love this podcast, I'd love for you to leave a comment or review on Apple Podcast. I'd love to hear from you!

If you are seeking more support from other women who are walking on a similar journey, I'd like to invite you to join the free Permission to Become Community!

Mar 08, 202243:56
Ep. 26: Maira Hernández, Permission to Create Aventura, Amor y Tacos

Ep. 26: Maira Hernández, Permission to Create Aventura, Amor y Tacos

In this episode, I am so excited to share with you this powerful conversation I had with Maira Hernández (@maira.hdez), an award-winning author of the book Aventura, Amor y Tacos (@aventura.amor.tacos), on her journey back to her motherland in Michoacán, México that became the turning point of her life and inspired her to write this book.

In this episode, Maira and I dived into:

  • Her bicultural upbringing and following the path she was supposed to be on
  • How her journey back to her motherland helped her reclaim her identity and purpose
  • How her cultural heritage empowered her to find her voice and the courage to write her book
  • Her 3 tips for those who are to embark on their own journey to reconnect with their raíces (roots)

Maira’s Bio:

Maira is an award-winning author, photographer, and self-proclaimed aventurera (adventurer). Born and raised in LA with roots in México, she helps people reconnect with their raíces (roots) to use the lessons from their cultural heritage to empower themselves to be badass individuals.

Links:

This podcast episode is sponsored by

  • Ana Luisa Jewelry: Go to https://shop.analuisa.com/permissiontobecome. They are a conscious luxury jewelry brand with affordable prices starting at $39. Right now, their jewelry is at buy one, get one 40% off.
  • Audible: Go to https://www.audibletrial.com/permissiontobecome to get 1 month free trial! In 2021, I was able to complete 62 books by listening to audiobooks on my daily walks and long drives, thanks to Audible!

Follow this podcast on Instagram @permissiontobecome for the latest updates! Also, if you love this podcast, I'd love for you to leave a comment or review on Apple Podcast. I'd love to hear from you!

If you are seeking more support from other women who are walking on a similar journey, I'd like to invite you to join the free Permission to Become Community!

Feb 16, 202251:16
Ep. 25: Julia Kestner - Permission to Create Purpose-Driven Art

Ep. 25: Julia Kestner - Permission to Create Purpose-Driven Art

In this episode, I am so excited to introduce Julia Kestner (@juliakestnerdesigns), an Asian American illustrator who uses her creative voice to uplift social justice movements by creating art that focuses on important issues such as mental health, gender equality, women’s rights, and racial justice. 

In this episode, Julia and I dived into: 

  • Julia’s experience with finding her identity and a sense of belonging as a biracial, growing up in Japan and later moving to the U.S. 
  • How she found her purpose through art 
  • How she broke through the “model minority myth” and found her voice and courage to share her creative work How she defines success as a Creator 
  • How gave herself the permission to leave her 9-5 to pursue art as a full-time entrepreneur 

Julia’s Bio: 

Julia is an illustrator with a passion for creating purpose-driven art. She strives to use her creative voice to uplift social justice movements and envision a better world. She enjoys creating work that’s focused around important issues such as mental health, social justice, women’s rights, and gender equality. She strives to normalize inclusion in the illustration world by creating positive, empowering, and uplifting artwork that not only inspires her audience, but also helps create lasting and meaningful change. 

Links: 

  • Website: https://www.juliakestnerdesigns.com/ 
  • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliakestnerdesigns/ 
  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JuliaKestnerDesigns/ 

This podcast episode is sponsored by 

  • Ana Luisa Jewelry: Go to https://shop.analuisa.com/permissiontobecome. They are a conscious luxury jewelry brand with affordable prices starting at $39. Right now, their jewelry is at buy one, get one 40% off.  
  • Audible: Go to https://www.audibletrial.com/permissiontobecome to get 1 month free trial! In 2021, I was able to complete 62 books by listening to audiobooks on my daily walks and long drives, thanks to Audible! 

Follow this podcast on Instagram @permissiontobecome for the latest updates! Also, if you love this podcast, I'd love for you to leave a comment or review on Apple Podcast. I'd love to hear from you! 

If you are seeking more support from other women who are walking on a similar journey, I'd like to invite you to join the free Permission to Become Community!

Feb 02, 202248:30
Season 3: Permission to Become the Creator of Your Life
Feb 01, 202202:30
Ep. 24: Permission to Belong: A Conversation on Racial Healing and Finding Our Way Back to Love, Truth, and Authentic Connections

Ep. 24: Permission to Belong: A Conversation on Racial Healing and Finding Our Way Back to Love, Truth, and Authentic Connections

“True belonging is the spiritual practice of believing in and belonging to yourself so deeply that you can share your most authentic self with the world and find sacredness in both being a part of something and standing alone in the wilderness. True belonging doesn’t require you to change who you are; it requires you to be who you are.” ― Brené Brown, Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone 

“Belonging is the opposite of loneliness. It’s a feeling of home, of “I can exhale here and be fully myself with no judgment or insecurity.” Belonging is about shared values and responsibility, and the desire to participate in making your community better. It’s about taking pride, showing up, and offering your unique gifts to others. You can’t belong if you only take.” ― Radha Agrawal, Belong: Find Your People, Create Community, and Live a More Connected Life 

Resources: 

Books on Social Justice & Racial Healing: 

  • The Racial Healing Handbook: Practical Activities to Help You Challenge Privilege, Confront Systemic Racism, and Engage in Collective Healing by Anneliese A. Singh 
  • The Inner Work of Racial Justice: Healing Ourselves and Transforming Our Communities Through Mindfulness by Rhonda Magee 
  • Me & White Supremacy 
  • Radical Compassion & Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach 

Books on Asian American Experiences: 

  • Minor Feelings by Cathy Hong Park 
  • Model Breakers by Charlene Wang 
  • Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner 
  • The Making of Asian America by Erika Lee 
  • Eat a Peach by David Chang 

Books on Belonging 

  • Belong: Find Your People, Create Community, and Live a More Connected Life by Radha Agrawal 
  • The Art of Community: Seven Principles for Belonging by Charles H. Vogl 
  • The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker 

AAPI Organizations 

  • AAPI Women Lead 
  • Asian Mental Health Collective  
  • Asian American Feminist Collective 


This podcast episode is sponsored by 

  • Ana Luisa Jewelry: Go to https://shop.analuisa.com/permissiontobecome to get 10% off your order
  • Audible: Go to https://www.audibletrial.com/permissiontobecome to get 1 month free trial! 


Dec 21, 202122:12
Ep. 23: Paje Rey, Permission to Become Financially Free

Ep. 23: Paje Rey, Permission to Become Financially Free

In this episode, I interviewed Paje Rey (@pajerey) who is a business management coach. She works with heart-centered individuals and entrepreneurs to remove unnecessary money blocks.

In this episode, we dived into:

  • Working through her financial identity and money blocks from her upbringing in Manila
  • How her 1st year of marriage changed her financial situation
  • Moving from a 9-5 minimum wage job to becoming a business coach and entrepreneur
  • Her path to creative passive income and becoming financially free
  • Her Healthy Holy Money Flow 5-step process

If you enjoyed this podcast, I’d love for you to rate or leave a review on Apple podcast!

Paje Rey's Manifesto:

I'm on a mission to shift the culture one home at a time by ending unnecessary pain and baggage related to money.

I envision heart-centered coaches and driven individuals becoming successful Entrepreneurs!

I’m inspired to lead and help others make a relevant impact in the new economy so we can contribute to the future generation while giving ourselves the chance to experience and turn our own dreams into our reality.

I'm shifting the culture, one family, at a time by empowering others to live courageously, generously, and abundantly.

Parents and children alike live free from fear and stress caused by money.

As a community, we focus on things that truly matter - faith, family, health. We are achieving things without making the wrong sacrifices.

Links:

Nov 11, 202155:18
Ep. 22: Holly Emmerson - Permission to Become a Dream Oracle

Ep. 22: Holly Emmerson - Permission to Become a Dream Oracle

In this episode, I am so excited to interview Holly Emmerson (@DreamOracleHolly), a dream oracle who has a unique ability to channel Spirit and the Universe while asleep in the Dream World. Personally, I had been fascinated by dreams for a long time. At the same time, despite the number of vivid and mystical dreams I’ve experienced, dreams to me are somewhat of a black box.

In this episode, Holly and I dived into the following:

  • What is a Dream Oracle and how Holly awakened her unique gift through a special trip to Egypt and an Akashic Records reading
  • Holly’s own healing journey that allowed her to leave her corporate job, claim her gift and step into her mission of re-awakening this gift in humanity
  • What is the Dream World and why do most people struggle to remember their dreams?
  • What is the purpose of our dreams and how can dreams help us remove blocks and barriers in our conscious mind?
  • Why do we astral travel during dreams?
  • And many more!!

If you are interested in learning more about how to decode your own dreams, you can access Holly’s FREE GUIDE to understand your personal dream language!

She will also open enrollment to her Dream Oracle School in November so be sure to sign up for her waitlist!

Holly’s Bio:

Holly Emmerson is a Dream Oracle and helps others manifest their goals and desires. She has a unique ability to channel Spirit and The Universe while asleep in the Dream World.

In the Dream World, she receives answers to her clients questions, gains guidance, and finds their unsupportive subconscious blocks, all to support their healing journey. By healing and removing these blocks, living a more aligned life becomes easier and allows the flow of abundance, joy, love or whatever her clients desire to manifest.

Holly is also the Founder of Dream Oracle School where she teaches other how to use dreams as a tool for spiritual awakening, learn their personal dream language and perhaps unlock their own unique abilities as a Dream Oracle.

She also shares channeled Dream Oracle messages for the collective on her Youtube channel and Instagram.

Links:

Oct 20, 202101:00:01
BONUS Ep. 21: Permission to Dance with Grief with @dianalives

BONUS Ep. 21: Permission to Dance with Grief with @dianalives

In Rising Strong, Brene Brown wrote, “We run from grief because loss scares us, yet our hearts reach toward grief because the broken parts want to mend… When grief is part of your story, it needs to be held to be healed. We cannot heal what has not been processed, and it takes time to move through the pain of loss and grief.”

In this episode, I invited life empowerment coach, Diana (@dianalives), for a powerful bonus session on GRIEF: 

  1. What is grief and why do we fear grief?
  2. What is the importance of grief and grieving, especially for healing?
  3. How can one properly grieve? How can we create rituals that help us grieve and let go?

Diana's Bio: 

Diana H. Wayne (@dianalives) is a Life Empowerment Coach on a mission to help women heal their life challenges to live their authentic soulfully aligned life. After losing two of her sisters 15 months apart Diana went on a mission to uncover how to navigate grief and answer the age old question: What is the purpose of Life? Today, Diana coaches clients over the world to heal failed relationships, traumas, careers, and grief, by using the power of mindset, practical psychology, and spirituality. She lives in San Francisco, CA with her husband Toby.

Links: 

Oct 01, 202121:00
Ep. 20: Ksenia Sita, Permission to Become The Sublime Woman

Ep. 20: Ksenia Sita, Permission to Become The Sublime Woman

In this episode, I am so excited to interview Ksenia Sita (@kseniadevisita), the creator of The Sublime Woman (@thesublimewoman), a blog dedicated to all things related to femininity, from definitions of feminine energies and archetypes to ancient feminine wisdoms and practices.

In this episode, we dived into

  • Ksenia’s journey into her own femininity
  • What inspired her to start the blog The Sublime Woman
  • How to connect with your femininity through moon cycles
  • How to tap into the power of your womb and yoni steaming
  • Her top practices on how to preserve the sacred feminine energy

I hope you will enjoy this conversation! 

Ksenia’s Bio:

Ksenia Sita is the feminine woman behind The Sublime Woman blog. She is also an energy healer, certified Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultant, and aspiring Vedic astrologer. She is passionate about ways we can cultivate, maintain and learn about femininity.

Links: 

Sep 29, 202148:15
Ep. 19: Anna Choi, Permission to Become a Conscious Entrepreneur

Ep. 19: Anna Choi, Permission to Become a Conscious Entrepreneur

In this episode, I invited Anna Choi, the founder and CEO (Chief Energy Officer) of Conscious Business Coaching to share with us her journey to becoming a conscious entrepreneur and her path to spirituality. Her mission is to empower the next generation of global conscious leaders to better energetically align so they can grow with more flow. Yes, business and spirituality can co-exist!

In this activating conversation, Anna and I dived deep into

  • Her upbringing as the “token Asian” in the U.S. Midwest
  • Choosing between the traditional corporate route v. entrepreneurial route
  • Her journey into spiritual entrepreneurship and seeking the “ultimate Truth”
  • Her wisdom on how to find one’s purpose and get past the root of resistance
  • How she found her her inner martial artistry of balancing the yin with yang in the over “yang-ified” world
  • The A.L.I.V.E. model that she uses to coach her clients to shift from hustle and grind to creating more space and time
  • How to PIVOT and transition in time of chaos using the “Yes Yes Hell No” framework

Resources:

Anna’s Bio:

Anna S. Choi’s promise is to elevate humanity's consciousness serving high achieving conscious leads to find peace in chaos, master their energy, and embody their brilliance. As a broke art major with zero experience or connections, she started and sold her first financial planning business grossing six figures by age 25. Burned out from the hustle and grind, she became an Energy Master, martial artist, and qigong yoga instructor serving hundreds of conscious leaders over the past two decades. A Forbes Author, TEDx Speaker, and homeschool mom, she loves to sing on her ukulele, cook vegan meals, and dance.

Links:

Website: https://www.annasunchoi.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annasunchoi/


For more info, follow your host Joyce Bao on Instagram @permissiontobecome

Sep 22, 202147:42
Ep. 18: Dr. Margaret Li, Permission to Find Your True Self - a conversation with clinical psychologist about the multicultural approach to embracing one's identity
Aug 02, 202151:56
Ep. 17: Permission to Create JOY
Jul 26, 202118:48
Ep. 16: Permission to Embrace Your Shadow Self
Jul 19, 202119:12
Ep. 15: Christy "ChiChi" Yip - Permission to Choose Yourself, From 9-5 to Becoming a Solopreneur and Coaching Women on Body and Nutrition Empowerment
Jul 12, 202150:44
Ep. 14: Jen Cui - Permission to Reclaim Your Freedom, Journey from Breakdown to Breakthrough and Becoming a Holistic Life Coach

Ep. 14: Jen Cui - Permission to Reclaim Your Freedom, Journey from Breakdown to Breakthrough and Becoming a Holistic Life Coach

In this episode, Jen Cui, a holistic life coach shares her riveting and transformative story from struggling with her mental health breakdown to turning her life around to become a holistic life coach and mental health advocate.

*Trigger Warning: This episode contains content around mental health issues, related to trauma/PTSD, depression and suicide, that may be alarming to some listeners. Please check the show notes for more detailed descriptions and take care of yourself.

In this episode, Jen shares with us:

  • How being a high-achieving perfectionist at a young age impacted her self-worth
  • Her mental health journey from struggling with social anxiety and feeling disconnected to having her first panic attack
  • How her hospitalization experience in college became the turning point of her life
  • Her road to reclaiming her freedom and how her story abroad experience in Australia brought joy into her life and inspired her to start her own business
  • Her morning rituals, non-negotiables and daily habits and tips that provided agency in her life

Jen’s Bio:

Jen Cui is a holistic life coach and the ultimate hype woman helping women fall in love with themselves so they can confidently live life on their own terms.

She coaches women through self-doubt, perfectionism, and their fears using her proven methodology, ultimately allowing clients to feel less stress, be more present, satisfied in themselves, and heighten their overall quality of life.

Jen is also the host of the Find Your Freedom podcast, which is dedicated to helping women tap into their own intuition and up-level their lives.

Links:

Website: jencui.com

Instagram: @jencuihealth

For more info on the host, visit www.permissiontobecome.com and follow Joyce on Instagram @permissiontobecome!

Jul 08, 202101:13:47
Ep. 13: Permission to Follow Your Desires
Jul 01, 202114:36
Ep. 12: Abby Wen Wu, Permission to Feel
May 31, 202101:08:01
Ep. 11: Amy Yip, Permission to Be Authentic

Ep. 11: Amy Yip, Permission to Be Authentic

In this episode, I had the honor of interviewing Amy Yip, a transformation life coach focused on helping Asian American women become the author of their own lives and empower them to let go of "shoulds" & confidently own their worth.

After 16+ years of corporate life, most recently at Google, she found the narrative that she wanted to write for herself and followed that path. In 2020, she took a bold action and left the corporate world and is currently coaching remarkable women whilst volunteering and traveling around the world with her husband.

I absolutely love Amy’s authenticity in this episode as we dived into vulnerable conversations about fertility, quitting a corporate job, redefining success while unraveling our identity as an Asian American woman in the midst of cultural clashes, exploring femininity and overcoming challenges in interracial relationship.

Tune into this episode as Amy shares with us invaluable and practical tips on how to get in touch with your needs, tap into your emotions and work with the stories in our head to connect compassionately with ourselves, our needs & desires and our partners.

Resources mentioned: 

You can connect with Amy via her website: https://amyyipcoaching.com/ 

Amy also hosts a FREE monthly Asian Pacific American Real Talks series, where she creates a space space for Asian Americans to come together and have REAL conversations and explore the typically taboo topics within the APA community. Register here: APARealTalks.com

May 25, 202159:53
Ep. 10: Jun Yi, Permission to Become Ordinary

Ep. 10: Jun Yi, Permission to Become Ordinary

May 10, 202153:05
Ep. 9: Turning Perfectionism into Permission

Ep. 9: Turning Perfectionism into Permission

In this episode, I will be talking about 

  1. Different ways perfectionism shows up in our lives 
  2. How perfectionism is actually fear-in-disguise, preventing us from taking action 
  3. How you can break the pattern of perfectionism and turn that into your permission to become the truth of you are 
Apr 26, 202118:02
Ep. 8: Season 2: Permission to BLOOM into your true essence, my story to becoming
Apr 19, 202137:60
Ep. 7: Iris Guo, Permission to Become a Sustainopreneur & Founder of Neutrify - a conversation on creating social change and the power of storytelling

Ep. 7: Iris Guo, Permission to Become a Sustainopreneur & Founder of Neutrify - a conversation on creating social change and the power of storytelling

Episode Description:

In this episode, I interviewed Iris Guo, a truly inspirational Asian American Gen Z woman, who is taking huge strides towards making social impact via OpenMeal and Neutrify by alleviating hunger, addressing racial injustice for the Asian American community, and raising awareness to reduce carbon footprint and save our planet!

In this episode, we dived into Iris’ upbringing in China and how she decided to move to Canada when she was 17 because she wanted to live a different life than what was prescribed by her society.

This is a super insightful episode as Iris shared her wisdom on:

  • How she broke out of peer pressure and social norms to create her own path
  • How she integrated cultural values from China to building relationships and human connection
  • How she overcame imposter syndrome and self-doubt through drama and improv
  • The power of storytelling and the secret sauce to crafting a powerful story that influences other people to take action, including her own story of turning “rejection into redirection” and landing her dream job at Google X

You can get in touch with Iris via social media channels if you are interested to learn more about Neutrify or her career path.

If you are interested in learning more about Iris' company, Neutrify, check out the website (https://mailchi.mp/c11c1b6d22f8/neutrify-launch) and if you'd like to support her initiative in climate change, check out this survey (https://form.typeform.com/to/I8TNWEgY).

If you have any comments or feedback on what resonated with you on this episode, I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to email me at hello@permissiontobecome.com.

Mar 11, 202155:45
Ep. 6: Ammarah Maqsood, Permission to Become a Feminine Philanthropist - a conversation on how women are changing the paradigms of power, privilege and wealth

Ep. 6: Ammarah Maqsood, Permission to Become a Feminine Philanthropist - a conversation on how women are changing the paradigms of power, privilege and wealth

In this episode, I interviewed Ammarah Maqsood, a human rights and gender justice activist and feminine philanthropist.

In this episode, we dived into Ammarah’s own journey of challenging the traditional paradigms and standing up for her truth as the only daughter in her South Asian family and a minority in a predominantly white neighborhood. As a female warrior goddess with the heart of an Aquarius, Ammarah shares her passion for human rights, social and gender justice and how she defined her own success as a woman of color and is redefining the world of philanthropy, wealth and power dynamics through the lens of femininity.

As we dive in conversations around gender justice, wealth decolonization and privilege, this might be an uncomfortable conversation for some. Part of discovering and living our truth is to step into the discomfort and get vulnerable.

Show details:

  • Ammarah talks about her own upbringing in a household of 3 older brothers, defying traditional model minority ideals and the expectations on women in South Asian culture
  • How Ammarah found her early passions for social justice and international human rights in high school
  • How she decided to quit her law school path and carved her own path in the social impact / nonprofit sector where she did not have a blueprint and nor were there mentors of her skin color
  • How she stood up for her authentic self despite strong opposing forces and social pressures that tried to conform her
  • How she is redefining and leading social impact in gender and social justice, youth literacy, women empowerment and decolonizing wealth in her nonprofit career

Resources mentioned in this episode:

You can get in touch with Ammarah via LinkedIn if you are interested to learn more about feminine philanthropy.

If you have any comments or feedback on what resonated with you on this episode, I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to email me at hello@permissiontobecome.com.


Feb 26, 202155:14
Ep. 5: Cindy Gu, Permission to Become a Feminine Energy Coach - On Becoming Your Own Heroine and Reclaim Your Femininity

Ep. 5: Cindy Gu, Permission to Become a Feminine Energy Coach - On Becoming Your Own Heroine and Reclaim Your Femininity

Episode Description:

This is a very special interview I conducted with Cindy Gu, feminine energy coach (@the.femininecoach). In this episode, we went into the deep end of Cindy’s heroine journey, of how she transformed her deepest wounds into incredible personal power that ultimately propelled her to find her soul purpose. Now she is on a bold mission to elevate femininity and help women find inner alignment, abundance, and freedom.

In this episode, we talked about:

  • Cindy’s first 15 years growing up in Beijing with both traditional and modern Chinese values
  • Her early fascinations with Taoist philosophies
  • Being born as a daughter in China’s One Child Policy and “the son her father never had”
  • How her move to America and how that affected her sense of self
  • Her decade of becoming and the dance of femininity and masculine pursuits
  • How her journey of being a femtech founder who brought yoga off the mat into everyday life led to her true purpose in life

You can find Cindy here:

Instagram: @the.femininecoach

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gucindy/

Also, Cindy is generously offering the Permission to Become podcast listener a free 1:1 alignment session with her. Here is the link to complete an assessment prior to booking the session: https://www.thefemininecoach.com/assessment


If you have any comments or feedback on what resonated with you on this episode, I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to email me at hello@permissiontobecome.com.

Instagram: @permissiontobecome

Website: permissiontobecome.com

Feb 10, 202157:22
Ep. 4: Christian Ou, Permission to Become a Food Blogger - On Following Your Passion, "One Happy Bite" at a Time

Ep. 4: Christian Ou, Permission to Become a Food Blogger - On Following Your Passion, "One Happy Bite" at a Time

Episode Description:

In this episode, I interviewed Christian Ou, the founder of One Happy Bite, a baking blog that features Asian-inspired ingredients, such as matcha, ube, and taro in traditional western baking.

In this episode, we talked about how Christian became a self-taught baker from her college dorm and later turned her passion into what is now her blog, One Happy Bite, with almost 5,000 followers on Instagram (@onehappybite).

Show notes:

  • How food played a role in her Asian American upbringing, where food is the default love language in her family.
  • Her early food inspirations, from witnessing her family run a restaurant business firsthand to being enamored with Asian ingredients during her childhood in Taiwan.
  • Her decision process on choosing a career as a physician assistant and how she stumbled upon baking, that quickly grew to become her obsession.
  • How she started her baking blog, One Happy Bite, in Jan 2020 and the productivity hack she came up with to overcome her biggest barrier, time, while working a full -time job.
  • How she defines “success” for her passion.

Resources mentioned:

You can find Christian here:

Blog: https://onehappybite.com/

Instagram: @onehappybite


If you have any comments or feedback on what resonated with you on this episode, I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to email me at hello@permissiontobecome.com.

Follow us on Instagram: @permissiontobecome

Jan 25, 202149:17
Ep. 3: Hillary Jeanne, Permission to Become a Brand Photographer - On Turning a Side Hustle to a Purpose-Driven Personal Branding Photography Business
Jan 11, 202146:06
Ep. 2: Brenda Chen, Permission to Become a Real Estate Investor

Ep. 2: Brenda Chen, Permission to Become a Real Estate Investor

Episode Description:

In this episode, we will be diving into Brenda’s journey from being a premed at Cal to becoming a real estate investor, founder of Venus Ventures, life enthusiast and adventure capitalist. She currently works as the Head of Sales at Conventus, personalized financing for real estate investors. 

In this episode, we will talk about:

  • Brenda’s bicultural upbringing as a Taiwanese American
  • Shifting her belief from “you have to work hard and sacrifice in order to succeed” to choosing a life doing what she loves
  • How she found the courage to step into the unknown
  • Her process of tapping into her desires, experimenting, and creating a powerful vision that propelled her into her dream life
  • How she got into real estate and how she turned her passion into a career that makes money

You can find Brenda here:

Email: brenda.t.chen@gmail.com

Website: https://brendatchen.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brendachen.re/


Resources:

In this episode, Brenda shared some of her inspirations and powerful tools she’s used:

If you have any comments or feedback on what resonated with you on this episode, I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to email me at hello@permissiontobecome.com.

Follow us on Instagram: @permissiontobecome

Dec 20, 202042:42
Ep. 1: Charlene Wang, Permission to Become a Model Breaker

Ep. 1: Charlene Wang, Permission to Become a Model Breaker

In this episode, we will be diving into Charlene’s journey from being a software engineer and later product manager at Google to becoming a life coach, writer, and author of Model Breakers.

In this episode, we will talk about:

  • Charlene’s early inspirations and childhood passion for the spirit of creation
  • Balancing the immigrant mentality of “you gotta survive before you can thrive” with carving out a path for her creative explorations early in her career
  • Overcoming the “achievement paradox” and stepping into her permission to become her true self after a scary wake-up call
  • How she overcame her biggest fear and combatted procrastination?
  • How to talk to shame, “the nasty roommate you had to live with”
  • How she got clarity on what she truly wanted in her life
  • What inspired her to start writing the book “model breakers”

Charlene Wang is a model breaker. She is the founder of LivingOS, an online community dedicated to helping high achievers get more out of life. Charlene has spent years coaching high achievers and her pioneering coaching practice has helped startup founders, angel investors, and seasoned operators find their true values and motivations in life. She wrote this book, “Model Breakers” to break the model minority stereotype and change the Chinese immigrant narrative at scale. Charlene currently works as a product manager at Google and lives in the Bay Area with her fiancé and is a bit obsessed with oolong tea. You can connect with Charlene Wang at charlene@hey.com

Resource links:

If you have any comments or feedback on what resonated with you on this episode, I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to email me at hello@permissiontobecome.com.

Follow us on Instagram: @permissiontobecome

Dec 17, 202043:49
Introducing Permission to Become

Introducing Permission to Become

In this episode, you will learn about my 3 Why's for starting this podcast. I will share with you my inspiration for choosing the name for this podcast. I will also  share why I wanted to create this podcast on Asian American women defying permission and why this podcast might be interesting to you. Thank you so much for tuning into this podcast and I hope you will enjoy! 

Dec 10, 202006:20