In episode 173, Erik and Kerel talk with return guest Lan Phan, Author of #DoThisDaily and CEO at community of SEVEN about her personal journey of writing a book about her life experiences of growing up in a family of Vietnamese refugees in California, working her way up to the C-suite at Fortune Magazine, eventually being laid off in the pandemic, and how through all of that she found success, happiness, and purpose in her life and work. In the corporate world, Lan was always a behind the scenes “doer,” an introvert. Since then, she has found her voice through building an audience totaling over 375,000 on LinkedIn and now serves people all over the world through her content, her book, and her company, community of SEVEN.

Since she was 12 years old Lan had a dream of writing a book and in this episode she talks about her process, mindset, how her daughter and mother were massive inspirations for the idea and her friend’s motivation helping her to finish it. Lan shares lessons she’s learned specifically over the past few years including taking action despite fear, overcoming impostor syndrome by building confidence through consistency, why this was the perfect time in her life to write her book, and how it’s so easy for comparison to keep us stuck. They also discuss why defining what matters and having a clear direction first is important to achieving happiness and success, and so much more.

“If you look at my posts, some of them have a million impressions, like, 5, 600 comments. It's in the comment section where people are talking to each other, not to me. And that's where community lives. It's not about them following me, it's about them curating this community where they are both teachers and learners. It's not about collecting followers. It's about, how do you become of service to other people?”

Timestamps

1:12 : Reflecting on the rapid changes in the world since Lan Phan’s last time on MRP, including the pandemic, layoffs, and social movements and also what the last straw was that motivated her to finish her new book #DoThisDaily

3:00 : Lan shares her journey of writing a book, overcoming obstacles through perseverance and the importance of taking up space and owning one's voice as a role model for her daughter.

5:02 : Lan emphasizes the importance of taking action despite fear and societal expectations, how writing daily helped her to overcome impostor syndrome and build confidence, and why this was the perfect time in her life to accomplish her goal since she was 12 years old of writing a book

8:46 : Lan reflects on her motivation to write her book including her family upbringing as Vietnamese refugees in California, sacrifices made by her mother for the family, the desire to break generational curses and setting a positive example for her daughter and the next generation.

12:18 : Lan speaks on personal growth looking different for everyone, growth happening even when you can’t see it and how comparison keeps us stuck

14:42 : Who #DoThisDaily was written for, the introverted doers, how readers can find success, happiness and purpose through self-expression and vulnerability, Lan’s journey of finding and living her purpose, wanting to help more people and democratizing training and development by making knowledge accessible to all

19:06 : Lan emphasizes the importance of defining what matters most to achieve happiness and create a clear direction in life, how mindset plays a crucial role in determining one's destiny, what consistency looks like, and taking care of one's health first and foremost

23:24 : Lan’s experience growing a community of over 375,000 on LinkedIn through intentionality and service and how she brings that to in-person events

28:18 : Where to connect with Lan Phan

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