Tag: personal development

One moment that permanently altered my brain chemistry was when…

Anna PengLeave a comment

I was 22.

It was a busy lunch rush.

Our kitchen team was slammed.

I had to go to the back to get 2 bowls of hot and sour soup for a customer.

Midway through my first bowl, it happened.

I got snapped at.

By one of our employees.

He told me to hurry up (because I was in his way).

I understood.

But I was also stressed.

And funny things happen when you’re stressed.

So I immediately made a trip to the washroom.

And I broke down.

Tears all over my face. 

That was the day I understood 2 things.

  1. How you treat others holds significant impact, so treat people well when you can
  2. 2. Employees contribute toward your work culture, so hire accordingly

ONE Thing to build your self confidence

Anna PengLeave a comment

I was a quiet art kid.

From 2015-2020, I found my confidence when I went to an arts school.

Now I’m 3 years into social media marketing at a fast food restaurant, where I’m feeling at the top of my own game. 

If I could go back to build my self confidence earlier,I would do this more often: 

Listen to the way you talk about yourself to yourself. 

If you don’t like the way you do self-talk, understand why, and change it.

For example, 

What I say: Nobody cares about the writing I put out 

My immediate response: There’s no point in writing something nobody wants to see

The change: Not everyone is supposed to care about what I write about. Actually, the success of my writing will stem from solely one person, which is myself. That’s it. If I can write about stuff that I care about, that’s enough.

Positive self talk is the smallest tweak that has made the largest impact on my self confidence. 

5 reasons you should start a creative habit

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All reasons are what I’ve found during or after writing for 1000+ days. 

Stemming from personal experience:

  1. It gives you an excuse to practice and develop a useful skill (in this case, writing)
  2. Creating purely for yourself is brings an unparalleled joy. No strings attached. No bosses to report to. It’s all you.
  3. The barrier of entry for things like writing, drawing, or designing is low. You don’t have to be talented or skilled to begin. All you need is the desire to create. 
  4. It can bring you random opportunities that change your life. It won’t be obvious at the beginning, but I can probably trace some cool things back to my daily writing. Like that time I went viral on LinkedIn (90k impressions on a single post)
  5. You will learn so much about yourself. Your interests will develop. The way you manage your time will change. You will give yourself chances to explore things you constantly used to put on the back burner.

Decisions

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Do I start my business today when I know nothing, or do I wait until I have enough experience?

Should I send those DMs or should I engage in comments instead?

Should I go back to school or spend time working?

Real estate or bitcoin?

Coffee or tea? 

How do you know whether or not you’ve made a good choice? 

The answer is straightforward. 

You’ll only know after you’ve acted on your decision. 

I’m turning 25 next month

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Here are 25 bite-sized lessons I’ve learned in my 25 years. 

  1. You can do anything you want
  2. You can’t *really* do anything you want, but you’d be surprised at the amount you can accomplish while at a young age
  3. Education is important
  4. School isn’t everything
  5. Be grateful of the most basics things you have and are capable of doing. That way, you will have an unparalleled perspective on life
  6. Always make time for personal creativity. It’s 100% worth pursuing
  7. Great friends can be hard to come by
  8. Not everyone has to understand your world through your own lens and opinions
  9. It is imperative to be smart with your money
  10. Consistency is a winning strategy
  11. If you choose to take a path less travelled, you’ll often feel like you’re all alone because most of your friends won’t understand
  12. Learn to differentiate between your own critic and your intended audience
  13. Do things you enjoy doing
  14. Time is precious
  15. Relationships are important
  16. Understand that you will have your entire lifespan 3 more times over in front of you
  17.  Doing > Thinking
  18. Stop stressing over things you cannot control
  19. Most things just aren’t *that* important. If it were, they would call
  20. Leading is hard
  21. Reading is fun
  22. You can follow your passions, work a full time job, and feel fulfilled at the same time
  23. The Pareto Principle: 20% of causes generates 80% of outcomes
  24. The chained elephant—be wary.
  25. Adults are people too 

Self-confidence is the most important asset to build as a creative. Here’s 3 reasons why

Anna PengLeave a comment

1. You will stop using time to second-guess yourself. 

Being in the creative industry is a game of doing and action. If I spent my last 2 years in second-guessing mode, I would not have been able to build up my parents’ business for them.

2. You’ll know that your work is good enough and worth sharing.

This was one of the biggest hurdles for me, because I used to think that the “bar” for sharing my work was when I thought it was good enough for my own standards. Turns out that’s not how the pros do it. 

3. You’ll be able to see the true value of your work (and not sell yourself short).

Listen.

Trying to make it as a creative is hard. 

The journey to self-confidence is hard. 

Luckily, you don’t have to do it alone. 

Self-confidence is one of the core assets we try to build up with everyone who joins us at The Habit Factory (which you can check out here).

Start intentionally building on your self-confidence, and you’ll make a positive impact on many facets of your life.

An Hour A Day Keeps the Creative Itch at Bay

Anna PengLeave a comment

If I told you that you only need 1 hour of your day to fulfill these 3 things:

  • Scratch a creative itch
  • Practice a new skill
  • Build your personal brand

—do your ears perk up?

And if I told you that you’d also be:

  • Connecting with new people
  • Developing your self confidence
  • Getting over irrational creative fears

—would you want to hear more? 

The above is the premise for a content writing workshop I’m looking to build by the end of the year. I really want to build this workshop, however I’m not yet sure how many people would be interested in joining. 

To ensure that there’s a real audience for this, I’ve started a mailing list of people who want in. So far there are 8 of you and growing. 

If you want to be a part of the process and join me in making this content writing workshop happen, sign up for the journey here: https://us7.admin.mailchimp.com/reports/summary?id=0300683ce1f0

I’ll be sending emails about updates, and I’ll be sure to bug you about what you want out of it too. 

Yours truly,

Anna

Why does personal growth costs so dang much?

Anna PengLeave a comment

Personal growth courses and workshops are expensive. 

That’s a fact. They’re not cheap. 

If you’re anything like me, you think these courses are extracurriculars. Meaning extra activities, non-necessary to every day routine. Not a necessary purchase.

However, if you keep thinking that these resources are extracurriculars, you’ll never take the leap and find different parts about yourself (this is exactly what happened the last time I didn’t enroll in a workshop I was interested in). 

Until you start thinking about your personal growth as a priority, things will remain the same. 

Shake things up (if you can afford it). 

P.S. The Habit Factory (we do workshops for creative people) is hosting a FREE 3 Day workshop for UX Designers looking to land their first role in the industry. Get interview-ready with us here: https://www.habitfactory.org/general-assembly-partnership

My Story of Starting A Creative Business

Anna PengLeave a comment

In 2015, Mikayla Koo and I met each other in class (it was Form & Structure). We didn’t talk much, but I thought Mikayla’s work was pretty neat.

The following couple of years were kind of a haze. I don’t recall ever having a chance to get to know this incredible human being (now business partner) until our final year in school.

In 2019, Mikayla and I found ourselves at OCAD University starting our 5th year of study. It was our thesis year, and again we found ourselves in the same class. 

Somewhere down the line that year, we met up in front of a white board and that’s when we really got to know each other. 

The following picture is a brainstorming session we did for what was the initial version of the Habit Factory (a 4-week passion-project bootcamp called Marathon). 

Believe it or not, I haven’t seen Mikayla in-person for 2 years but we’ve been working together since that day.

Now at the start of 2022, we took another step forward with our business, The Habit Factory. I’m proud to announce the launch of our newest workshop called the UX Interview Sprint. It’s specifically for UX designers and UX researchers looking to land their first serious role in the industry. We’ve got Mikayla Koo herself to lead the UX Research cohort, and Sydney Cooling-Sturges to lead the UX Design cohort. 

I’m beyond grateful to learn from these talented, hardworking folks. 

If you know anybody who would be interested in joining this UX Interview Sprint, please do them a favour and share this opportunity. It’s not everyday that we offer this workshop. In fact, there are only 3 seats available in each section because our team wants to give their full attention to our members. 

The UX Interview Sprint starts this January 17th. If you know of anybody who wants to register for their spot, the link is here: https://www.thehabitfactory.space/

If you’re reading this, I hope 2022 starts off on the right foot for you.