Hey, Soulsters!
This week I am excited to be taking a bit of a detour … to share one singular story.
In my book, Scare Your Soul (huge thanks to the 8,673 amazing souls who've gotten their hands on a copy!), I shared the inspiring journeys of thirteen truly exceptional individuals.
One of these badass humans is Swan Sit.
Here is her story … in her own words.
“Career decisions are always hard.
Even more so when they make you question your entire identity and self- worth.
I had what most would consider a successful career in the corporate world. Having led digital marketing globally for companies like Nike, Revlon, and Estée Lauder, and with institutions like Bain, Harvard, and Columbia under my belt, I was proud of my accomplishments.
I felt seen, validated, and respected.
That seed was planted from a young age.
My parents didn’t have the privilege of attending high school and worked multiple jobs, so academics was imperative in our Asian tigerparent household.
An A‑minus was an Asian F, and Harvard was the only option.
An immigrant kid to the US, I rocked the standard- issue bowl haircut and big purple glasses and talked incessantly about space exploration.
Needless to say, I didn’t have a lot of friends, so I leaned even further into achievement.
It became a goal inseparable from my identity— my safety blanket.
That continued well into the corporate world, as I built a textbook resume. I secretly felt pride when people asked about my job or alma mater, and I was rewarded with due respect. It served me well, getting me progressively better roles and bigger stages worldwide.
I thought I’d played it all right.
A few years ago, I landed everyone’s dream job with one of the best brands in the world, a household name in every single country.
I was running the largest team I’d ever helmed. I got thousands of congratulatory messages.
It was perfect— the ultimate reward for a career’s worth of hard work. I should have been elated. This should have fed my inner achievement monster beyond my wildest dreams.
Yet nothing fit.
The culture, people, function, location— this was meant to be my forever job, and I was miserable every day. It was hard to get up for work in the mornings. Hard to walk into meetings and not feel like an outsider or imposter. I wasn’t performing to half of my potential.
But overachievers don’t quit!
The irony is this isn’t a story about leaving. That was inevitable.
But it was the aftermath of the decision that was even harder. It was the first time I’d finished a role without another lined up, and the ambiguity was debilitating. Was I really any good at this? What happens without a steady paycheck, especially as I’ve sent money home to my family every month since college?
Floating, searching, and without a title to introduce myself with, who was I, and what was my contribution to society?
I was lost, and it was the best thing that could have happened to me. To be asked, “What do you do?” and to answer, “I don’t know,” feels naked and vulnerable. But I sat with it. I stared it in the face and asked the tough questions with no one else around (one thing they don’t tell you when you leave the corporate world— when you don’t have brand budgets or access to parties anymore— you learn who your real friends are).
I could no longer draw my self- worth from my titles and accomplishments.
I was forced to figure out who I really was and my purpose in this world.
Origin stories.
That fragile inner child is who we protect, even as we grow into successful, confident adults.
I would probably have learned to code or gone to space if I’d thought it was possible, but I had no reference.
My purpose crystalized so clearly: to democratize information and access in ways I’d never had.
Four months later, I got on my first public company board, being decades younger than my peers, and then another. I advise a VC and a SPAC. I own an energy drink with teenage TikTok influencers.
And the craziest shift: I went from corporate to creator, with millions of followers.
I create content on anything I desire, unfiltered and honest. I’ve had the honor of interviewing people from Paris Hilton and Floyd Mayweather to the founders of Netflix, Android, and Twitch.
On my live shows, I’ve given away internships, startup funding, and recording contracts.
For this, Forbes dubbed me the “Queen of Clubhouse.”
I get to help shape the future of web3 and how we live and play. I now fully pursue curiosity without regard to achievement, but the latter has followed in spades.
And every day, I tell the world:
I still have no idea what I want to be when I grow up.”