What If It Did Work?
What If It Did Work?
Rising Beyond Limitations: Michelle Kuei's Journey of Resilience, Authenticity, and Empowerment
Michelle Kuei's story is nothing short of extraordinary. Growing up in Taiwan and later moving to America, Michelle's journey from immigrant to a sought-after international speaker and founder of Elevate Life Coaching is filled with resilience and determination. A life-altering accident at age 11 could have defined her, but Michelle transforms this into a narrative about challenging societal stigmas around disabilities and embracing identity beyond imposed labels. Her perspective on adversity is refreshing, showing us how perspective can turn life events into opportunities for growth.
Throughout the episode, Michelle takes us on her personal journey of growth and overcoming obstacles. From heartfelt stories of her family's quest for safety to humorous anecdotes from her solo adventures in Peru, Michelle shares the universal truths of empathy and perseverance. Her experiences as a clinical pharmacist further highlight the importance of learning and adapting in high-pressure situations, reinforcing the idea that life's lessons are continually unfolding. Cultural traditions and personal stories form a vivid backdrop, connecting us to deeper understandings of safety and belonging.
We cap off this inspiring episode by exploring authenticity in communication, especially in marketing and public speaking. Michelle's insights into the power of authentic storytelling help us understand how to craft a signature talk that resonates across diverse platforms. By embracing Michelle's 3D rule—determination, dedication, and discipline—we uncover how to empower change and silence negativity that holds us back. Her inspiring message encourages us to rise beyond limitations and pursue a purposeful life, proving that with resilience, we can truly soar like a Phoenix.
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I never told no one that my whole life I've been holding back. Every time I load my gun up so I can shoot for the star, I hear a voice like who do you think you are Michelle Kuei?
Speaker 2:She's an award-winning international speaker, visibility marketing coach, founder of Elevate Life Coaching, known for helping coaches sort of like me, speakers sort of like me create income-generating signature talks. Michelle is dedicated to empowering her clients to get seen, get heard and attract paying clients. Maybe we're going to have to talk about that during the episode too. Certified by IPEC, is a professional coach and is a woman-speak-circle leader. She combines storytelling with simplified marketing strategies through her profitable coach formula to build impactful, memorable brands. Michelle's journey from immigrant to accomplished entrepreneur is documented in her memoir Perfectly Normal, an Immigrant's Story of Making it in America. We're all immigrants, but I can't wait to read it A story that highlights her resilience and self-discovery. Her unique career path includes roles as Secretary of the United Nations, associated the Pasadena Chapter, clinical Pharmacist at USC's Keck Medical Center. That was my dream school. Usc enriches her coaching insights Featured in the LA Tribute Box Voyage LA and more. Michelle's work inspires coaches to build brands that connect and thrive Welcome.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much. I almost didn't recognize myself from that bio.
Speaker 2:Well, it's meant to mean you've. You could literally add more, because you know what you have overcome. You're an immigrant. Yeah, you know, there's such a stigma. I don't know why. My, my grandparents, are immigrants technically. My mom, my mom, is. She came here, though, at three months. But this country is a melting pot. It's built on immigrants, whether not that we're doing a political or social thing, but we have to look at the reason why we always grow as a country is because the immigrants are always hungry.
Speaker 3:I definitely agree, and I think, in terms of immigrant, we are all in the constant migration, right, even when we look at the United States, how it was created, it was originated, it all began when somebody else came from somewhere else. Right, and it's never. It's never. Right and it's never. It's never. We never born into a place that we live. We always strive and this is something about human nature too we always strive for the better a better version of ourselves, a better place to live, a better job, a better economy. Whatever that we look at, we're constantly in that migration and and we are immigrant in life and in business and everywhere that we see now.
Speaker 2:Did your family come here for economics or political? What was the reason behind them wanting to come to the my?
Speaker 3:my. My parents came to america for a better education and better opportunity and one of the things. So I was born in Taiwan. I grew up in Taiwan, for I lived in Taiwan for 15 years and we can talk about you know how.
Speaker 3:My accident actually happened in Taiwan when I was 11 years old, but for my first 15 years of my life I was living in Taiwan and my parents came to America because they were looking for better opportunity. They were looking for better education, and it's a very competitive environment in Asia, in Taiwan, in China, because everyone wants their daughter, their son, to be doctors, lawyers, and so it's a very competitive environment where if you are, for some reason, not meeting up with that expectation right, then you become almost like the second citizen, and they saw that as an opportunity. So they want their kids, us, to have that opportunity, have the equal opportunity, and a lot of times in Taiwan, especially for someone who has disability, you're looking at the less opportunity there is, and even within, basically within any country that we live in, if you have some type of visible disability or invisible disability, it puts you to a place where you probably won't have the equal opportunity as someone else.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Agreed, Agreed. In fact, I think the ADA laws I always thought they were around from like the 1930s and 1940s, and it wasn't until I saw a movie on Ron Livingston. I think the ADA laws became into effect in the 80s, correct?
Speaker 3:I believe so yeah, it's not that long ago, but do people abide to it? Do people? I think there is also like what you said earlier about immigrants. There's a lot of stigma around disability and even within the disability community we don't call ourselves disability right, but I have no problem calling myself disability, because what we call ourselves or what others call us, it's irrelevant of being who we are. Who we are is to the core of the being and rather than labels and names and you name it, those are, those are superficial, those doesn't mean anything, but the way that you feel about yourself, the way that you show up to the world, that says a lot about who you are and that energy comes through, no matter what people call you.
Speaker 2:And then also being disabled just means another obstacle, another mountain to climb, because success is all about climbing and overcoming things that seem insurmountable. Life isn't fair. A person with disabilities doesn't want the cyber hug. The person with disability doesn't want to be treated any differently, they just want I mean, we'll talk about the accident now because for a lot of people probably, when you say that part of the story, right, they want to give you empathy, they want to hug you, they want to, they want to treat you like that was it and the story, and it wasn't. It was just a chapter of many in your life.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I kind of see life as a as a book, right. So when you open up the book, or when you are the writer, you're writing the book. Your first couple of chapters is probably written, and if you're someone who's really like me, type A personality, it might have been printed already. So if your first couple of chapters is printed and written, you can't really change anything about it, but you still hold the pen of how you want to write it. So the idea is, whatever that you're going to write, you can rewrite the story, you can give it a plot twist which I love giving people a plot twist or you can actually give it a new ending. So, however you want your book to come out, it's always going to be the way that you like it and the way that you want it. So, going back to the story, when I was 11, I was coming home from school one day and as I was crossing the street, there was a taxi that came really fast, hit me and pushed me 100 feet away and by the time I woke up I was in the hospital and I remember when I was looking down from my waist all the way to my ankle, I was wrapped with cast and I spent four years going in and out of the hospital, so I have the total of 13 surgeries on both of my leg. Luckily, I wasn't paralyzed from the accident. However, ever since then I've been walking with crutches. So I walk with two crutches. And when I got discharged from the hospital, my doctor actually gave me a pair of metal boots to wear and he told me that I'm supposed to be wearing it till I was 18, after growth, to stabilize my bone. But of course, as a teenager I never listened to the doctor. None of us listened to the doctor anyway, right? So I never listened to the doctor, and of course that causes permanent damage. Right, so I never listened to the doctor, and of course that causes permanent damage on my leg. So I no longer walk very far without any assistance. So ever since then I've been walking with my two crutches. Now that story.
Speaker 3:So the point of these disability and obstacle is that some of us we experience tragic accident, we experience tragic changes in our life, whether it's migrating or immigrating to a different place. Nowadays, with the fire that's going on in California, there's a lot of people being displaced, some event, whatever that life event, big or small, it becomes a challenge, it becomes an obstacle only if you see it as challenge and obstacle. So true that a lot of people will start to feel empathetic towards what the life event that we have. But that's just their human. It's just our common human characteristic and common virtue that we all have, we show our empathy and which makes each one of us human, which means that, as I'm speaking here, there's someone else who's going through the same struggle, maybe not in a car accident, but it could be something as small as I'm having such a bad day.
Speaker 3:Right, it could be just a bad day and that is a life challenge and we need to, we need to warrant that and we need to validate the fact that it doesn't have to be something tragic to make it a challenge, to make it an obstacle. And that mountain that we're climbing, it doesn't have to be physically going there and you're climbing it. It could just be waking up in the morning and say you know what? Yesterday was a bad day, but today I'm going to choose to make it a good day.
Speaker 2:It's all in your mind. It's like what Milton says, that the mind can create health or it can create heaven out of hell. It's just a perspective and you had that choice. Now did your family? That was it. They're like we have to go to the United States. Or, if there was no accident, do you think you guys would still be there?
Speaker 3:I think my family would still come to the United States with or without the accident, because it's always been in the process and there's a lot of political instability also in Taiwan, a little A little. So I think it's always been in their mind that they wanted to be a place where it's safer, right, and safety is something that we all look for. And if we look at the hierarchy of need, maslow's hierarchy of need, the foundation of that hierarchy of need is to have safety, safety Correct.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 3:And that's what we all look for, even within the state, within the state of affair Currently. We all want just to be safe. We want the grocery price not to be so high. We want to have our income that's sustainable, that's consistent, right. I don't have to worry about where I'm going to live next. I don't have to worry about where I'm going to live next, I don't have to worry about who's going to pay my bills next. And that it creates safety. And when we feel unsafe, it generate fear.
Speaker 2:Well, we pretend we don't want safety, but in reality, that's a lie. We want boring, we want consistency, we want to. We're creatures of habit when it comes to uncertainty. We want that when we watch movies, or that's our idea of uncertainty. But yes, safety is always key and well, speaking of that, I mean happy, happy, I forgot to tell you, since you're from taiwan.
Speaker 3:happy new year, year, thank you yes, it is a year of the snake. Today is actually new year's eve, so as soon as I finish this podcast, I'm going to uh, join my family for a new year's eve dinner and we celebrate. Usually, our tradition is that for the next 15 days, we have 15 days of celebration. My family usually do three to four days, not the whole entire 15 days.
Speaker 2:It's always good to know your roots and it goes to show you my arts and science degree does come in handy when it comes to learning and knowing other people's culture, Learning and knowing other people's culture. So was that a turning point? The accident, or you were always that determined, motivated, well, at the time, a little girl. Did it change you at all your mindset?
Speaker 3:It definitely changed and shifted my mindset right. When we're very young, I was not different than anybody an average teenage kid. I want to be liked by my peers, I want to have friends that I hang out with, so my mindset was definitely not to the level of where I am now right. So that actually took some time. You talk about the art and science that you have learned in the past that allow you to learn other people's culture. I think knowledge is something that's accumulative, right. We all experience something and from that something we learn, but that learning is a continuation until you actually find use of it. And so my whole life, my whole entire lifespan, I feel like it's a learning process and here's the tricky part If you don't learn it, it's going to come back and show you again until you learn it.
Speaker 2:All these life events, Well, that's why they say whenever people say history is stupid or it's a meaningless subject, that's where that saying comes from. History will always repeat itself, because you will keep on consistently getting the same learning experience.
Speaker 3:Yep Until you master it. Yes.
Speaker 2:That's why, like touching the hot stove, usually you're one and done. I guess for some people it's two, three, four times until they realize, yeah, that's not exactly a wise thing to do to touch it.
Speaker 3:Well touching the hot stove I've never learned, so there's a fun part about that. But I totally agree, it's that history it's going to repeat itself. But I totally agree, it's that history, it's going to repeat itself. So in my life I continued to learn these mini lessons until I got to the point where life was not very inspiring. I didn't get the job promotion that I wanted, and every day I wake up I'm feeling stressed because I work in a very high stress, intense environment of being the clinical pharmacist. Anything, any mistakes, I make could end up killing someone right. So it's a very high, intense, stressful environment that I have to wake up to every single day.
Speaker 3:And I remember during that period of time I was also going through some like personal development changes and I started to read Eckhart Tolle I love the Power of Now and that really gave me a perspective of how I interpret how my mind works and what does it mean to have this unconscious mind that dictate our current behavior, the things that we repeat. Sometimes there's a reason behind why we repeat the things that we repeat. Sometimes there's a reason behind why we repeat the things that we repeat and these are the things that no longer serves us. These are the things that no longer work, but somehow we're still holding on to these old beliefs. And so it was in a perfect storm we can talk about like perfect storm. It was in the perfect storm where I was in my 40s and I woke up one day. I said you know what? I no longer want to live life this way. I no longer want to wake up at in the middle of the night and crying myself to sleep. I don't want to do that. That's a miserable way and it's a stupid way to die. Okay, so I woke up and I said to myself I have to change.
Speaker 3:And that change began when I decided to go to Target and I bought myself a Pilates ball. And I said you know, I've never in my life had I set a foot into the gym. So I'm going to start with a Pilates ball. I start working out. I loved it. And then my weight hit a plateau. I think we all those of us who go through like exercise journey and weight loss journey we all hit that weight loss plateau. And I'm looking at the scale. I'm like this cannot be. So I got totally inspired.
Speaker 3:I call up to a local gym. I say, hey, look, I really need to get, get in shape, I need to start exercising. And luckily I went to a local gym and he, he's a Latino, so when you say Latino, I can connect, I get it. My amigos are tight, we're tight, um, so I went, went to the gym and and he showed me around and he even showed me how to how to use these machine. First time in my life I got onto the treadmill, I was able to walk and do my exercise. That made, that made me feel really good and so for that, consistently, I was able to work out on a daily basis for two hours, every single day.
Speaker 3:And we talked about perfect storm earlier. And the perfect storm came because a lot of my friend were actually talking about their, this amazing trip, uh, going to Machu Picchu. And I was like, oh, wouldn't it be cool if I could be part of that conversation? I could have that sense of belonging finally belong to a group, belong to my friend and I can have conversation with them. So I decided I came back to the gym one day and I said to my personal trainer.
Speaker 3:I said, hey, look, my friends were talking about this amazing trip, that where they went on to hike Machu Picchu. I would like to hike. I told him I would like to hike and he was like looking at me. So where do you want to hike? And I said, well, I want to hike Machu Picchu.
Speaker 3:And you saw him his jaw drop and he called me Amiga. Amiga, you know that there's people who actually dead in hiking through Machu Picchu. You have the high altitude syndrome, you have a lot of challenges and the stairs are really big. You know all that. Right, I said yes, and you still want to do it? And I say yes, I was determined that I no longer want to live the life that no longer served me. And I say yes, I was determined that I no longer want to live the life that no longer served me and I want to live a life where I can prove to myself that I am capable of doing things just like everybody else. And that started my journey to hike the Inca Trail 26 miles, four days, to Machu Picchu.
Speaker 2:So 42 kilometers, We'll go the 26.2 miles, We'll say it's a marathon. You did that with two crutches, Wow. Most people say they can't. They already have the obstacle, they already determined they can't do that. That's just mind-blowing. And here I mean I've done the marathons, so that's why I know the, you know, I just wanted to because I know you're from Taiwan. So the 42 kilometers, that is amazing. Now that's something that's never been on my bucket list because I'm fearful of heights. So I've never wanted to do Mount Kilimanjaro, never wanted to do. I've seen Machu Picchu and I've been all over South America on business. My previous life I just never to Peru. And weird, but my family's Colombian. I've never been to Colombia since I was like five. But yeah, no, I've seen the pictures, I've seen the terrain 's. It's your. Your blood thins out. Right, you have to chew on the cocoa leaves yes, and I love the cocoa leaf.
Speaker 3:And how I do the cocoa leaf is.
Speaker 3:I mix it, I crush it into my coffee every morning, and I would have my coffee with the cocoa leaf. I loved it. And so it's a high altitude. So the highest point in Machu Picchu is at 14,000 above sea level. And so as you're progressing from Cusco, so you leave at Cusco and you go into where the entry point is, it's about 8,000 feet above sea level when you first enter. So as you climb, the altitude continues to climb, and so as you climb, the air gets thinner, and so it makes sure those of you who's athletic you'll know that as the air gets thinner, your body wants to catch up the oxygen, so you become more tired more easily.
Speaker 3:And so imagine that you're getting tired and I'm doing every step. It's a pushup, because I have to walk with two crutches and so I was using a lot of my upper body strength to push for every step and each of the steps. So I'm four feet four inches tall. If I were to stand up right now, it's the same height as I'm. So I'm four feet four inches tall. If I were to stand up right now, it's the same height as I'm sitting. Um, so four feet four inches tall, and some of the stairs are the same uh length or as tall as the length of my leg. So in order for me to climb, I would have to drop my crutches, get down to my knees and hand, climb up to the stair, pick up my crutches and do that repeatedly until I can go to the top, and so some of the places where I have to do that is just the whole body exercise. I I did. I hit my personal personal uh record I'm sure now, michelle, we're family friends.
Speaker 2:Anybody like saying are you crazy, michelle? Yeah, you can't do this. It's physically impossible. Why do you even want to set yourself up for failure? Why do you want to get injured? You're in a foreign country, you're. You're in peru, you fly out to lima. You don't know any anybody over there I don't speak spanish you don't speak spanish.
Speaker 2:You, you know plenty of hispanics being being in southern cal, but you don't. But you still, and I'm sure the guide right, the guy when you got there, he, they, everybody looked at you and they're like Michelle well, the good thing is there's Google Translator, so nowadays we can use Google Translator, right?
Speaker 2:so, even though I didn't speak Spanish, I use Google Translator but but you did it and I'm sure that was like such an immense feeling, in such a big F? You to everybody that judged you. That puts you small, smaller than what you are, and saying you can never do that and that shows you really mind over matter. Because, heck, if you look at me, there's no way. I, when it comes to sports, I'm horrible. That's why I became a journalist, because I thought I could be a sports reporter and I did 25 full marathons and it's like that guy.
Speaker 2:But yes, it's always when it comes to challenges like that, when it's all hard and when you focus yourself onto something whether it's coaching someone, whether it's just marketing because I know you're good at marketing the way is through the obstacle we create. We make the obstacle way bigger. You know we make. We're David. Everybody loves right. Everybody loves the story of like the David versus Goliath. Everybody likes the underdog, everybody likes the Rocky Balboa, but they never want to put themselves into that story. Everybody likes to hear the story or see it, but they don't want to do the story themselves.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Yeah, I totally agree, and there's definitely a lot of naysayers. When I first decided that this is the journey I want to take and one of the naysayer was actually my best friend- oh, always, they're always.
Speaker 3:She actually went on to Machu Picchu herself and she came back. She was able to come back. But when she came back and I told her that you know, this is the trip, this is the journey I want to take, instead of saying that I support you and whatever you need, just ask me, right, she went and she told me well, don't do this, because I busted my knee and you're going to bust your knee and how are you going to walk with your crutches? And just don't do it. And I think to her point, I get it. She's my best friend. She probably came from a place of heart and caring, right, I would like to think that she said that because she doesn't want me to get hurt Always. But yeah, I think what really, sometimes the people around us don't understand why you're so passionate about something. And when you're passionate about something, you actually want to go against the art, against what everybody else is saying, when you truly feel connected to your life purpose. And that moment you know I was really at a place where I'm ready to do this and I know that, if I put my mind to it, I'm ready to do this and I know that if I put my mind to it, I will accomplish it, even if I have to die. So that was my determination, that I wanted to do this.
Speaker 3:And I think one of the story I don't tell very, very frequently is by the time I got to Cusco. I was really. I was there five days before the hike and I remember I got to Cusco and I was so fascinated by the culture I wanted to explore the town. So I actually had a lot of ceviche and I love and enjoy the food and I actually got myself. I caught my stomach flu and I checked into the hospital, their clinic, two days before the actual hike and I had to go through two liters of saline that the doctor had prescribed me and also antibiotic. So two days before the hike I came down with stomach flu. I was sick and that first day I remember calling my sister. I said, hey, I'm in the clinic and I'm in the hospital and I am sick and she was screaming so hard over the phone she said Michelle, why are you doing this Like, can't you just pick a better place to go on vacation? Why can't you just pick Paris? Go on vacation, enjoy your life, go to Maui.
Speaker 2:Go to the beach.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, go enjoy your life, go to Maui, go to the beach. Yes, yes, go enjoy life. But why do you have to do this? And I think it was a point to prove to myself, more so than I want to prove to someone else, that I am capable of doing this, if I set my mind to it, and I was really stubborn about the choice that I had made. And one of the things that I talk about a lot is the palette of choice, right, change doesn't come from action. In order to have change, it comes from an idea. It comes from a decision and decision. Decision and decision means and it's a latin words, right? So? So the latin word actually means that you are giving giving up or letting go of something. Yes, to cut, in order to make that decision, you have to make that cut. And that was me cutting my past life away from what I want to be in the future. And that's where the change happened. Change doesn't happen through action. Change happened because you made a decision to cut.
Speaker 2:So it was symbolic. You were like a Phoenix rising. You were reborn into the person that you were always meant to be.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah I actually have a I actually have a tattoo of a butterfly, and that that's. It's a symbol also as a change.
Speaker 2:Yeah well, congratulations. So where was everybody? Shocked because you came home and and you decided, and they're like michelle, it was only a trip. Why are you making changes? Why? Because everybody fears. It's like what you said about your best friend the ones that we always think are going to go cheer us on.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:It's always the opposite. It's usually the stranger. The person that supports you on your business, the person that supports you on writing that book, on being a speaker it's always the stranger. It's always your family and friends. It's too dangerous Because there's no security, because it's the fear of the unknown. Michelle, that's, that's not for you. You're going to bust your knee. What's this all for? Is this so for an Instagram picture? Just go to Maui and do a sunset. You get. You get a nice picture so. But you see, you had that leadership, you had that. You. You needed that, like you needed oxygen, and you decided no naysayer, no family, nobody can hold you back, not even Montezuma's revenge and being in the hospital. I know it's a different country, but you know the same results those indigenous people, spirits try to bring you down and you still. You overcame everything and you came here and you're living the life that you were always meant to be living.
Speaker 3:Yeah, when I came home, I was really inspired, because, again, it's about proving to myself that I can do this right. But what I didn't know was that on that trip, I realized what my life purpose was and what I was meant to do, because someone who looks like me or walks like me, who's acting like me, even though I have the highest degree in education but what does it all mean? So I was looking for that life purpose, and so, by the time I went to Machu Picchu and came back, I realized that there's so many things that I am capable of doing and maybe that would be my purpose, and one of the thing was inspiration. So one of the things I came home with was inspiration. And what I, what I have discovered, was that on that trip, I realized there's a lot of passenger and fellow traveler who were passing me by and they all turn around and gave me a thumbs up. That moment was an inspirational moment. I was inspired by them giving me the thumbs up, but at the same time, I was an inspiration for them to keep going. And so we live in a world that is very synergistically, where we all need to be there for each other. Right, I exist because I am an inspiration for them, but they exist because they are going to inspire me, and knowing that somebody saw me and being seen means a whole lot of world to someone like me.
Speaker 3:Okay, and so I came home, I was really inspired and I was thinking okay, so how can I carry this inspiration on? How can I be of service for the community, to the people around me? Or maybe it's even bigger, bigger scale, scale how can I be an inspiration for more people who may feel stuck and not knowing what to do in their life when life has a, has a challenge, has an obstacle that they need to cross? And so I came home I thought well, what, what, what ways can I actually contribute myself to help more people, to inspire more people? And one of the things that came up was oh, what about becoming a life coach? So that was the first idea that came to my mind.
Speaker 3:After having a conversation with a friend who actually talked about he was looking for a life coach for his nephew, who struggled with schizophrenia, I said, okay, life coach, let me Google it, let me look it up. So I did a little bit of research and then rolled myself into IPAG, which is a coaching certification program, got myself certified as a life coach, so that was my beginning journey of coaching that change, that transition, that morph into a marketing coaching now, because I saw the need of people who are struggling to get their voice out, and a lot of coaches and business owner entrepreneurs are holding on to the idea of oh, I don't want to go on video. Oh, I don't want to talk about this, it's too dangerous, I don't want people to judge me. Oh, I'm not looking really great on camera, I don't have the best equipment, I don't know how to do this, I don't know how I don't have the message. So there's a lot of I don't know.
Speaker 3:And these become their obstacles and I'm thinking it's really easy. People are not looking for perfection. People are not looking for your best self on the video. People are not looking for your best self on the video. They're looking for inspiration. They're looking for a change, and if you have the ability to deliver that change, then you need to start quit thinking about yourself and start thinking about the people who you're going to serve. And so I changed from a life coaching to a marketing coach so that I can help more life coaches and mindset coaches, all these coaches to get out there, get their voice out. And what is the best way to get your voice out? Having a talk. Talk more, speak up. Let it be the words on social, let it be a video, let it be a podcast, whatever format that feels connected, feels good to you. Do more of that and that's how you do marketing.
Speaker 2:That's how you build relationship with your audience it's also the ego when it comes to to marketing. On twofold, they want to look perfect because they see all the other big gurus out there. They don't understand that they have a multi-million dollar budget and of course it's going to look amazing and of course you know a bunch of takes or whatnot, but what separates you from them is your story. Yeah and.
Speaker 2:And that you're human. If you stumble, if you fall, keep posting. Who cares? It shows you that you're genuine. You're not supposed to be perfect. We're living imperfect in an imperfect world, so just do it. And to the ego, in the sense that, oh my gosh, people are going to think I'm desperate, but when you go to the bank, the bank teller is not like is this you? I see you're marketing. You're desperate, aren't you? No, the, the landlord doesn't care, your kid's tuition doesn't care, by any means necessary. And you have to market yourself.
Speaker 2:We have the tools to market now, which, when I was a business owner a million years ago, there was the signs and, oh my gosh, I got a 2% return off a Clipper ad or whatnot. And you felt like you were Hugh Hefner because you were past the 1% return redemption. And it's like the same amount of people are going bankrupt and going under instead of using it as a tool. How many times should you market all the time what we're doing? We, we're talking, we're communicating, but we're two llc's, we're two centers of our own universe. Yeah, and you know we're. We're both speakers, we both have. It's all about storytelling. The reason why we communicate is because we're being authentic. Yeah, and we're understand, and that's the one thing that I learned from geography class, and you're gonna laugh, because everybody laughed except for 10 people, because the guy was the professor, the doctor was from like india and he spoke with an accent oh my gosh in a class like geography, where you're supposed to understand the reason why you understand other.
Speaker 2:You need to come from a place of non-judgment and understand people's worlds to communicate. Yeah, your story has authenticity because it's real, but it's wrong. Could you imagine if you? You went oh, it was so easy. You know what? Hey, I'm from Taiwan. We're great, we're exceptional people, we're smart. You know. That's why China wants us. You don't come from a place of arrogance but a lot of people. But it's because people are so used to the filters yeah Of of Instagram and Tik TOK that you know they wear a mask and they think that's the way to sell mask and they think that's the way to sell and it's, I mean, how insincere. Or let me be your life coach. Why? Because I'm a 19 year old kid.
Speaker 3:It's like you've never even experienced your own life yeah, yeah, I think people, business owners and entrepreneurs nowadays they over complicated marketing and marketing is really about relationship building, right? So initially, when I first started out my business, the way that I got client was I go around and I introduced myself as a coach even when I was still going through the program, and it was not something. Sure, the first time I was introducing myself as a coach, it felt like very uncomfortable, but the more that I do it, it sparks people's curiosity oh, like coach, what tell me more about what you do? And I will explain to that person. Well, so this is what I do and what are you? What are your goal? What? What do you want in your life? Oh, if you want that in your life, here's how I can help, here's what will work. And would you be open to have a call? And it was just easy like that, through conversation where I introduced, I started to tell people that this is what I do and people are genuinely. They want to hear more about who you are and we're all curious about all the things that that's new.
Speaker 3:So me introducing myself as a life coach things that that's new. So me introducing myself as a life coach was something that's new to them, and it easily got got the conversation going. They're like oh, I know this person, I know that person, I think you should speak to that person here. Here's the email for this. And so that's how my business got started. I wasn't focusing on marketing, I was just focusing on conversation, and conversation like this, talking to others and just really understanding what they're looking for and what are their inspiration, what are their goals in life. And if I do see the opportunity, then I offer my service. And to me it's really about offering the service Right, it's not selling, it's service.
Speaker 2:Well, everything is selling. Selling is just communicating. Michelle, would you like to go celebrate Chinese New Year's after this?
Speaker 3:I would love, I would love selling an idea. You're selling an idea for me. I can see that right now.
Speaker 2:Well, that's it's selling is when. To me, the definition is when you both get something out of it, whether it's a service, a problem solved, both is a plus plus man. When I'm like hey, you need this time share. When you know what you're, you know it's a win lose yeah you're manipulating somebody to something that's going to hurt them.
Speaker 2:That that's manipulation. We're all selling something. The one thing that when marketing what they don't what people, entrepreneurs, don't understand is give us content, funny, compelling. Be be yourself. Don't be like I'm joe bob, I'm a plumber. Use me. My family's been doing it for well. Congratulations, we need to use you. You're a plumber, you know. Be informative, be funny. Give the best. The best people are. The most successful businesses are the ones that post on youtube like how to fix an ac, how to change this, how to change that. But I'm showing them how to do it. I'm not going to change. I'm not going to go to Home Depot get a 45 gallon water heater and change it because I saw a YouTube video. But a lot of people have that. I don't want to. If I give them the answer, they won't use me. Well, you're not giving them the answer and they're not using you.
Speaker 3:I love that, I love that analogy about the plumber and, interestingly, because the other day I actually had a conversation with someone else and they were talking about the expert and experience, right. So there's a notion of I am not the expert and therefore I cannot talk about what I do. Or when I do talk about what I do, I can't position myself as the expert. And when we're talking about, like, doing a lot of these, how to that stigma, that imposter syndrome, is where I am not the expert and therefore I cannot teach them what to do.
Speaker 2:Who am I? Yes, yeah, who am I? Who's going to listen to me?
Speaker 3:Exactly, and my point is right. Even the plumber, the best plumber, didn't start just as a plumber. The plumber started probably started by picking some, fixing something you know at home.
Speaker 3:We all started from somewhere, but as we continue, to continue to grow and to do the same skill over and over and over. That accumulate experiences and the experience allow you to become the expert you are in, and so you need the experience and the experience allow you to become the expert you are in, and so you need the experience and the experience. We all know that some, the first time you experience it, probably you're going to suck and it's a given right.
Speaker 3:But the more that you do it, the more that you're willing to suck at the first. You know, first couple of try you actually learn the skills that you need to become the expert. But when you're willing, you need to be willing to fail in order to become successful, and that that is the universal success principle that everybody needs to have you have to be willing to fail in order to succeed.
Speaker 2:So if you're not willing to fail, then don't complain that you are not successful well, everybody fails, but the ultimate, what real failure is, is not even trying, sitting on the sideline and what if? What if? I can't, I can't. Who am, am I? Who am I? Well, imagine you have a compelling story to tell. You have a life changing. You can change someone's life, you can change someone's legacy by informing them, by motivating, by inspiring, but yet you're on the sidelines because that little voice inside you says who am I? Who am I? And it's, it's funny, because I had a battle that always, it's always. Uh, you know, the biggest critic is always yourself. You just have to shut up, shut out that. I mean, I had naysayers that I thought were like when I wrote my first book. I'm like, oh yeah, my, these people are even my cheerleaders.
Speaker 2:And then, when a really good friend was like who are you to write a book? Yeah, the right answer is really who am I not to tell my story?
Speaker 3:If not you, then who? Right, and it's that notion of if not you, then who? And I think all this is very interesting because, you know, a lot of people don't know how to tell their story. A lot of us go through a journey and there's so many stories that we accumulated over time, and what people are struggling with is I don't know what story to tell.
Speaker 3:And in order to do that, you really have to understand, like, what is your purpose, what is your vision, what is your goal in life and what do you want to deliver in this world? And that's a very important notion about what do you want to deliver to the people that you're serving? What do you want to deliver to the people that you're serving? What do you want to deliver into the world? How do you want to make people feel?
Speaker 3:And that's where so I created the Signature Talk blueprint, because there's a lot of entrepreneurs who struggle to understand what is the important lesson or the message that I want to deliver in this world? And when you have that clarity to talk about, what is it that I want to talk about? What is it about me that demonstrate and that can actually make impact in someone else's life, then you start to identify what story needs to be there, what needs to be told in order to change someone else's life, and that's why I created a blueprint, because it's really about that storytelling. It's about picking out what truly matters, what truly can influence and impact someone else's life.
Speaker 2:And that signature talk. You can monetize it. That signature talk, I mean I never thought an introverted kid like me can be on a ted x stage and it happened. So we, we all have a story and we have. We all have a beautiful story and we just need to unleash it and unlock it. And you said it best I mean just that blueprint right there, just you helping people create their signature talk. Yeah, you can do. Maybe that's not what you want to do a Ted talk, or you want to speak, but the signature talk, if you condense it, it'll help you. It'll help you win people over a signature talk and help create more business and whatever it is that you're selling, definitely make you a better person to have a conversation with, better to connect with that special someone that you want to meet. There's a lot to it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, it's a really versatile thing to have, right, not just a tech talk, because, well, some of us actually don't want to be a tech talk speaker and some of us just want to have a message that we can connect with during the networking event or going on to a podcast. I need to know exactly what I'm talking about and what is my message and how do I want to show up to the world. And it's actually a very easy way to market yourself, because then you can throw away all these marketing strategies and you can just focus on delivering that message. And when you focus on delivering that message, it becomes your marketing message. It becomes your core message that everybody's teaching you oh, here's your niche, this is how you do it. You can throw away all that strategy and just focus on delivering your authentic story. How do you shape it so that people can easily understand, people can actually connect with you and feel that they are actually wanting your service, because you just delivered a powerful talk.
Speaker 2:Now signature talk. I love it. Maybe I need to redo mine or do a different signature talk. But now do you do one-on-one classes or do you do group sessions? How is it that Michelle Koei does her coaching?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I have group coaching and I have a course and I also do one-on-one coaching. So, depending on where people are, where coaches are and entrepreneurs are or speakers are, basically we sit down and we have a talk so I can kind of get an overview of where you are and what do you want to accomplish in terms of leveraging speaking or leveraging your online presence. And I'll do a diagnosis. I call it a diagnosis, but it's really about analysis, gap right, A gap analysis to see where you are and how do we bridge it and what is missing in your business, so that we can actually leverage this talk or leverage your messaging to create this personal brand that is so connected, that is so powerful, that is so authentic that people just can't. There's no way people can say no to you.
Speaker 3:So I definitely do group coaching, one-on-one coaching and I also have a course. I am rolling out a membership very soon and it's really for those who don't want the commitment of working with someone at three to six months and they really just need someone to look at their messaging, they want someone to look at their website, copy their business, marketing, assets, all these. So I am rolling out a membership option for those who don't want the long-term commitment, but need someone like me to have their eyes on their business go promote away.
Speaker 2:I know how to find you. I know how to internet stalk you. I I know how, how to hire you. How, how does my audience?
Speaker 3:so, so, so I don't, I don't. So this is not promotion and this is really really truly dear to my heart, right? Because I don't want you to come into the program and say, oh michelle, you promised this and that I want to invite you to have a call with me so that I can truly understand where you are on your business and what is it that you're looking for and how I can be best service. So the best way to connect with me and to find out everything that I do is actually going to my website, elevatelifecoachingorg, and you can grab a strategy call so I can really look at where you are on your business and how my program might be able to help you. And I'm really coming out from the place of service. If, after that strategy call, if you walk away with the things your next step, things that you might need in order to get your business up and running, your marketing running, then that is my purpose. That is where I serve.
Speaker 3:There's also a lot of resources that I have put together on my purpose. That is where I serve. There's also a lot of resources that I have put together on my website. So, again, it's elevatelifecoachingorg. When you go there, there's actually a Learn With Michelle, so I do a lot of teaching, teaching you how to the strategies that you're going to need. It also has a lot of resources that you're going to need, whether you want to be a speaker, you want to put your signature talk together, or maybe you're struggling with social media content. There's all type of resource down there. So the best place to go is elevatelifecoachingorg and under the Learn with Michelle. You'll find all my resources out there.
Speaker 2:Why, thank you. It's like it's speaking to me. You know, everything happens for a reason. Yeah, I I originally just wanted to hear the compelling story about how you overcame everything and then it brought back all everything else, which I I do believe in. Everything happens for a reason. So what you're trying to say is I should book something very soon to have.
Speaker 3:I would love to learn more about your business.
Speaker 2:Me too. I would like to learn more.
Speaker 3:Yes, let's start from there.
Speaker 2:For sure, and I will do that, um, probably sometime. Well, not tonight, because I know you you're gonna celebrate, but I'll look into it and it's something you know. I, I know you can help get from a to b. Well, I more, I'm not in the A or in the B, I'm, like you know, the D, e or F somewhere around there. Now, michelle, before you go celebrate the year of the rat, I mean the year of the snake. What words of wisdom, what final words do you have to tell that person that they're stuck, they have fear. Fear runs everything. They can't overcome any obstacle, they feel defeated. You're a person that's overcome a lot. What words do you have to tell that person?
Speaker 3:I think it all comes down to the power of change, and remember what we had talked about earlier is that action or change doesn't happen just by doing things right. It starts by making that cut, having that decision. So what is it about today or tomorrow that you want to do differently? And that's a very important question to ask, right? So what do I want tomorrow to be different from today? You may feel stuck today, but what do you want to feel tomorrow? And that's going to allow you to make a decision, to choose.
Speaker 3:Once you choose it, stick to it. And what I have for those who's having trouble to stick to that decision is I have my 3D rule, and they are determination, dedication and discipline. Once you choose, once you make that decision, be sure to determine, be determined right. Determination have the discipline to do it, Dedicate your time and energy to do it, and that's how you create change, that's how you get yourself unstuck and the fear it's always going to be there. But you can also choose to put it into the passenger seat and not the driver's seat.
Speaker 2:Thank you. What an amazing hour. Thank you for inspiring, thank you for motivating, thank you for coaching, thank you for just being you and being present, and definitely it's just the beginning. You'll definitely see me more Michelle Kowei mountain climber, literally and figuratively now, and you are everything. You are the center of your universe. Thank you for everything. Now go celebrate with your family and your friends. Happy New Year.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for having me. What if you took action and made it happen and started living inside of your purpose? What if it did work? Right now you can make a choice To never listen to that negative voice no more. The hardest prison to escape is our own mind. I was trapped inside that prison, oh, for a long time. To make it happen, you gotta take action. Just imagine what if it did work.