better work newsletter #30 ⏩ Join our mission to help impact-driven professionals lead more purposeful lives. Share better work with a friend here. Running is in my nature. My Chinese horoscope is the rabbit - “the luckiest of all signs”. Rabbits are built for sprints and quick reactions. For most of my life, I could say the same for me. I zipped through many of life’s major milestones by 25.✅ Bachelor’s degree. ✅ Bought a house. ✅ Award-winning career. ✅ Master’s degree. ✅ Paid off student...
19 days ago • 4 min read
better work issue #29 ⏩ Forwarding is the best compliment. Tell a friend to sign up for better work here. ↓ Imagine this: you had a bestseller, made millions, married your soulmate, and found inner peace. Then you smash the nuclear button and blow your life up. That's what happened to Elizabeth Gilbert, author of the memoir-turned-movie, Eat Pray Love. Quick refresher: After a painful divorce, Gilbert takes a year to travel, heal, and rediscover herself. She achieved it all and more. Look how...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
better work issue #28 You are camera-on at 10 am, caffeinated and nodding at all the right things. You give the kind of insights you were hired for.The executive says, “This is exactly what we’re missing…” and you glance at the clock. You’re 3 minutes late for your 1:1 with your mentee. Shit. On slow days, you feel like you’re biding your time. For what? Who knows. (Seriously, can someone plot out your life for you? You’re so good at following directions.) On the busiest days, you can't wait...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
better work issue #27 The first time I was unemployed, it was my choice. The second time, it wasn’t. I had to leave my job because I moved to another state (remote work wasn't a thing yet).I wasn't worried. I already had promising job interviews lined up in my new town. I had a stellar resume that perfectly fit the job descriptions. I had never experienced long-term difficulty in the job market, so why would I now? I showed up for the final interviews...then got rejected. Over and over again....
2 months ago • 6 min read
better work issue #26 “SAMSUNG PHONE VERY GOOD!” Rewind five minutes before this remark, the towering British man and I had had a normal conversation. That changed the moment I shared that I was ethnically Korean. “Why are you yelling?” I kept my cool. But if I’m being honest, this is how I really wanted to respond. It must’ve been my hundredth “But where are you really from?” conversation on my trip. Locals asking this didn’t get under my skin (they knew I was a tourist.) But I was done with...
2 months ago • 7 min read
better work issue #25 It’s easy to think of creative hunger as a desire for more. You’re missing that one key insight. That masterclass. That strategist to pave the way. But 2025 taught me one thing for certain:A full plate can leave you starving. I learned this the hard way last summer. My calendar was packed for my trans-Pacific move. Client work was humming along. I’d been studying newsletters and writing for months. My goals were on track. I was halfway through my promise: to publish this...
3 months ago • 5 min read
better work issue #24 👩🏻🎨 How to create your life instead of choosing it 👋 Hey, it's Susan. Welcome to better work - a personal development newsletter for high-performers who put themselves first so that they can show up for the people they love. Our lives are our stories, but we’ve been taught to read them all wrong. That life is a linear chapter book. Three acts, a couple themes, one ending. Then a series of plot twists derail our story, crashing into our safe, predictable plan, scattering...
4 months ago • 8 min read
better work issue #23 🌐 Feeling uninspired by your goals? You need impact areas 👋 Hey, it's Susan. Welcome to better work - a personal development newsletter for high-performers who put themselves first so that they can show up for the people they love. Do you dread writing goals? It's not a lack of skill or ambition; when you put your mind to it, you can achieve anything. 👀 Which can become a problem. Your mind rebels because your goals are misaligned from what you actually want. You're not...
4 months ago • 8 min read
better work issue #22 🥸 Self-care is a scam 👋 Hey, it's Susan. Welcome to better work - a personal development newsletter for high-performers who put themselves first so that they can show up for the people they love. 🚩 Balance is bullshit. You can't find balance when you have to take time off to book a doctor's appointment. You can’t find balance when you're a working parent with kids unless you have an army of people like Beyoncé. You can't find balance in a system that wants you to stay...
5 months ago • 8 min read