About
Overview: I created this blog as a single hub to track my personal and professional development. Everything is mostly in blog format organized into different categories for navigating ease. Often time, I’ll post resources, notes I’ve taken, and occasionally, thoughts on different subject matters.
To a lifetime of learning!
Background
I was born and raised in Southern California. I grew up as a 2nd generation Asian-American from parents of Chinese descent with a Vietnamese heritage. I was raised in the faith by a Christian mother and walked away from it in college. I’ve since discovered Christ on my terms and live to make His name known. I live in Houston, TX, with my wife Jennifer, our baby boy Theo, and our dog River.
I have a collaborative leadership style and love seeing people reach their full potential. I’m an avid reader, goal-oriented, ambitious to a fault, health-conscious, and appreciate a great workout. If you don’t see me with a book in my hand or learning something online while at Starbucks holding an iced triple shot espresso with a splash of coconut milk, you’ll usually find me exercising, outdoors, traveling, or connecting with friends.
Formal Education:
- The University of Southern California (USC) – Bachelors in Business with an emphasis on Data Analytics
Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two–and only two–basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business.
– Peter Drucker, The Practice of Management, 1954
Personality Assessments
“The unexamined life is not worth living”
― Socrates
Myers Briggs – INTP
INTP – INTPs are philosophical innovators, fascinated by logical analysis, systems, and design. They are preoccupied with theory, and search for the universal law behind everything they see. They want to understand the unifying themes of life, in all their complexity.
INTPs are detached, analytical observers who can seem oblivious to the world around them because they are so deeply absorbed in thought. They spend much of their time focused internally: exploring concepts, making connections, and seeking understanding. To the Architect, life is an ongoing inquiry into the mysteries of the universe.
Strong Interest Inventory
Love Language
Words of Affirmation – Actions don’t always speak louder than words. If this is your love language, unsolicited compliments mean the world to you. Hearing the words, “I love you,” are important – hearing the reasons behind that love sends your spirits skyward. Insults can leave you shattered and are not easily forgotten. Kind, encouraging, and positive words are truly life-giving.
Physical Touch – This language isn’t all about the bedroom. A person whose primary language is Physical Touch is, not surprisingly, very touchy. Hugs, pats on the back, holding hands, and thoughtful touches on the arm, shoulder, or face – they can all be ways to show excitement, concern, care, and love. Physical presence and accessibility are crucial, while neglect or abuse can be unforgivable and destructive. Physical touch fosters a sense of security and belonging in any relationship.
Strength’s Finder
- Focus
- Intellection
- Achiever
- Learner
- Futuristic
Focus – Chances are good that you usually feel in sync with life once you have helped clarify either your own or someone else’s performance objectives. You enjoy talking with people who are keenly aware of their personal and professional goals. It’s very likely that you establish specific and measurable performance targets for yourself each week. Driven by your talents, you typically document your goals and outline your action plan. By faithfully executing each step, you usually accomplish exactly what you intended. By nature, you possess a tremendous capacity for working long hours. Your mental and physical energy are seldom totally expended. However, the same cannot be said for everyone who attempts to match your pace. Your tireless efforts are typically directed toward the goals you plan to reach in the coming months, years, or decades. Instinctively, you enjoy establishing objectives in the company of others. Using well-placed milestones, you document knowledge and skills gained since the last reporting period. You probably look forward to reviewing results with individuals who understand education is a process that continues throughout one’s life.
Intellection – Chances are good that you read to stimulate your already active mind. You examine new ideas and unfamiliar points of view. You are quite naturally a lifelong student. Often you are your own best teacher. It’s very likely that you absorb the written word like a sponge sops up water. You revel in an opportunity to lose yourself in a book. Time seems to float by when you are the grateful guest of an entertaining or informative author. Your only choice is to finish the book as quickly as possible. Because of your strengths, you have the ability to imagine what visionaries believe is possible as you read about their innovative ideas and plans. The information you acquire generally frees you to make a mental leap from this moment in time to the future that these thinkers see.
Achiever – Because of your strengths, you set very high expectations for yourself. Typically you push yourself until you reach your goals. You are not content unless you deliver the best performance or produce the most outstanding results. By nature, you might see yourself as a logical, rational, sensible, or wise person. Once you establish this reputation with people, perhaps you work hard to maintain it. It’s very likely that you occasionally contrive innovative ideas. Perhaps the art of invention stimulates your mind. You may spring from one original thought to an entirely different one. Now and then, you find ways to link two or more unique concepts. Driven by your talents, you sometimes try hard to contain your tears. Perhaps you worry that certain individuals will think poorly of you if they see you weeping. Chances are good that you may have labored to broaden your vocabulary. Perhaps your collection features theoretical or complicated words. If you use these to write or speak, some people might conclude you have official authority over them. Perhaps certain individuals assume that your elaborate language somehow confirms that you are in a position of dominance.
Learner – Instinctively, you endorse the importance of acquiring additional knowledge and gaining new skills. You regard education as an ongoing activity. Driven by your talents, you sometimes toil without much rest. Maybe you want to pinpoint useful and intriguing facts. To some extent, you may need to explain why particular events unfolded as they did. Perhaps this information permits you to do more or better work. Chances are good that you have little difficulty giving intense effort to projects, problems, or opportunities that capture and keep your attention. By nature, you spend some of your time examining problems, malfunctions, or glitches. If you experience a personal or professional loss, make a mistake, or suffer a defeat, you might investigate. Perhaps you feel restless until you have answers to your basic questions: What? How? When? Where? Who? Why? Because of your strengths, you acquire knowledge more easily when you can talk with others about ideas, concepts, or theories. Thoughts come alive for you when questions are posed and answers are proposed. You have a delightful time thinking out loud and listening to intelligent people express themselves. You naturally document or store in your mind bits and pieces of discussions. You want to refer back to these insights or facts whenever the opportunity presents itself.
Futuristic – Chances are good that you take advantage of every opportunity to describe to others all the amazing things you see happening in the coming months, years, or decades. Your vision opens people’s minds to new and wondrous possibilities. You challenge them to consider ideas they might not have thought of on their own. Driven by your talents, you have a capacity for envisioning what the coming months, years, or decades could, should, or will be like. Frequently you are prompted to transform your ideas into things you can touch, taste, see, smell, or hear. Instinctively, you create detailed and vivid images of what the future promises. You can describe it long before others can imagine it. By nature, you gain a certain degree of satisfaction from envisioning what your life and the world might be like in the coming months, years, or decades. Because of your strengths, you routinely create vivid mental images of what you plan to accomplish in the coming weeks, months, or years. You delight in sharing your dreams and goals with others. Formal and informal discussions usually capture your interest and keep your attention. You welcome opportunities to refine your thinking about what is possible.
Enneagram: Type 3 – The Achiever
Type Three exemplifies the desire to be our best self, to develop all of our potentials, and to value ourselves and others. Threes are the “stars” of the personality types—people of a tremendous drive, ambition, and belief in themselves. Threes want to excel, to be the best at whatever they do, and they are willing to put in the effort it takes to do so. Threes can be found at the gym, taking classes at night, putting in extra hours at work, learning how to coordinate their best colors when they dress—basically doing what it takes to shine. While Threes are energetic and ambitious, they are also diplomatic —they want to be liked and esteemed by others. They strive to be presentable and appropriate, not wanting to come across in ways that would be disapproved of. They know how to put their best foot forward and present themselves in a way that highlights their energy and confidence.
Threes are, above all, goal-oriented. They get a particular objective in their sights and then actively engage in activities that will bring them closer to whatever they seek. They pursue their dreams tirelessly, and cannot understand why others are not similarly motivated. Thus, Threes also enjoy sharing self-development tips, explaining how to make money, lose weight, develop career skills, and so forth. They are hard workers, diligent and effective—and they like helping others to be that way, too.
To achieve their goals, Threes learn to be highly adaptable. They are able to change course when necessary and may even do so several times, including a change of career, if that is what it takes. They may try different approaches to problems until they find a formula that seems the most effective. Similarly, Threes quickly adapt to different social settings, always wanting to be appropriate and to exemplify the values of whatever group they are in. While their adaptability can be an enormous asset, it can also be overdone, leaving Threes unsure of who they are or what their own deepest values are.
In all of their dealings, Threes value efficiency and effectiveness, and they are often prized by businesses for these values. They are extremely goal-driven, and once they are given a task to perform, will do their best to make sure that it is done as quickly and efficiently as possible. The problem is that Threes can be efficient to a fault—becoming accomplishment machines, brushing their real feelings and needs aside to “get the job done.” This way of living can leave Threes feeling empty and emotionally isolated, despite the successes they may be having.
Problems arise because Threes learned in childhood that they are only valuable for their accomplishments and self-presentation. They believe that they will only be loved if they become extraordinary in some field of endeavor. Thus, the pressure to be outstanding in whatever they do is intense and draining. Even if they are not working at a career and are primarily keeping a home, they will strive to have the most outstanding home in their neighborhood and to be “Super-Mom” or “Super-Dad.” Threes find it difficult to stop or rest when they are caught up in their drive for success. They believe that to do so is to risk failure—and most Threes would rather die than fail and risk being humiliated. Their drive for success can also create conflicts with their personal or family life. Similarly, intimacy issues are not uncommon.
When Threes push themselves too hard and are unable to deliver everything that they would like to, they may resort to presenting successful images to others rather than letting people know their actual state or emotional condition. They attempt to convince others and themselves that they have no problems and that they are doing great, even though they may feel depressed or even burnt out. They believe that they can “fake it until they make it,” but if Threes do not slow down to deal with their emotional problems, sooner or later, a crash is inevitable.
In brief, Threes want to feel valuable and worthwhile, to excel, to be affirmed, to be effective and efficient, to perform well, to be “the best,” to have attention, to be admired, and to impress others. Threes do not want anything that looks like failure, to sit around “doing nothing,” to be overshadowed by others, to look unprepared or awkward, to be average, to ask others for help or support, or to be caught in distortions of the truth.