Welcome To Asian Women Of Power

Welcome To Asian Women Of Power

 
Hi, Kimchi Chow's here. Welcome. Life is unpredictable and it can often feel impossible to find a balance between what you want and what you have. Perhaps you are feeling trapped or constrained because of your cultural boundaries. Whatever the case, I'm glad you're here with me today. Our guests on Asian Women of Power all have similar backgrounds and traits live me. They have found a way to create a life that gives them the freedom, power, and choice to be who they want to be while still respecting their culture. In this episode, I will share the following who is Kimchi Chow, my vision for this podcast, the release schedule, and what to expect for future episodes. So let's get started. 
My name is Kimchi Chow. This is my married name. Before that, I was called and known as Kimchi Thi Nguyen. I'm a refugee from Vietnam. I came here when I was 20 years old. Now I have lived in America for almost 40 years. 

Coming to America and receiving support from the American government were the biggest blessings I experienced when I was 20 years old. Everyone seemed so kind, so generous, so beautiful. Everyone seems to work hard and take good care of their children. At least, that is what I saw. This made a strong impression on me. So I learned to imitate the American way and thought that the American way was the better way for me to live.

My family started to adopt Christmas, New Year, Thanksgiving, Halloween, and birthday celebrations. In Vietnam, Christmas is only celebrated by Christians and Catholics. For other religions, we don't do anything to celebrate Christmas or New Year. We celebrate the Lunar New Year, which typically happens in February. For birthdays, most parents don't do anything for their kids. The family will celebrate the birthday of our grandparents when they reach 70, 80, or 90 years old. 

So, as you can imagine, my family and other Asian families now celebrate and adopt all American holidays as well as keep our Asian holidays.  Over time, Vietnamese or Asian culture and American or Western culture changed me and shaped me into who I am today as I assimilated new ideas from Western culture while still valuing my Asian culture. 

The process, the experience, the lessons, the perceptions, and the decisions were not easy, but they were worthwhile for me to go through. There were many moments of pain, regret, and shame because I did not know what I wanted or how I expressed my needs.  

I had a constant conflict with most of my decisions in life, trying to navigate between the two worlds. If I made a decision that I thought was aligned with the American culture, I would hear the objection that it is not the way we do things in an Asian family. This happened to me for almost 30 years, which caused me to be angry, confused, and frustrated. I became aggressive because all I heard was that is not right; that is not how you do things here;  you are so selfish; you only think about yourself, et cetera. These comments gave me so much doubt and sadness, and I lost confidence in my belief that I am a good person and that it is okay for me to sometimes take care of myself first instead of always putting others first. 

Now I live the life that I want. I know my priorities in life, and I have my principles and values that I will not let anyone pressure me to compromise. The process to get here takes time, but as long as you are determined and willing, you can be here too.
 
When people ask me, "Why do you do this, Kimchi?" I searched deep in my soul and found this is the reason I believe in human equality; I encourage adaptation, I support everyone's right to choose how they live their life, and I challenge the status quo and old thinking.  I am passionate about transformation, progress, and constant learning to improve our lives. 

In this podcast, I will share tools, tips, and views from my own life to help make your life easier, better, happier, and allow you to be more at peace with yourself. I will bring in some guests who have lessons to share about life purpose and relationships and how they overcome their challenges to create a life that they are proud of. 

Each episode will shine more light on your life and help you gain more clarity about who you are, help you recognize that we all have basic needs as human beings, and that is nothing to be ashamed of. 

I hope that the message from each episode will power you to become a powerful woman, someone who knows her net worth, who is confident about herself and her identity, and who is willing to change, improve and evolve to become a better version of herself for her and for future generations. 

The format for this podcast is a mixture of interviews and self-talk. We will publish it bimonthly on Fridays. 

That's it for episode zero. Please tune in on Fridays. Please share with your fellow Asian friends. I would love to hear back from you on each episode. 

If you know any Asian women or Asian men who might be a good candidates for my show, please let me know. 

Now, for you, our listeners, what is your takeaway from today's episode? We want to hear from you. If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe, review, and share the link to this podcast on your social media and tell a friend we appreciate your support.

Until next time, Live Life Loud!

About Kimchi Chow

Kimchi Chow, Founder & CEO of Asian Women of Power, and Host of Asian Women of Power podcast. Born and raised in Vietnam, Kimchi is the first generation of immigrants in America. With a diverse background, from high tech to service industry to investing to personal growth, Kimchi knew what it took to be successful, happy and fulfilled in life. Now, Kimchi is working as a coach to support her clients, the Asian American women, about Life, Relationships and Culture, to help her clients create the life that they love. Kimchi started a movement called “Live Life Loud” and a podcast called “Asian Women of Power” in May 2018. Today, this podcast has widely spread to over 22 countries around the world. Kimchi’s mission is to empower Asian American women to speak their truth, to stand up for their rights and to show up for what they believe in. To learn more about her programs, her podcast and her movement, please join her on her Facebook group, or connect with her through LinkedIn. Kimchi currently lives in San Jose, California with her husband. She is also serving on the Board of Advisor for The AGIF organization (www.TheAGIF.org), and the Board of Volunteer for CASPA organization (www.CASPA.com).

Connect with Kimchi Chow at:
Website: www.AsianWomenOfPower.com
Podcast: www.AsianWomenOfPower.com/podcast
Facebook Group: www.JoinAsianWomenOfPower.com
Personal Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kimchi.Chow
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimchichow