Episode 25: Cynthia Pong (@embracechangenyc) is an ex-lawyer turned career coach. She received her JD from the NYU School of Law and served as a public defender for six years before founding her own business: Embrace Change. Now, Cynthia works as a career coach and workshop facilitator for navigating career change, negotiation, and more. While most of our episodes leave off with a motivational, inspiring message to our young audience, Cynthia's note is focused on empathy, and being kind to oneself throughout the process of not only career searching, but also life itself. In episode 25 of the Why You No Doctor podcast, Cynthia and Dominic discuss her transition from lawyer to entrepreneur, how to mitigate burnout, therapy, and more.Show Notes:

• 0:00 - Introduction to Cynthia Pong, her work, and how she became feminist career coach
• 4:22 - On being an introvert: pros and cons in the workplace
• 8:39 - The structure of Cynthia's work: how she works with her clients
• 12:00 - A discussion on leadership: how does someone grow into a leadership role? How Cynthia helps develop leadership skills for her clients + the difference between personal vs. career growth.
• 17:30 - On the importance of following through
• 18:40 - Therapy: Cynthia's story on re-framing thoughts and shifting behaviors
• 22:52 - More on Cynthia's background: where she grew up, her career aspirations while in college, and going from a public-defense lawyer to launching her own business
• 28:26 - How difficult was the decision to leave her public defender position? Looking back, would she have done anything differently?
• 34:05 - How do you decide to change careers, or to stick with your current path?
• 42:34 - A deeper dive into the transition to consulting: side hustles, working part-time at a Farmer's market, etc.
• 45:18 - On Cynthia's new career as a coach and consultant: what's different?
• 48:37 - What does success mean for Cynthia today?
• 50:57 - The risk of burning out as an entrepreneur
• 58:26 - Cynthia's advice for young Asian-American graduates
• 1:04:58 - Outro: how to find Cynthia online, etc.

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