#50 How to be Friends with Your Parents w/ Rae Tsai

I did everything my parents wanted me to do. 

In my early 20’s, I was the first person in my family to graduate from college, I had a great paying job from a big tech company and plans to marry my high school sweetheart.

In my parents eyes I was set up for success.

So when I told them I was leaving this all behind to become a coach and move to Bali, they were like, “Hold up, we immigrated from the Philippines and now you want to leave your cushy life and go BACK to a developing country?”

To them, I was regressing. All the hard work my family had put in and the sacrifices they made to give me a “better life” seemed futile.

They tried their best to understand where I was coming from. But it was hard for them to accept that coaching was an actual job because there wasn’t an office I had to report to, a pension plan or a steady paycheck. To them, it wasn’t a real career.

My parents are from the baby boomer generation, and what success means to them seems archaic and obsolete for most of us.

They didn’t have the internet growing up, social media or remote employment opportunities. So I get it.

Eventually they came around. They saw how happy I was in my new life and are super supportive of my choices. They’re my biggest fans ❤️

In the latest podcast episode, I speak with Rae Tsai who is a Life Coach, podcast host and member of the boomer generation. She grew up in Taiwan, immigrated to the US and raised her kids on the east coast. As a family they also experienced challenges around straddling the differences between eastern and western culture and generational gaps, which put a lot of stress on their relationship.

Rae put in a lot of work to learn how to build a loving connection with her adult children and shares her secrets on the show.

Listen to episode 50  now

I loved our chat and took away some pretty useful insights around how to be closer to my parents and be better friends with people in general. Hope you find something in this conversation that might serve you too.

Enjoy and take care!