16 Comments

"Exploit your privilege for all you've got to serve others."

I love your mindset on privilege, Michael.

I left corporate to pursue solopreneurship, and one of my privileges is I have a lot of savings as a safety net. I have insecurities about mentioning that, because I'm afraid people might say "oh you can quit because you had 6-figure jobs that made you a lot of money". But you know what, there're a lot of people with 6-figure jobs who are broke. I need to give myself more credit for working hard to earn, and working hard to save like a darn good Asian.

Yes, I have privileges. But I also work hard for them. I shouldn't be ashamed of what I was born with or what I've achieved.

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100% agree.

You're privileged because you decided to learn a high value skill, make smart financial decisions, and save money?

What a ridiculous accusation. But that's exactly what people accused me of.

Don't be insecure. Embrace it. Hiding it does nothing to serve you or person you want to help in the long-term.

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I agree, Mandy, such a powerful phrasing!

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I loved that post about your grandmother and so pleased it went “mega-viral” for you Michael 🫶🏻

I feel Privileged that I get to read your content and learn from your experiences, as well as borrowing your Grandmothers advice too 😉

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Your story on Notes is great Michael. It is a storytelling masterpiece showing how important it is to know your WHY for doing what you do, just like Simon Sinek writes about in his book It Starts With Why.

People who down talk content that hits on all point related to WHY doesn´t understand the concept of connection and emotion between humans and should do some homework on the topic.

Together with this post it is a two part Masterclass in writing online and online marketing! 🤩

Keep up the work you do and be the role model you are for us who are several steps behind you.

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I didn't aware of things to do before going viral. Thanks so much. It helped me a lot!

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Soul insightful.

Thank you 🙏

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I was soo happy when I clicked to see which post it was only to find it resonated! You do you! Got a subscriber in me mate!

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did you get what you wanted eg clients or sales etc? Genuine question.

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Wanting to be known-well and not well-known resonated with me. I established Personal Finance Economics to bring my university content to Substack because there is lousy personal finance advice on social media. I want readers to know my content and let me teach because I feel it will benefit them. I, too, had a viral moment with a note. But, then note activity slows to a crawl. I think well-known matters, too.

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Totally on point. Chasing the high of a viral post is like trying to hold water in your hands—feels great for a second, but it slips away before you even know it.

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Awesome 👏

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Great read (and I loved your viral Note that precipitated this). Privilege is being thrown around like it's something to ashamed of. Everyone has at least one privilege, no matter the situation. The same as everyone has a choice on whether they want to use that privilege for something productive, or to squander it. Those complaining are the ones who squandered theirs. Hurt people, hurt people.

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Thank you so much for sharing your experience, Michael.

I am sorry to hear that the story that changed your life so profoundly towards living according to your values and dreams got such background scatter...But I guess that's how it always will be like.

I feel the notion of "privilege" is such a difficult word. In general, it simply means that we are in a position that is fortunate or beneficial for a specific situation. Could be by luck, heritage or by working hard for it. Actually it does not matter. But it feels especially unfair if the beneficial position is based on something you worked for. You worked your job and had it all and of course, that made the logistics and financial aspects easier - or privileged. But it also meant giving up the very certainty and security that came with this lifestyle.

I had a similar career path and then decided to do it all over and go back to university full-time again. Was I privileged to sustain myself during this time? Yes. But I had worked for it before, and I made sacrifices.

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Thanks for sharing your follow-up, Michael! It's super interesting to learn what's happened since.

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Ahhh! Missed opportunity! Lol 🤣

I should have promote your viral note to get some eyeballs but I didn't! 😅

Btw, congratulations on your viral note! 👍💪✌️🙏😁

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