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I’m Samorn Selim. 

I’m a lawyer turned career coach on a mission for us to take our careers from dread to joy. As the daughter of poor Lao refugees, I was told to pay my dues.

After coaching over 1,000 clients, I now realize that the idea that you have to pay your dues and work in a toxic place is a myth. 

We can face our challenges head on, do work we are passionate about, and work with good people with kind hearts to make a big impact. So even as we struggle, we can find a sense of belonging.

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  2. How To Lead As An Asian First-Gen Professional Without Burnout - Zeien Cheung, Asians Are Strong (Ep. 200)

How To Lead As An Asian First-Gen Professional Without Burnout - Zeien Cheung, Asians Are Strong (Ep. 200)

Mar 11, 2026

 

Are you an Asian first-gen professional tired of doing invisible labor and overfunctioning just to be noticed?  In this week's Career Unicorns - Spark Your Joy podcast, we sit down with the Zeien Cheung, Co-founder of Asians Are Strong and the visionary for Asian Women Are Strong Summit to discuss how to shift from worker bee to leader,  heal from perfectionism, and build psychological safety in our communities.

We dive deep into:

  • How immigrant family dynamics shape your career
  • What we carry as first-gen professionals and navigating intergenerational expectations
  • Co-founding Asians Are Strong by turning pain into purpose
  • The silent impact of anti-Asian hate on career growth
  • The importance of building your own network & infrastructure for success
  • Why psychological safety is non-negotiable in community
  • How to create a culture of belonging at work
  • Redefining the "Asian American" identity
  • How to activate potential in others by activating potential
  • The #1 secret to scaling your organization
  • The link between belonging and high performance
  • How to stop overfunctioning & perfectionism
  • The top quality when hiring leaders
  • How to break out of analysis paralysis
  • Trauma, safety, and the perfectionism trap
  • Your worth is not your work:
  • Asian Women Are Strong: Join the Movement (March 7th)
  • When it’s actually okay to say sorry (and when it's not)


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