In every room I speak in, I carry with me the perspective of someone who walks between two worlds.
And truthfully, I believe we all do.
There’s the world we come from—the world of our home fire.
It’s the place that shaped us, the space where we learned how to love, how to survive, how to be.
It’s where we absorbed our values, our beliefs, our customs.
These are not always written down, but they are deeply embedded in who we are.
This home world gives us a sense of identity and purpose.
Then, there’s the other world—the one we step into every day when we show up for work.
We step onto a stage, walk into a boardroom, a classroom, a clinic, a site, or a store.
This is the mainstream, the world we contribute to through our roles, responsibilities, and callings.
This world often has its own rules, its own pace, its own expectations.
And between these two worlds, we walk a line.
That space in between is where we live.
Where we reconcile.
And sometimes, where we wrestle.
But it’s also where the magic happens.
Because in that space, we carry teachings.
These teachings are more than lessons—they are inheritances.
They were passed down to me from a time before my own.
Rooted in a Korean tradition that doesn’t always translate neatly into English.
But if I had to translate them, I’d say they’re life truths.
Anchors.
Guiding principles.
And here’s the beautiful part: you don’t have to be Korean to receive them.
You don’t need to come from a specific background to understand the feeling of being shaped by two worlds.
You already know it.
You live it.
So my invitation to you is this: honor the teachings that shaped you.
Let the wisdom of your home fire guide your steps, even when you’re far from it.
Let it be the quiet voice behind your decisions.
The source of courage when the world demands more than you think you can give.
Because when we lead with our teachings—when we speak from that fire—we don’t just navigate the world.
We change it.
hiy hiy
