My Creative Life: Three Lessons That Could Have Saved Me Decades

Overcoming painful career mistakes to build the life I want.

Earlier this year I directed my first feature film. It was a truly amazing experience, not least because being a movie director is the thing I’ve wanted to do since I was twelve years old. So why has it taken decades to get there?

It started well. As a kid I would make movies on the home video camera. It was a huge VHS machine that I could barely carry. I would recreate scenes from Star Wars or James Bond, all edited in-camera. Later we would get a JVC camcorder that was much more portable, meaning I could take it to friends houses for after-school movie-making. A shortage of actors lead to performing and started my love of screen acting. I loved (and love) being both in front of and behind the camera.

Despite a passion for movies, when it came time to make decisions about my education I was always convinced/coerced into pursuing math, sciences and a professional career — something anyone (like me) who has an Asian parent will instantly recognize. In the long-term, this worked out for nobody. Not for me or my demanding Asian parent. All it did was waste years of my life. I studied to be a dentist for two years before dropping out of University. I had no plan for what I was going to do…