This past year is best summed up with two skills that will continue to be a lifetime challenge for me - Presence and Patience. 2024 was filled with strong reminders that Presence, when combined with Patience, creates ripples that don’t always reveal their impact right away.

Presence is the stone, when dropped into the water, creating waves that quietly radiate, traveling farther than we can see, touching shores and lives we may never know. Patience is what will enable us to see the beauty of these ripples, building upon each other, albeit at their own pace.

01

The presence

The presence of parenting

My two daughters are a source of joy, laughter, frustration and fear (an odd combination that I am sure all parents understand well 😀). I spent many hours interviewing parents this year, from newbie parents of newborns to seasoned parents of teenagers and adults. The common lesson? While we see the immediate ripples from their excited squeals and mischievous giggles, there are also quieter ripples, the ripple effects of which may take decades to reveal their true power.

I am encouraged to learn every Lego tower we build, every doll we dress, every school performance we practice, is a seed planted in their hearts. Even the small acts - listening to their daily highlights and lowlights, gossiping about who did what on the playground - is another stone, sending out ripples of confidence for their future selves.

I have embraced the art of selective memory: quickly forgetting the tantrums and stubborn “no’s”, choosing instead to focus on their bright eyes that light up when I suggest a new activity and their excited “Mommy!” when I come home from work.

I have embraced the art of selective memory: quickly forgetting the tantrums and stubborn “no’s”, choosing instead to focus on their bright eyes that light up when I suggest a new activity and their excited “Mommy!” when I come home from work.

Admittedly, the 10-year-Gantt-chart Linh also eagerly awaits the awesome adult humans to come. And here, Patience reminds me that parenting is not about immediate results - it is about trusting in the process, and treasuring every moment as they happen, no matter how clumsy or naughty.

The presence of mentoring

The passing of a former manager this year sparked reflection on how all the managers in my career have created ripples in my life that continue to expand.

The passing of a former manager this year sparked reflection on how all the managers in my career have created ripples in my life that continue to expand.

This manager, during my first week, told me, “I don’t want to look over and see you typing away all day. I want you to sit, and stare at a wall.” My younger self was bewildered at the directive to slack off at work, and by my own boss nonetheless! But I eventually understood his sage advice - to spend more time thinking and reasoning, learning to delegate, and trusting the team to execute.

Another manager put me on edge every time he started the “I am a tree” conversation. As a public equities fund manager, he was supposed to teach me the art of analyzing stocks, not pontificate about the meaning of life! This lesson took me about 10 years to learn. Finally, as I near the half century mark, I get it - a tree is just a tree, and it is happy being a tree. And as it ages, it gets stronger, more confident in itself. Its roots spread far, its trunk grows wide and stable - and all this takes time and Patience.

Another manager put me on edge every time he started the “I am a tree” conversation. As a public equities fund manager, he was supposed to teach me the art of analyzing stocks, not pontificate about the meaning of life! This lesson took me about 10 years to learn. Finally, as I near the half century mark, I get it - a tree is just a tree, and it is happy being a tree. And as it ages, it gets stronger, more confident in itself. Its roots spread far, its trunk grows wide and stable - and all this takes time and Patience.

Reflecting on all the working lunches and business trip dinners in my younger career, I see that some ripples take much longer than we anticipate to reach the other shore. It is a happy reminder for my mentor self that guidance in someone’s career, as well as presence in their life, is not always immediate, but it is enduring.

02

The patience

The patience of healing

I have spent the past 5 months recovering from a frozen shoulder. Much to my doctor’s chagrin, I refused the medications. And much to my dismay, I can no longer just “shake it off”. In slowing down, I have realized that healing is not a battle to be won but a process to be respected. This experience has taught me that, like with everything else in life, we just have to stay positive, put in the work, and the ripples of our efforts will eventually materialize.

The patience of teaching

As the CEO of a training and development company, and a content creator, I truly believe in the multiplicative power of a simple yet concrete how-to, followed by small, intentional practices. My challenge is that while the concept of Presence is widely accepted, most learners do not grasp the amount of Patience that is also required. Many have heard of the 10,000-hour rule, but yet still search for the 1-hour path to mastery.

The past few years of building Skills Bridge have really helped me to appreciate consistency. Simply doing something, consistently, over an extended period, can be transformative, creating waves of growth and impact that reach far beyond the initial effort.

The past few years of building Skills Bridge have really helped me to appreciate consistency. Simply doing something, consistently, over an extended period, can be transformative, creating waves of growth and impact that reach far beyond the initial effort.

Thank you

for your presence and patience

As I reflect on the past year, I am humbled by the lessons I have learned, and am grateful for the presence and patience of all of you - our clients, students, followers - our special Team Lac Quan community. Thank you for being part of my journey - your presence in my life has undoubtedly created ripples that I treasure deeply!

Wishing you a year filled with moments of quiet reflection, intentional action, and the joy of seeing your own ripples unfold.