It wasn’t until I had known Cindy for quite some time that I learned she was the founder of her own company—a successful self-made entrepreneur with an extraordinary journey. She never carried herself with aggressive assertiveness, made grand declarations, or exuded intimidating energy. Instead, there was a quiet certainty about her, a steadiness that made me deeply curious about her story.
As I listened to her, I began to realize something profound: the truest choices in her life were often hidden beneath those light, effortless remarks.
"I went to Guangdong back then because the pay was better."
"Starting my own business? Well, I just had to take on more responsibilities at the time."
"During the pandemic, everyone was pushing through—we weren’t special."
These humble statements masked a crucial truth: at every critical juncture in her life, Cindy had actively chosen the harder path—the one that demanded more of her but also promised growth. This was never about being pushed by circumstance. It was a conscious act of self-realization.
The First Choice: Leaving Comfort Behind
In 2004, as graduates in Wuhan scrambled for stable jobs, civil service positions, or postgraduate degrees, Cindy also tried the conventional route—a local job with a meager salary and predictable hours. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that there had to be more.
When she landed a position at a small-town enterprise in Zhejiang—a "cushy job" with free room and board and a warm, familial atmosphere—she became unsure. "After a few months, I was getting plump and comfortable," she recalled. "Too comfortable. It scared me."
So she left.
Instead, she headed south to Guangdong, joining a strict, Taiwan manufacturing company. Twelve-hour workdays. Eight-person dormitories. Starting from the bottom as a junior merchandiser. While her peers were enjoying their youth, she memorized product codes, studied quality control standards, and dissected supply chain logistics.
This wasn’t hardship forced upon her. It was a deliberate apprenticeship.
Years later, as a CEO, she would recognize how deeply that experience shaped her—how the company’s lean management philosophy instilled in her an uncompromising commitment to quality, efficiency, and accountability. It became part of her DNA.
The Pattern of Her Choices
This same pattern repeated throughout her career:
Feminist scholars often discuss the "structural traps" women face—how seemingly easier choices can quietly chip away at their power to choose and make them dependent over time. Cindy’s story offers a way out.
At every moment when she could have relied—on a partner, on convention, on safety—she instead chose to take responsibility. Not out of defiance, but because of something she simply calls "a dream." That little girl whom people called “not one to be trifled with”—perhaps she had planted a seed of the dream in her heart early on. Over the years, as she grew, the seed took root and sprouted, blooming again and again with the unstoppable force of life.
(To be continued...)
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