Turning challenges into gifts from (cruel & curious) life itself
Joon
9 Aug 2026
Views 143
A new painting from yours truly just dropped! ย The whole thing started back in December when I started with sketching out the outlines. Then, I colored peonies for a good while. A LOTย of them. Enough peonies for a lifetime. It's been agonizing and endlessly repetitive 7 months, and I thought it would never end! ๐ญ
Goeseok morando (ๆช็ณ็กไธนๅ, Peonies and Strange Rocks) by Joonyoung Kim
Copyrights @Joonyoung Kim 2026ย
I'm super proud of myself for finishing this latest piece, but that's not what this story is about...!
But it did, as everything in life does, and I don't mean that in a negative way, but in a more "there's always a light at the end of the tunnel and it's f-king glorious" kinda way. Thank goodness I didn't give up on it. Hallelujah! ๐
I must say I'm quite proud of me, and happy with how it turned out in the end. ๐ It is quite colorful and beautiful. It's uniquely me. I'm really happy with it.
But the painting also holds my longing, as all minhwa pieces do.ย
Peonies, in the traditional East Asian paintings, stand for abundance. And the strange looking rocks at the bottom symbolize integrity. ย My longing is to create emotional, mental and material abundance in my life, and in the lives of my clients and those around me, built upon my professional intellectual integrity through my leadership development services.ย The painting holds all of the deep sincere longing. ย It's a gift to myself, and to the space. I wanted to hang it in my office as a beautiful background on Zoom so that I can share this longing with my clients from all over the world. ย Manifest...โค๏ธ๐
But,ย life is ruthlessly curious and always throws curveballs at us. Back then, I had no idea that my landlord was going to kick me out of my office. ย Yes.... completely clueless indeed. (I'm saying that in the evilest of all evil voices I can manage.)
I was absolutely blindsidedย when he informed me in June in the most gentle and guilty manner that he wanted to sell the space and the new buyer would like to move in to the space and that I was to vacate the premise when the contract ends at the end of the year!ย He was so sheepish that I almost didn't get mad at him at first.
BUT I WAS! ย I was f-ing pissed. ย I put in about $30K just to renovate this damn space when I first moved in 1.5 years ago. That's A LOT of money to me. I was still paying off the loan, as a matter of fact! ย I felt bullied and pushed around, and powerless. ย And I did NOT like that at all.
And I was scared. Completely unabashedly fearful. ย If I were to move out, I was obligated to take down all the renovation and put the space back to the hollow sh!thole of an utter void it once was, which was going to cost me just as much money as it did to fix it up. Where would I find that chunk of money at this point? ย Where the heck would I go anyway?ย Back to my lowly home office?? Hell no! ย (to be fair, my home office is completely functional and wonderful in its own way, but working from home, as many of you would agree, doesn't offer the kind of focus and engagement that a dedicated separated work space could offer. Am I right or am I right? ๐คทโโ๏ธ)ย
What does all of this mean to my operation - scale back?? ย This year, I was just starting to feel like a momentum was building. I'm not a big feng shui person, but this space carries good energy for me and I've been growing and expanding. I do good, no. ย Not just good. ย I do great work and offer amazing value here.
I'm a very sensorial person in a sense that I deeply value how I shape my physical surroundings.ย I do my utmost to design my spaces mindfully and intentionally within the means of what I can rummage through Ikea, keeping in mind how my space affects my mind, body and spirit.ย Plenty of room that allows movement and flow of activities. Good ventilation and plenty of natural light. How I design the soundscape and lighting in the space. The view I get to enjoy. ย Believe me. I don't have it all luxurious, penthouse, corner office-ish, but I design it fancy and messy enough for my beautifully creative soul to thrive, home and office and everywhere else.
Behold!
I give you a quick tour of the said controversial, messy, and equally nifty, office
so long story short, I got tired of worrying and feeling bullied. I decided to take control of the situation and buy the damn place myself. (waaaaaat!)
As of July 31st, this space is mine. ย Signed and sealed. (waaaaaaaaaat!)
Well, technically, the bank owns it. ๐คทโโ๏ธ ย
But my name is on it!ย (waaaaaaaaaat!)
There's no going back. ๐ฑ
And no one can kick me out anymore!! ๐ฅ๐
๐ฅ Yes to independence.ย
๐ฅ Yes to agency.ย
๐ฅ Yes to freedom.ย
๐ฅ Yes to making a bold choice.ย
Yes! Yes! Yes!
And, of course, the fear is still there. Was this the right move? Will I be able to make the interest payments every month until I die? Will I get my shit together to grow my operation to a new level? ย What if something happens to the space? ย A fire could break out! What if I become a massively popular artist and decide I no longer work as a leadership coach? What if a handsome intelligent rich homely Swedish man proposes to me and I suddenly get married and have to leave the country to start a new life as a trad wife? What if N.Korea decides to invade and the country goes to war? What if I get a terminal illness and can't work and have to die soon?ย
Blah blah blah blah blah
That's the fear talking, constructing completely unwarranted scenarios in my mind and spiraling me out of control.
I'm wiser than to let myself be guided by fear.
FACT: ย fear and doubt are signals that I'm doing something new.ย I'm taking risks. I'm being bold. I'm treading the unknown territory. I'm moving, going with the flow and riding the waves.ย
I'm growing.ย
And, undoubtedly and most importantly,ย I'm learning something. Something new and important. Something that will support the beautiful aspirations in my heart, like what the peonies and strange looking rocks symbolize - abundance and integrity for myself and for everyone around me.
The office is another beautiful and daring gift to myself. It's a scary, exciting and curious key to my dreams for the future.ย
Yes. A third "gift" of mine is to turn challenges into gifts from life. Y'all hear me out. Reality is a construct. It all depends on how you see it, and life always plants opportunities in challenges. We just gotta see them and seize them.
I hate to end this with such a cliche rhetorical question, but that is the extent of my writing prodigy, so please bear with me...
What challenge are you turning into a gift today?
Joonyoung Kim is an executive leadership coach and founder of Mindesign. She works with leaders on resonant productivity and creative leadership, the kind that sustains rather than depletes. Based in Korea, working with people everywhere.
A new painting from yours truly just dropped! ย The whole thing started back in December when I started with sketching out the outlines. Then, I colored peonies for a good while. A LOTย of them. Enough peonies for a lifetime. It's been agonizing and endlessly repetitive 7 months, and I thought it would never end! ๐ญ
Goeseok morando (ๆช็ณ็กไธนๅ, Peonies and Strange Rocks) by Joonyoung Kim
Copyrights @Joonyoung Kim 2026ย
I'm super proud of myself for finishing this latest piece, but that's not what this story is about...!
But it did, as everything in life does, and I don't mean that in a negative way, but in a more "there's always a light at the end of the tunnel and it's f-king glorious" kinda way. Thank goodness I didn't give up on it. Hallelujah! ๐
I must say I'm quite proud of me, and happy with how it turned out in the end. ๐ It is quite colorful and beautiful. It's uniquely me. I'm really happy with it.
But the painting also holds my longing, as all minhwa pieces do.ย
Peonies, in the traditional East Asian paintings, stand for abundance. And the strange looking rocks at the bottom symbolize integrity. ย My longing is to create emotional, mental and material abundance in my life, and in the lives of my clients and those around me, built upon my professional intellectual integrity through my leadership development services.ย The painting holds all of the deep sincere longing. ย It's a gift to myself, and to the space. I wanted to hang it in my office as a beautiful background on Zoom so that I can share this longing with my clients from all over the world. ย Manifest...โค๏ธ๐
But,ย life is ruthlessly curious and always throws curveballs at us. Back then, I had no idea that my landlord was going to kick me out of my office. ย Yes.... completely clueless indeed. (I'm saying that in the evilest of all evil voices I can manage.)
I was absolutely blindsidedย when he informed me in June in the most gentle and guilty manner that he wanted to sell the space and the new buyer would like to move in to the space and that I was to vacate the premise when the contract ends at the end of the year!ย He was so sheepish that I almost didn't get mad at him at first.
BUT I WAS! ย I was f-ing pissed. ย I put in about $30K just to renovate this damn space when I first moved in 1.5 years ago. That's A LOT of money to me. I was still paying off the loan, as a matter of fact! ย I felt bullied and pushed around, and powerless. ย And I did NOT like that at all.
And I was scared. Completely unabashedly fearful. ย If I were to move out, I was obligated to take down all the renovation and put the space back to the hollow sh!thole of an utter void it once was, which was going to cost me just as much money as it did to fix it up. Where would I find that chunk of money at this point? ย Where the heck would I go anyway?ย Back to my lowly home office?? Hell no! ย (to be fair, my home office is completely functional and wonderful in its own way, but working from home, as many of you would agree, doesn't offer the kind of focus and engagement that a dedicated separated work space could offer. Am I right or am I right? ๐คทโโ๏ธ)ย
What does all of this mean to my operation - scale back?? ย This year, I was just starting to feel like a momentum was building. I'm not a big feng shui person, but this space carries good energy for me and I've been growing and expanding. I do good, no. ย Not just good. ย I do great work and offer amazing value here.
I'm a very sensorial person in a sense that I deeply value how I shape my physical surroundings.ย I do my utmost to design my spaces mindfully and intentionally within the means of what I can rummage through Ikea, keeping in mind how my space affects my mind, body and spirit.ย Plenty of room that allows movement and flow of activities. Good ventilation and plenty of natural light. How I design the soundscape and lighting in the space. The view I get to enjoy. ย Believe me. I don't have it all luxurious, penthouse, corner office-ish, but I design it fancy and messy enough for my beautifully creative soul to thrive, home and office and everywhere else.
Behold!
I give you a quick tour of the said controversial, messy, and equally nifty, office
so long story short, I got tired of worrying and feeling bullied. I decided to take control of the situation and buy the damn place myself. (waaaaaat!)
As of July 31st, this space is mine. ย Signed and sealed. (waaaaaaaaaat!)
Well, technically, the bank owns it. ๐คทโโ๏ธ ย
But my name is on it!ย (waaaaaaaaaat!)
There's no going back. ๐ฑ
And no one can kick me out anymore!! ๐ฅ๐
๐ฅ Yes to independence.ย
๐ฅ Yes to agency.ย
๐ฅ Yes to freedom.ย
๐ฅ Yes to making a bold choice.ย
Yes! Yes! Yes!
And, of course, the fear is still there. Was this the right move? Will I be able to make the interest payments every month until I die? Will I get my shit together to grow my operation to a new level? ย What if something happens to the space? ย A fire could break out! What if I become a massively popular artist and decide I no longer work as a leadership coach? What if a handsome intelligent rich homely Swedish man proposes to me and I suddenly get married and have to leave the country to start a new life as a trad wife? What if N.Korea decides to invade and the country goes to war? What if I get a terminal illness and can't work and have to die soon?ย
Blah blah blah blah blah
That's the fear talking, constructing completely unwarranted scenarios in my mind and spiraling me out of control.
I'm wiser than to let myself be guided by fear.
FACT: ย fear and doubt are signals that I'm doing something new.ย I'm taking risks. I'm being bold. I'm treading the unknown territory. I'm moving, going with the flow and riding the waves.ย
I'm growing.ย
And, undoubtedly and most importantly,ย I'm learning something. Something new and important. Something that will support the beautiful aspirations in my heart, like what the peonies and strange looking rocks symbolize - abundance and integrity for myself and for everyone around me.
The office is another beautiful and daring gift to myself. It's a scary, exciting and curious key to my dreams for the future.ย
Yes. A third "gift" of mine is to turn challenges into gifts from life.
Y'all hear me out. Reality is a construct. It all depends on how you see it, and life always plants opportunities in challenges. We just gotta see them and seize them.
I hate to end this with such a cliche rhetorical question, but that is the extent of my writing prodigy, so please bear with me...
What challenge are you turning into a gift today?
Joonyoung Kim is an executive leadership coach and founder of Mindesign. She works with leaders on resonant productivity and creative leadership, the kind that sustains rather than depletes. Based in Korea, working with people everywhere.
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