We were lucky to catch up with Poiab Vue recently and have shared our conversation below.
Poiab, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with us today. We’re excited to dive into your story and your work, but first let’s start with a broader topic that might be stopping many of our readers from pursuing their dreams – haters, nay-sayers, etc. How have you managed to persist despite haters and nay-sayers that inevitably follow folks who are doing something unique, special or off the beaten path?
When I decided that I wanted to quit my stable and predicable job, I received a lot of push back, especially from the people closest to me. I had assume that they would be happy, congratulate, and tell me that I can inspire to do anything. Instead, I encountered pushback. They questioned my judgment and put their insecurities, scarcity mindset, and judgements to me. At first, I was taken aback. I felt alone and isolated.
As a Mental Health Therapist, we have been trained to deplete ourselves and well-being for the sake of our clients. When I decided that I was going to value my worth and time, I decided not to to panel with insurance companies. The comments that I received from my own fellow therapists were some of the most shaming and judgmental that I have ever received. However, I decided to follow through and be only private pay.
I have been in my practice and business over year now and the growth and opportunities that I have created and been invited to would never have occurred if I had not believe in myself and put myself out there. Now, people see me doing these amazing things, creating content, owning my time and schedule, and not feeling stressed and burned out. These original nay-sayers and haters all want to know “my secret” and when will I be hiring, because now, they want me to create opportunities so they can join my vision. I’ve learned that the best way to ignore my haters is to move in silence and let my work and actions speak for myself. I don’t need to show off or prove to anyone how well I am doing in life. Silence is the best sign of success.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My name is Poiab (Pie-e-ah) Vue and I am a second generation daughter of Hmong refugee immigrants and grew up in a small city in the Midwest. As a child to Hmong refugees who came to the United States after the Vietnam War, like most children of immigrants, I was stuck in two cultures. I wanted to embrace the American culture that told me that I could be American even though I didn’t look like the rest of my classmates . When I would go home after school and prepare for the weekends, I would let go of my American identity and try to embrace my Hmong heritage. I grew up in a large family where I was the sixth child out of eight kids. I had six brothers and one sister. We were taught that family was everything and without family, we wouldn’t be able to survive.
As far as I could remember, my mother drilled into me that my path in life was to grow up, get married, have kids, and lose myself and my identity as I serve my husband and his family. As I witnessed the women in my culture follow this path, I saw many of them lose themselves, their identity, and dreams as they had to fit into this narrative. I made a vow to myself that I would have a different life, even if that meant challenging the status quo of society, and believing in myself and my dreams. When I decided that I wanted to follow my own path regardless of anyone else’s opinions by not giving a fuck, I wanted to empower other women to follow their own path, hence, I started my therapy company called Your Own Pathway Therapy in 2022. I specialize in working with women, grief and loss, trauma work, and organizational trauma. I am licensed in the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin.
My brand is all about following your own path as a person and especially as a woman. Right now, there is a war against women. Everyone wants to have a say and make decisions about our bodies, our choices, how we should live our lives, and what they think is best for us. NO ONE knows what is best for us except US. To truly live your best, authentic, shameless life, a woman has to love, value, and know that she is worthy and not settle for the bare minimum.
In 2024, I am excited that I will be adding Empowerment Life Coaching to work in individuals to empower them to live the life that they have always dreamed of by working on their mindset. I will also be adding Organizational Leadership Consulting to work with start ups or existing companies to work with their middle management or leadership team on how to maintain their mental well-being so they can show up and be more present, show empathy in their communication, so they can be more effective leaders.
I will also be starting a YouTube Channel call Your Own Pathway where I will focus on educating and informing my audiences about how to maintain mentally healthy holistic life. Areas of focus will include a person’s : personal, professional, financial, and spiritual life. I am excited for 2024!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
There are so many skills, qualities, and areas of knowledge that are essential when starting your own path. I am always learning and so will you. Hence, I would say that these three have helped me stay positive and motivated:
Believe: First and foremost, you have to believe in yourself. It sounds so cliché but this is essential. You will have haters, negative people, who are wanting and waiting for you to fail and be there to say “I told you so.” You gotta bet on yourself, believe that you can do anything, even though there are days when you question why the hell you are doing this. You may envy the 9-5 people because they have predictability but then you remember that you are meant for more. You’re meant for more than just mediocracy, then you pick up that pen, open that computer, camera, or whatever tool that will change your life. You have to almost become delusional and start imagining that the life you envisioned is already yours.
Bold: Along with believe, you have to be bold. Bold means just going for it, taking risks, sending that email, knowing that you may be be ghosted, ignored or be rejected. Boldness is marching ahead and saying “I got this.” Turning those “it’s not going to happen” to “what if it happens?” Be bold and own that boldness.
Mindset: Your mindset will be the most important asset. If you don’t have a positive mindset, you will fail. Your mindset comes back to believing in you, focusing on the positives, and not dwelling too long on the negatives. It’s all about how fast you can recover from setbacks, learning from them, and trying something new that may or may not work. It’s about giving yourself self-compassion and permitting yourself to have learning curves (not failures). If you need help working on your mindset, I would highly encourage working with a coach on this.
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
I have learned so much about myself as I have started this journey. I have contemplated where I will be if I hadn’t chosen to take the leap of faith in myself. The biggest contrast for me since 2022, would be how much my mindset has improved. I used to let other people’s scarcity beliefs and insecurities get to me; which then would make me question myself and what I want. I have learned to trust myself, my instincts, and intuition. Due to the change in my mindset, I no longer dwell on the negatives if I lost a client, if I got turned down for an opportunity, or if something didn’t go my way. Instead, I view these mis-opportunities as re-direction and potential opportunities. I now have a growth mindset and instead of a scarcity mindset. By adopting this, my outlook both personally and professionally has changed my life for the better.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.yourownpathwaytherapy.com/
- Instagram: @poiabvue
- Facebook: Your Own Pathway Therapy
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/poiab-vue-msw-licsw-approved-clinical-supervisor-0295ba184
