Meet Alice Lee

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alice Lee. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alice below.

Alice, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

In 7th grade, a private high school came to give us a presentation on the wonderful programs and resources their campus offers. They boasted high SAT scores and near perfect graduation rates to prestigious colleges for the price of $15K a year (in 1995 money). I excitedly went home to show my parents the folder of impressive brochures, thinking they’d be so proud of me for wanting to get a better education than what our public school could provide. My mom squinted and frowned, expressing disapproval that I wanted to deviate from the education my older sisters had. My dad said, “it doesn’t matter where you go to school. A good student can learn anywhere.” I felt crushed and confused.

At 12 years old, I didn’t understand that for a pair of immigrant/refugee parents of three, money was hard earned and carefully spent. I didn’t understand that government housing, food stamps, and medicaid meant we were poor. They both worked hard and taught us how to be thrifty so we never felt lacking. My dad went to night school and became an aeronautical mechanic; my mom became a hairdresser and opened her own salon. 30+ years later, they’ve retired comfortably and travel the world together. Their three daughters, each entrepreneurs and mothers and homeowners, are the product of their tenacity and strong work ethic.

I think back often to what my dad said about “good students”. My parents were my first teachers but the world is my school.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Everyday, there are countless ways that we can be unhappy or dissatisfied. To find joy and ease takes practice, which will eventually become our default behavior. As a potter (and a Buddhist), I integrate this practice into the production of my work as well as into the final product. Nothing teaches me about patience, acceptance, and flexibility the way clay does; there is only so much about the environment and materials one can control. When making my pieces on the wheel, hand-building, or carving, I maintain a meditative state of mindfulness and the pieces themselves often have loving-kindness messages on them, like “happiness”, “love”, or our very popular “good morning gorgeous”.

Our brand’s motto is: “HUMANING IS HARD”. It is but we need not suffer.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The 3 most impactful qualities in my journey are:

-RESOURCEFULNESS: Believe in your own ability to solve problems. Look at obstacles as puzzles to propel you forward. No sales at your first event: Why? What were you selling, who were you selling to, how were you selling it? Blocked by not knowing how to do something: how do you learn to do it? Who can teach you or help you do it? If you don’t already know the answer, you are brilliant enough to figure it out.

-RESILIENCY: Cardi B has a song called “Get Up 10”; the premise being “knock me down 9x, I get up 10”. With all due respect, you get knocked down 9x ,you get up 9x but I appreciate the sentiment and echo that mindset. I look at people who are wildly successful at what they do, whether it’s business, sports, art, whatever, they all wanted it more than their setbacks. Yes, there are times when I feel exhausted and defeated. I’ll allow myself time to cry and rest (see next point) and then ask myself “how badly do I want it?” The answer so far has always been, “I want it more than I want to quit”.

-BALANCE: Put on your own mask before helping others. If your cup is empty there is no way you can sustain a happy healthy life. Work hard, yes AND make sure you take time to rest and allow your mind to reboot. Driving yourself into the ground will not get you martyr points but it will get you more mistakes, more reactivity, and more problems later. Maintaining balance in the different areas in your life (parent, friend, romantic partner, sister/brother, self, etc.) will help create a buffer during times of stress because you’ll have cultivated a network of support.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

There is a Zen meditation saying, “If you don’t have time to meditate for an 1hr …, then you should meditate for 2…” Sure, it would be great to have that kind of time but the sentiment means that if we are running around unfocused we end up wasting more time than if we invested those moments towards cultivating a calmer mind.

I recently tried a mindfulness experiment where I sat for 20-30 minutes everyday for 90 days. I followed my sit with a short metta practice, where I thought about different people in my life and sent them loving-kindness. For those three months, I felt calmer, kinder, and was vastly more productive. When it was over, I went about my busy days, screen-facing rather than meditating and within a week I felt overwhelmed, irritable, and full of self-doubt. I had a cry-fest breakdown.

Of course, there may have been other factors contributing to that state of mind but as soon as I got back on the meditation wagon, my stamina to endure stress and discomfort rose. Meditation doesn’t magically make life perfect; it makes the imperfections hurt less, a lot less. Pain is mandatory, suffering is optional.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://akuriouslife.com
• Instagram: @akuriouslife
• Facebook: @akuriouslife
• Linkedin: na
• Twitter: na
• Youtube: na
• Yelp: na
• Soundcloud: na
• Other: na

Image Credits

Photo credit: Growing Boy Media (@growingboymedia)