11/05/2026
My personal story
She Rises The Stories of Awakening &Transformation
Author: Dr Eva Wong Yuen Hwa
Company: Finleap Mastery Services
Profession: Financial Educator, Coach | Financial Planner
Position: Founder
I Worked So Hard to Succeed… Until I Realised I Was Not Happy
For a long time, I thought success meant one thing: work harder than everyone else and never allow yourself to relax.
That belief pushed me forward in life. But it also slowly took something away from me, i.e. my ability to enjoy living.
When I was young, I was not the hardworking type. From kindergarten to primary school, I cared more about playing than studying. To me, studying was tiring and boring. I never really understood why people said it was so important. Everything changed after one exam.
It was an important exam that determined whether I could move forward smoothly in school. I failed badly. That was the first time I realised I was far behind others. My father was very unhappy. He scolded me and said I didn’t put in enough effort. I felt sad, confused and lost but deep down, I knew he was right. The biggest problem was not just failing. I couldn’t understand what the teacher was teaching anymore. Because I didn’t build my foundation earlier, everything became difficult.
Even simple topics felt confusing. It was like everyone had already moved ahead and I was still trying to catch up from the starting point.
There were moments I wanted to give up. I didn’t understand why life had to be so hard. I just wanted to enjoy, to play, to be free. But I had no choice. I had to move forward. So I made a decision: If I was behind, then I would use effort to catch up.
I started studying seriously. I woke up early every day. I memorised everything again and again. If I didn’t understand, I repeated it many times. While others were resting, I continued. Slowly, my results improved. That was when I learned something important: If you want something, you must work for it. There is no shortcut. From that moment, I believed strongly in hard work. I told myself that if I wanted to succeed, I could not relax.
This belief followed me into my career.
When I started working, I gave everything I had. I pushed myself to achieve more and didn’t allow myself to slow down. Work became a way to prove myself. By my twenties, I became a manager and was earning a five-figure income. Compared to many people my age, I was doing well. On the outside, I looked successful. But inside, I was not as happy as people thought. My life became focused on only three things: work, career and money. I didn’t know how to enjoy life. I didn’t rest properly. Even when I had free time, I would find something to do. I felt uncomfortable doing nothing. I started to believe that rest and enjoyment were not good things. In my mind, if I relaxed, it meant I was not working hard enough. And if I was not working hard enough, I didn’t deserve success.
I also realised that I was chasing other people’s expectations, especially my father’s. If I did well, I felt accepted. If I didn’t, I felt like I was not good enough. So I kept pushing myself, without really asking what I wanted. Then one day, everything changed. My father passed away. Suddenly, the “standard” I had been following disappeared. I felt empty. I started asking myself “If success is no longer about making him happy, then what am I working for? What does success really mean?”
That period was very confusing, but it made me reflect deeply. Slowly, I began to realise something. Success is actually very short. When you achieve something, the happiness doesn’t last long. Then you move on to the next goal. It becomes a cycle.
If life is only about chasing goals, then when do we actually enjoy living? I believe it is because I was once a “bad student.” I know what it feels like to not understand, to fall behind and to feel lost. I didn’t start strong. I had to struggle, catch up
and rebuild myself step by step. In a way, I have become someone I used to fear: a teacher. And not just any teacher, but someone who truly understands both sides.
Why finance? Because it was my pain point.
I have experienced what it feels like to chase money, to depend on it as a definition of success and to feel empty even after achieving it. That is why today, when I teach financial management, I don’t just talk about numbers. I share a simple understanding. Money has three levels— survival, growth and thriving. At the survival stage, money is necessary. Without enough income, life becomes stressful and difficult. At the growth stage, we learn how to manage, build and grow our resources. But beyond that, there is the thriving stage where we learn how to enjoy what we have built. Many people stay stuck in survival. Some reach growth but forget to live. Very few truly experience thriving. To me, money is not everything. But if we don’t have enough, we will struggle just to survive. That is why financial education is not just about getting rich. It is about helping people move from survival to growth and eventually to a life where they can truly live. Looking back, I am thankful for my journey.
Working hard helped me move forward and created opportunities. But more importantly, it led me to this understanding: Life is not only about achieving. It is also about experiencing. If there is one thing I have learned, it is this: “Time is very precious”. We always think we have more time. But actually, time passes very fast. So why do we spend so much time chasing approval, but forget to experience our own life? If someone like my younger self is reading this, I want to say this to you. You can work hard, but don’t let fear control you. You can aim for success, but don’t let others define it for you. It is okay to try. It is okay to fail. It is okay to choose a different path.
If you want to start something, go ahead. If you feel tired, take a break. If you want a different life, make a change. There is no perfect decision in life. Every choice becomes part of your story. And this is part of mine.
Today, I am still learning. Still working. Still moving forward. But now, I am also learning how to live. Not just to achieve. But to feel. To enjoy. To be present. Because at the end of the day, success is not just about reaching somewhere. It is about how we live along the way.
Money takes you from survival to growth but only awareness brings you to thriving.
她崛起 觉醒转化的故事
作者: Dr Eva Wong Yuen Hwa
公司: Finleap Mastery Services
专业: 金融教育家、教练 | 理财规划师
职位: 创办人
我曾用尽全力追求成功……直到我发现自己并不快乐
很长一段时间，我一直以为成功只有一个定义：比别人更努力，永远不能放松。 这个信念推着我不断向前，但也慢慢拿走了我一件很重要的东西: 享受生活的能力。 我小时候并不是一个很用功的学生。从幼儿园到小学，我更喜欢玩，而不是读书。对我来说，学习是累的、无聊的。我一直不明白，为什么大人那么强调读书的重要性。 直到一场考试改变了一切。
那是一场很重要的考试，决定我能不能顺利升学。我考得很差。那是我第一次真正意识到我已经落后很多人了。父亲很不开心，他责备我，说我不够努力。我当时很难过、很困惑，也很迷茫，但内心深处我知道，他说的都是对的。但真正的问题不只是“考不好”。而是我已经听不懂老师在教什么了。因为基础没有打好，所有东西都变得很难。连很简单的内容，对我来说都很混乱。就好像别人已经走得很远，而我还在起点努力追赶。有很多时候，我真的想放弃。我不明白，为什么人生要这么辛苦。我只是想玩、想轻松一点、想自由一点。但我没有选择，只能继续往前走。
所以我做了一个决定：如果我落后，那我就用努力把自己追回来。我开始认真读书。每天早起，反复背诵课本。如果不明白，就重复阅读很多次。别人休息的时候，我继续学习。我告诉自己，别人八点开始，我就必须更早开始。慢慢地，我的成绩开始进步。那一刻我学到一件很重要的事：如果你想要什么，就必须靠努力去换，没有捷径。从那时候开始，“努力”变成了我人生的信念。我告诉自己，如果要成功，就不能放松。
这个信念也带进了我的工作生涯。
刚进入职场时，我全力以赴，拼命工作，不允许自己慢下来。工作变成了证明自己的方式。到了二十出头，我已经成为经理，收入也达到五位数。在很多同龄人还在摸索的时候，我看起来已经“成功”。但只有我自己知道，其实我并没有那么快乐。我的生活慢慢变得很单一：工作、事业、金钱。我不会真正休息，就算有空，也会找事情做。我不习惯“什么都不做”的状态。渐渐地，我开始觉得：休息和享受是不应该存在的。在我的观念里，只要我放松，就代表我不够努力；如果不够努力，就不配成功。
我也慢慢发现，我其实是在追逐别人的期待，尤其是父亲的期待。做得好，我才觉得自己是被认可的；做不好，我就觉得自己不够好。于是我不断往前冲，却从来没有真正问过自己：我到底想要什么？直到有一天，一切改变了。我的父亲离开了。
那一刻，我一直以来的“标准”突然消失了。我感到很空。我开始问自己：如果成功不是为了让他开心，那我到底在为什么而努力？成功到底是什么？那段时间很混乱，但也让我开始真正思考人生。慢慢地，我明白了一件事：成功其实是很短暂的。
当你达到一个目标，你会开心一阵子，但很快又会进入下一个目标，然后不断循环。如果人生只是不断追目标，那我们到底什么时候才真正活过？
那一刻我明白了：人生不只是到达终点，而是整个过程。这个领悟不是一瞬间发生的，而是花了很多年，在不同经历中慢慢理解的。直到今天，我还是觉得自己没有办法完全“什么都不做”。我还是会一直在动、在想、在做事。但不一样的是，我开始有觉察了。我知道这种状态从哪里来，我也不再抗拒它，而是学习和它共处。我学会在忙碌中找到心流的感觉。我学会在工作中体验当下。我也学会在突破的时候，感受自己的存在。现在的我，还是会努力，但不再是因为恐惧。我允许自己休息，也允许自己享受生活，即使还在学习中。我还是有目标，但不会再依赖目标来定义自己的快乐。现在，我对成功的理解变了：成功不只是收入或职位，而是你是否拥有清晰的内心、平静的状态，以及按照自己方式生活的自由。这段经历也解释了为什么我今天会做教育。很多人问我，为什么我可以和学生连接得那么好。我想，是因为我曾经也是一个“不会读书的学生”。我知道什么是跟不上，什么是看不懂，什么是迷茫。我不是一开始就优秀，我是一步一步挣扎、补基础、慢慢走过来的。
某种程度上，我变成了以前最害怕成为的人—老师。但不是普通的老师，而是一个真正理解两种人生状态的人。
为什么是教金融？因为这是我的痛点。
我经历过追钱、依赖钱来定义成功，也经历过即使赚到了钱，内心还是空的感觉。所以今天当我教财务管理时，我不会只讲数字。我会分享一个很简单的理解：金钱有三个阶段：生存、成长、丰盛。在生存阶段，赚钱是必须的，没有足够收入，生活会很辛苦。到了成长阶段，我们开始学习管理、累积和扩大资产。但更高的阶段，是丰盛。在这个阶段，我们学会享受已经建立起来的生活。很多人卡在生存阶段。有些人进入成长阶段，却忘了生活。真正能走到丰盛的人，其实不多。对我来说，金钱不是一切。但如果没有足够的金钱，我们连生存都会很辛苦。所以财商教育不只是为了变有钱。而是帮助人从生存走向成长，再向真正可以丰盛生活的状态。
回头看，我很感恩这段旅程。
努力让我走得更远，也给了我机会。但更重要的是，它让我明白一件事：人生不只是成就，而是体验。如果要说我学到最重要的一课，那就是：时间真的很珍贵。我们总以为还有很多时间，但其实时间过得很快。那为什么我们一直在追别人的认可，却忘了好好活自己的人生？如果有一个曾经的自己正在看这段话，我想对她说：你可以努力，但不要被恐惧控制。你可以追成功，但不要让别人定义你的人生。可以尝试，可以失败，也可以换方向。
如果你想开始，就去开始。如果你累了，就休息。如果你想改变，就勇敢改变。人生没有完美的决定，每一个选择都会成为你的故事。而这，也是我的故事。今天的我，还是在学习、在工作、在前进。但我也在学习如何生活—不是只为了达成目标，而是去感受、去享受、去活在当下。因为最终，成功不是到达哪里，而是
我们有没有真正活过这一生。金钱可以带你从生存走向成长，但只有觉察，才能带你走向丰盛。
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