“I’ve banned the word ‘balance’ from my whole life,” says Chriselle Lim, the social media star who went from fashion stylist to blogger to full-fledged creative powerhouse with a following in the millions and clients including Valentino, redefining what it means to be a multi-hyphenate along the way. “The more I tried to chase balance,” she told us in the latest episode of CF Office Hours, “the less I had a grasp of it.” So how exactly does the Texas native stay focused without falling victim to overworking and burn out? College Fashionista founder Amy Levin sat down with Chriselle to find out.
Chriselle is a true believer in approaching everything as an adventure and not being afraid to speak up for yourself and your needs, thinking outside of the box often even if it won’t please everyone. The entrepreneur revealed to us that she almost became an accountant at her parent’s wishes before following her heart and transferring to FIDM, a bold choice for a first-generation American born to Korean parents. And after becoming friends with Michelle Phan, who she met while the YouTube sensation was new to the vlogging scene back in 2008, Chriselle saw a whitespace to create fashion videos from a industry insider’s perspective—a totally new idea at the time and one that her peers didn’t quite know what to make of when she was starting out. But it’s that kind of taking charge of your destiny that set Chriselle up for success, not just in her career, but in the way she approaches living a fulfilled life. After all, Chriselle’s matra, as she put it, is “there’s no time like the present.”
As inspired as we are? Listen in to our convo with Chriselle to get even more insight into how to set goals in an always-on world as well as her tips for reaching out to your mentors. (Spoiler: She loves sliding into the DMs just like you do.)
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