Passion Leads May Lee to Challenge
By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
From an anchor, talk show host, correspondent to the founder and CEO of Lotus Media House, May Lee seems to have it all ― at least in the eyes of many young self-fulfilling women.
The Korean-American journalist founded a Singapore-based media production company that launched The May Lee Show, the first pan-Asia talk show for women, which is often called ``Asia's Oprah Winfrey Show.''
She has released a book titled ``May Lee Live and In Person; It All Begins With Passion,'' published by John Wiley and Sons, which candidly recounts her ups and downs both professionally and personally.
Lee was a shy girl preparing to become a doctor according to her Korean parents' wishes. But she was not good at science and math and kept asking herself what she really wanted to do.
``I love writing, storytelling, speaking to people and I had a strong curiosity about everything. And then I prayed and had a heart-to-heart chat with God. I asked him simply, `What should I do with my life?' And he answered `You should be a broadcast journalist.' That's a real story. The rest is history,'' Lee said in an email interview with The Korea Times.
But her biggest challenge came at the very beginning when she was trying to get her first television reporting job during a terrible time in the United States. Anti-Japanese sentiment was widespread over allegations of car dumping by Tokyo. ``Even though I was Korean, no one made the distinction so anyone with an Asian face was not popular especially for television. But because I was so determined, and I knew that this was the career I was meant to pursue, I didn't give up and after sending out more than 60 resume tapes across the U.S., I finally got a job in a tiny California town,'' she said.
Over the years, however, Lee realized that she had to face tougher challenges as both an Asian and a woman. But her determination was embodied in an old Korean proverb ― ``If you want a well, dig in one place only'' ― made her develop her own philosophy of the ``4Ps for Success:'' passion, perseverance, persuasion and patience.
It's all about hard work and faith for her. Among the four Ps, patience is the most difficult for her because she is, by nature, a very impatient person, she said. ``It takes time to plant a seed, to cultivate it and to wait for it to bear fruit. Without patience, we tend to make bad decisions or just give up entirely,'' she said.
For 20 years in her journalistic career in top media networks such as NHK, CNN and CNBC, Lee covered major international news stories from the Kobe earthquake, the sarin gas incident in Tokyo and the handover of Hong Kong to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York.
``In terms of news stories, the Hong Kong Handover in 1997 was a huge milestone because of the historical significance. Covering the 9/11 attacks in New York was challenging due to the unbelievable horror of the story. That was the first time I cried on camera as a journalist. The Asian tsunami, again, was a tragic event that took my breath away when I saw, first hand, the devastation,'' she said.
Lee has taken a path that has not been necessarily smooth and has chosenn numerous challenges instead of comfort and stability. When she feels a situation has plateaued, she has garnered everything that she can from it. She is motivated to move on to the next challenge which will help further her growth professionally as well as personally.
This means taking risks and leaving behind security and comfort, but she has always valued the idea of change for the better despite any fears that she has.
``Believe me, I have fear, but I think fear can be used to motivate not frighten you from doing something bold. It's not easy and I never judge anyone for choosing security over jumping into the unknown. But for me, I live by the motto, `If you take the leap, the net will appear,''' she said.
Although she is now the CEO and founder of her own media company, she still feels the glass ceiling is out there. There is still the last hurdle to the very top level that is tough to conquer for women despite their advancement.
She boils it down to the one core thing and that is that women are forced to choose between a full professional life and motherhood. Lee said that at some point in a career woman's life, she has to decide whether to continue climbing the ladder or stopping either temporarily or permanently to have a child while a man never has to consider this choice.
Because of this, women are under pressure to try and be all things to all people. The motto used to be ``you can have it all.'' Then women realized, ``you can have it all, but not all at once.''
The entrepreneur said that there should be more efforts by the business community to create an environment that allows a woman to balance both her personal and professional lives, instead of feeling like she has to sacrifice one for the other. Governments, too, should promote the idea of a work/life balance and initiate policies to support women's issues.
Now as a promising media entrepreneur, is there any challenge remaining for her? Yes. As for the immediate future, she is looking at the world of digital media. ``Conventional media is, unfortunately, losing ground so it's now all about reshaping the way in which media is produced, distributed and consumed. The biggest difference now is that the consumer is in control,'' she said.
As a role model for many Asian women, Lee has met a lot of young women who tell her they want to be a television anchor or reporter. ``If they tell me it's because they want to be on TV and be famous, I tell them very directly that they should look for another career. Being a journalist isn't about being `famous' or `glamorous.' It's about wanting to inform and educate the public about news, issues and topics that are important and matter,'' she said.
When she was growing up in the U.S., Korea was barely recognized by the average American. But Lee has always felt strongly about her Korean background. ``My parents raised me with traditional, Korean family values, which emphasize hard work, honesty and loyalty. Being Korean is something I am very proud of. Korea is a place that is so rich historically and culturally and now, Korea is seen as incredibly modern and dynamic. I would love to do more work in Korea with businesses, universities and any other groups that I would have synergy with,'' she said.
She hopes that readers realize that everyone goes through many ups and downs throughout their life. ``You can't have success without knowing what failure feels like. You have to learn from failure and grow from it. And what makes it easier to get through and survive is if you are following your passion. Passion drives you to take risks in order to follow what you truly believe in, what you love, what brings you joy,'' said Lee.