We recently connected with Jian Huang and have shared our conversation below.

Jian, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

Success is one of those measurements that is totally subjective. What is successful to one person can be a total failure to someone else. Some think that making the Forbes 40 Under 40 is success. Others want a million dollars in their bank account. For others, maybe raising a flock of backyard chickens is a success. We’re so different. As Chris Rock said in his 2004 standup Never Scared, “If Bill Gates woke up tomorrow with Oprah’s money, he’d jump out of a window and on the way down saying, ‘I can’t even put gas in my plane!’”

We all start in different places in life. We were born in different towns, different streets, with different resources. Different environments in which we were raised. Different parents. And so much of our success comes down to the luck of the draw.

I think as Americans, we sometimes fall into the “success trap.” We promote a singular definition of what success is – an impressive job title, a big salary, an expensive home, the luxury treatment. Instead of modeling ourselves after someone we know, we model ourselves after celebrities, tech billionaires, CEOs, Instagram influencers. Hustle and grind, we’re told! Success at all cost, we’re told! At the costs of our families, our health, and sometimes at the cost of our souls.

I recently rewatched an old documentary by Ken Burns on PBS about the famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. I remember first seeing it when I was an aspiring young artist thinking, wow! What a genius. What a success. But now when I watch it again, I think wow, what a terrible father. What an absentee husband. And the hurt his children must have gone through to be abandoned by him.

This is not to single out Frank Lloyd Wright or to dismiss successful people like him. His contributions to the world of art and architecture is undeniable. But there is a price to be paid for that kind of success. And that kind of success is not for everyone.

So back to the question at the start of this interview, what do I think it takes to be successful? I think it takes getting to know yourself. It takes the courage to be honest and ignore the bombardment of others. To shut off the noise and to reflect on what is really important.

Success can only be defined by one person. And that is the person who is reading this.

Jian, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have always been fond of stories. Back in the wild west days of the 1990s when my parents left me unsupervised at home, I got to watch many stories on TV for hours on end. There were only a few channels, but still, a dream for a kid! While mom and dad went to work, stories took me to Gilligan’s Island, to Family Matters, to the lives of Lucy and Ricky, and to Reading Rainbow.

My love for stories continue today through my work at pH Collective, a socially-conscious creative agency. Along with my co-founder Holly, we built this agency to help people tell meaningful and impactful stories through design, social media, and PR. From New York Times-bestselling authors, to star-ups, to social impact, our work is never dull!

We’re constantly solving the problem of how do we get a great story across? Some people are visual learners, others absorb information through audio, some like to deep dive into something narrative and long-form, while others want all of the above.

Gone are the days of the big media companies and limited channels of distribution. There are more creators than ever now. And more places to amplify your idea. Something for everyone! The story landscape is changing, and as a lover and writer of stories, this is a very exciting time to be working in this field.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Our clients really love working with us because of our creativity, our ability to see what is possible and to build strategies on that.

I owe a lot of my success to working in food retail at Starbucks, actually. I worked as a barista at the Starbucks on Hoover & Jefferson in south LA, and at Sunset & Gower in Hollywood throughout college. It was a rough experience opening the store at 3:30am (yes, we opened that early!) And cleaning bathrooms was by far the worst.

But retail taught me so much about the magic of a positive can-do attitude. Sometimes going a little above and beyond made the world of difference, from working with fellow baristas to interacting with our customers. And because of that, some of those baristas and customers are still my friends today.

Working in the business world however, I am frequently surprised at how many naysayers there are. A lot of people who think inside the box, the “this is not a part of my job” people or “I don’t see how that could work” people. I am sure many readers have encountered this at some point in their professional lives. It sours the whole experience.

There are times to say no. But to adopt an attitude of “no” comes at the cost of growth and creativity.

In our professional lives, we all have to (either literally or metaphorically) clean bathrooms at one point or another. The difference is the attitude we bring to the project.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice

I didn’t grow up with money, so unfortunately I don’t know much about investing. But if it seems like a scam, it probably is.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.phcollective.co
• Instagram: @ph_collective
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenhuangg/

Image Credits
Photo of co-founders Jian Huang and Holly Peters, credit: Noe Montes All others, photo credit: pH Collective