On Purpose with Jay Shetty - Simu Liu ON: Letting Go of Your Parents' Expectations & How to Find the Courage to Fail Until You Succeed

Episode Date: May 30, 2022

Do you want to meditate daily with me? Go to go.calm.com/onpurpose to get 40% off a Calm Premium Membership. Experience the Daily Jay. Only on CalmJay Shetty sits down with Simu Liu to talk about his parent’s immigrant story and how he was able to pursue his passion despite everyone’s expectations from him. One thing that has killed a lot of dreams is fear. The fear of people not supporting us throughout the journey, the fear of being not good enough, the fear of not being able to become the person that you want to be is something that hinders a lot of people from achieving their goals in life. But what do you think would happen if you actually stop being afraid and start trying?Simu Liu made history as the star of the first Asian-fronted movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Destin Daniel Cretton’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which garnered him The People’s Choice Award for Favorite Action Movie Star. Simu also starred in the Award winning CBC/Netflix comedy series Kim’s Convenience, which won the ACTRA Awards for Outstanding Ensemble in 2017 and Best Comedy Series at the 2018 Canadian Screen Awards. It was the first Canadian television series with an all-Asian lead cast, the series chronicles the day-to-day micro-dramas encountered by a Korean immigrant family that runs a corner grocery store. He wrote his very first book, We Are Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story, which tackles his struggles with parental expectations and stereotypes.Want to be a Jay Shetty Certified Life Coach? Get the Digital Guide and Workbook from Jay Shetty https://jayshettypurpose.com/fb-getting-started-as-a-life-coach-podcast/What We Discuss:00:00 Intro06:30 Simu’s famous 2018 tweet & how he started to pursue his acting dream11:11 Simu’s relationship with his parents17:48 Understanding our parents sacrifices20:55 How different parenting was in Simu’s home25:40 Why Simu’s parents hate the way he writes the book29:05 How he repaired & amended his relationship with his parents37:58 Bringing in your parents into the journey that they can understand39:35 Simu’s business background44:12 Giving your own self the validation that you need47:09 Identifying the things that you can control53:35 Simu’s Final FiveEpisode ResourcesSimu Liu | InstagramSimu Liu | TwitterSimu Liu | TikTokWe Were DreamersSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm Jay Shetty and on my podcast on purpose, I've had the honor to sit down with some of the most incredible hearts and minds on the planet. Oprah, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Hart, Louis Hamilton, and many, many more. On this podcast, you get to hear the raw real-life stories behind their journeys and the tools they used, the books they read, and the people that made a difference in their lives so that they can make a difference in hours. Listen to on purpose with Jay Shetty on the I Heart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Join the journey soon. What do a flirtatious gambling double agent in World War Two? An opera singer who burned down an honorary to kidnap her lover.

And a pirate queen who walked free with all of her spoils, haven't comment. They're all real women who were left out of your history books. You can hear these stories and more on the Womanica podcast. Check it out on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen. What if you could tell the whole truth about your life, including all those tender invisible things we don't usually talk about?

I'm Megan Devine. Host of the podcast, it's okay that you're not okay. Look, everyone's at least a little bit not okay these days, and all those things we don't usually talk about, maybe we should. This season, I'm joined by Stellar, Gas like Abormatte, Rachel Cargol, and so many more. It's okay that you're not okay. New episodes each and every Monday, available on the iHeartRadio app,

or wherever you listen to podcasts. When you give yourself permission to pursue your dreams, that is the moment that your life begins. It's when you stop being a spectator and you start being the man in the arena. [♪ music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music with fascinating people, with incredible stories, and especially people who share that through the written word. I'm a huge fan of books, you know I'm always sharing my favorite books with you. And when I saw this book come out,

I'd met this individual in the author probably a few months before the book was announced. And we connected at a really special round table which we'll share in our interview. And I was really taken aback by his journey. And as I researched more about his story, I was blown away by the decisions he's made, the choices he's made. And I'm speaking about the one and only, Simu Liu, who made history as the star of the first Asian-fronted movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

And of course, if you haven't seen it, I highly, highly recommend it. And which garnered him the People's Choice Award for Favorite Action Movie Star. Seemure also starred in the award-winning CBC and Netflix comedy series, Kim's Convenience, which won the AC-TRA Awards for Outstanding Ensemble in 2017 and best comedy series at the 2018 Canadian Screen Awards. It was the first Canadian television series with an all-Asian lead cast, the series Chronicles, the day-to-day micro dramas, encountered by Korean immigrant family that runs a corner grocery store. Now, Seemoo list of accolades now is unbelievable. Beyond all of this, he's a super cool guy, super down to earth, a wonderful human being,

and he does insane back flips. I've seen them in real life, not just in movies. Welcome to the show. Seemoo, Seemoo, thanks for being here, man. Jay, it's such a pleasure. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me and for being here, man. Jay, it's such a pleasure. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me and for that pretty amazing introduction.

Well, you have to live it. You have to live it. So I'm pretty sure you've lived an amazing life. If the introduction is like, and that's just scratch in the surface, but I really mean it, man. When we met, we met when Hussin put together, Hussin's been on the show too. Hussin Minhazh put together a YouTube round table, I believe it was, to talk about the AAPI community.

We had this amazing dinner together. That was the first time we'd met. You did a backflip for us in the waiting area out to us. I wanted to say that I really enjoyed connecting with you. And then like you were saying, we were just together a week ago, after the Oscars. Yes. Tell me about why that roundtable was important to you at the time.

I'm just intrigued, like, because obviously there was, there was such a diverse group of us. Do you remember what it was for you that that really inspired you to be there? I mean, yeah, the context of that roundtable and what was going on at the time and by the way, still continues to happen to this day is just this rise in anti-Asian anti-AAPI sentiment

and hate that's been going around, I wanna say America, but it's really kind of just pervasive. It's been kind of everywhere in the Western world in over the last couple of years, in the wake of COVID. There's been the sense that we are being blamed for something that we have absolutely no part in. And it's partially because of the color of our skin

and just who we are. And there are deeply rooted aspects that I made sure I wanted to attack in that roundtable. This idea of a model minority myth, this idea of a perpetual foreigner that no matter how many generations a family could have immigrated from a country, that just because we have this face, there's a perception that we're always outsiders. And so that's when people ask. And so, you know, that's when people ask me, where are you from? No, where are you really from? And a lot of Asian Americans will know or will have been asked that question. And it's like, no, I grew up,

I grew up here. You know, what are you talking about? I'm a Canadian citizen or American citizen. I pay American taxes. And I deserve to be treated as a citizen of the country, not scapegoated as an other. And so I think that was the spirit of what we were talking about. And again, yeah, I was such an incredible pleasure talking to you, Jay. And that backflip, I have to say, just for anybody who's wondering why does this guy just go and do backflips?

It was because Caitlyn O'Hashi was one of the people on a round table and so I was talking to her. I was like, oh, you know, I dabbled and tumbling back in the day. And she was like, oh yeah, I was like, yeah, I could do a backflip. And she was like, okay, show me. Yeah, I wanna support you there, Simu.

And say, Simu just doesn't just go around doing backflips. It was a very specific situation, but I was more impressed because you were doing it in like dress pants and like dress shoes. It was not like you weren't like ready for it. It's not like you were prepared for it. So, I had a lot of risk you maneuver looking back.

I must have, I had a lot of faith in that in the stretchiness of those pants. You did, and it was before the event. But Simu, today we're talking about your book, We Were Dreamers, which is beautiful title, an immigrant superhero origin story. And I just wanna say to everyone who's listening or watching right now, I highly recommend

that you go and grab a copy of this book when this episode is out, the book will be available. So I highly recommend you to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, wherever it is. There it is. Seemoo has one of the early copies. I have the PDF on my phone, so you can do my digital version that I had

for preparing for this interview. I was very lucky to have a early PDF copy. But I highly recommend it. We were dreamers that I highly recommend you go and get. Seemoo, I want to start talking to you about, you know, my wife and I saw Shang-Chi with a mutual friend of ours, Dorothy, who I believe you know as well.

And so, we... Oh my God, yes. Yes, so we three went to see the movie together. We loved it, you know, huge fans of the movie. It was phenomenal. But what I know is that you sent a tweet years ago, right? Back in 2018, where you kind of said that you wanted to play the role.

Now, you've talked about the tweet before. I guess what I'm fascinated about more is, how did you have the confidence back in 2018 or the lack of fear to put yourself out there when that's a really vulnerable space to be. Like, I think today, when I'm thinking about the people that listen to us, they'd be thinking, oh, I'd never send that out because what if I didn't get it? Or I would never go to that audition because I'm too scared or I'm feeling a lot of anxiety

around starting my own business because I'm struggling with this, this and this. So we as a society struggle to put ourselves out there, what gave you the confidence back then, or the lack of confidence, whatever, what was going through your head when you suddenly like that? The delusion. No, no, that's an incredible question, Jay.

Where I was mentally in 2018, and just in general in my life, just being an actor in the industry that was working, that was the culmination of a lot of years of work on myself personally. And, you know, if you read the book, you'll know I had, you know, I spent a lot of my life that being that guy that was petrified of judgment and of the opinions of others and of putting his true self out there. And where that got me was in a, you know, I was working as an accountant, hated myself permission, and of course the catalyst, I hope that the catalyst for everyone is not this rock bottom moment where you lose your job.

But for me, that's what it was. It was this idea of like, I have nothing else to lose. So I might as well do something that makes me happy. And what incidentally that ended up being was logging onto Craigslist and searching for acting jobs, even though I had no idea how the industry worked. I didn't know anybody, but I remember that feeling of being on set for the first time as a movie extra

and being so enamored and blown away by the energy, by the people and just wanting to do anything that I could to get back, right? And in the years that I, since I made that decision, I just feel like, you know, that lesson has been, has been learned in spades of this idea of like it all starts with permission. Now remember I said this when I was on stage, accepting my people's choice award, is that when you give yourself permission to pursue your dreams, that is the moment that you can actually, but your life

begins, right? It's when you stop being a spectator and you start being the man in the arena. And for me, this tweet, and Jay, by the way, this tweet is only one of the many things that I did over the course of my career manif kind of superhero role for myself. I wanted to play a superhero ever since day one, you know, and I had like written short films for myself where I played a superhero. I, you know, tweeted Marvel back in 2014, hey, Marvel, how about an Asian superhero? And then yeah, in 2018 when they announced the movie, I thought, why not? You know, what's the worst, the worst thing that can happen is that they cast someone else. But no one's gonna be talking about me anyway.

And so kind of tongue in cheek, I made that tweet. I was like, hey, Marvel, we're gonna talk or what. And of course, then I suspected this and I had it verified multiple times. Kevin Feige never read the tweet. Anyone, nobody at Marvel or anybody along the decision making process ever read the tweet, but I kind of love that, right?

Because the manifestation is not for anybody, but yourself. It's for you to set a site in the horizon, be it wherever, you pick a direction and you say, I don't know if I'm ever gonna get there, but that's the direction I'm headed and I'm just gonna go. And that's the mentality I'm headed and I'm just gonna I'm just gonna go. And that's that was the mentality that that I had been living with, you know, ever since

I made the decision to pursue acting. That I love. I love that point you just made. I think that is such a brilliant distinction between how we envision how manifesting works and how it actually works. Like that distinction that, seem like you said, the idea that the tweet was for him to believe it, to put it out there, to feel it,

to become really confident that that's what I wanna do. That was for him and no one saw it, and I love that no one saw it too. Like I'm totally with you. I think that's incredible. So I wanna go back a bit into the book where you talk about your childhood. And I love that's that's incredible. So I want to go back a bit into the book where you talk about your childhood. And I love hearing about people's childhood because I think we underestimate

how much our childhood impacts, how we grow up. Like I always say to people that their, their adult pursuits are based on the inner child's needs. Most people's adult pursuits are based on what they didn't have as a child. Now, can you share with us the relationship you had with your parents growing up because you grew up with your grandparents, right? So can you walk us through that scenario? Absolutely, yeah.

So I was born in a city in Northeastern China called Harbin or Harbin. And shortly after I was born, my parents actually immigrated to Canada. They were pursuing, you know, their higher education. So my father was studying his PhD and then he was able to bring my mother over and they actually ended up studying at the same university, Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, shout out to Queens. And it was not feasible at the time for them to bring a newborn baby with them.

They would have had to, basically, I would have been a full-time job in and of myself. But then they also had to maintain a full course load. They had to do research. It just didn't make sense. And of course, there was not enough money. We were so poor. They didn't have any money

to pay for childcare at all. So it really made sense to leave me in the care of my grandparents. So really, like they were the ones who raised me. And for about four and a half years, I lived what I believed to be a pretty idyllic life in China. I knew that I had parents kind of conceptually that my grandparents were not my parents,

but I also didn't really care. I had people who loved me. I had a tribe, I had a family, and we slept in the same bed every single night, and I just, I went to sleep feeling like my heart was full and that I was loved, and that was really, at the end of the day, you don't really need anything more than that.

That being said, one day, when I'm about four and a half, stranger shows up at the door, and he says, I'm your dad. I'm your dad and I'm here to take you to this new life in Canada where everything is better. You know, we have so many more opportunities in Canada. Your mother and I are working on building a life in Canada.

You're going to come with us and be in our family. And I was like, okay, but can I bring my grandparents? You know, like the fundamental, you think about a child and what's going on in his mind. He's like, but I don't want to say good, I don't want to leave my grandparents. They're my family. But, you know, that that was, you know, the whole family was kind of together on this kind of messaging. And I was eventually convinced or coerced to, to leave the country and to go with my dad to to Canada. And, you know, effectively, if you really think about it, Jay, I was adopted by my own biological parents at age five.

And whereas for my parents, I think it must have felt like this happy ending because after so many years apart, the family is finally together, we could finally live our happily ever moment in this new country. What it ended up being was a lot more complicated than that in truth and reality. Because, you know, first and foremost, my parents didn't know who I was. They had no idea the person that I had grown to become. You know, a lot of things set by the time you're, you know, at the age of four and a half,

five, developmentally, you know. A lot of things about your personality solidify, and I think they were surprised by the child that they eventually got. And the other thing too is that they had no learning curve in parenting. It's just one day they were all of a sudden responsible for this child. And whereas if you had given birth and you had stayed by your baby day after day, you would have at least kind of like had the ability to learn as things were going. But then there was this whole gap in time where they just, you know, they didn't know.

And so what ensued in the next like, I want to say like one or one and a half decades was, you know, a lot of intergenerational conflict and budding of heads and just like parents and myself, I didn't have any siblings, but just me and my parents just having different expectations of each other, fundamentally misunderstanding each other and oftentimes getting into big blowout arguments, sometimes with violence and not great times altogether. But evidently, the book, having been out and having come full circle so many years later, my parents are my best friends today

and it's the recognition of that journey that we went on together that really catalyzed the creation of this book. So I'm really excited to talk about it and for people to read it. Thank you for sharing that with us because I think, you know, today everyone sees you as the superhero and they see you as, obviously,

you're just crushing it right now and you don't realize that there's a real person behind all of this and there's a real journey and a real story and there's a real life behind all of this, and there's a real journey and a real story, and there's a real life. Is the right word? I think we disconnect superheroes, and that's why origin stories have always been so fascinating as kids of like,

well, how did this person get there? And I love that you called this your origin story because it does feel very grounded. There's this line in the book that I've really resonated with me. And I think it's even more fascinating against the backdrop of what you just said. And you said that my parents, like many in their generation, were willing to sacrifice greatly

so they could provide financial stability for their children. And the reason why that resonated with me is I think a lot of people can connect with that. When I hear that, it sounds like you reconcile their shortcomings with what they were able, what they were trying to do, at least from an intention point of view. What do you think you, what do you think you learned during that time? Not now, I love hearing that you're best friends now and you've really connected, but what do you think you took away during that time when it wasn't great and it was painful?

What were you learning? What were you developing at that time? I mean, I think I was developing an internalized sense of hatred for my own identity. I could, every day at home, was this constant battle of culture and values and language, because we were speaking in different languages to each other. How could we possibly fully understand where each, you know, the other came from? So, I grew up under the assumption of like, I've got the worst parents in the world. They're embarrassing to be around. They're embarrassing to take in public.

And they don't understand, you know, whereas, you know, all of my friends and my peers, they have parents who understand, our children like to go out, our children like to go to parties, you know, for me and my parents, you know, they were so fixated on this idea of academic success being the only way out success being the only way out,

or being the only way to maintain the level of stability and to keep a roof over our heads that they were just like, you shouldn't be doing this, you need to be studying. That was the messaging that was constantly being repeated time and time again. And without kind of hitting too hard, this idea of a tiger parent, that I hate that narrative.

It really just comes from, my parents coming to, and I'm starting to look back now, so you stopped me whenever it's starting to get to you. No, no, I love it. No, I love it. Do it. You yourself are aware.

My parents came here with nothing. And so the anxiety of that an immigrant feels, I think, is something that, you know, even I never understood because I was sheltered from it, right? Like, of course, but looking back and like, of course, my parents were obsessed with the idea of having a stable career. And of course, they, they didn't pause to think about what they were passionate about doing. They just wanted to, they knew they were electrical engineers, so they were like, this is my trait, this is my craft. I can get work like this, and I can build a future for my family.

And if I teach my son to do the same, he will be able to do the same thing for his family. And when you look at it that way, you're like, of course they acted that way. But yeah, at the time, it really made me resent them and it made me resent their value and their culture, which incidentally was my culture, you know. Yeah. And I regret that very deeply. I'm Jay Shetty and on my podcast on purpose, I've had the honor to sit down with some of the most incredible hearts and minds on the planet. Oh, everything that has happened to you can also be a strength

builder for you if you allow it. Kobe Bryant. The results don't really matter. It's the figuring out that matters. Kevin Haw. It's not about us as a generation at this point. It's about us trying our best to create change. Lurin's Hamilton. That's for me being taking that moment for yourself each day, being kind to yourself

Because I think for a long time I wasn't kind to myself and many many more. If you're attached to knowing you don't have a capacity to learn. On this podcast you get to hear the raw real-life stories behind their journeys and the tools they used, the books they read and the people that made a difference in their lives so that they can make a difference in hours. Listen to on purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeart Radio app Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. Join the journey soon. Hi, I'm David Eagleman. I have a new podcast called Inner Cosmos on iHeart. I'm a neuroscientist and an author at Stanford University, and I've spent my career exploring the three-pound universe in our heads. On my new podcast, I'm going to explore the relationship between our brains and our experiences

by tackling unusual questions so we can better understand our lives and our realities. Like, does time really run in slow motion when you're in a car accident? Or, can we create new senses for humans? Or, what does dreaming have to do with the rotation of the planet? So join me weekly to uncover how your brain steers your behavior, your perception, and your reality. Listen to Intercosmos with David Eagleman on the I Heart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is what it sounds like inside the box card. I'm journalist and I'm Morton in my podcast, City of the Rails. I plunged into the dark world of America's railroads searching for my daughter Ruby I'm journalist and I'm Morton in my podcast City of the Rails. I plunged into the dark world of America's railroads, searching for my daughter Ruby, who ran off to hop train. I'm just like stuck on this train, not now where I'm gonna end up, and I jump. Following my daughter, I found a secret city of unforgettable characters, living outside society, off the grid and on the edge. I was in love with a lifestyle and the freedom

of this community. No one understands who we truly are. The Rails made me question everything I knew about motherhood, history, and the thing we call the American Dream. It's the last vestige of American freedom. Everything about it is extreme. You're either going to die, or you could have this incredible rebirth

and really understand who you are. Come with me to find out what waits for us in the city of the rails. Listen to city of the rails on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Or cityoftherails.com. No, I love how real this is because I can relate to that as a South Asian growing up in London.

It was the same thing. My mom moved to London when she was 16. She had to find a job, economic stability, like they didn't have wealth and family or anything in England. And then it's like, I grew up with the same messaging and it was for the same reasons, but I think it's so important that

that time doesn't turn into bitterness for us or that feeling of resentment towards our parents long term because when we do try and understand what you're sharing with us, you're like, oh, it's not that you, it's not that it's okay that they didn't think about these things. It's that you understand why they didn't have the time, right? It's like reconciling. So you tell a story in the book when your mother, I believe, locked you outside of the hallway. Do you

mind sharing parts of that story with us about how different you think parenting was in your home compared to others? Because I think that really highlighted that difference you spoke about. Yeah, and I mean, I mean, the way that my parents treated me was also also, by the way, very different than the way that my grandparents, you know, ever interacted with me. And I truly believe like, you know, with my, yeah, yeah, in my night night, like we, they were, they were perfect in every, every possible sense of the word, you know, they were affectionate, they, you know, were, were reasonable. It wasn't like they spoiled me to become this like total entitled brat, you know, they were reasonable, they taught lessons, they were patient. And with my parents, I feel like that patient's just wasn't there. And of course, they're a lot younger.

They had to take class. They were busy. They were anxious about other things. But I'll never forget the first time that I was really punished was when I wrote a book. And I think my dad had just picked me up from school. And he was kind of like, well, what'd you do at school today? And it was just this really innocent lie,

but we had gone swimming. So I said, oh, we were swimming. And my dad was like, well, are you fast? Are you who's the fastest kid in the class? And because I just wanted to impress my parents, I was like, I am. And he was like, are you sure? And then I don't know how this,

I mean, it sounds ridiculous to say now, but I was like, you know, after a while, I was like, no, I'm not sure. I was lying. And I'm like, how? Like, it's not like we all hopped in a pool in the instructor was like, all right, everybody, we're gonna grade this,

be like everyone's just having fun. But of course, I just, you know, I But of course, I just really wanted to impress them. And so I was like, yeah, it wasn't, it was I was lying. And my dad was like, okay, you did the right thing, you told the truth. And I was like, yeah, please don't tell mom, because my mother is, as tough as my dad is, my mom was like the real enforcer of the family,

like very vicious and specific with her words, like just the words that cut you out, you have this one parent that sometimes, you know, whose words just cut a little bit deeper, that was my mom. And so I was like, can you please not tell, don't tell mama, like please. And he was like, okay, okay, I won't.

And later on that night at dinner, you know, we're together, my mom was like, so how was school? And I was like, oh, it's fine, we went swimming. And my dad, I remember this so vividly, and it's so funny, because when I tell him, he doesn't. But I'm like, no, this happened. As my dad sold me out. So he promised me that he wasn't going to tell my mom.

And then he was like, Simu told the lie today. And basically, like literally the moment that he finished saying it, my mom was out of her chair, you know, and grab my hand, led me out of the door, you know, shut it in my face and and locked it. And I was out, I mean, for a five year, you know, for a six year old, it's probably like 15 minutes. For me, it felt like forever. And I was out, I mean, for a five year, you know, for a six year old, it was probably like 15 minutes. For me, it felt like forever. And I was struggling with so many things, you know, like, you know, first of all, I was

being disciplined in a way that I had never been before. My dad had like betrayed my trust. So it was really, it was a really pivotal moment in my time in Canada, because I really felt quite alone. You know, I missed my grandparents. I really felt quite alone. I missed my grandparents, I wanted to be home, I was promised, I was sold on this utopic life in this new country. Really, all I wanted was to go back. That kind of was the catalyzing moment for everything that came after, really foreshadowed the conflicts that we would have issues about trust,

the physical discipline, and just remember feeling so alone out in that hallway. Well, what I find so great about this book and why I want everyone to read it as fans of yours is people who are struggling with their own identity and their own journey. Maybe there's people who've listening and watching

who've moved city, moved country. Maybe you've actually gone through an adoption process. Maybe you've moved with your family. Like the reason why it's so powerful is your memory is really vivid. Like it's amazing how strong these moments are. And that's why I wanted you to share that story because it's like a lot of people I speak to

don't really have strong memories of five, six years old. Like a lot of people's memories don't start till a lot later, memories that they can really hold onto. And so one of the things I do, I think you do so beautifully as a writer in this book is that we really go back with you. Like we're really there in that environment. Like it almost feels like I'm watching the movie, right? So I just want to congratulate you from a from a writing point of view that it's

so strong that I really feel like I'm there. And and that's why the book so powerful because you know who hates that, by the way, is my parents. Yeah. When they read it, they're like, like, we've had so many conversations, and you know, they've been so wonderfully supportive about the book. And I definitely couldn't have written it without them, you know, without the cooperation. The hours and hours of sitting together going beat by beat, you know, you know, the

story starts in their infancy and their formative years in China in the 60s and 70s. You know, I really wanted readers to have that perspective as well, but it's really funny. They just, they read those parts, and they're like, the world is going to hate us. Why would you air out all of our dirty, all of the worst things that we've ever done? And I've tried to be very diplomatic

with them throughout the whole process. I'm like, with the most amount of love ever, I'm like, yeah, what you did those things. When you're young too, you're so impressionable, it's like you remember those cuts, and every child has them, there's those moments where if it's a parent not being there when they wanted them to be. Of course, no parent is perfect, and you're always going to have those moments as a child, but they exist. And I feel like my goal is to, you know, in telling the story is not some sort of retribution for the way that they treated me or spoke to me. But it's that, you know, comes from this idea or responding to this idea that so

many immigrant families will, will internalize what goes on. And it's not, you know, it's not common practice for us to share in these moments, share these memories and these stories. And what it can create is this really isolating environment for the children. And oftentimes the parents as well. When you come to a new country with no support system, it can, it already feels so isolating. And so what I wanted to do with, with the book and with the story was to show immigrant children everywhere that they're not alone. And that, you know, it's okay to be vulnerable, it's okay to share.

And, and, you know, there are millions and millions more stories just, just like this. And the way out, you know, the out, the way to, not necessarily the solution to all things, but certainly a step in coping is in sharing and in finding community in a sense of identity and commonality. Yeah, well, I think when you're sharing your private experiences publicly, that's going to help people in turn with their private lives right like that's what's happening here it's like

people being able to see like yeah that's exactly what I had at home or that was similar what I'm really interested by sim is like actually the fact that you just said that your parents were a part of the process and of course you talk about them in the book and tell their journey. To me actually that's a beautiful healing story in and of itself that here you are. Earing out as you said dirty laundry, but actually the people all involved are friends and a family. And a family, tell us about what were some of the steps to repairing and amending that connection as you grew and matured, because I think that's what most of us need help with

with our parents is we may even understand what they did and why they did it, but to really have a positive relationship with them as we get older, that's an amazing story in and of itself. What were some of those early steps that you took to reflect, repair and amend? I would say the first steps toward, well, first of all, to paint the picture of what things were like in the first couple of years when I decided to throw away my entire education and pursue a career in the arts.

You can imagine, you know, my parents were not pleased, and there was almost like two years where we rarely spoke to each other. It was just very, things were very tense. And then I booked a show called Blood and Water was my very first series regular role. I was in the main cast, and the reason I booked this role, you know, apart from giving a not bad audition was I was one of the only actors in the country who

could speak Mandarin fluently. And so I had a bilingual character, I was in a hotel room in Vancouver, I had monologues and monologues in Chinese and I couldn't read, I'm not literate in Chinese, right? So it's a very difficult language. It's I think easy to be able to speak it relatively impossible to learn the work because there's no alphabet system. It's just really you either know the word or you don't. And I needed help. So I rang my parents up and I was like,

you need to help me with this. And they very begrudgingly got on the phone with me. And I feel like in the process of that connection, the process of that learning, there was a connection that was formed. And my parents came to understand just how hard I was willing to work. Because I think up until that point, their mentality was,

oh, Simeu doesn't have the toughness. He couldn't, he wasn't tough enough to maintain a job at, you know, Deloitte, the accounting firm that I worked at. Simeu just lacks mental fortitude, and I think that was the first time that they had their belief system challenged. They were like, oh, Simeu is very mentally resilient, and he is willing to work hard. It's just that he, it's, you know, just different passions. It was something else that was calling him.

And from that point on, I think they started to really buy into my career and they started to share in the wins and the losses because before then they didn't really care. You know, I'd say, Hey, they'd be like, what's new? I'd be like, Hey, I booked a commercial for this restaurant. You know, it's going all across Canada and they'd be like, great, so we, so you threw away an education in private school and four years of university to make commercials for people to watch.

Congratulations, like they were pretty savage about it. So this was the first time that they started to really like, maybe respect my decision and what I was doing. And shortly after that, I thankfully booked a show called Kim's Convenience, which ended up being this big hit. I mean, countries all around the world. And catapulted me out of this like destitute state of like credit card debt artistry to being kind of

somewhat middle class and just not worried about where my next job was going to come from. From then on, I think they really started to be true leaders. But of course, that doesn't mean, just because there was an external success in our lives, it doesn't necessarily mean that the relationship is all in good. I was still very aware that I had trauma and resentment inside me. And so, somewhere around that time, and I could say when, because my mother's gonna murder me, but my mother turned 60.

And, you know, so sensitive about it. Oh my God, she's gonna kill me. And for her 60th birthday, I was writing her this card that was that was very kind of just generic by all means, you know, happy birthday. I love you. That's what actually not. I love you. Just kind of have a birthday about all that sort of stuff. And then I kind of stopped myself. And I was like, there are so many things that I want to say to this woman, you know. And I just I can't keep, pretending like things are fine.

I felt like that we were all just kind of in this, playing out this act. We were all acting this scenario where there was just no trauma and everything was all good and sunshine. And I was like, I need to get some of these thoughts down. So instead of this card, I actually wrote her like a eight page letter, you know, talking about my feelings as a child, talking about how I

always felt inadequate, how I was constantly chasing their expectations of me and feeling like I was coming up short, and how ultimately through it all, you know, now I understood, you know, that where they came from wasn't this place of malice or evil or anything like that, but just of intense anxiety and wanting the very best for their next generation and having sacrificed so much to be able to provide that opportunity, right? So I ended the letter with, you know, I'm so extremely grateful for everything that you've done. I love you. We don't say that to each other enough. I hope, you know, this will change the course of our relationship, but even if it doesn't, I feel like these are the words that I need to say to you right now.

And it's very, very nervous, but I put it in the envelope and handed it to her and she read it later that night. And I knew that one of two things could have happened. Everything could have stayed the same, it could have been the status quo. My mother could not have reacted positively, or she could really take the same, it could have been the status quo. My mother could not have reacted positively, or she could really take the letter, really understand and absorb its intention, and then join me in charting on a new path.

Because one of the other things that I said was, it may seem like we've spent so many years at each other's throats, but we still have so much time. If we started today, we still have so much time. If we started today, we still have so much time. And my mother, Romi, back, and she said, I've been crying, I've been sitting with this letter, and I'm ready to join you. And that really was the moment that our relationships

stopped being surface level and started to get so much deeper. And the more time we spent together, the more we realized just how much we enjoyed each other's company, I took my mother out on a mother's day date for the very first time that year, and it was like the two of us just sitting across from each other, it's just the most beautiful moment that I just, I'm so incredibly grateful for.

Yeah, and everything that's happened since the success, the fame, and the acolymer, I mean, that's allowed me to really fully bring them along for the ride and to let them in, you know, whereas I feel like if we didn't have those conversations, there would always be a part of me that suspected that, you know, hey, what would our relationship be like if that success didn't come, if I didn't book this role? But I feel like, because we did the work before, there's not even a single part of me that feels that way. And instead, I'm just focused on being able to give my parents the best possible life

in their third act, you know, and being able to for immigrant parents who were so, who literally like, when we went to McDonald's, would try to convince their son that they weren't hungry, you know, but would get their son the happy meal, you know, and would watch him eat. Like, my parents never wanted anything, you know, like for themselves. And it's just an incredible feeling to be able to give back to them, you know, and to show them the things that they deserve to have. It's really wonderful.

Simu, I'm so glad you went into that with us, man. That is just so wonderful to hear about the real work. And I love that you drew that important connection that you didn't assume that the external success was solving the internal problem and that the internal needed its own work. And I think that that requires so much maturity because for most people they go,

well, once I get this, that solves everything because now everyone's going to be happy. And I think that that's a very undeveloped viewpoint because they're completely, they're two completely different things. And actually, I want to point out a few other things to people who are listening. The connection you made with your parents around learning Chinese and them seeing how hard you had to work. I think that that's genius as a lesson for all of us that if your parents or your friends or your family members don't believe in you, they're not coming on the journey with you,

let them come on the journey that they can understand. If your parents are accountants, bring them in and have them be involved in seeing how you're managing your finances. If you're someone who's trying to do something artistic, your parents may not understand the art, but they may understand the engineering aspect. Like, I think that is such a refreshing way to think about it because we want to be recognized by our parents for the art. But that's not what they understand and appreciate. And so there's such a brilliant lesson there for all of us in how we connect.

And then another, oh, sorry, go ahead and see me. Sorry, go ahead. Oh, no, no, no, no. I was just gonna echo the importance of that and to say, yes, parents are, we are all capable of evolving, but only at a certain speed. And so for many parents, I would say not just mine. If you were just to show up one day and say,

I'm going to be an actor. I'm going to be a professional basketball, that's a bit of a mental leap. And so you do maybe start to take them on that journey and maybe understand that it's not going to happen overnight. Yes. Our value systems are just so different. Any of you, yeah, please go on.

I'm Danny Shapiro, host of Family Secrets. It's hard to believe we're entering our eighth season. And yet, we're constantly discovering new secrets. The depths of them, the variety of them, continues to be astonishing. I can't wait to share 10 incredible stories with you, stories of tenacity, resilience, and the profoundly necessary excavation of long-held family secrets.

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incredible guests, fascinating topics, important science, and a bit of my own personal experience. Audrey, I honestly have no idea what's going on with my life. Join me as we explore what our 20s are really all about, from the good, the bad, and the ugly, and listen along as we uncover how everything is psychology, including our 20s. The psychology of your 20s, hosted by me, Gemma Speg, now streaming on the iHot Radio app, Apple podcasts, or whatever you get your podcasts. No, no, I love hearing this from you. I think the

mistake we make is that when we share our passion with our parents or our family, we've already been thinking about it for three years, and we just told them in three minutes. So now we're expecting them in three minutes to catch up with our three years of thinking. That just doesn't correlate, that doesn't correspond. And I love, I really, really appreciate how you've thought about this and how you've made those choices. I never. The funny thing is, I don't know if you know this. I spent three years working at Accenture. So, before I did...

Yeah, so when you said Deloitte, I was like, I know exactly what that looks like. I was a consultant at Accenture. So when you said Deloitte, I was like, I know exactly what the world looks like. When you told your friends or your colleagues at Deloitte that you were gonna make a career switch, what was their reaction then? And are you in touch with any of them now? your friends or your colleagues I'd delight that you were going to make a career switch.

What was their reaction then and are you in touch with any of them now and tell us about that journey from a friend's point of view? You know, it's really funny. I don't keep in touch with like a single person, almost a single person from that entire kind of business school era of my life, right? Which was like, the, you know, the latter half of college, as we were kicking off recruiting, and, you know, it was like, so you know, Jay, having worked at Accenture,

which by the way, is very prestigious consulting firm for anybody who doesn't know. You know, there's a bit of a hierarchy at business school, and it's like, you know, you all get together, you talk, you know, you all get together, you talk, you learn, you talk about, you do cases, I'm sure you did case studies and all that. And then, you know, after, when it starts getting to time

to recruit for summer internships and full time jobs, it's like investment bankers, management consultants, everything else, and then, you know, accountants at the very bottom. So I was already like, my marks were not good in business class. I was not the guy that read the Wall Street Journal every day. You know, just like woke up every day passionate about capital markets or about, you know, corporate strategy.

I was the guy that went home and played video games with this roommate because I just like, it was an engage. And so yeah, I just felt like I was constantly a fish out of water for that entire period of my life. And the day I got laid off at Deloitte, you know, I remember very vividly. Again, we all remember our traumas, and I remember going into the managing partner's office and remember the woman from HR that that was like standing next to him. And then the moment where he was like we're going to terminate

work here to terminate your employment. And then the HR lady stepping in and saying you we're going to give you 10 minutes to collect your things. And we're going to escort you back into the into the you know, the office. And of course, it's an open concept office. So everybody can see. But we're going to escort you there so you can you know, pack up your final things. And I remember, you know, the office and of course it's an open concept office. So everybody can see, but we're gonna score you there so you can, you know, pack up your final things and I remember, you know, walking back out onto the floor and not a single person made eye contact with me, spoke with me, you know, people that I thought were my friends and I don't necessarily put that blame on them.

I mean, obviously there is just a really awkward moment and they probably were just like, with that blame on them. I mean, obviously, it's just a really awkward moment and they probably were just like, oh, we gotta get points happening. But that was it. That was my goodbye to a lot of those people. It was like, I looked around, nobody said anything. Everyone's heads were down.

They just like wanted to pretend like it wasn't happening. And so in complete and utter silence, I packed up my things and then I left. And it was almost like that. There was such a such a clean break. I did run into somebody I used to work with a few months later, or maybe like a year later when I was, you know, just starting out as an actor. And of course, auditioning more than I was working, getting rejected more than I was getting hired. And as one of my other jobs to kind of pay the bills, I was handing out dog food as samples

on the side of the street. And that job took me into the financial district near where I used to work. And this fellow was on his lunch break and rent it and kind of tapped me on the shoulder and was like, Simew, and he had been promoted. I could tell by his suit that he was like, he was at least a manager.

And I was handing out dog food. And that was a really hard moment for me. I had to come home and it was like a re-evaluate all your life choices moment. But thankfully, I think I had become so happy with the person that even if I wasn't getting the work necessarily, I was so happy with the person that I became. Right? Out of the shell of somebody who just didn't care about anything, couldn't seem to

find any sort of motivation in life came this person who was just like hungry every single day, ready to attack the day and was even willing to, you know, hand out dog food samples to be able to support that dream. That's what I'm hearing when I'm speaking to you about this today. And of course, when I was reading the book and when we've had interactions before, what's really clear for me today is even though in the book, you talk about how you wanted to always find approval and validation from your parents and other people. What I'm actually feeling when I'm hearing you today is that you've kind of had to do that for yourself the whole time because there hasn't always been that external validation. So at

least from our conversation today, what I'm garnering is that at every step you validated yourself because no one was there to validate you. Would you say that's true? Would you say that that was part of building that confidence in who you were, no matter the external position of your journey? I mean, yeah, absolutely. I wasn't, you know, and I don't necessarily think I'm the most confident person in the world. I think I struggle, especially like you want to know what imposter syndrome feels like.

Try me, me, at the Oscars for the first time. That is a crazy environment to be in. And all of a sudden, you're looking at everyone around and you're like, oh my God, what am I doing here? But, you know, I would say this, I spent so much of my life trying to live up to somebody else's definition of success, trying to be somebody else's definition of successful, whether it was my parents, whether in some cases, even my friends. I have a lot of friends who went into law and medicine and management consulting. insulting and And you know, I've really it wasn't until I had that rock bottom moment that I said you know that none of that is working

I can't live for someone else as much as I can be grateful for what my parents have done for me I cannot surrender my then surrender my own life in service of what they did, you know, I have to own life in service of what they did. You know, I have to live for myself. And once I made that decision and I focus and I became more, I mean, honestly became more self-centered, became more selfish. You know, I felt like a new life started to kind of come out of me. And it is to this day the best thing that's ever happened. What is some of your daily, weekly, monthly, yearly habits or practices that you've done to kind of build that resilience and mindset? Because I feel like, you know, you've made that decision and then like you said, you have

to build around that decision. It's not just, oh yeah, I'm going to become a movie star. You know, it's not as basic as that and it isn't how you talk about it either. Talk to us about some of those habits, practices, you spoke about manifestation earlier, like tell us about some of those concrete examples of things that you've done that you think have been really integral to getting to where you are today, which I believe is truly just the beginning of a whole nother journey, but you know, you've been on this massive journey to get here, and I still feel like, you know, there's just so much more for you to uncover. I'm sure you feel that way,

and that's what I felt from the book too, like, but tell us about some of the ones that have worked so far. It is so important in my line of work specifically, but in all lines of work, really, to identify lines that we're really to identify what is in your control and what is not. And if you're going to base your success on factors that are outside of your control, then I believe that you are setting yourself up for failure. And not the good kind of failure, not the kind of failure that you learned from and you evolved from and you think critically about, but failure like, you know, you're going to just wonder where the time went and you're going to, but failure like, you know, you're gonna just wonder where the time went and you're gonna wonder why you never got your opportunity, right? And so I did have, you know,

having an internal locus of control and being hyper focused on the things that are within your grasp, it has been the critical, critical factor of success over when I look at the last 10 years of my life. And as an actor, this is so hard because so much of career progression for a lot of us on the surface looks like, okay, we're going to act in class. We work on our craft and then we get an agent.

And if you get an agent, there's this expectation that an agent is going to do a lot of the legwork for you, is going to set up an audition, is going to help you book a job. And so I feel like it's a very dangerous place to be in when you start to place, when you start to offload that responsibility to an agent, to a third party, who maybe doesn't have your best interest in mind. I mean, that's the way it's supposed to work,

but an agent is worried about so many other things. They might be focused on a client that is earning more than you. They might just be focused on protecting their own relationships because what actors come and go in the industry, but an agent has relationships with casting directors and with studios and that becomes the more important thing. Those are the people that, at the end of the day, pay them in my opinion at least.

And so the idea of, for me, of waiting for the phone to ring for my agent to give me my next opportunity felt like death. And so for me, from day one, I had it in my mind that I was going to create. I was gonna be a creator. You know, I was gonna be somebody who wasn't just like acting in front of a screen. So screenwriting was something that I tried to develop

in myself very early on. I couldn't take a lot of usable skills. I couldn't salvage a lot of usable skills from business school, but I feel like my writing was maybe one of them. And so I just wrote and wrote and wrote. And I wrote some of the worst scripts you'll ever read. But I constantly put myself in situations where I could be a more self-sufficient artist rather than somebody who is dependent.

And that led me to apply for production, conservatories and intensives. One of my most fulfilling experiences was with this company called the Real Asian International Film Festival in Toronto. And what the Film Festival did every year was they had a filmmaking collective. So they accepted, you know, people under 25 years of age and they basically ran them through what it meant to write a script, what it meant to crew a production, to find a DP, to take a film project from pre-production through the principal photography, through the post-production, how to do basic editing and mix sound. And from there, I really came out of it feeling like,

okay, I hold the keys to my destiny. Of course, the way that things played out, I had a few lucky breaks along the way. There is no getting to this level without, you know, a pretty significant amount of luck. But that being said, I have always believed that luck is where a preparation meets opportunity. amount of luck. But that being said, you know, I have always believed that luck is, you know, where preparation meets opportunity. And I wanted to be as prepared as I possibly could be.

And so for me, that meant, yeah, that meant doing the things around being an actor, you know, whether that was production, whether that was screenwriting, or, you know, even, honestly, even doing stunts at one point, I was like a substitute stunt man. I wasn't incredible at it, but you know I was just trying to find different ways to diversify my revenue stream and to find just pay me to do something in the industry. I'll do it. And I feel like you know people would ask me all the time, what if you don't make it, Simoon?

And my answer I was always like, don't you see I'm making it. I'm making it right now. Look at all the stuff that I'm doing. There's, you know, I don't know whether I'm going to make it as an actor or as a shooter or as, you know, as a production guy or even as a stuntman. But I've got all these things going for me, you know, and I feel like I'm filling up my days with meaningful work rather than just waiting and waiting for something that I have no control over. I love hearing that. I'm so glad that you, you brought that up because I think so often we get so fixated on. We get so fixated on, I want to do this or I want to be this.

And if it's not that, I don't want to do anything. And that mindset pushes that dream away. Like you get further and further and further away because actually if you're in and around the circles of that journey, you get closer and closer and closer. And I think that that switch you just made and you've talked about and to hear that you had to do that, I genuinely love hearing that,

because whenever I'm speaking to someone too, I'll say the same thing to them, is like, be around the industry, be in the industry, somehow be in those spaces in those rooms, because then you're closer to where you wanna be, rather than just saying, well, I only wanna be a movie director, but I'm not ready to direct a ad or a commercial.

And it's like, that doesn't work like that. So, you know, I think that's a huge, huge lesson, amazing advice. Seema, you've been so generous with your time. You've been so kind, I know it's late in London. I want everyone to know right now. It's like 7 p.m. in London, eight hours ahead where Seema is right now. So he's been doing this at the end of his day after a busy day so that we can make this

happen. I'm in LA. So I was. I was. It's a pleasure. Don't even. No, no, I just want to acknowledge and recognize you, man. Like I, I understand how busy you're working out there.

You're not, you're not there on vacation. And so we end every on purpose interview with the final five and these have to be answered in one word or one sentence maximum. So you can do one word to one sentence. So Simeu, these are your final five. The first question is what is the best advice you've ever received or heard?

Good things come to those who do. Ah, I like that. Nice. We've never had that. That's a great one. Okay, second question. What is the worst advice you've ever received or heard? Good things come to those who wait. Nice answer. All right. Question number three. How would you define your current purpose in life? You have an answer that in one word or one sentence. Yeah, you can play with it.

You can be, yeah, you can be, you're doing it. You've been good so far. You've been killing these two questions already. And that's got to amplify voices of color. It's to champion projects, you know, featuring myself or otherwise that I believe speak to similar to my book. book, the stories of immigrants, the stories of people who have been traditionally under represented, who have traditionally not been given a voice, and to be a living example of the importance of diversity and the importance of inclusion, and not just as an actor, but as we've talked about being a multi-disciplinary and being a producer and being somebody who can really affect the way the decisions are made

in Hollywood. I love that man. All right, question number four. What's the first thing you do in the morning and the last thing you do every night. I am so bad with mornings. I go for a day and then I'm not a good morning person. So the first thing I do in the morning is wish I could go back to sleep. Yeah, that's great. The last thing I do every night, what I brush my teeth, that's lame. Yeah, that's cool. That's cool.

That's cool. Brush my teeth. That's late. Yeah, that's cool. That's cool. I brush my teeth. I think about I think I think about my lessons of the day. If I have what what what what did this day teach me? Yeah, that's a great one. We never had that too. I love that. But fifth and final question. I'll put you out your misery. Fifth and final question. If you could create one law or one habit that everyone in the world had to follow every day, what would it be? Write down the five people that you most want to speak to to pick their brain and message all five of them. I love that. That's a, that's a great tip. Never had that before. I love that. There, there is, you know, the, the one, you know, it's like the other part of like. There is, you know, the one, you know,

it's like the other part of like the B self, you know, B self-sufficient, B a creator is also this recognition that you actually can't do it yourself. Yes. And in order for you to be, you know, a creative and you have to find the people around you and you have to steal ideas from people that you admire and you have to look at other, you know, ways

in which people have found success and cross-reference against that. That is so critically important. I feel like for sometimes there's a sense, you know, to put, for us, we go, maybe romanticize putting blinders on and just saying, I'm working on my grind, I don't need anybody else, it's just going to be me, that's never never gonna happen, especially in the arts. You need to constantly be talking to people that you admire, perspectives that you want to hear. You know, that's the only way that you learn and that you evolve. This has been way longer than one sentence. It's a good answer though.

It's a good answer. No, it's a good answer. Seemoo, the book is out. It's called We Were Dreamers. We were Dreamers is the name of the book. Highly recommend you go and grab a copy. We will put the link in the caption, the bio everywhere, an immigrant superhero, origin story, simulio. It's been so fun talking to you man. I am so grateful that I actually got to do this with you because the opportunity to sit down and and peruse through

your book, the opportunity to sit down, have this conversation with you. I already respected you so much from our meetings and conversations when we bump into each other at things, but I genuinely am so happy that I've got to learn about your story. I can't wait for everyone. We just shared like the tip of the iceberg of the stories. Please go grab the book. See any final words, any last messages, anything that's on your mind or heart. I'll say this, I'll say this. Regardless of where your parents came from,

what their story is, you belong, you belong, you belong. And you deserve to feel proud of where you came from and you deserve to take up space and to be unapologetic about it. And for me, that was a long, it took a long way for me to get there. But, you know, if I could, if I could leave you with one parting thought, it's just, just feel, feel proud, feel proud and feel like you don't, don't feel like you have to apologize for the color of your skin. My English speak, anything. I love that. That is a great message to end on Seemoo. Thank you so much.

Make sure when you're listening and watching everyone, make sure you tag us both on Instagram, on Twitter, on any social media platform you're using because I love to see what resonates with you, what connects with you. And please go show that on purpose. Love to Seemoo makes sure he feels the positive energy from all of our listeners.

Seemoo, you've been incredible. I hope you have an amazing rest of your visit to London, my hometown, and I can't wait to hang out with you when you're back in LA, man. But thank you so much for your time today. I really appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. I'm still waiting on your list of restaurant records.

Oh, yeah. OK. I'll send them over right now. I'll send them over. OK. All right. Thank you so much. What if you could tell the whole truth about your life, including all those tender, invisible

things we don't usually talk about? I'm Megan Devine. Host of the podcast, it's okay that you're not okay. Look, everyone's at least a little bit not okay these days, and all those things we don't usually talk about, maybe we should. This season I'm joined by Stellar, Gas like Abbermote, Rachel Cargol, and so many more. It's okay that you're not okay. New episodes each and every Monday, available on the iHeartRadio app, or wherever you listen

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