[Guest Post] Satisfaction as a Mother and as a Career Woman

Satisfaction as a Mother and as a Working Woman

Guest Post by Marie Claire Lim-Moore

I enjoy balancing different roles. I get great personal satisfaction leading a high stakes business meeting over lunch and then being silly with my kids over dinner. It makes my life richer. The different perspectives I get reading books with my children, watching Frozen for the ninth time, answering all the “why” questions, this broadens my world and makes me a better person. I also like the idea that my kids see me doing both: being a mom and having a career.

For me, one definition of success is achieving an integrated life. One where my work colleagues know my family, my side projects, etc. When I first wrote my book I didn’t talk about it at work because I thought I needed to compartmentalize the two. Maybe subconsciously I feared it would show a lack of commitment to my job. To my surprise, once my bosses and colleagues found out about the book they were incredibly excited for me and Citi has become one of my biggest supporters. The book has actually been a great platform to talk about the global products and services I manage at Citi because they are actually part of my everyday life.

I recently experienced what I felt was the pinnacle of an integrated life when I was in the Philippines last December. I had just finished doing a talk about my book at Citi and I was walking with my family out to the elevators. On the one side was a global ad campaign I had spent most of the past year working on – A Citi Client Anywhere is a Citi Client Everywhere – and on the other was a big poster about my book launch in Manila. At this moment there was no separation between my personal and professional life and I relished in this feeling.

Thanks for inviting me to share.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Don’t Forget the Soap is a collection of anecdotes: stories from the tight-knit Filipino community in Vancouver mix with memories of her move to New York, experiences at Yale and travels as a young executive. Underlying this narrative is the story of a global citizen who does not want to forget the fundamental values that come along with the “immigrant experience” as she and her husband raise their children in the increasingly glitzy expat bubble of Singapore. Her parents continue to remain a big influence in her life and her mother’s reminders a grounding force.

Share this inspiring book with the awesome women in your life!

GET IT ONLINE!

Amazon // Barnes and Noble 

** Also available in MPH and Kinokuniya in Singapore (SGD 18.60), and Fully Booked in the Philippines (P650).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/MarieClaireLM

Marie Claire Lim Moore is a Filipina-Canadian-American working mother and author of Don't Forget the Soap. After spending the early part of her childhood in Vancouver, Claire moved to New York City and attended the United Nations International School. She went on to study at Yale, climb the corporate ladder at Citi and travel around the world. She met her husband, Alex, while working in Sao Paulo, Brazil and they married in Manila, Philippines shortly before moving to Singapore. Now Mom to Carlos and Isabel, Claire also manages the Global Client business for Citi in Asia. She enjoys juggling career and family and likes to throw in community and politics for fun by campaigning for US political candidates, fundraising for organizations that advance the role of women in business and promoting foreign direct investment in the Philippines. She is also a guest contributor at Sassy Mama Singapore.