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    About

    Hello & Welcome! 😃

    I’m Kelly, and Petite Phoenix is where I document my journey toward becoming the person I secretly aspire to be but never had the courage to fully pursue until recent years.

    One of the main goals of this blog is to be my accountability partner. I want to document what it takes, how long it takes, and how many fails it actually takes for me to accomplish my hedgehog goal of becoming a bestselling (3 million copies) Chinese Fantasy Fiction writer in the US.

    Will I succeed? Well Brad Listi says the odds of having a book you write sell 3 million copies is like winning the Mega Millions. Yet, I’m going to pursue it knowing the incredibly difficult odds because the journey toward becoming a writer is what makes life meaningful to me.

    During the most challenging moments of my life, reading showed me that there is light at the end of the tunnel. From adjusting to life in the USA as an immigrant to healing from the death of my beloved father, each book was an adventure that showed me a world of hope and possibility.

    I’d love to create a similar adventure for others. In the past, I was too timid to believe that I can write a great book. I was focused on the fact that English was not my first language and that I know a number of friends who wrote much better than me and still chose not to pursue a writing career.

    Going forward, I will try to appreciate how much my writing has improved and not feel daunted by how much better it could be. I will embrace the 20 Mile March towards my hedgehog goal until I reach it.

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    About Kelly

    Books That Changed My Life (In the Order I Read Them)

    Podcasts & Ted Talks & More That Changed My Thinking

    Bloggers That Inspired Me To Write A Daily Blog

    Thank you for reading and visiting Petite Phoenix!

    💗 Kelly

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Gordon Y. says

      3 Things I love
      – Watching the smiles on the faces of people I love. Nothing else brings more happiness to my heart.
      – Always knowing my wife supports me no matter what. She is my sun and my moon, my world revolves around her.
      – Cooking, eating and sharing the most delicious things life has to offer with people I care about.

      3 Things I hate
      – Not being able to travel during all of 2020. Maybe the hardest thing next to dining out in this sad year.
      – Finding the discipline to work out daily. I know it’s a must for my own health, but doesn’t make it easy.
      – Music artists that simply mix some beats with classic songs and call it their own. It’s plagiarism to me.

      • Kelly says

        Hi Gordon Y.! Thank you for sharing. ❤️

        I knew about your three loves, but not the 3 things you hate. I don’t recall hearing you speak poorly of anyone or anything in all our years of friendship. You try to find the silver lining in every cloud. Thanks for being a ray of sunshine! 😃

    2. Mark says

      You did it! You made your 2020 goal of launching this blog! So many false starts, so much frustration and heartache and sleepless nights just thinking and dreaming of what it could be.

      All of those efforts lead you here. Led all of us here. We’re all here cheering you on.

      I’m so proud of you.

      How about a hug? And then maybe I can finally finish explaining what I was going to say about color temperature…

      😸

      • Kelly says

        Hi Mark! Thank you for the innumerable hours you spent building and customizing this website. For taking my profile picture. For telling me the truth about my writing.❤️

        It was hard to hear from you that my previous writing was mediocre. That I lacked the art of telling a captivating story. It needed to be said.

        I think what we both learned in the past four years, was that the way we used to communicate was too hurtful. It wasn’t what we said, but how we said it.

        To growing wiser and more loving!

        😃

    3. D2B says

      Congratulations on your great achievement. It fills me with joy to see you one step closer to your best self.. I love the organization, display and word usage..

      3 Things I Focus on:
      – Encourage people I love to become their best self
      – Make time to appreciate nature.
      – Allocate time to bond with loved ones

      3 Things I Need to Remember
      – Allocate time to focus on my own well being.
      – I can only help good people who want my assistance.
      – What works for me will not always work for others

      • Kelly says

        Hi D2B! Thank you for sharing. ❤️

        I wish you the best on focusing the things you want to do. Also cheering you on to remember to allocate time to focus on your own well-being.

        😃

    4. Nala says

      Excited for you on the launch of this site! It is very well thought out and organized. Looking forward to seeing it grow. and cheering you on!

      3 things I love:
      – Entertaining and enjoying the company and conversation of family and good friends. Even better if we can travel and experience new places together.
      – Stand up comedy!!! Laughing till it hurts 🙂
      – Reading a good book one you can get lost in or one that changes your world view.

      3 things I struggle to love
      – cleaning, it’s really not my favorite and I procrastinate and have really awful cleaning ADD.
      – Decluttering, I hate clutter but I also feel so guilty getting rid of things even if I’m donating items it’s a struggle.
      – Unsolicited ‘advice’ from others, even friends, I take criticism even constructive criticism so personally because I’m super sensitive.

      • Kelly says

        Hi Nala! Thank you for sharing. ❤️

        I feel you on all your 3 things you love and 3 things I struggle to love. I’ve always felt we had a lot in common, I didn’t know it was this much. 😃

        You make a really good point about unsolicited ‘advice’ from others. Once you phrased it that way, it gave me lots to think about. Thanks for the insight. 😘

    5. TGold says

      Hi Kelly – I’m so proud and happy you launched your website! Congratulations!! I know how much time and effort you’ve put into this and it’s such a huge personal passion project. Very excited for you and what the future will bring 🙂

      3 things I love:
      – my significant other 🙂
      – trying to stay well balanced (physically, mentally, emotionally, etc.) – will continually be a work-in-progress throughout my life
      – learning new things

      3 things I am working on improving:
      – finding happiness and practicing self-care
      – improving my sleep
      – making more of an impact in other people’s lives

      • Kelly says

        Hi TGold! Thank you for telling me that you’re proud of me. ❤️ It brought tears to my eyes.

        For many years, I often felt very small.

        I’ve always admired you for trying to learn so many new things. Thank you for sharing with me all that you’ve learned. I really appreciate your generosity in doing so. 😃

    6. Rob says

      Woohoo. Congrats on launching and apologies that it’s taken this long for me to comment.

      Love:
      – My family
      – DISNEY!
      – Traveling (and all that comes with it – the photos, the food, the experiences, the memories …)

      Improvements:
      – Staying healthy and fit during a pandemic (exercise more)
      – Staying “in the moment” and being present (aka put the phone down)
      – Staying positive

      • Kelly says

        Hi Rob! I really appreciate you taking the time to read and to comment! ❤️ We’ve been friends for so long that I know you are super supportive of me with or without you commenting.

        I do super appreciate your comments so that I can remember your insights and wisecracks, and say 2021 Rob thought this way.

        All the improvements you mention are some of my daily struggles as well. 🙄

        I used to think I was alone in them. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. 😃

        Looking forward to our Jan Group Zoom call!

    7. SR88_M says

      Super excited and supportive of both you and your site’s success, Kelly!

      3 things I love:
      – New Foods, outside the normal. Both cooked and in never before seen packaging.
      – Family Travels. Love the intense logistical kid friendly planning.
      – Reading Alternate History Stories. Fascinated with the what if? of major past events.

      3 things I’m struggling to love:
      – Sleep. Or rather lack of sleep. Inability to get a good night’s sleep. Waking up here and there in the middle of night and unable to sleep past 6am with the crack of sunlight.
      – Staying fit. Finding that sustainable long term diet/exercise mix.
      – Freestyle Cooking. Can’t seem to cook recipes without instructions.

      • Kelly says

        Hi SR88_M! Thanks for taking the time to read and share your thoughts!❤️

        I really feel you in finding that sustainable long term diet/exercise mix.

        For me it took over 20+ years to have a somewhat healthy relationship with food. As for exercise, it’s still a daily struggle, but not quite as bad as when I first started back in 2007.

        I will be cheering you on in finding the long term diet/exercise mix that fits you best, your efforts to improve your sleep quality, and becoming a better freestyle cook. 😃

    8. Lisa says

      Three things I love:
      1. Traveling
      2. My significant other and his unfaltering support
      3. Time with family and friends

      Three things I struggle with:
      1. Working out
      2. Drinking water
      3. Unpacking / decluttering / cleaning (does this count as one row?) 🤣

      • Kelly says

        Hi Lisa! I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts! ❤️

        I feel you completely on the three things you struggle with. Don’t you wish we’d had those habits drilled into us from a young age so that it’s a part of us? This way we don’t have to struggle so hard to do them as adults. 😃

    9. P says

      Hi Kelly I’m late to the party as always, but never fear, cause now I am here! 🦸(Sorry just watched a bunch of My Hero Academia and I can’t help it with that line) First off, Happy New Year. 🥳 Secondary, congrats on the successful launch of PetitePhoenix.com. 🎉 As always, so very proud of you and your continual effort to improve yourself and help others.

      Now to continue the trend…3 things

      Love that I have my health and my hair
      Love that I am able to be myself even in trying times Lastly love that when it came time to make the biggest decision of my life I chose right! (Shout out to my other half!)

      Struggle to love my slow metabolism
      Struggle to love my passiveness that promotes people to use me as a walking mat
      Lastly struggle to love that I have not yet left this world better than the way I found it.

      Anyhow I’m going to be poking around your blog now, say hi to Mark for me! 😉

      • Kelly says

        Hi P! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. ❤️

        You always crack me up. Have never read “Love that I have my health and hair,” in the same sentence before. 😉

        I don’t fear many things in life because you were and are always there for me along with your other half. I’m very lucky to have met you both. 😃

        I’d think that with your public-facing job, you might have done lots more good than you realize. Remember to be kind to yourself. ✌️

        You can say Hi to Mark yourself on this blog by replying to his comments. 😉

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