Breaking the Hustle Cycle: Culture, High-Performing Anxiety & Choosing Yourself
Podcast: The Affluent CEO Show: She didn't build the wrong life. She just built it as the wrong woman.Published On: Thu Feb 05 2026
Description: In this episode of The Affluent CEO Show, Yuliana is joined by Melissa Ng (New York), founder of Malu Journey, for an honest conversation about high-achieving women who look successful on paper, but feel exhausted, anxious, and never “enough” inside.Together, they unpack how immigrant and Asian cultural conditioning (hello, “tiger mom” expectations) can wire us to equate worth with output, glorify hustle, and chase approval through achievement. Melissa shares her turning point after motherhood, postpartum depression, and layoffs—despite being a top-performing global partner—when her identity cracked and she realised her mantra had been: “If I can, I must.”They explore why coaching alone can sometimes bypass the root cause, and why true transformation requires inner work first—healing identity, nervous system patterns, family scripts, and self-worth—before setting new goals. Melissa explains how Maloo Journey integrates therapy modalities and coaching to help women stop compartmentalising their healing and start building a life rooted in alignment.The episode closes with a powerful reminder: it’s never too late to choose yourself—and change can start with one small micro-move today.If this episode is hitting ... it's not random.You're ready for the next version of you. Start here: https://yulianafrancie.com/embody/
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