In this episode, Chu Tang opens up about how friendship has shaped her journey from refugee camps to thriving as a creative artist and entrepreneur. Along the way, she found that friendship — real, unconditional friendship — was the thread that held her life together.
Chu shares how her second book, Finding Real Friends, was born out of gratitude for the support she received while writing her first. She hopes it helps young adults rediscover the meaning of friendship in an age of social media, where connection can often feel superficial.
Throughout the episode, Chu and I explore how friendship shapes identity, provides healing where family might not, and teaches us forgiveness and empathy. Chu’s stories — from childhood friends to creative collaborators to new business allies — show how authentic relationships help us grow into the best versions of ourselves.
As Chu says, friendship is both simple and sacred: it’s about trust, love without judgment, and choosing people who help you see your potential.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
Why true friendship requires trust, action, and acceptance
How friendships can fill roles that even family can’t
Why some friendships are “seasonal” — and how to let go with grace
How to build genuine friendships in a social-media-driven world
Noteworthy quotes from Chu in this episode:
“I think if we come from that space [ what’s in it for me], it's very hard to find true friends because we will tend to attract people with agenda.”
“And then also we have to forgive our friend because it's like us forgiving ourselves.... No, we don't go to school to learn how to be a good friend….So sometimes friend[s], they make mistakes and then so do we.”
“A true friend is someone that I could totally depend on…without them prejudging…someone who allows me to be who I am…no judgment…love who I am.”
Resources & Links Mentioned in This Episode:
Website: www.allhealth.info
Book: Finding Real Friends: Stay by My Side (available on Amazon)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chu.tang.7
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chu_muy_tang/#
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/health-wellness-consultant/
Connect with Anne Brinkman
Website: www.betteryour.life
LinkedIn: @coachannebrinkman
Free confidence recordings: www.betteryour.life/audio
Newsletter: get notified of new podcast episodes or blog posts: https://better-your-life-coaching.ck.page/
Free discovery session: get support on your own personal growth journey: http://www.betteryour.life/schedule
All content for Books to Better Your Life is the property of Anne Brinkman and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
In this episode, Chu Tang opens up about how friendship has shaped her journey from refugee camps to thriving as a creative artist and entrepreneur. Along the way, she found that friendship — real, unconditional friendship — was the thread that held her life together.
Chu shares how her second book, Finding Real Friends, was born out of gratitude for the support she received while writing her first. She hopes it helps young adults rediscover the meaning of friendship in an age of social media, where connection can often feel superficial.
Throughout the episode, Chu and I explore how friendship shapes identity, provides healing where family might not, and teaches us forgiveness and empathy. Chu’s stories — from childhood friends to creative collaborators to new business allies — show how authentic relationships help us grow into the best versions of ourselves.
As Chu says, friendship is both simple and sacred: it’s about trust, love without judgment, and choosing people who help you see your potential.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
Why true friendship requires trust, action, and acceptance
How friendships can fill roles that even family can’t
Why some friendships are “seasonal” — and how to let go with grace
How to build genuine friendships in a social-media-driven world
Noteworthy quotes from Chu in this episode:
“I think if we come from that space [ what’s in it for me], it's very hard to find true friends because we will tend to attract people with agenda.”
“And then also we have to forgive our friend because it's like us forgiving ourselves.... No, we don't go to school to learn how to be a good friend….So sometimes friend[s], they make mistakes and then so do we.”
“A true friend is someone that I could totally depend on…without them prejudging…someone who allows me to be who I am…no judgment…love who I am.”
Resources & Links Mentioned in This Episode:
Website: www.allhealth.info
Book: Finding Real Friends: Stay by My Side (available on Amazon)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chu.tang.7
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chu_muy_tang/#
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/health-wellness-consultant/
Connect with Anne Brinkman
Website: www.betteryour.life
LinkedIn: @coachannebrinkman
Free confidence recordings: www.betteryour.life/audio
Newsletter: get notified of new podcast episodes or blog posts: https://better-your-life-coaching.ck.page/
Free discovery session: get support on your own personal growth journey: http://www.betteryour.life/schedule
What if I told you that real change is not only possible but also simpler than you think?
In this episode of Books to Better Your Life, host Anne Brinkman explores James Clear’s best-seller, Atomic Habits. Clear teaches us that real, lasting change doesn’t require massive effort. It’s about making small, consistent tweaks that compound over time. Coach Anne also discusses the role of identity in habit formation and the Four Laws of Behavior Change before sharing her personal experiences with habit formation and challenging listeners to adopt small habits to improve their lives.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
-The power of tiny, incremental habits to create significant results.
-The importance of aligning habits with one's identity and beliefs.
-The Four Laws of Behavior Change: Making habits obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying.
-An easy way to begin putting Clear’s key strategies to work in your own life over the next seven days.
Noteworthy quotes
“What I see in my clients is often they are beating themselves up for a lot of things – for not having motivation, for being lazy, not being able to do these things they want to. Yet sometimes all it really comes down to is them not being aware of how to develop habits.”
“A little thing done time after time starts to create big results.”
“Each time you do a habit, it's a vote for an identity.”
“Imagine a smoker being offered a cigarette replying, 'No thanks, I'm trying to quit,' versus a smoker who says, 'No thanks, I don't smoke.' One has adopted and accepted that [new] identity and one still believes in that old identity.”
Resources and links mentioned in this episode:
-James Clear’s Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones. Buy it from Amazon https://amzn.to/3TCzVbZ or Bookshop https://bookshop.org/a/106951/9780735211292. *
-Clear’s website: jamesclear.com
-Clear’s inspiring 3-2-1 newsletter https://jamesclear.com/3-2-1
Connect with Anne Brinkman
Website: www.betteryour.life
LinkedIn: @coachannebrinkman
Free confidence recordings: www.betteryour.life/audio
Newsletter: get notified of new podcast episodes or blog posts https://better-your-life-coaching.ck.page/
Free discovery session: get support on your own personal growth journey http://www.betteryour.life/schedule
* As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
As a Bookshop affiliate, I receive a commission and every book you buy on Bookshop.org also supports local, independent bookstores.
Books to Better Your Life
In this episode, Chu Tang opens up about how friendship has shaped her journey from refugee camps to thriving as a creative artist and entrepreneur. Along the way, she found that friendship — real, unconditional friendship — was the thread that held her life together.
Chu shares how her second book, Finding Real Friends, was born out of gratitude for the support she received while writing her first. She hopes it helps young adults rediscover the meaning of friendship in an age of social media, where connection can often feel superficial.
Throughout the episode, Chu and I explore how friendship shapes identity, provides healing where family might not, and teaches us forgiveness and empathy. Chu’s stories — from childhood friends to creative collaborators to new business allies — show how authentic relationships help us grow into the best versions of ourselves.
As Chu says, friendship is both simple and sacred: it’s about trust, love without judgment, and choosing people who help you see your potential.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
Why true friendship requires trust, action, and acceptance
How friendships can fill roles that even family can’t
Why some friendships are “seasonal” — and how to let go with grace
How to build genuine friendships in a social-media-driven world
Noteworthy quotes from Chu in this episode:
“I think if we come from that space [ what’s in it for me], it's very hard to find true friends because we will tend to attract people with agenda.”
“And then also we have to forgive our friend because it's like us forgiving ourselves.... No, we don't go to school to learn how to be a good friend….So sometimes friend[s], they make mistakes and then so do we.”
“A true friend is someone that I could totally depend on…without them prejudging…someone who allows me to be who I am…no judgment…love who I am.”
Resources & Links Mentioned in This Episode:
Website: www.allhealth.info
Book: Finding Real Friends: Stay by My Side (available on Amazon)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chu.tang.7
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chu_muy_tang/#
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/health-wellness-consultant/
Connect with Anne Brinkman
Website: www.betteryour.life
LinkedIn: @coachannebrinkman
Free confidence recordings: www.betteryour.life/audio
Newsletter: get notified of new podcast episodes or blog posts: https://better-your-life-coaching.ck.page/
Free discovery session: get support on your own personal growth journey: http://www.betteryour.life/schedule
