Expat Stories: Big in China's Alan Paul on Blogging and Balancing Passion and Practicality for Success Abroad

Imagine being settled into a comfortable life not too far from New York City. Things are going well for you professionally. You feel secure, confident and in control of your future. All in all life is pretty good. 

Now imagine your spouse being offered a job half way around the world in a country you know little about. A place where you are certain that there would be few local professional prospects given you don't speak the language. A place where you know no one and have no idea what living would really look like. Understandably, you experience a gamut of emotions from excitement to fear and everything in between.

You decide that, despite your fears, you'll embrace the adventure and dive in head first - moving with your spouse and three kids to Beijing, China. 

What follows is the story of Alan Paul, author of Big in China. In his book he writes about moving his family to China when he wife was offered a three year assignment as the Wall Street Journal's China Bureau Chief. Alan shares about his experiences in becoming a stay-at-home dad and a successful expat blogger, as well as connecting with the local community and building a band that went on to win "Best Band in Beijing".  

Given what  Alan has accomplished, I'd say the man is a true rock star in many senses of the word. Alan serves as a great example of what is possible when you can fully engage in the expat experience and don't let your fears hold you back from pursuing your passions overseas.   

This is why I was so pleased when Alan graciously agreed to share about his story as an expat in China.

Rather than having Alan tell his story since you can read about it in his book, Big in China, I've asked him some specific questions about the professional aspects of his story in China . 

 

So Alan, when you and your family discussed the idea of moving to China, were your career options a big concern? 

They were definitely a concern, but I wouldn’t say a big concern, simply because I really felt ready for a change. I had been writing for Guitar world for 15 years and for Slam for about 10 and I was getting a little restless. And while I did not know what exactly China would hold for me, I was confident that there were opportunities to be found there.

Sometimes an opportunity is bigger than your current situation and you have to faith and be willing to make a leap of faith. That was the situation here and I understood it pretty clearly. I wasn’t going to spend the rest of my life wondering what would have happened had I moved to China.

 

Did you struggle with a loss of your “professional identity” that many accompanying spouses do when you arrived in China? 

I didn’t struggle too much, because Guitar World and Slam both allowed me to remain affiliated, though I had to give up the security of contracts and regular payment. That gave me enough to hang my hat on. I definitely did reinvent myself there, first as a columnist - really spreading my wings outside of music and sports journalism – writing the Expat Life for the Wall Street Journal Online. That opened up a lot of doors and probably played a big role in giving my confidence the boost I needed to eventually pursue my passion for music more fully.

 

Pursuing your passion for music led to your band - Woodie Alan - being awarded the title of Beijing Band of the Year in 2008. Reflecting on your own story, how would you advise those interested in getting a job overseas?

You’ll never how far you can go until you start running. You really have to just go for it sometimes. Having said that, everyone’s situation is different. I feel very grateful that I was able to find this path and follow my passion, but I would not have moved my family around the world in pursuit of it; I was granted the opening and opportunity because my wife had a job offer which made complete sense for her career. Everything else spun off of that. 

It’s all about balancing the passion and the practicality. I could not have made the band happen and find the success we found if I had been trying to do so. 

 

How did starting a blog help you professionally – both as a writer and a musician? How did it help you write your story?

In so many ways that it’s hard to list everything, or be complete. The most direct benefit was it allowed me to channel my initial excitement and sense of wonder into a very concrete writing platform. Having this outlet did so many things for me. It helped me rediscover my passion for writing and the joy I could take in just recounting my experiences and sharing my thoughts. It helped me think through everything I was feeling and experiencing – and ultimately it led to the column, because I don’t think I ever would gotten my thoughts together to do that if I had not been doing it on own, for myself and a small circle of friends and family. 

I am writer so I sometimes process my thoughts and realize just how I am feeling by writing. You can do that in a journal, or emails, or letters, but I don’t think I would have ever explored things as deeply in any other venue. A blog was a public forum, even if the initial audience was very limited, so that forced me to sharpen my thoughts and writing. I was recording what I was experiencing and that led me to experience things differently. Sometimes it even pushed me out the door to have some adventure sin the early days because I wanted something to write about.

 

What do you think your experience abroad has done for you professionally?

Well, it got me a book deal and now a movie deal. But more broadly, the simple, obvious fact is the world is becoming flatter and closer and more interconnected and the better you understand that the better off you will be. There are smart, creative, interesting people all over the world and living Beijing helped me not only understand China better but also to meet some of these great minds from all over the world. There’s something expansive and liberating about that, and it can only help you in virtually any field. We all understand this intellectually, but living it hammers it home in a very different, more profound way.

 

Any lessons learned to share with those considering living and working abroad?

It’s worth it. Cast your fears aside as well as some of your romanticism and try to examine any opportunities objectively. I endorse going abroad for virtually anybody, but you have to understand that you won’t move away from yourself and any problems that you have. It all travels with you.

 

How can people find out more about you, your book, your upcoming movie and whatever else the future holds? 

Please visit me at www.alanpaul.net. You can also follow me at twitter: @alpaul, or on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AlanPaulauthor. And I really, really welcome feedback, so drop me a line and say hello.

 

Many thanks again Alan for taking the time to share your experience of growing your career abroad!

 

EXPAT CAREER SUCCESS TIP: Writing your story is a great way to celebrate your accomplishments in life as well as uncover strengths, qualities and talents that could be keys to your personal and professional success.

Reflect on the things that Alan shared about his expereince in China that were critical to his professional success. How could they help you move forward towards a successful career abroad? How could you cast your fears aside? What would balancing passion and practicality look like in a career abroad?

What could building a blog to process and share your story abroad do for you personally and professionally? What about connecting others to expand your mindset and become part of our more interconnected world - what doors could that open up?

Reflect on some of these questions. Then consider writing about your own story to see what what strengths, talents or lessons about work and life you might find. Come back and share what you discovered.

For tips on how to write your story, you can read Jo Parfitt's advice on this topic in "expat story" interview. 

 

DID YOU ENJOY AND FIND VALUE IN THIS POST?

Why not sign up to receive more like this?

Enter your email address:

Or share with others?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  career by choice can help you...become an expat and experience a global lifestyle ~ explore international career options and find work abroad ~ understand your Brand DNA and how you can perform at your best ~ manage transitions, overcome challenges and grow as a leader on international assignments ~ clarify your personal brand to stand out and be sought after for top jobs overseas ~ develop branded tools and strategies to communicate your unique expertise in a differientiating, compelling way ~ strengthen and manage your online reputation to attract employers and clients worldwide ~ leverage your expert status to become highly visible, recognized and well compensated for the value you create ~ leverage social media to build your global online network ~ develop a global mindset ~ provide an international career coach and experienced guide to help you think.live.work.global ~ optimize your career choices and discover success abroad on your terms by being your best self ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~