Dr. Mykim Tran is an expert in humanistic psychology. She is a keynote speaker, educator, life coach, author, and scientist. She is on a mission to help individuals create a powerful legacy that will carry on for eternity. In the process, individuals will transform into the best version of themselves and reach their full potential. Dr. Tran is the founder and CEO of Wake-Up Foundation, a non-profit agency, transforming individuals into social change agents to promote stronger communities. She received her bachelor's degree in Media Communications from the California State University of Sacramento, her master's degree in Psychology at Walden University, and her Ph.D. in Humanistic Psychology at Saybrook University.
Dr. Mykim Tran, Humanistic Psychologist
Can you tell us about your career journey and how it led you to help individuals in humanistic psychology?
I started my career as a speaker in 2010. My goal is to help teenagers and youth adults feel good about themselves. I use my education and experience to share about body image, health and wellness, and self-confidence with them. I encourage them that as long as they take care of themselves, body and mind, they will feel good about themselves. However, when I went into my master's program in Health Psychology, I discovered that my strengths are more aligned with mental health, self-esteem specifically. I believe that when individuals have mental health, they will have the self-esteem to overcome and achieve anything. In 2014, I self-published my first book, Self-Esteem Building: How to Live Your Life as You. As I continued my educational journey into my PhD program, I realized my passion for personal development and human potential, which is the essence of humanistic psychology. I uncovered that when individuals learn and develop, they will unleash their passion and life purpose, which they can use to help them reach their full potential.
Your mission statement is: Help individuals create a powerful legacy that will carry on for eternity, how did you come about that mission?
Since humanistic psychology's primary goal is to help individuals become the best version of themselves, having a powerful legacy is the best motivation to achieve that goal. I believe that everyone has something unique and powerful within them that will help them become great, which can become their legacy.
Building a legacy helps individuals develop a sense of belonging in the world. Belonging is one component of the hierarchy of human needs. That sense of belonging will allow them to contribute to the world positively; they feel like they matter and have something valuable to offer. They can better connect with others at multiple levels, such as within themselves, others, their community, society, and the world. That sense of feeling within them will push them to learn and develop to become better individuals, not only for themselves but for everyone and everything. Furthermore, since a legacy should never die, their work will be carried on forever after they leave earth. Individuals who believe in their legacy will be motivated to do as much good as possible while alive to leave behind something good for others. I believe that is a humanistic individual.
You created the model The Life Purpose Pyramid to guide your work, can you share with us a little about that?
I developed The Life Purpose Pyramid model to help individuals create meaning and purpose. The pyramid has seven levels, and it starts at the bottom and goes up. At the bottom, it begins with you, the individual. Since creating meaning and purpose is about using your strengths and talents to serve, the first person you should help is yourself. Therefore, you want to use your strengths and talents to improve as much as possible. Once you have mastered using your strengths and talents to help yourself, you can move up the pyramid to help others, such as your family, friends, and neighbors. Once you master the second level, you can move up to help more individuals, such as within a community or zip code. And then, you continue to move up the pyramid to serve at the county, state, federal level, and last the country, which is the world.
As individuals move up the life purpose pyramid, they will create and experience more meaning and purpose because they can use their strengths and talents to help more people. It is like when individuals move up on the Hierarchy of Needs Pyramid. The higher individuals are on the pyramid, the more motivation they will have to reach their full potential.
Why did you create the Life Success Formula model?
I created the Life Success Formula model to help my clients develop a solid foundation to stay focused to achieve their goals, dreams, and full potential. The formula consists of 4 components: 1) The science, 2) The art, 3) the motivation, and 4) the mindset.
The science is about ensuring individuals have the right knowledge before achieving anything. No matter how much individuals apply the wrong knowledge, they will not get the result they want. Therefore, I guide individuals in learning and becoming successful lifelong learners to acquire the right knowledge.
The art is about creativity. Individuals must learn how to apply their knowledge creatively that fit who they are, their goals and dreams, and their lifestyle. Knowledge can be used in unlimited ways. Since each of us has a different lifestyle, it is crucial for individuals to apply their knowledge successfully in their lives. Therefore, I guide individuals to develop their creativity and inner strength to believe they can succeed in their own ways.
The motivation is the reason why individuals want to achieve their goals. Their motivation will be their backbone to help them pick themselves back up after setbacks or give them the extra push to move forward. I educate individuals on the different human motivations, and which best aligns with human potential.
The mindset is about your beliefs, attitudes, and way of thinking. If individuals want to become successful, they must develop certain traits and ways of thinking to stay focused. Therefore, I educate individuals on the different mindsets they must develop to succeed.
How do you help your clients?
My clients come to me because they often feel lost and want to create more meaning and purpose. They want something that gets them excited and motivated to push them out of bed daily so they can start the day successfully. Others also come to me because they need an extra boost of motivation and encouragement that their goals and dreams are still possible. Another common reason my clients come to me is to get help in developing a balanced lifestyle and stress management. They often expressed that they have difficulty moving forward with their goals and dreams because their daily activities are causing them to stress out, which decreases their productivity.
What do you enjoy most about working with your clients?
The number one thing I enjoy working with my clients is helping them discover their passions. I have witnessed so many individuals with unique passions that I have never thought existed and what they can do with them. Seeing that reinforces the humanistic belief that everyone has something incredible to share with the world.
Who inspires you in life?
Two industries inspire me. First, it is the motivational speaking and training industry. I always get inspired by the motivational speakers and trainers I see on television, the internet, and in books I read. I admire them for their positive messages and how they are making a positive impact in the world. Their messages help me develop a positive outlook to stay balanced and focused on achieving my goals and dreams. Whenever I need motivation and inspiration, I seek them through videos, books, workshops, trainings, and seminars. They have installed the belief in me that anything is possible.
The second industry that inspires me is higher education. Seeking the right education has helped me to discover my strengths, talents, and passions. There are so many subjects that I never thought existed until I pursued higher education. There is a common phrase, “You do not know what you don’t know.” This means, you will never know something until someone teaches it to you. Higher education has exposed and taught me so many things about the world, and one of these areas is humanistic psychology. I also get inspired by the educational leaders who are making a pathway to help others understand the importance of education because after all, knowledge is power. I believe that with the right education, anything is possible.
What advice would you give to others who want to start or continue their humanistic journey to reach their full potential?
The two things I have learned from people I admired at an early age are personal development and passion. They have taught me that if you can stay focused on your personal growth and passion, you can develop a successful lifestyle. Because I never lose sight of my personal development and passion journeys, it has helped me become who I am today, and they have allowed me to do what I love. Therefore, I would pass it forward and encourage others to do the same. Personal development will help you become so strong that you can overcome anything. With passion, you will never lose motivation to keep on moving forward to do and achieve great things.
What are your current projects?
I am currently working on two projects. First, I am finishing up my second book, titled Life Success Formula, which is one of the models I created to guide my work and to help others. I will share my 12 years of education and experience to help individuals master the four components to help them reach their full potential.
My second project is to continue conducting studies to develop a personal development course to be incorporated into the educational system, which is mandatory for students before graduating. Today, students are not equipped with the knowledge and skills to become successful in the future. School is missing humanistic elements to help students succeed. I am very excited about this project.
Finally, can you tell us a little about Wake-Up Foundation?
Wake-Up Foundation is a nonprofit organization I developed in 2013 to support high-risk youths to become successful in life. The agency provides personal development programs and services to help youths identify their strengths and talents, to help them apply them successfully, and positively impact their lives, their communities, our society, and the world. Wake-Up Foundation provides career and goal development, self-esteem and self-confidence building, stress management, and building good health. The Wake-Up Foundation programs and services are unique and transformative because they provide a holistic approach to promoting strong individuals and healthy communities through education, intervention, and prevention. Click here to learn more about Wake-Up Foundation.
