Are you being breadcrumbed? How to follow your breadcrumbs in life

Why this is worth your 5 minutes

Career transitions. Burnout. Identity. Creativity.
Daisy Hung has lived all of it - across three continents, two careers, and now as a debut author with Harper Collins - and talks about it on this Low to Grow episode.

3 Lessons You Can Apply Today

Here are the three most transferable lessons for those who want steady, intentional growth.

1. Your First Career Doesn’t Define You

Daisy entered university convinced she’d become a microbiologist until she realised that she “could not do chemistry at all.” She pivoted into ethnic studies, then into law, then into diversity work, and finally into writing.

“I think people who are thinking about a major career transition… or are interested in a lot of different things” are exactly who she hopes will listen.

The truth: careers unfold in squiggles, not lines. Daisy didn’t lose momentum by changing direction, she simply multiplied her options.

Try this:

List three skills you enjoy and excel in (e.g., communication, problem-solving, empathy). These are your transferable anchors. Build around them, not your job title.

2. Take Burnout As A Data Point

Representing domestic abuse survivors, handling immigration crises, and working in under-resourced organisations pushed Daisy into emotional exhaustion:

“I started being very angry… it was invading areas of my personal life.”

She didn’t ignore the signals. She paid attention to them whilst she built her exit plan. Slowly, intentionally, and with support from peers who had also left the law.

Try this:

Quick fire questions, don’t think too much:

• What is my burnout trying to tell me?

• Is it the work, the environment, or the season I’m in?

3. You Don’t Need Permission to Start Something New

Daisy didn’t grow up dreaming of being an author. She also didn’t know a single person in publishing. She learned everything through open-access schemes, peer communities, and trial-and-error.

“I’ve learned that I can actually write a book.”

Her biggest shift? Allowing more of herself into the writing, something she resisted until her publisher insisted readers needed her story as the golden thread.

Try this:

Write one paragraph today about a topic you think you’re “not qualified” to talk about.
Chances are, that paragraph contains the seed of your next pivot.

The Messy Truth Behind Daisy’s Success

She didn’t have a linear career, a stable identity label, or an insider network. She built all of it through slow accumulation: listening to herself, following her curiosity, and allowing herself creative reinvention.

Annie’s Anecdote

What stayed with me long after recording the episode was Daisy’s emotional honesty. She didn’t glamorise the burnout, or the identity confusion, or the writing process. Instead, she showed that sometimes the bravest career move isn’t a dramatic leap, but it’s admitting you’ve outgrown a version of yourself and taking a step back.

Her story reminded me that growth often begins in quiet moments: the first pros-and-cons list, the first honest conversation with a mentor, the first sentence of a book you’re not sure you’re “allowed” to write. Daisy proves to me that you don’t need certainty to start.

You just enough courage to follow the breadcrumb in front of you.

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ChatGPT drafted the first copy of this article before I came in to edit. If ChatGPT was my intern, my feedback would be: love the four key points at the beginning, medium edits.