The Priya Parker Project - Step 1: The Obituary

This morning I woke up excited to write my obituary. That sounds weird doesn't it? I googled how to write a proper one, and of course, looked up Steve Jobs's obituary for some inspiration. At one point in his life he had to make a drastic decisions to live his dreams. He did that by quitting college and going straight into the tech field and the rest is history. Hopefully, I am brave enough to make drastic decisions that sets me on the path towards my dreams. 

Although Priya Parker says to write only 600 words on paper, I want to just free flow and see where the ball lands. Hope that's ok with you. So this is not a proper obituary.  It's me afterall. And I am far from proper. Enjoy!


Esther Anh Dao Siuha Rmah LaVielle, a citizen of the world, has died at the age of 99 in Lyon, France on **/**/**** (I don't want to do the math right now). The cause of death was from old age and she passed peacefully in her sleep next to her husband of 70 years.

Esther was born in Seattle, Washington to Blot and Duang Rmah and lived most of her childhood in Mountlake Terrace, WA. Growing up she enjoyed car camping trips with her little sister, Christine, and her parents. Her dad would drive the family all over Washington, Oregon, and parts of Canada. Her particularly favorite memory was when they missed the black ball ferry from Victoria BC to Port Angeles, WA, and had to sleep in a random camp site in their van while eating sardines and hot cheese. Esther had dreams of becoming a financial planner and started her college career at Shoreline Community College, then transferred to Western Washington University into the finance program. Once she got there, she became bored of finance and discovered she really enjoyed management and marketing classes. The creative and fun aspect spoke to her, so she switched majors and graduated with a Marketing degree in 2003. In 2005, on her 25th birthday, she met her husband, Ian, at her birthday party through a mutual friend. They did not hit it off until 6 month later when she moved to Seattle. Three and a half years later, they would get married at a beautiful garden in Camas, WA, surrounded by the best of friends and family. 

One of the major events and activities that heavily influenced her life was music. Her parents pushed her into playing piano, and from there she started sing, playing the flute, trombone, drums, trumpet, and saxophone. When she was in her 20s she met a good friend, Ivan, and they formed Ductape Productions, and began making and selling beats, and producing music for several aspiring artists in the Northwest. They even did shows around Seattle and had a small following on social media pre-Facebook era. Although the dreams to take it to the next level were there, real life and bills had to get paid. So both members abandoned the dream and reality set in.

One of the biggest and proudest moments in Esther's life was when she paid off all of her school and car loans within 9 years of graduation. There were points where she had to take a few second jobs just to afford paying all the bills and living on her own. There were many times she can physically see that her bank account was down to the very last $5 dollars with 3 more days until pay day. Eventually she found herself working evenings at a marketing research firm part time, and instantly things began to click. From there, they offered her a full time position, and Esther started her project management career. Not really knowing why, but surveys, data analysis, and sharing results, coming up with conclusions, and making decisions based on analytics became a strange yet lucrative passion. This stuff was fun to her!  Eventually, with the support of her loving husband, she left the research firm and found herself at a market research software  firm where her experience made a huge difference to the existing platform. Her new position allowed her to become 100% debt free by 31 years old and also save up plenty of money for retirement and trips to France, Croatia, Colombia, and more.

At the age of 33, after  getting struck by lightening and having emergency surgery, she realized that the stress was wrecking her body and soul. It took all of 2014, but she managed to leave her cushy job, and dove into exploring what made her heart sing. Taking all the messages,and going through the Priya Parker Project helped her see that she will always be a kid at heart desiring to have fun in any situation. Whether it's making good money or personal time, it's ok act a fool and just live and be your true self. They say that time flies when you are having fun, and Esther lived passionately to have fun as much as possible and be exactly what people see in her: A Genuine and honest person who thinks that getting ahead in life by being fair, respectful, and with your dignity in tact is the best way to live. To see  and experience the world from as many angles as possible. To revel in sharing memories with loved ones. Whether it was with herself, with her close knit family and friends, or even laughing with perfect strangers, her smile and outlook on life remained that way until the day she passed on. 

Esther is survived by her husband, Ian, and their two kids, Stargazer and Lily, and grand children Sage, Willow, River, and Axel, her sister Paster Christine Rmah Ricardo, brother and sister in law, Todd and Alex, as well as her closest friends from around the world, as well as as their beloved dog, Cooper the 5th. 

The service will be held the Bremerton ferry where her ashes will be laid to rest in the Puget Sound in Seattle, WA. After that she demands that everyone eats, drinks, and listens to all of her favorite hip hop tunes and other music at an ear ringing decibel. 

All memorial donations should go to the grandkids of Esther, or you can also donate to the Arbor association and plant trees in honor of the LaVielles.

If anyone wants to go on this journey with me you are more than welcome!, I wish you all the best this universe has to offer.

Check out the video in the link below.

PRIYA PARKER: Quit Your Life & Reboot