Woman who worked so many hours that her hair turned white
When Yu Dan Shi was just 20 years old, half of her hair turned completely white.
It was a wake-up call for Yu Dan, who had finished high school by 14, graduated university at 17, and was working until 1am six days a week in her native China.
Growing up in a poor family, Yu Dan hadn't taken a break since she was four years old. She knew her body was telling her something.
It was a lesson she would have to learn again, nearly 12 years later.
Yu Dan Shi (pictured with her two daughters) has opened up about how she completely changed her life twice after her body made her realise she was working too hard
After the stress of life had turned Yu Dan's hair white, she told her mother she needed to make a change.
She left her job as a marketing assistant at a technology company, and decided to move from Shanghai to Sydney.
Yu Dan arrived at the airport wearing double winter coats, the pockets stuffed with three months of food and milk powder, in an effort to save money.
She was immediately struck by her new home's beauty and it's balance of 'energy and freedom', she told Daily Mail Australia.
Yu Dan obtained her MBA at Newcastle University, where she met her husband, and entered the workforce again a year after giving birth to her daughter.
She successfully climbed the ranks in the corporate world, becoming a chief marketing officer at a global technology company by the age of 32.
Yu Dan had finished high school by 14, graduated university at 17, and was working until midnight or 1am six days a week in China when half her hair turned white at the age of 20
'Coming from such a poor family background, you would think that would be a fairy tale come true,' Yu Dan told Daily Mail Australia.
'I had just wanted to have financial freedom, a good secure job. But when I got there, I was so unhappy.'
It was a crushing 'double blow' for Yu Dan, who had gotten her first toy when she was 19 and had grown up studying with the light of an oil lamp.
'I had been working so hard from the age of four to get somewhere that would give me happiness and financial freedom,' she said.
'But along the way I lost myself, I didn't know who I was anymore. I realised all the things I thought I had wanted externally really didn't make me happy.'
Yu Dan tried to push away these feelings, too scared to explore her 'true self'.
It would be her body that, once again, steered Yu Dan back onto the right path.
On the way home from a business meeting one day, Yu Dan collapsed and went straight to the hospital in a taxi.
Doctors discovered she'd had a badly infected gallbladder for at least the last nine months. If it had burst, it could have poisoned her bloodstream and killed her.
After her operation, Yu Dan knew she needed to make a change.
'I got sick again, but this time I got so sick I almost killed myself,' she said.
Growing up in a poor family, Yu Dan hadn't had a break since she was four years old. Pictured is one of the places where she grew up, her daughter pictured here brooming the floor
'When I was young I didn't know how to take care of myself. But when I was 32, that was my own doing. I was quite mature, I knew what was happening.'
It was then that Yu Dan realised the reason she had been working such long hours and was so stressed at her job was because she wasn't using her natural strengths.
'I was very successful and highly paid, but I was not using my natural talents in my work,' she said. 'I was doing things based on what I thought people expected of me.'
Yu Dan moved to Australia to find balance, but soon found herself in the corporate rat race once again
Yu Dan had always known she was a natural storyteller and loved working with other people, but instead she had immersed herself in a world of data and numbers.
'A lot of us grow up with all these amazing talents, but once we become adults we tend to do what is expected of us - especially in the corporate world,' she said.
'We ignore what our true talents are and go for what we think is right for us. But so many of us are constantly busy and tired and go to work on autopilot without understanding what truly makes us happy.'
'After my operation I said there is no way I'm going to live that life again. I knew there must be a way to do what we love, to do what we're great.'
And when Yu Dan discovered the concept that every human being has a natural strength and talent, she not only found understanding - but a new life purpose.
The mum-of-two immediately began to study psychology following her operation and, at the same time, moved to an identical role in a different company for a 'fresh start'.
It was there that Yu Dan began to teach herself how to bring her natural strengths into her daily work, while studying full-time for her Masters of Coaching Psychology.
Yu Dan, who is now 41, could instantly see a difference not only in her work, but also her energy and happiness levels.
'Before I was barely able to cope with my job,' she said. 'Now I was able to do a full-time job, study for a full-time Masters degree and I didn't even feel tired.'
Yu Dan (pictured with her parents) completely changed her life again after her gallbladder almost burst when she was 32
Yu Dan (pictured shortly before her operation) could have died if her gallbladder had burst and infected her bloodstream
'I still had plenty of time left for my family. And that's the amazing thing about it, once you find what drives you and makes you happy - then things become easy.'
'I became more connected with my authentic self and knew what true value I could bring into my work, rather than pretending to be someone I'm not.'
Yu Dan officially left the corporate world last year, and is now teaching executives and businesses how to help their employees tap into their own natural strengths and become more productive at work.
At Discover Your Inner Genius, Yu Dan tries to help people uncover their unique talents and then give them the power to do the things that 'really matter to them'.
'I want to assure people, and especially women, that we are all born with our inner genius and it up to us to uncover them and make the most of them,' she said.
That first step every woman must take is to acknowledge that the natural talent even exists and then to go out and discover what it is, Yu Dan added.
'Once you know that you can validate whether you're on the right career path,' she said.
'If you are, great! Use it to reshape how you work day to day. And if you're not, find the path to take based on your natural strength and talent.'
Yu Dan hopes to help bring the kind of clarity to people's lives that she has found in her own since since her life or death situation nearly 10 years ago.
'It's two completely different worlds,' she said. 'I now feel excited every day about doing my work, I have so much confidence in what I do, and much less self-doubt.'
'The world now is just much brighter, much more energising and much more meaningful and joyful.'
Yu Dan's hair grew back in its natural colour after that fateful day in China 20 years ago, but sometimes during moments of stress it will still go a little white overnight.
It has become a reminder to the happy mum to slow down, take a breath and relax.