Elena Tan Yu-Coyiuto didn’t have it so easy, growing up the daughter of a taipan who was once the richest man in the entire archipelago: put simply, she was taught she needed to work hard.

“I was a workaholic,” she says, “and my sole aim was to become a power business lady.” And for a long time, that was what she was. Clad in an Escada suit, she would be in the office before 8am and spend the entire day tirelessly working, attending meetings as an embodiment of her father’s real estate empire.

But after doing her share in her family’s vast businesses, Coyiuto soon began to pursue her own passions, step by step. First, she would become co-founding chairman of the Association of Young Filipino Chinese Entrepreneurs, creating a space for accomplished professionals to guide future movers of the Philippine economy. Later, she would rediscover her passion for painting, and has since exhibited her works in galleries, proving that you can hard work and passion can and should go hand in hand. “Even at a certain age, you can find fulfilment doing something that you’re passionate about,” she says.