Olivia Gong Went From Corporate VP to $200,000 in Debt. Letting Go Is What Brought Her Back

Olivia Gong used to fly internationally seven to 10 times a year. Then one day she looked up, saw an airplane and realized she had not flown anywhere in more than a year. She had quit a high-paying corporate job, lost her savings and found herself more than $200,000 in debt, standing in a grocery store calculating what she could afford.

“The pain of having abundance and losing it is way harder than never having it,” she says in a TikTok video that stopped us mid-scroll. Today she is a coach who teaches people how to let go of the fear and shame that kept her stuck. This is her story.

Key takeaways

• Olivia Gong grew up in a small village in China and rose to vice president of a Nasdaq-listed company in California, earning more than $500,000 a year.
• After leaving corporate, she says, failed business investments and trading cost her $1 million and left her more than $200,000 in debt.
• As a first-generation immigrant and mother of a young son, she had no one to fall back on, and working harder did not fix it.
• She credits a releasing practice, letting go of fear, doubt and regret, with turning her finances and life around.
• She now coaches clients one-on-one and through workshops, and shares her lessons with about 2,500 TikTok followers.

Who is Olivia Gong?

Olivia Gong is a life coach and healer who runs CoachOliviaGong.com, where she offers private sessions and workshops on money, health, relationships and self-worth. On @oliviagong4 on TikTok, her bio sums up her work in one line: “Achieve your goals. Release what’s holding you back.”

Her own path started far from California. On her website, she writes that she was born in a small village in China into a deeply troubled home, and that she was bullied and assaulted at 11. For years, she says, she tried to outrun that pain, and believed success and wealth would finally bring her happiness.

How did Olivia Gong become a corporate vice president?

She pushed herself relentlessly. “By God’s grace,” she writes, “I went from a broke girl in China to Vice President of a NASDAQ-listed company in California, earning over half a million dollars a year.”

From the outside, she had made it. She traveled the world, never thought twice about walking into a restaurant and could give her son anything she wanted. But, she writes, “to my surprise, peace still eluded me.” So she started searching for something deeper, and eventually she walked away from the job.

What happened when Olivia Gong lost $1 million?

Over the next couple of years, she says, “through unsuccessful business investments, trading stocks and options, I found myself in a desperate financial situation.” Her money was gone. She owed more than $200,000. Her new business barely covered the essentials. “I was a first generation immigrant here in the United States and a mother to a young child,” she says. “I had nobody to fall back on.”

The hardest part was not the spreadsheet. It was the small moments: realizing a weekend trip had become a luxury, and not being able to pay for the after-school activities she wanted for her son. “I would look at my beautiful son and thought, I messed up, it’s all my fault,” she says. “I lived in regret, shame and fear.”

How I bounced back after losing $1 million

She did what high achievers do. She earned more certifications, networked more, trained more and promoted harder. “I did everything I could think of, but nothing worked,” she says. Eventually she broke down. “I literally fell on the floor, cried out to God to take over.” Not long after, she says, she found the releasing practice that changed everything, and “money and opportunities began to come into my life.”

What is the releasing method Olivia Gong teaches?

Gong’s work is built on letting go. On her website, she describes her Heart Light Releasing Method as starting with a clear intention, then releasing the resistance, fears and limitations that come up, through heart-centered awareness rather than by thinking harder. In her videos she cites teacher Lester Levinson and his idea of freedom as an influence.

Her core message is that you do not have to suffer to deserve a better life. “You don’t have to suffer to be worthy of financial abundance,” she says. When something goes wrong, she suggests skipping the endless “why is this happening to me” and instead releasing the emotional charge and asking what you would love instead.

Olivia Gong: when life takes you low, use it to go high

She is especially direct about guilt. “Taking responsibility and punishing yourself are not the same thing,” she writes. You can own a mistake, learn from it and let it go, without “suffering to prove you’ve learned your lesson.”

Olivia Gong on forgiving yourself for past mistakes

What does Olivia Gong offer?

Through CoachOliviaGong.com, Gong offers private sessions that combine goal setting, emotional release and the other practices she teaches, including muscle testing, Reiki and angel and spirit guide channeling, along with group workshops. Upcoming workshops listed on her site include “The Healing Code: 7 Steps to Releasing the Past & Reclaiming Joy” and “The Real Secret to Hitting Your Goals: Beyond Manifestation.”

Her clients’ testimonials describe her as caring and intuitive, with several crediting her with helping them let go of limiting beliefs and old emotions. You can book a private session, or follow her free videos on @oliviagong4 on TikTok and YouTube.

What can we learn from Olivia Gong’s comeback?

Her story carries lessons for anyone rebuilding after a setback:

• Your past does not decide your future. “No matter what you’ve been through, you are not defined by your past,” she writes.
• Working harder is not always the answer. More certifications and more hustle did not fix her situation. Letting go of fear did.
• Shame keeps you stuck. She says many people quietly carry shame around money, and that overgiving and undercharging keep them in survival mode.
• You do not need to hit bottom first. “You don’t have to be literally on the floor to receive this,” she says.

She joins other people Booked Impact has profiled for rebuilding on their own terms, including Danielle Lynch and Jordan Tarver.

Olivia Gong on how old memories shape your beliefs

Frequently asked questions

Who is Olivia Gong?

Olivia Gong is a life and mindset coach who runs CoachOliviaGong.com. A former vice president of a Nasdaq-listed company, she now helps clients release fear, doubt and limiting beliefs around money, relationships and self-worth.

How did Olivia Gong lose $1 million?

She says that after leaving her corporate job, unsuccessful business investments and trading stocks and options cost her about $1 million and left her more than $200,000 in debt.

What is the Heart Light Releasing Method?

It is the approach Olivia Gong teaches. On her website she describes it as setting a clear intention, then releasing the resistance and limitations that come up through heart-centered awareness rather than mental effort.

What services does Olivia Gong offer?

She offers private sessions, workshops, muscle testing, Reiki and angel and spirit guide channeling through CoachOliviaGong.com.

Where is Olivia Gong from?

She was born in a small village in China and later built her career in California, where she became a corporate vice president before becoming a coach.

How can I contact Olivia Gong?

You can book a private session through her website, CoachOliviaGong.com, or follow her on TikTok at @oliviagong4.

This profile is based on Olivia Gong’s public TikTok videos and her website. Financial figures are her own. Booked Impact did not interview her. This article is not financial, medical or mental health advice.