On this day last year, I had the honor of flying Vietnam's red flag with its gold star at the One Young World global summit.
There are valuable moments in a life's career. Looking back a year later and seeing that we have created far more impact than last year—that is the happiness of a new day.
DO NOT FEAR THE FUTURE
It has been 4 days since the bloody shooting in Las Vegas that killed 59 people and injured more than 500. The incident is considered the shoot the most horrific and darkest shooting in American history.
How unstable is the world we are living in?
Before arriving in South America, I had heard much about the region. I think Vietnamese people in particular, and Asians in general, travel to the US or Europe a great deal, so that is no longer special. But South America remains unfamiliar territory. Cost may be secondary: for example, airfare from Ecuador to Chile, neighboring countries, can equal an early-booked round trip from Vietnam to the US. Perhaps it is because the trip is considered “unsafe”?
Before the trip, I heard a “real-life” story about a man who had “experienced” a gun being held to his head a total of 5 times there, even though he was only on business trips, not “wandering” into deserted places during “curfew.” I also heard another “real-life” story of a Vietnamese person in a Colombian café witnessing someone shot dead on the spot. Most shockingly, everyone in the café remained seated as if nothing had happened. Such stories apparently are not uncommon.
“Danger Is Still Real”
But I made this trip. I deliberately stayed in a slum in Rio, Brasil, and met poor residents. I spent a night in the Amazon rainforest. I swam with dolphins in a river with crocodiles. I conquered a death-defying swing suspended over an abyss. I drank wine at a crater lake in Chile. I climbed to the Sun Gate at Machu Picchu, where only 5% of visitors have the perseverance to reach, and understood that when you feel so good at the summit, you do not want to descend to visit other places. But when you go down and manage to “let go,” compassion naturally grows in your heart for those you meet climbing toward the summit as you descend.
I strongly emphasize that everything may appear dangerous, and you should not go merely to imitate me. You must prepare and work out safe arrangements for yourself. I went to verify one thing: good people still greatly outnumber bad people in this world.
“Fear Is Sometimes an Illusion”
Just as today, only days after the terrorist shooting, only those selected are here together at this forum for young leaders creating the most positive change in the world. The world's outstanding young leaders gather in one place.
I was also there with everyone in Colombia, the “capital” of drugs, prostitution, and crime, where a major event was taking place for the first time in a highly “sensitive” context. We reassured ourselves that since we were there, the President of Colombia was too, under strict police and military protection.
Here, young leaders have built multimillion-dollar projects that positively affect hundreds of thousands of people. Many talented people are devoting their lives to solving the world's most challenging problems: poverty, corruption, terrorism, education, healthcare and the environment… Even if there is only a 1% chance of hope, it is still hope. Yet I found so much hope here.
“We are the future because together we create it”
Here, I was able to get closer to and hear the President of Colombia speak, along with former UN Secretary-General Kofi Ana, whom I was quite familiar with from my time in JCI, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhamed Yunus—the social entrepreneur and founder of Grameen Bank—whom I have mentioned many times along the social entrepreneurship path to which I feel connected. It is fascinating to be near people you have so often spoken about in everyday life and work.
Being fortunate enough to hold Vietnam's national flag made me feel as though I were at the Olympic Games or experiencing something similar. It was enough to show me that my life and my business journey had meaning after all. It was a wonderful experience, as Vietnam presented itself alongside the rest of the world, so the world could know Vietnam not only through war, but also through young people working tirelessly to create positive change.
Do not fear the future when so many people, including you, are building it.
At the moment captured in this photograph (I will update it if I find a closer, clearer image), as I waved the Red Flag with the Yellow Star on stage with the whole “world,” behind me sat the President of Colombia, 3 Nobel laureates, and leading global figures supporting One Young World. Before me were young leaders from 190 countries.
It is the honor of this entire lifetime.
