The year 2018 began with an ‘across Vietnam’ journey, visiting the community’s ‘strongholds’ nationwide. I put ‘across Vietnam’ in quotation marks because I focus only on effectiveness, without being particular about the mode of travel (not walking across Vietnam, although I value that experience). Everywhere I went, there were ‘loved ones.’ I immersed myself in the community, spread values, and received love. Every place had its own characteristics, and its community welcomed me with its own ‘specialties.’ For example, in Cần Thơ, I could freely catch ducks, wade through ponds, and climb trees with the Cần Thơ Yuppies. Truly unforgettable experiences!
The next “across Vietnam” journey fulfilled a promise made at the beginning of the year: spreading the renowned “Journey” training program, X-Startup@Social (the community version) and X-Startup@Student (the student version, with my “disciples” as trainers), nationwide. The program reached Da Nang, Saigon, Cần Thơ, Buôn Ma Thuột, Hanoi, Khánh Hoà, and Quảng Ngãi, impacting 1.700+ entrepreneurs and startup founders across the country. The Yuppies Vietnam Entrepreneurship & Leadership Community has become an exceptionally influential community nationwide, through concrete positive social impacts that thousands of people have worked tirelessly together to create for their local areas, rather than formality or a movement for its own sake. In total, YUP Education sponsored more than 9 billion dong in tuition for the next generation of entrepreneurs nationwide. Personally, conservatively but realistically speaking, I contributed at least 165.000 Usd based on my market rates for expert advice, speaking, and training. Entrepreneurship Ambassadors nationwide collectively contributed as many as 13.200 hours of service for a Vietnam that is a better place to live.
The next “across Vietnam” journey involved investments in businesses nationwide, bringing the total number of businesses & organizations in TMT Group to 18. Most operate nationwide, and some take their products around the world.
The next “across Vietnam” journey was spreading JOB (Journey of Books), with a “running start” of 8 bookcases nationwide. Meanwhile, Light Charity “ran fast” immediately (at the speed of light?). Light Charity organized Light One — codename: 1.000.000+ garments of love — nationwide, donating 200.000+ garments and creating positive Impact for 10.000+ people. The Dream of Angel Feet Fund is caring for and covering all monthly medical costs for 21 children with blood cancer nationwide. After its initial success, Light One continues to spread, while Light Charity turns toward its most important project of 2019: Light Two.
In 2018, I managed to visit only 4 countries. One trip was with my parents and family to see cherry blossoms in Japan in month 4; Japan was also the only country I revisited. The other 3 countries were all first visits: Cambodia in month 1, when I led TMT Group members and the Yuppies Community on an unforgettable ‘Pirate Journey’; Hongkong in month 7 as an invited guest at the Forbes Asia 30 under 30 Summit; and Indonesia with my students to research the market, also visiting ‘legendary’ Bali in month 12. Although I traveled less in 2018 than in other years, I still completed my goal of ‘exploring 3 new countries every year’ (so I can see the whole world before the end of my life).
The final “across Vietnam” trip took place just before the 2018 National Yuppies Summit. I visited communities nationwide at year’s end and called for “one Vietnam” to look toward Da Nang, the “entrepreneurial heart of 2018.” Da Nang was chosen to host the 2018 Summit because its measured Social Impact indicators were the highest nationwide.
The year 2018 ended with a National Entrepreneurship Convention bringing together, to be precise, more than 1.000 people from across the country at year’s end. Of course, the program will have many improvements next year, but the value it created for participants and the way it brought thousands together led a friend of mine to remark: ‘Organizing a thousand-person event in Hanoi or Saigon is ordinary enough. But getting thousands from provinces and cities all over the country to make the journey and converge on Đà Nẵng, during the extremely busy year-end period, even at the very end of the year to welcome the Gregorian New Year together, with most being people with respectable jobs, managers, and entrepreneurs… that is truly difficult, extraordinary, a miracle.’ A miracle, but we did it!
I began 2018 by declaring and promising our community that 2018 would mark my 30th birthday, and that I would overcome the “crisis of turning 30” (laughs) by making 2018 “A Year of Impacts”—a year of creating social impact. Now those promises have all been fulfilled and those hopes have come true, while the ideal of “Make Vietnam A Better Place To Live” still lies ahead. Looking back, I realize that 2018 could also be “A Year of Miracles”—a year of extraordinary achievements created by the entrepreneurial spirit, the Yuppie essence, commitment, action, nonjudgment, abstaining from or limiting alcohol, creativity, discipline, systems thinking, love, following ideals rather than idols, stepping outside our comfort zones, practicing gratitude, and fully living out the meaning of the 2 words “Phụng sự” (Service) and the guiding principle “We are One Yup.”
Thank you & Gratitude for a 2018 of Miracles and Social Value. Thank you & Gratitude that we met and worked together. Let us make not just 2018 but our entire lives “A Life of Miracles.”
TMT
