I stopped caring about people’s businesses a long time ago and became uninterested in a lot of things, including power, money, and threats of all types. My power lies in my ability to trust myself and certain people that I cherish.
I landed an ‘ordinary’ job right after my university graduation. I worked for a small start-up company of 10 people and the offer wasn’t so fancy for someone who graduated from a recognized international institution. Needless to say, my parents weren’t all happy, especially after having spent a fortune on my overseas education. I wasn’t happy with the fact that my parents were not happy about me, but there was nothing I could do rather than work hard in silence. I knew I needed to start from somewhere so I swallowed all my pride and learned to trust my instincts. Three years later, I landed a different job. After 6 months of being on the new job, I became a super-star of the team, then every single year, I was promoted to a new position, one after another.
What was interesting for me? For each position that I was promoted to, I got 2 levels up from the previous one, and soon enough become one of the youngest Directors of Sales for an international five-star hotel in Vietnam. Sometimes, I stop for a moment to think, it wasn’t even a dream or goal for me to get to who I am today. I don’t think I have such things called dreams or goals of any kind, but I know I am only in a good position when I do what I love, and I will work a little harder each day for things and people that I care about. I ‘unfriended’ everyone who didn’t create a positive impact on my life and kept my circle small. I’ve come to realize that, the more populous this planet becomes, the more mediocre people we will have to encounter.
As for my parents, they couldn’t help but become so proud of who I’ve become. I didn’t feel the need to hold any grudge against anybody for hurting my feelings. As my actions speak louder than words, I’ve done explaining myself to the world.
I moved to Ho Chi Minh City 3 years ago, a few months after Covid-19 kicked in. I was in a new city which took me some time to settle in then not long after, I saw myself fighting the pandemic battle. The job got tougher, I had a good and high-paid position at work but even my salary was cut by almost half. I thought I would have to move back to the city where I came from due to the situation, I wouldn’t be able to afford the rent and my own living standards. But even when I was at the bottom of my financial ability, I refused to work any further day in a job that I didn’t like, and I refused to meet with any type of people who were not in my league. To make my financial situation even worse, I decided to spend all the money that I had on my education, so I could finish my post-graduate without further delay. I was getting super close to being broke.
But what do you do when you don’t have the money? I guess that would be some of those moments of impact that define who you are: your patience when you have nothing and your attitude when you have everything. I didn’t know, even when I wasn’t employed, people still reach out to me for my services thanks to the reputation that I’ve created in the market. I was able to choose to work with the type of people that I like, and not only do I get paid for my freelance work, I’ve got my accommodation covered for as long as I want to live in this city, and an extended family that cares about my personal well-being and professional growth.
Three years ago, when I first moved to this city. I got to meet this self-acclaimed feng-shui expert by accident. At first glance, she was trying to catch my attention by offering some wise words. Yes, I gave her my attention, but then she started to offer her service, with a threat that I should be paying her so she could tell me more about what would happen to me in the future. I thanked her, then refused to continue the talk. The lady got furious: “So you don’t care about your future? Even your love life?”. With much of her surprises and grudges against me, I answered: “I care about my future, more than anybody else, sometimes I get worried too, but I know I am a good person, I live with a good heart, if something bad happens to me, I will be fully responsible for it. For all the small things or big things coming my way, they will know how to take care of themselves”.
I know I can live just fine without the need of being employed by someone or having a fancy job title. I know I can be a full-time professional or a freelancer all I want, but to live the life of a mediocre person was never an option. You did not wake up today to be mediocre, so don’t be one.
Camellia Dinh's World 