I was born in Saigon, South Vietnam. My parents came from Hanoi and migrated to Saigon in 1954 when the Vietnamese communists took over North Vietnam. The notorious Vietnam war ravaged my country from 1954 until 1975. In 1975, America lost the war to the communist North and abandoned South Vietnam. After graduation from university in 1980, I decided that the communist regime was not for me. Consequently, my younger brother and I escaped by boat that year. After 11 days wandering in the South China Sea, our boat was finally rescued by a British tanker and was brought to Thailand.
From Thailand, we were fortunate to be able to settle in the UK where I worked for a few years in the restaurant business, then continued with my study and became a petroleum engineer, and eventually worked internationally in over 25 countries around the world.
What I have learned from my “boat trip” and my subsequent life can be summarised in the following few key points:
People are born good, equal and free.
Who they are today is the result of their childhood education, family life and personal experiences.
Nobody is perfect, but people’s ego is the biggest constraint!
Too much is never enough; disliking when other people succeed; craving for attention; yearning for respect and recognition; being manipulative; and never helping others.
Money and power don’t bring happiness.
There is no use living a life which is wasted in just fulfilling personal interests. It is a pity that we have become victims of selfishness in the modern world where everyone seems to be involved in the pursuit of materialistic pleasures. Nowadays, humanity seems to have reached its lowest point when it comes to morality and ethical values. A life lived only for the fulfilment of personal gains is worthless. One should stop being confined to focus just on personal problems and be able to look beyond at issues affecting the larger community.
Forgiveness.
As Gandhi said: “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
Never give up.
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is to always try just one more time (Thomas Edison).
A team effort.
The difference between success and failure is a great team. No matter how smart, talented, driven, or passionate we are, our success depends on our ability to build and inspire a team. A successful leader is one who can spur his or her team members to work well together towards a common vision and goals.
Younger generations are critical for changing the world.
And they need mentoring.
Since my semi-retirement in 2018, I have more time to think about my life and my next steps. It is my personal decision and choice to join Rotary, because I believe that the Rotary Club of Petaling Jaya is an organization whose stated purpose is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, goodwill and peace. I believe in what the Rotary stands for, viz. maintaining high ethical standards in business, profession and personal life. It provides me with that “TEAM” and fellowship with like-minded people to enable me to grow further and to continue to serve.
My journey into Rotary is one of self-discovery as I realise that “the sole meaning of life is to serve humanity” And for me the opportunity for fulfilling this is my membership of the Rotary Club of Petaling Jaya.
Yours truly,
Cuong Nguyen
