I’m 32.

When I was young, I spent years partying, chasing titles, staying busy and always felt distracted

Then I found Ikigai, and it changed my life forever.

Here's an ancient Japanese framework to find your purpose: 🧵
My 20s in Germany had the parties, techno and girls...

But mostly I was:

• Collecting LinkedIn connections.
• Chasing logos like Google and Uber.
• Building a career for my blue-collar parents.

But something felt off. Then, I came across an interesting stat:

I'm 32

In 2024, I quit my 6-figure job at Google Singapore and moved to Vietnam to build the best Vietnamese diaspora community in the world.

Everyone thought I was crazy.

But once I showed them this thinking mental model, it changed everything... My story🧵
In the 1970s, Wall Street executives coined the term "golden handcuffs".

The "gold" wasn't just salary - it was stock options, bonuses, and benefits that vested over time.

The concept exploded during the 1980s corporate boom...

I'm Vietnamese.

I spent 3 years at Google Singapore, visiting Vietnam monthly for work.

Each trip revealed 2 radically different mindsets for life, work, and fulfillment.

Late 2024, I moved to Saigon 🇻🇳 permanently.

Here are the 11 biggest cultural differences I saw:
Quick context: Born and raised in Germany to Vietnamese immigrant parents.

Spent my 20s in Munich and Berlin.

Moved to Singapore for Google in 2021, thinking it'd be a 1-year stepping stone to Vietnam.

3 years later, finally made the leap to Saigon. Here's what I discovered:

After 1975, Vietnam was destroyed.

• Inflation hit 774%
• Economy crumbled & people illiterate
• US chemical bombs made farming deadly.

Today, it's becoming the Silicon Valley of Asia & one of the fastest-growing nations worldwide.

One decision changed everything🧵 Saigon, 1975.

American helicopters evacuating from rooftops.
Millions were fleeing on boats. Fields poisoned with Agent Orange.

Our GDP per capita? $231.
Lower than Haiti.
Lower than Sudan.

The world wrote us off as a failed state or even the next North Korea.

Vietnam just secured one of only two trade deals with Trump's America.

• 20% tariffs
• Zero protection for their own market
• 40% penalties for Chinese transshipments good

Crazy but zoom out, and you'll see the playbook to making Vietnam
a true powerhouse by 2030: 🧵

I was born and raised in Germany to Vietnamese immigrant parents. Spent my 20s in Munich and Berlin.

Moved to Singapore in 2021, thinking it'd be a 1-year stepping stone to Vietnam.

In 2024, I finally made the leap to Saigon, so watching this unravel is truly fascinating...