"Since it's my dream, I do it because I want to" / ODG: How's it like to be Forbes' 30 Under 30 Asia

 Just a lazy sunday, I was searching for a video to watch whilst doing my laundry and I stumbled upon a video by ODG titled "How's it like to be Forbes' 30 Under 30 Asia".

The main guest of this video is Kim Yun Hwan, the founder and CEO of the start-up Taling, which is a talent-sharing mobile app that has been garnering a lot of users and investors during the past few years. 

I really love the interaction between Kim Yun Hwan and the kids. I think it really is a good thing to connect little kids with inspiring people so they can start to dream and walk towards the path too. Oftentimes, it seems like those people who are very successful are standing on the top of the pyramid and unreachable, but I love how humble Kim Yun Hwan is and how he is comfortable to open up and share his struggles, to show the harsh reality of achieving your dreams. 

I am always inspired by people who already realise their dreams, set it into goals and striving towards the path they're paving to reach them. And in this case, how Kim Yun Hwan and his friends started their own start-up company from scratch, especially when they started when they were university students. This reminds me of the K-drama Start-Up, which is one my favourite drama in the dream-inspiring category (though sadly during the last half of the drama they focused more on the useless love triangle, rather than their growth individually and as a team😓).

I wasn't expecting to enjoy this video as I am not a business student, or even have a plan to initiate a start-up company, however, through watching this video I realised that I can relate and resonate well with what he's saying because we share the same goals; 

to make your dreams come true. 

There are several takeaways from this video that I would like to pinpoint:

1. "They feel bad for me"

As a person who is working towards their dream from early on, it is natural that you might distance yourself from others at some points. To have your own time to build a plan and take little steps towards your goals; be it reading & researching about the particular things you want to achieve, honing the skills needed to make it happen, joining webinars, talk from inspirational people, or doing internships or side gigs to support your journey. From the third-person point of view, it might seems like you are running on a treadmill, like a hamster circling the wheel non-stop without gaining actual rewards. You spent most of the times looking forwards for your dream that might seems too big" or 'unachievable', not hanging out and having fun, instead you busy yourself with all these stuffs-

"I feel bad for you."

That's what the others said. They pity you. 

"Why stress over your life? Just enjoy life and keep it slow." 

Though a partial of it is true, but for some people who dream sooo big and has been keeping it for sooo long, I don't want to waste my youth knowing that I already have all the resources and abilities that could be honed from now to start. Even though these things does not generate an 'income' or instant rewards, but, I know that all the tiny steps I'm taking now will lead to a greater cause in the future because little drops of water makes a mighty ocean (:

Hence, I can totally understand him when he said that even though people feel bad for him for choosing such a rough path from early on, but he knows himself the best as he already have this concrete vision and goals to achieve. 

2. "Since it's my dream, I do it because I want to"

People are persistent when they are doing the things they love. When they are given the chance, the courage to dream, they will go all out to achieve it. It's always inspiring to look at those successful people living their dream, but that's just the tip of the iceberg we're witnessing. In reality, they have struggled a lot to climb the mountains, to be where they are now. They sacrificed a lot along the way. 

"If that's so, why don't you just take a simpler path without troubling yourself?"

Maybe that's a feasible solution. However, not to those with dreams. Having the courage to dream in the first place, is a step closer to your dream. Not everyone has the courage for it. When Kim Yun Hwan was asked about how he cope with all the obstacles and pities by the others, he said that 

''Because it's my dream. I do it because I want to. I made my own decision so I shouldn't be scared."

It is not just about getting the end result, but it is also about the process, the journey, that turns the result more meaningful. It is the satisfactory feelings you got every time you achieve those small little goals that will eventually lead to your biggest goal. Every time I feel frustrated or hopeless about my situation, I tell myself again that I was the one who decided this, I was the one who chose to walk this path, I was the one who worked hard until now, it was no one's but mine, so I shouldn't be scared. 

3. "I'm here now, what's next"

Along the times, your dream changes and becomes bigger. Maybe at some points you finally achieve your long-yearned dream, but, is it really the end? You'll keep thinking on your next steps. As your priorities change, so does your goals in life. If you imagine looking at the mind map of your life dreams from a vantage point far away, it will look like a messy tangled spider webs, indicating each of the silks intertwining with each other. Meaning that even though your goal and way (the silk) changes along the way, it still collectively create a huge 'spider web' of your ultimate end dream. 

Kim Yun Hwan expressed that at some points he felt afraid for the future, "I've came this far and done this for 7 years, can I still continue it for the rest of my life?''. We feel like we have done our best, keeping the momentum all time to finally reach this high point, but, will we still be able to maintain this for the rest of our life? 

I think for this, we need to have a mindset of 'self-growth', to let our mind be open for all possibilities for the future. For me personally, to be able to study abroad is my long-time dream since I was very young. I finally achieved it, but at what cost? I realised that the past-me has been in this toxic-relationship with my own self for the academic validation, well- I mean I still have it, but, I try to be more mindful and not considering the path to my ultimate goal to be a linear one. Even though it is obvious that in order to achieve my ultimate goal is by working hard and studying in the academia, BUT, there are so much more apart from academia, that I should put effort in, that would eventually help me to achieve my goals too in the end. 

I might not keep the same momentum as I was before, but I try to think more strategically and build my 'master plan' carefully and mindfully so that I would not be burned out in the process.

4. "Going home is scary"

A kid asked him "Do you ever feel like stopping everything?".

He said, of course, after all he is just a human-being. But despite that, whenever people are telling him to give up, it makes him more tempted to even be successful. 

"Going home is scary," he said. 

Especially when you have ventured far away, "what if it didn't work out? what if everything is in vain?". This reminds me to a drama that I'm watching right now which is 'Because It Is My First Life'. By the end of episode 3, the female protagonist, Yoon Ji-Ho was called by her mother, saying that if things doesn't work out, it is fine to go back home again. It is comforting. However, it feels terrible to do so, after everything you have done and all, it is hard to succumb back to square one and leave everything you have built so far. Just when she was about to take the bus home, a sudden realisation strucked her mind, "someone here finally says that he needs me, I am needed." So without ruminating much and making excuses, she grabbed the one last chance even though it differs from her 'former' dream. To start again and do her very best (:

By the end of this video, the young girl told him;

Just think like this: I’ve come all the way here and giving up will be a waste. I should just push through a little more and decide later. 

I find it very endearing how a small kid could think that deeply, she is very wise for her age that it makes me embarrassed of my own pessimistic thinking. Even an innocent kid thinks that way, why do we adults tend to give up so fast? 

END-THOUGHTS

I think it is very courageous for people to keep on chasing their dreams. The burning passion in the heart, it is impossible to extinguish, it only take the worst of the worst case to put it out. As long as the heart keeps beating, you will cling to your life purpose, for whatever that may be. 

I am very glad to stumble upon this video. It lights up something in my heart and mind, to encourage myself to keep going despite what other people say about it. Because in the end of the day, you are the one who knows yourself the most, and then one who will trust yourself fully till the end of your life (:

Watch the full video here! Though it's inspiring, the editing is very humorous and will make you day better!