“What you cannot get, often means it does not belong to you, and there can be many reasons for this,” Mom explained. She always taught us that if you cannot achieve a certain desirable result, it means only one of two things. One is that you are not ready or capable of handling it, and the second is that the result might not be appropriate for you even if you do get it. The first reason means that you need to strengthen your capabilities as an individual or business. In the second reason, you should pick a different method, choice, or product for your personal or business needs; otherwise, it will only land you in a worse place. This may sound far-fetched, because it means you have faith in something that is unknown. “Son, everything in life is unknown, even when you have already done it once or many times. Nothing guarantees the same result again. What I will tell you is there must be something that you keep standing solid and strong in any condition, and that is faith in God.” I have learned that one may teach you to believe in yourself, but humans are weak, especially in the United States where individualism is emphasized. I have tried many times and faith in oneself is not sustainable and consistent, because human beings are inconsistent. Faith in God is more solid and dependable.
“Faith in God is not to tell yourself that we have a reason to blame someone or make excuses; it is to tell ourselves that God has a plan for us,” Mom explained. “God never gives anyone more than we can handle – a burden is always bearable when it comes to you. If that were not the case, it would not land in your lap.” So, undesirable results that we call failures are often the burdens that are not for you to bear, or the burden that you are not yet ready to bear. I now understand that it might be a burden, which requires you to strengthen up and prepare for it before the next time it reappears.
“Drop the ME and Focus on the OTHERS” by Di Tran – CEO of Di Tran Enterprise (Louisville Institute Technology, Louisville Beauty Academy, Tran Family Properties, Nail Salon Chains and Others
Di Tran’s 1st official American Mentor – Di Tran Thank You
I have previously mentioned that I was shy to a level at which I could not have been shyer. Delivering a presentation during my sixth year of my master’s degree program, I was shaking uncontrollably inside, and I could not open my mouth in class. “Learn by doing,” Mom said frequently to enforce my confidence. So, I learned to overcome my fear of public speaking by simply establishing a conversation by sharing my knowledge openly. I learned that learning is one skill, and helping others learn is another skill. “Di, talking is to be understood; we don’t talk just to talk. Speak slowly, emphasize the key terms, work with the punctuation, and help guide others toward what you wish them to know.” This advice was given to me by my first and most important mentor, Thomas Ransdell. Thomas was the first American mentor that I was fortunate to meet at a Catholic church mass, very early during my fourth year in the United States. He was recruiting young men to join the Catholic priesthood, and I was interested in this career path as a young man. I learned from Thomas Ransdell the power of sharing knowledge and volunteering, as most of the work he did for the Catholic church was in the form of volunteering and teaching others. This gentleman, over the age of 70, took me under his wing and taught me life lessons and business operating ideas, conversations which took place after we first discussed God. Today, he is still my point of reference for helping others. He taught me to share my knowledge openly and freely with others in my professional and business life.
Many have asked me, “Di, how can you do what you do? You share everything you have learned and done.” By this, they refer to the common hesitation people often have about revealing “trade secrets.” People often believe that if they share all of their information, others will then know how to do their job, giving the company an easy way to replace them, often at a lower salary. It is also assumed that people may take credit for the work and “steal” the knowledge, using it and claiming it as their own. Another concern is that people can then use your system because they know how you work. In response to these concerns, I often answer, “I have learned that what I know is limited. What I believe to be great, is not necessarily so. What I believe to be the best technique has been proven wrong time and time again. Knowledge must be validated, and I like to be validated.” The “others,” who comprise an infinite foundation for me, are the major source of my knowledge. I have learned that only when I share with others will they, in turn, share with me. “Son, it’s best to be the first one to share, so others will be less cautious and open to work with you.” Mom taught me how to bounce ideas and knowledge off of others, who may reject my understanding. I am a human like everyone else, and so I do consider the risk of sharing. However, over the past 40 years, I have learned that the risk of thinking I know, when I actually do not know is much higher than the risk of sharing. I want confirmation, and I want my knowledge to be validated by many as true and correct. In PhD empirical research, this is known as the “confidence level,” which is in regard to what the research sets out to prove. I want the confidence level of what I know to be as high as possible. Oprah Winfrey once confirmed that after years of interviewing many leaders and celebrities, she has found that “people want validation” from others. I have learned that validation does not come if I do not share first. I have found comfort in this when I recognize that once I share something, I have already moved beyond that one thing I shared, and on to something else that is much greater. “If you only have that one thing you think you should hold on to, then that’s all you will have. You restrict yourself to that one thing. Life offers a lot a lot more than this.
Di Tran - Drop the ME and Focus on the OTHERS - Book Cover
This book shares the real example of successes in the application of the Law of Attraction with the focus on the OTHERS when it takes the author to a new height in his career as an Information Technology professional in corporate life, and parallelly also in his small business owning life.
Drop the “ME” and Focus on the “OTHERS”: The Power of Gratitude – by Di Tran, the Author
Being an underdog is the best position from my experience. “You only have one way you can go as an underdog, and that’s up” someone once told me. “People are the most frightened by someone who does not have anything to lose, not the one who is strong, big, or successful,” another friend shared with me. I never actually thought of life in this way, but it is interesting that I gained another perspective. Nevertheless, it is a way to motivate you to stand up when you fall. I always knew that I was coming from the worst of the worst. “I came from a place where the homeless in the United State were far better off than I was.” I have sometimes shared this information with people, referring to my hometown in Vietnam, where food was lacking to the level that when I craved something sweet, I could not even find sugar in my family’s kitchen to soothe the hunger. In America, simply ask and there is food available through many non-profit organizations. At my Catholic church in South Louisville, our priest and volunteers, including myself, hand out boxes and boxes of food every Friday, and we have been doing so for years. We often load a car trunk full of food, and these include fresh food products from Dare to Care. “We cannot be physically hungry in the United States, but we are hungry for life goals, or the meaning of life,” a mentor told me. I could not agree more. “There are a large number of young people in the US, who are depressed and lost, and that can be scary” a successful parent told me, referring to how she worries for her kids who are about to start college.
As I write this, I realize once again how thankful I am to God, the United States of America, my origin country Vietnam, and all the people involved in my life. These influences have determined what I have today and who I have become up to this point. I have always been an underdog, on the bottom rung of the ladder in all aspects of life. I was a kid who was laughed at for not speaking, and when I did speak, I was laughed at for my strange foreign accent. I was a funny looking, skinny kid who froze when I had to stand in front of people, a kid who had not one word to say during a class presentation. I was a kid who was so poor that I only had one pair of pants, which I wore so much that they smelled. I was a kid who was simply different and weird in the eyes of many. All these experiences combined to make a man, built from a kid who experienced many walks of life. Most importantly, these experiences made that kid walk the walk, think the thought, write the words, speak the incomprehensible sentence, present in front of the scary crowd, recognize and appreciate the hardships that come with hard work to overcome challenges in life, and highest of all, cherish the “others” around him.
Di Tran’s First Book – Success Begin and End with Focusing in Others
“A Step forward is better than standing still. Standing still today is a step back for tomorrow.” Mom teaches us. Human requires progress in life, and a drive to move forward naturally. “Son, life is hard, and you will face many times when you are stuck, unmotivated, and facing conditions that gives you no desirable result.” Mom shares. “Understand that no desirable result is still a result and still progress. What is not acceptable is no results and no results will only exist when you stand still.” Mom elaborates. “Progress, son. Progress is needed and important in life, and more importantly progress toward value add to life and community.” Mom continues. I learned to daily one of each of the following: learn at least one new thing, read one new thing, write one new thing, speak to one other person, help improvement on one thing, and all toward with the goal of value-add. Each of these actions added a small progress, a small win, and a small accomplishment of the day; combined it gives me the happiness, the self-value, and others focus. An accumulation of these makes the me of today a better version of the me yesterday, and a lot more of the me from years ago.
“Same concept applies to the lives of business, professional and personal, son. Everything needs progress, and requirement of the delivery of progress exist everywhere, even when we do know it.” Mom confirms. “Provide the community, the others, and the self the added values progress, a step forward they need each and every day” mom states. I have people who ask me hypothetical questions that if I die today, would I regret anything? Maybe because of my application of this guiding principle, I am not sure If I would regret anything. For the past 20 years, I often work three to five jobs, for seven days a week. I maximized my time to add values to community and I can attest I receive a lot back from others. I am unsure if I even have time at all to think much about self to regret or worry much. Dale Carnegie, the author of the book called “how to stop worrying and start living” confirms this fact that when you live to the fullest, you are too busy to worry or think about regrets.
REFERENCES
Drop the ME and Focus on the OTHERS – by Di Tran, CEO of Louisville Institute Technology and Louisville Beauty Academy
Numerous community and state leaders were on hand for the celebration of Louisville Beauty Academy’s (LBA) second year in business at the Academy’s location on Bardstown Road on October 17, 2019.
Di Tran, founder of the academy, applauded the more than 200 graduates, almost all of whom have already found good paying jobs.
Greater Louisville Inc. was on hand to recognize Tran for his accomplishments as an entrepreneur. This is Trans’ 10th business that he has founded in Louisville. All of the company’s, most of which are nail or beauty salons, are still thriving today.
On Sept. 18, 2019, Di Tran was presented a Kentucky Colonel for his workforce development and job creation efforts.
Kentucky Colonel is the highest title of honor bestowed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Commissions for Kentucky colonels are given by the governor and the secretary of state to individuals in recognition of noteworthy accomplishments and outstanding service to a community, state, or the nation.
“Di Tran is a Vietnamese immigrant who is a visionary and an active part of the fabric and growth of Louisville’s entrepreneurial community. It was my honor to present him with a Kentucky Colonel,” said Lt. Governor Jenean Hampton.
