He remembers once sitting in a cafe with a friend working in communications. He recounted that there were times when he ran projects continuously, money came in regularly, and the schedule was so tight that there were no days off. Looking at it, everyone said he was succeeding. But then he stopped, suddenly like the way people turn off a machine that is overloaded. He recounted that there were evenings when he came home, opened the refrigerator and didn't know what to eat, what he was living for. "If it's just to prove to the world that he is good, then it's very tiring, and no one remembers that goodness for long.
That story made him think that success is usually noisy, while value is quiet. Success is like fireworks, brilliant, attracting eyes, but quickly fades. Value is like the lights in the house, not necessarily the brightest, but something people need when it's dark.
Like the sticky rice seller at his alley entrance. She is not successful in the way people often define: No title, no large assets, no special achievements. But every morning, she wakes up at 4 am, cooks sticky rice very sticky, very delicious at a price of 10,000 VND/package and never sees arguments with customers. Regular customers are not only because the sticky rice is delicious, but because she remembers each person, who likes sticky rice with beans, who loves sticky rice with peanuts, who likes to eat shrimp paste, or add sesame seeds...
In fact, values often start from very small things. A journalist carefully verifies information before publishing. A photographer patiently waits for the right moment for light. A child spends time listening to their parents. These things silently define who they are. Meanwhile, trying to be successful sometimes makes us a bit hasty. Rushing to reach a milestone, rushing to compare ourselves to others, rushing to prove ourselves. That haste is like running on a treadmill, very fast, very tired, but in fact still standing still. Conversely, when focusing on becoming a valuable person, we go a little slower. Slow to learn something carefully, slow to understand something deeply, slow to be more kind to others. And that "slowness" helps us go further.
Finally, success often depends on how others see you, and value depends on who you choose to become. And if one day you find yourself unsuccessful according to some standard, it's okay. Try asking another, gentler question, have you done anything useful today? If the answer is "yes", even if very small, then you have come much closer to something much more sustainable, which is your own value.
