The formula for success

The situation originated from Mr. Nguyen Thanh My's motivational speech at the opening ceremony of the 2025 academic year at the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, themed "Aspiration for Innovation and Creativity for a Strong Vietnam," which took place on October 25th.

He was born in 1955 in Tra Vinh. In 1974, he was admitted to the Organic Chemistry department at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology. His family was very poor, so he had to work various jobs to pay for his studies, from being a bus conductor to selling goods at a flea market and playing football for hire.

After graduating in 1978, he couldn't find a job in his field, so he took a job playing soccer at a plastics factory. After several fortunate circumstances, he went to Canada in 1979, working as a dishwasher, then a kitchen assistant, and finally as a head chef to earn money to send back to support his family.

After completing English language courses and six preparatory subjects, he entered Concordia University in 1984. By the end of 1990, he had completed his bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees and began working at the Canadian Centre for Materials Science and Energy.

He recounted that during his school days, he would arrive at school at 8:20 AM every day, concentrating intently on listening to the professor's lectures and memorizing the material. In the afternoon, he would work in the laboratory and then take a job as a waiter at a restaurant from 5 PM onwards. His work would finish at 1 AM the next day, and he would return home to write his experiment reports until 4 AM before finally going to sleep.

He successfully defended his doctoral thesis in energy and materials science at the INRS Institute (Canada) in 1990, and previously worked as a researcher at the IBM Almaden Research Center (USA) and as a technical manager at Kodak Polychrome Graphics (USA).

On a flight back home in 1997, he resolved to start his own business to earn money to fulfill his long-held dream. At the age of 42, this PhD founded American Dye Source (ADS). After establishing the company, he researched digital offset printing technology, earning $300 million over 20 years (2000-2020) from licensing fees. Following that, his invention of 3D printing ink technology brought him $1.25 million in licensing fees in 2000. These are just two of over 700 patents he has earned throughout his career.

In 2004, Mr. My returned to his hometown of Tra Vinh and founded Mylan Group – the province's first high-tech company. Since then, he has founded and co-founded 13 high-tech businesses, six of which are currently operating locally. He is also the founder of the Nguyen Thanh My Foundation, which has funded over 62.5 billion VND for scholarships, infrastructure development, and community healthcare.

Before hundreds of new students at the opening ceremony, Dr. Nguyen Thanh My shared his journey to success. According to Dr. My, success is built on eight main factors: health, the right mindset, effort, knowledge, perseverance, opportunity, luck, and circumstances. Of these, health, although only accounting for 15%, is the first factor in the formula for success. The factor that contributes most to success is effort (accounting for 25%), followed by knowledge (accounting for 20%).

Meanwhile, according to this prominent scientist and entrepreneur, initial advantages (circumstances), luck (random support), and opportunity (external factors), while contributing to success, each account for only 5%.

His "Formula for Success" quickly attracted public attention. Many startup forums and youth group websites enthusiastically discussed it.

But is there a standard formula for success? In a discussion about the journey of young people building success, Nguyen Anh Dung, a young entrepreneur born in the 1980s, founder of SBOOKS, currently CEO and Chairman of SBOOKS, and author of many bestselling books on entrepreneurship, shared his thoughts from the perspective of a young businessman navigating his business through the economic crisis.

According to Dung, the first thing to have is "the right mindset." Young people need to think correctly about the nature of business, the nature of finance, the nature of success, and importantly, the business philosophy and ethics. However, when starting a business, young people need to understand "social responsibility." An ethical entrepreneur or business with high social responsibility will always be recognized and supported by society in the long term. If an entrepreneur or business is driven by self-interest and deception, the benefits will only be temporary and unsustainable.

In today's rapidly changing market economy, innovation is always paramount. In any era, society, market, or with any demand, people always seek better and more abundant benefits. Therefore, entrepreneurs must constantly innovate solutions to meet the changing needs of people in each era and society. Even with innovation, it's crucial to always prioritize "the right mindset" in business and "social responsibility."

Everyone dreams of success, but without creating a "business philosophy," it's easy to lose your way. This is a crucial element for success and creating a unique identity for a business; it's also known as the business ethics. It is this business ethics that allows a business to thrive and endure.

But according to Nguyen Anh Dung, no two paths to success are the same. It all stems from our own learning, effort, and perseverance. It can be seen that two generations of successful entrepreneurs, with their own formulas for success and perspectives on the journey of building a business, each have their own "Criteria for Success."

However, the most obvious factor is personal conviction. It is we ourselves, not any formula, that can guarantee success. Everything is subject to change in this ever-changing era. The only constant is our desire for success; if we keep that flame burning persistently in our minds, we will find the key to adapting to this ever-changing journey.