Opening his talk, My joked: “Today, teachers and students will be my victims because you’ll have to listen to my old stories. Please forgive me.”

He shared that at his company holds monthly conversations about success, happiness, and fulfillment. Before forming his own philosophy, he spent years asking young people and employees what those concepts meant to them, and received many interesting answers.

My said he tried many jobs, including ice cream seller, bus conductor, flea market vendor, and hired footballer. At age 7, he earned money to help his mother raise five siblings amid fierce war.

His motivation was “to make mother happy, avoid conscription, and ease hardship.” Passing the baccalaureate later brought his mother joy - his first life happiness. These experiences deepened his worldview, hometown love, and patriotism.

Study in North America 

Graduating from HCMC University of Technology in 1978 majoring in organic chemistry, My initially worked as a “hired footballer” at a plastics factory.

“Studying one field but working another was normal. Treat it as an experience. I studied chemistry but farmed and labored, and still felt happy,” he said.

His life’s turning point came on the morning of September 2, 1979, when he was on a sugarcane boat and pushed into the vast ocean. After 12 days adrift, he was rescued and taken to Montreal (Canada).

In the unfamiliar land, he washed dishes, assisted in kitchens, then waitered. “My fate changed from one question by a Vietnamese girl: ‘What is your life dream?’ While cutting beef, I answered: returning home, building factories, create jobs for locals. The whole kitchen fell silent; some said I was boasting,” My recalled.

To marry, he needed a local degree. In 1984, he applied to Concordia University and obtained a bachelor’s degree after two years. Within six years, he completed the curricula for bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD degrees.

In 1990, he successfully defended his PhD in energy and materials science at INRS Institute (Canada). He then worked at IBM Almaden Research Center (USA) and held a technical management position at Kodak Polychrome Graphics (USA).

He has authored about 700 inventions, including many exclusive patents earning tens of millions USD. Notably, his 2000 digital offset printing technology patent helped his company reach nearly $300 million revenue in 20 years.

Return to Vietnam

On his learning philosophy, he said: “Learning is the process of transforming knowledge through levels: know - understand - apply - analyze - evaluate - create. Today’s students stop at ‘know’ and ‘understand’; they need to reach application and creation. Start small, like building a vegetable-selling app for your mother.”

After overseas success, his wife asked: “Do you remember your old dream?” This prompted his to return.

In 2004, he returned to Tra Vinh to found Mylan Group, the province’s first high-tech company. Since then, he founded or co-founded 13 high-tech firms, six operating locally.

He also set up the Nguyen Thanh My Foundation, donating over VND62.5 billion for scholarships, infrastructure, and community healthcare. In addition, he teaches at Tra Vinh University and spent a decade as director of the university’s Co-op program, which has produced many innovations in agriculture and aquaculture.

The formula for success

My shared his personal “formula for success” with students: Success = 15% health + 15 right mindset + 25 effort + 25 knowledge + 10 perseverance + 5 opportunity + 5 luck + 5 circumstances.

Comprehensive success, he added, includes health, career, finance, personal growth, time management, social relationships, and social contribution.

In his view, life has four stages: ages 18–20 for building foundations; 21–40 for rising; 41–60 for balance; and beyond 60 for fulfillment. Each stage has its own focus, but the most important thing is to live true to one’s values.

“The mark of a fulfilled life,” he said, “is contribution.” Now, in his later years, he considers himself “fulfilled, with no regrets.”

Le Huyen