Hi, I'm Dai and I'm from Vietnam 🚀

Two wild business ideas I keep thinking about…

I have these two crazy ideas that keep coming back to me. I don’t know when or if I’ll ever do them. But today I decided to write them down because maybe one day I’ll look back at this post and think, okay, it’s time. 😉

Idea 1: A boutique travel agency with a full refund guarantee!!!

I used to be a tour guide and I really have to flex here: I got hundreds of five-star reviews. Never a four. Not once. I still keep the notebooks with these reviews 😎

And I keep thinking:

what if I built something around that? A small, boutique travel agency where the promise is simple: if your overall experience was not what it should be, you get your money back. Full refund.

I know, I know. It sounds risky and crazy. It IS risky and crazy! Hahaha. But working in travel industry, I know a trip is not just a trip. For a lot of people, it’s something they saved for, planned for, dreamed about. A honeymoon. A family holiday that everyone kept pushing back. A solo trip someone finally took for themselves. These moments matter sooooo much, and I want to build a team who really feels that — not just people who do the job, but people who understand what’s at stake when someone trusts you with their holidays!

Five stars, always. It will be expensive, but I want top-notch services for my clients.

I remember staying with clients until midnight sometimes, just because they were so into the acoustic music that I couldn’t bring myself to say “okay, time to go.” Or organizing some spontaneous little treat that made my team roll their eyes — again! — but that made the clients light up. That’s the kind of thing I lived for and that’s the standard I want for this.

One day… and five stars, always. 🙂

Idea 2: A healthy café where the gluten-free cake is just… cake

Okayyy this one is so close to my heart ❤

I want to open a café. Healthy food, great coffee, beautiful ice cream, and cakes that make you happy. And here’s the part I am most excited about — the gluten-free options will be soooo good that you won’t be able to tell they’re gluten-free. Because we actually figured out how to do it… GREAT!

I’ve always believed that eating well and eating deliciously are not opposites. That’s the whole idea. No “healthy but…”. Salads should be beautiful and fun to eat. Cakes should be real treats without regrets. I want food that’s good for you and makes you want to come back.

Additionally, many people I care about are suffering from not being able to find good gluten-free options. So, I am going to be that solution hehehe

Sometimes I think if I had aaaaalllll the money in the world, I would pack my bag and go to the best cooking school and become a chef. Really! Yes!

So, this one lives in my head rent-free. :))

Maybe these two stay as dreams. Maybe not. Either way, I wanted to write them down — for myself, and for whoever’s reading this thinking, hm, I have a wild idea too.

Write it down. You never know.

Things I bought to improve quality of life

From products to improve sleep to day to day things. Hope I help you shop better ❤

Protect my brain starting with protecting my head – Helmet when I bike 🙂 uvex urban planet LED Bicycle Helmet
Blanket of course! CALMONT – Down Duvet I Down Duvet 135 x 200 cm I 100% Extra Soft Feathers and Down | Specialist Tested for Allergy Sufferers | Oeko-Tex (135 x 200 cm, Warm Winter Duvet)
Pillow because sleeeep is soooo important. Pillow 80 x 80 cm Canada 85% Feathers 15% Down Pass
(to be continued)

The 1st stock I bought

This blog will be more relevant if you already have the intention to invest. If so, it is important to have an investment account.

If you do not have one yet, check my previous blog and open one before you continue reading.

In 2021, I bought my first stock: Apple. Two shares.

Why Apple?

I started investing without learning much / at all about how to do it. As with many things in my life, I was just doing it. Also, because I thought I had reached the age where I should think more seriously about investing.

Back then, I was still a Master’s student. I had some income and savings, but not a huge amount of money. I am saying this to those who are still thinking about investing: really, just start doing it.

Back to why I chose Apple to start with. It was because I had used Apple products for many years and, up until that point, I had been quite happy with the service and everything.

Why did I buy two shares? Because that was the amount of money I was willing to lose. That means if, for some reason, I lost everything on this stock, I would not have a problem.

Luckily, up until the point of writing this blog, I have had a total of 9 Apple shares, and they have generated +777 EUR for me.

So my 1st principle in investing is this:

Start small, with something you believe will still exist in at least the next 10 years — this is “thinking long term” — and be willing to lose that money.

And I have seen a very common question that people keep asking:

But what should I invest in: stocks, ETFs, gold, real estate, keeping money in savings accounts, etc.???

The answer is still the same: pick one, start small, think long term, be willing to lose the money if something goes wrong, and do it!

Why? This is not about taking risks or gambling. This is more about investing in yourself. Because there are two main scenarios:

If your investment goes up, that is great!
If your investment goes down, you still learn something at least — how to manage your life better, how to stay updated and informed, because once you start investing, you pay more attention to world events. Not in the sense of panicking (I hope), but more in the sense of “critical thinking.” You will also learn more about the world, new companies, new industries, and how the world is connected economically.

And the most important thing is:

Once you get a sense of it, you will be ready to go for the next steps.

See you in my next blog, where I share my 2nd principle.

Again, if you do not have an investing account yet, open one because IT’S FREE. So, why not leverage that?

Living in Germany: Set up these accounts

There are three key types of accounts to set up if you want to start your investment journey:

Girokonto: This is the most basic type of account, and almost everyone has one. Some banks also offer it together with a Visa debit card.

Savings account (Tagesgeld / Sparkonto): Different banks may use different names for this type of account. For example, ING calls it an Extra-Konto. It is usually free to open and maintain.

Investment account: This is normally referred to as a Depot or Depot-Konto. It is also usually free to open and maintain.

My rule of thumb is simple: If it costs you nothing to open and maintain, and it helps you manage your money better, do it. Open it. Today.

Which bank should you go with?

Again, it depends on your existing ecosystem, meaning the bank you are already using. That is a good place to start. Ask yourself these questions:

#1. Is my bank charging me a monthly or yearly fee just for keeping my money there?
If the answer is YES, move to question two.

#2. How hard would it be for me to research and choose a better bank?
If the answer is “not very hard,” then go ahead and do it.

Sometimes, it can be as simple as asking a few good friends which bank they use and whether they are happy with the service. Try to ask friends who are good with money, since they are more likely to give you useful answers. Most of the time, switching is not that hard. The most inconvenient part might simply be going to the post office for PostIdent. But I have opened several accounts and looking back, weeeellll…. PostIdent was never a problem!

Then clear up the rest: If you find a better bank, move everything there and close your current account.

Then start investing…
(I will share my principles in the next blog.)

The key point here is: Think. Review. Take Actions.
Don’t keep reading if you have not done the homework yet. 😉

My personal story:
When I arrived in Germany as an international student, Sparkasse was one of the easiest banks to open an account with. People say their ATMs are everywhere and that they are one of the most established banks in Germany. That part is true. The less fun part? They charge me about €6 a month (it increases almost every year). That is €72 a year, which is basically the price of a warm Uniqlo jacket.

I still have not cancelled the account because of a rumour that having an account with a long-established bank like Sparkasse could help your SCHUFA score. I am not sure about this but I decided to believe it because my goals for the next 2 years is to improve my SCHUFA score.

Sometimes you may choose to lose a bit of money on purpose. I am doing that right now with Sparkasse. The important question is: Can I clearly justify this decision in both the short term and the long term?

If the answer is unclear, go back to my rule of thumb and switch the bank.

Life is expensive. A good life is even more expensive. Be smart with your money.

If you decide to open any of these accounts and would like to support my work, you can use my referral links below:

Music

List of songs I only learned about lately and became obsessed:

How I Read in the Age of AI

Lately, I have been struggling with… reading, especially content online. The reason is: I don’t know if I can trust the content.

I had written about this in my blog The ‘Not because X. But because Y’ content is everywhere now – Is this the new “em-dash”?. I ended this blog with some open questions, as I didn’t have the answers myself, but I promised that I would work on my critical thinking skills and I refused to let it deteriorate!

So I did some work :))

A few days later after that blog, I saw this post from one of the AI experts whom I know via a masterclass I took some time ago. I felt, “finally, someone with influence said it!”

Now, even with the people I subscribe to, I don’t want to open their newsletters anymore. There is a fear of, ‘what if I spotted these structures in their content? Would it affect the way I view the content and therefore affect the way I digest it and turn the information into my own insights?’

Before, I just read. Now, I have to set up this layer before I read. How inconvenient! Hahaha

Then I started reading the blogs I wrote a few years back, and I did use some of these structures. But now since they are everywhere, my brain automatically thinks it’s better to reject it first before starting to believe it.

So, after struggling with this for some time, I decided to find a way to live with this, and this is how I do it:

We all have our point of view. No matter what you say, that you are open to ideas, etc. YOU HAVE YOUR OWN OPINIONS! Keep that in mind and keep that opinion.
Before reading something, I activate my own judgment, my own opinion about that topic. I spend a few minutes thinking about what I would say or write if I were the author, and then I start reading the article, post, or whatever it is.
The tricky part: I might not know what they write or say until I read it, so how can I activate my own judgment? I still can! By activating my own judgment about what constitutes good writing flow and that I might encounter these AI-generated structures. How should I approach them when I see them? What questions should I ask when I see them?
‘The one thing…’ Before, I read for fun or to learn new things. Now, because I don’t know if the ‘new thing’ I’ll be learning is from a human or simply made possible by a bot or machine, I use this ‘The one thing…’ framework and fill it with my own learning. It sometimes could be just this: ‘The one thing I learned from this content is that this sentence […] is so beautiful.’ OR ‘The one thing I learned from this content is that I kept looking for AI generated content and it ruined my reading experience.’
The pattern. In step 4, I document how I feel and what I learn. Over time, I can see the pattern, and if the same writers or people I used to like a lot start to make me question their content too much, I will then ruthlessly unsubscribe from them.

People say ‘be open-minded,’ and I agree if you simply treat it as a general philosophy in life. Sentences like this are always true when said out of nowhere.

But in the age of AI, I believe your judgment is the new currency. You don’t have to be open-minded. Otherwise, you will get overwhelmed. Now, I am very strict with what I consume. I don’t simply watch things because they look interesting. I don’t read things because they sound clever.

sit down and try to understand what I am missing to be better. Then I look for materials that will help me get there. I don’t need 10 motivational quotes about how to be peaceful while knowing deep down that there are a lot of things about myself I need to take action on and solve.

The more AI tools advance, the more actions you need to take rather than passively consume.

Finally, say NO and be really strategic with your time. People will want to help, and because ‘helping materials’ are everywhere nowadays, not accepting is the new accepting. Know what you need, and find it, go after it.

And TAKE ACTIONS!

Okay great! This is me giving you an update one week after my worst food poisoning experience…

Last week around this time, I traveled home from Berlin after attending this year’s ITB – not precisely so, because I actually didn’t go to ITB at all. This is the first time I was in Berlin in March and didn’t go to the trade show!

Over the past few days, I have been reflecting on the experience and drawing some lessons. Quiet time always works magic, even when it’s uncomfortable.

I learned that I can be adventurous with food anytime, but not before important events. Save the culinary risks for the celebration afterwards!
Going one step backward is uncomfortable, but that’s okay: When I run events, I love memorizing people’s faces and names by heart. When they walk in, I greet them by name. When they ask “How do you know my name?”, I playfully answer, “Of course, I know all of the names of the important people.” Our partners deserve to feel special. But this time, I felt I failed. As I was crawling between my bed and bathroom, I didn’t have the energy to memorize everyone. I was disappointed because I knew I could have welcomed them differently. It felt like a step backward, but if it hadn’t been for this experience, I wouldn’t have reflected this hard. It’s given me a stronger boost to make it great next time!!!
Over-preparing is always better: I came to Berlin early thinking I’d have plenty of time to go over the materials and speeches. Then, things I couldn’t control happened. Next time, I’ll factor in those risks and make sure I’m ready before I even leave my house for the venue.
And finally, I felt so lucky to have people who simply showed up to help. That support system is so important and so luxurious!

I also used that recovery time to reimagine my relationship with AI. You can read my new blog post on it here.

Sometimes in life you might feel a little sad or low because you thought “I could have done it better” or “what if…” this and “what if…” that, and it isn’t necessarily a bad thing because that meant you set yourself up for success and you want to be better than your yesterday’s self.

I have learned to make peace with myself by asking a different question: “What made you upset really? Was it because you cared about what other people saw you or was it because you cared about the experience you deliver to the people?” If it’s the second, then I would continue: “Then how can you ensure next time, you will deliver it better?” This doesn’t immediately make the heavy feeling go away, but it outlines clear next steps and makes the whole reflection more future-oriented rather than dwelling in the negativity of the past.

I’m back to speed now I guess… feeling better in both my stomach and my brain. Let’s gooooo!

(Blurring faces because people’s privacy should be respected <3. Below are a few photos from last week… glad I still managed to attend the company events and talk a little bit!)

The ‘Not because X. But because Y’ content is everywhere now – Is this the new “em-dash”?

The past few months, I have had an experience that changed how I view AI. I wrote a book and used AI to help with the editing. It was faster, and why not?

But during that process, I realized how easily I could lose my voice if I let my guard down, even for a few seconds. At first, the AI-edited text sounded brilliant, but after letting it rest and reading it again after a few weeks, it felt bland, not like me at all. On top of that, some sentences that sounded completely “logical” at first actually made no sense at all.

People often say, “Get good at prompt engineering and your results will be different.” I agree, and I don’t doubt my prompting techniques. What I really want to say is that AI models, especially ChatGPT and Claude, have become so good at reasoning and delivering seemingly-correct-and-convincing-results that they sometimes make us lower our guard. I certainly did. As a result, I had to stay up until 2-3 AM for almost two weeks, editing my book again… in the most traditional way possible.

The Two Wake-Up Calls I have Had Lately

Wake-Up Call #1: The first moment that forced me to step back was when I read an article analyzing different AI tools and their impact, written by an expert in the field. Immediately, I had the unsettling feeling that it was AI-generated. I couldn’t explain why, but the structures in that article were strangely familiar. I kept asking myself: Where did I see them? Where? Where? Where? And finally, I knew: my book.

I’m not against content polished by AI as I do it all the time and this very blog post will likely go through a refinement process with AI. But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t write about it as I will approach it from a different angle.

I have started seeing the “Not X. But Y” structure everywhere, especially on LinkedIn. Suddenly, everyone seems pensive, thoughtful, themselves but not themselves at the same time. I have never read that much of the “Not because X. But because Y” structure before compared to now. I still love authentic content, even if it’s imperfect so it’s a bit sad to see this everywhere.

I have been asking myself this question too: what’s the point of doing things so fast? Do we have the same positive, rewarding feelings afterward? Somehow it was lower for me. Maybe I love struggling more than I thought :))

So, I am intentionally stepping away from AI a little bit to recover and rework my critical thinking skills. I realized sometimes it’s okay to spend a few hours brainstorming and thinking through a problem rather than just storming to an AI tool and finishing in minutes. AI can be a very good thinking partner buuuut don’t let yourself become its thinking partner afterall.

Wake-Up Call #2: My second wake-up call happened when I got food poisoning during one of the year’s most important events, especially in my industry, the ITB in Berlin. It was probably one of the worst feelings I have experienced in the past 10 years, and it happened right before an important company evening. Thankfully, I was able to attend afterward.

During that moment of feeling weak, when my brain was slow, unable to focus, and I couldn’t be fully present, I had a realization: this could be the same feeling / same thing that might happen if I don’t train my brain enough. This sick, foggy condition could persist even on my normal days, intellectually. And I absolutely do not want that to happen to my mind.

I’ve spent the last few days reflecting on what happened in Berlin and during those events: what I did well and what I overlooked. I keep asking myself the same question: ‘If I had a second chance, what would I do differently? What are the mistakes I never want to make again? And how can I ensure that I won’t repeat them?’

After these two wake-up calls, I decided to focus on better structuring my brain’s health, mentally and physically, and reimagining my relationship with AI moving forward.

I have had this question in my head the past few days too: When ChatGPT first gained recognition, most of the content the model learned from was from humans. What about now? What about 10 years from now? What happens when AIs learn not only from humans but primarily from “themselves”? What future are we heading toward?