Tran Dinh Long, the second richest man in Vietnam, talks about his life story. Tran Dinh Long: I started from nothing. As a kid, my father refused to serve in the army during the American war, so we fled to America as refugees. There, we were so poor, my father could only find blue collar jobs. He eventually became a plumber. I had to help him with his job, but I knew I couldn’t live this kind of life. This motivated me to study hard. I wanted to learn everything I could about America’s businesses and economy. But I had to earn money to support my family, so I got a job as a courier, while also continuing to study many hours every day. At the time I was working harder than slave and barely sleeping, but I would do anything to help bring my family out of poverty. The best part of being a courier was I got a peak of business life in the offices I delivered mail to. Times got tougher for our family. The debt collector called our house every day. Destiny was calling, so one day I was bringing the mail to this large construction company, and instead of handing it to the receptionist, I walked right into the Supervisor’s office. He was asking one of the employees for a solution to a shipping error that the company made. Before the other employee could answer, I answered, recalling my studies. The supervisor was impressed and asked me for my name. He told me to come see him the next day. I started working for the company the next day as his apprentice. He taught me everything he knew about architecture and the construction industry. There I climbed the corporate ladder and after a couple years, I quit working for that company to start my own construction business, in Vietnam. Now, my company is worth over 200 million dollars. I have personal secretaries and guards, a driver and even a chef, that all fulfill my every command. Today I will be having lunch with the Ambassador Extraordinary of Vietnam and with the President next week. And my father is happily retired, living in his own mansion. So what you need to understand, is that success won’t ever come and find you, you need to go out and get it.