In this article, we listen back to our Evolving for the Next Billion podcasts from 2021 to pull out some life-changing habits shared by the featured startup executives and founders.
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What’s your lifetime habit?
1. Seeing the real world
“Going out to visit restaurants once a week. I travel a lot, but I try not to lose the habit. Taking to the streets and speaking to people is where you learn the most. It gives you a real sense of what’s happening in the world.” – Fabian Gomez of Frubana
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2. Being organised and punctual
“I have the habit of planning out my day and being very punctual. I get up at six every morning and I always have lunch at noon. This routine became a very helpful tool for me in life. As life got busier, the routine helped me plan ahead and squeeze in a lot of things to do throughout the day. And whenever I do certain things, I become very focused on what I do. Even when I only have 15 minutes, I focus for that 15 minutes to get things done. Eventually, I can get a lot of things done in a day.” – Christy Trang of Arevo
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3. Developing accountability with people’s support
“I found that having accountability groups on chat apps like WhatsApp and WeChat is very powerful. I have a group of guys who make New Year’s resolutions and share them with each other on WhatsApp. We check in with each other every day, 365 days a year to hold each other accountable.
I know this sounds stupid, but we do push-ups everyday and let each other know how many we do daily. We also do this thing where we read the Bible and update each other on the verses and chapters we’ve read for the day.
I feel that if you do something – even if it’s small – everyday for a whole year, you’ll undergo a change. Essentially, you’d have developed a habit you wouldn’t normally think you’d do.” – Sonny Vu of Arevo
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4. Running and inspiring people to run
“When I was 36 years old, I decided to run my first half marathon with a good friend of mine. This was eight years ago, and we spent half a year training. At the time, running events in Vietnam were not so popular. During our first race, there were only 100 participants, with foreigners making up 80% of this number.
This decision spurred me to become very passionate about running and endurance sports – I even got into mountain trail running and Ironman!
My story is very similar to a lot of tech people’s stories; my friend and I were nerds in high school and never into sports. Getting into sports has obviously had a huge physical, mental, and spiritual impact on my life. I also influenced a lot of people around me to take up sports. I think that I am proud of it as much as founding a company.” – Le Hong Minh of VNG
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5. Taking time to meditate
“A 10-minute sit with the Insight Timer app and some meditation in the morning has made me a better leader, husband, and dad. The world’s talking [about] meditation, and it has dramatically changed my life for the better.” – Harley Finkelstein of Shopify
