Creators in Vietnam

Tran is a proud Saigonese with experiences in performing poetry and leading writing workshops in the US. She is a firm believer in the power of creative writing, poetry in particular, as an accessible tool to build meaningful connection with oneself and the world. She started Wordlust in March 2020 to roll that belief into action - a space where people can explore their truest thoughts and feelings through contemplative and creative practices. Outside of Wordlust, she juggles between being an English teacher, a full-time learner and a forgetful friend.

We discuss Tran's struggle to reconcile two cultures and languages, and how poetry and creative writing has helped her to express herself. We learn more about her creative writing workshop WordLust, how and why she started it, and her vision for the future. 

Connect with Tran

Attend a WordLust workshop: https://www.facebook.com/wordluster

Connect with Dana

https://www.facebook.com/dana.drahos/

Connect with Tue Si

https://www.facebook.com/tuesi 

Connect with Nico

https://m.facebook.com/nicolasthanhg/

Well hello! Lam and I are back. We took a (long) hiatus. We were both feeling low energy and burnt out with everything going on, plus our recording studio was closed of course:(

SO we decided, just the two of us to have a catch-up episode where we discuss what went on in our lives the past two months, because both of us have had MAJOR shifts and realizations about our lives and our purpose.

Listen in to hear:

• How Lam picked up on her pattern of dating emotionally unavailable men to finally break out of it
• All the red flags and lessons she’s learned from past toxic relationships
• What Lam is launching a YouTube channel about and why her target audience is high school students, especially rich kids
• The big shifts and realizations Dana had and what new path she’s on
• The limiting beliefs Dana had to rewrite in order to pursue her true passion and purpose
• The systems Lam uses to make any decision in life when she’s having trouble choosing

“You’re never gonna think your way to your purpose and passion.” -Dana

“I don’t go for good, or almost good, I go for the best.” -Lam

Resources mentioned:

Essentialism by Greg McKeown

You are A Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson

On today’s episode, we sat down to talk with YouTuber Sophie Nguyen (@thetamshow), about her experiences growing up Vietnamese in France, and ultimately moving to Vietnam, despite her parents' discomfort with this decision.

We started off with Sophie’s parents’ background and the difficulties she faced as a third-culture kid. Sophie describes her first trip to Vietnam and how it changed her mindset and made her want to come back more permanently! We talk about what connotations the term "Vietkieu" has and what it's been like for Sophie coming back to the homeland (the good and the bad).

Sophie shares more about her Youtube channel, The Tam Show, and the mission behind it-to help you go for their dreams and realize you are the "master of your life." HELL YEAH.

Sophie is a French lady with Vietnamese parents. She was born and grew up in France in the suburbs of Paris. During her studies, she had an internship in Hanoi, her true first time in Vietnam. She found her roots and had such a good experience, she knew that she wouldn’t work in France and that she was meant to work abroad. Her open-mindedness and love for traveling brought her to book a one-way ticket after her finishing studies to come back to Vietnam more than 2 years ago, but this time in Saigon, where there are more job opportunities. Since that day, it has been a long journey for Sophie who had a lot of ups and downs in her professional life and came to some deep realizations. She is now hosting her own YouTube talk show called The Tam Show.

Resources

Music by: Lewis Wright   

Cover art by: Priyanka Mehta 

Produced by: Dana Drahos 

Follow us on Instagram! @creatorsinsaigon 

Subscribe to Sophie YouTube channel, TAM SHOW! 

Follow Sophie on Instagram! @thetamshow and @sophlimitless

Like Sophie’s page on Facebook, Hello Tam Show! 

Watch the Vietnam Corona song on YouTube!

The second part of this two-part series (watch the first episode here!), we talk to Alex Stevenson (@ninja_teacher), YouTuber and entrepreneur, about personality tests and how to use them in your life and business effectively. Alex talks a bit about the psychology behind personality and how to avoid biased results while taking the tests. Alex gives a brief overview of the personality tests and what they show, and then we have a bit of fun discussing each of their own results from all these tests! We also talk about how we can effectively interpret the results rather than based on our past biases or what society deemed our personalities. We’d love to hear about your results from the personality tests, so share them on our social media pages so we can see!

Alex Stevenson is an educator, entrepreneur and content creator from South Africa. He has lived in Asia for the last 6 years, with the past 4 being in Vietnam, teaching English in countries such as South Korea and Vietnam. He has a YouTube channel with nearly 500 videos and 5 million views with daily life and informational videos about teaching English abroad. He currently runs Ninja Teacher Academy, an English teacher training school in Vietnam that trains, supports and helps find jobs for over 100 individuals per year who want to start teaching English abroad.

Quotes:

• “If you’re honest with yourself and look objectively, then you’ll get a result that’s accurate to who you are.”
• “Maybe you'll learn that over time, and get a better sense of where you are not, but just knowing that people vary in introversion and extroversion, or agreeableness and disagreeableness, just knowing that helps you realize that people are different and you can support each other if you are different.”

Resources:

Music by: Lewis Wright

Cover art by: Priyanka Mehta

Produced by: Dana Drahos

Follow us on Instagram! @creatorsinsaigon

Check out Alex on his YouTube channel, "Ninja Teacher"

Ninja Teacher Website: https://ninjateacher.com/

Follow Alex on Instagram! @ninja_teacher

Personality Tests

• Human design/bodygraph
• Myers-Briggs
• Zodiac
• Life path numbers
• Enneagram
• The Big Five

In this two-part series, we had the opportunity to talk to Alex Stevenson (@ninja_teacher), a YouTuber and entrepreneur, about his experiences and how to identify your strengths and business direction based on your personality. We start off by talking about how Alex got started with his business by transitioning from teaching English to starting a teacher training school in Vietnam. He also talks about his experience hiring others based on personality, the best way to approach this, and how he’s learned to prioritize his time. Dana and Alex both talk about some of the struggles they initially faced when hiring others to help out and the ways they’re working on using their extra hands to benefit both themselves and their business. We end with Dana asking Alex what sorts of personality tests he’s used to help determine the best fits for his business, and that’s where we’ll continue next week!

Alex Stevenson is an educator, entrepreneur and content creator from South Africa. He has lived in Asia for the last 6 years, with the past 4 being in Vietnam, teaching English in countries such as South Korea and Vietnam. He has a YouTube channel with nearly 500 videos and 5 million views with daily life and informational videos about teaching English abroad. He currently runs Ninja Teacher Academy, an English teacher training school in Vietnam that trains, supports and helps find jobs for over 100 individuals per year who want to start teaching English abroad.

Quotes:

• Alex talking about marketing: “It’s just about finding the people that do want what you have, and then conveying to them how it can help them, as well as presenting new opportunities that are exciting and interesting.”

Resources:

Music by: Lewis Wright

Cover art by: Priyanka Mehta

Produced by: Dana Drahos

Follow us on Instagram! @creatorsinsaigon

Check out Alex's YouTube Channel: "Ninja Teacher"

Ninja Teacher Website: https://ninjateacher.com/

Follow Alex on Instagram! @ninja_teacher

E-Myth Revisited - great business book about creating a company that runs without you

Work the System by Sam Carpenter

In this episode, we talk with Tarek about perfection and how it works against ourselves mentally and professionally. We kick off talking about Tarek’s passions for trying new things and how it led to the start of his channel. He, Lam, and Dana each mention how aiming for perfection actually held them and those they know back from their goals and how they worked to overcome those feelings. Finally, we talk about our top tips for addressing your fears for putting yourself out there without aiming for perfectionism so that you can gain the confidence to do whatever you put your mind to!

Tarek, who just turned 30, is a multi-passionate and a learning junkie. He tried more than 20 sports (and won a few medals on the way), studied 5 languages, and loves to challenge himself going out of his comfort zone by learning various new skills, such as playing ukulélé, running a half marathon, backflipping, and being an MC at a wedding! Seeing his friends startled and curious about his abilities, he started to share his progression and mindset on his YouTube channel "Go From Zero To Hero."

Music by: Lewis Wright

Cover art by: Priyanka Mehta

Produced by: Dana Drahos 

Follow us on Instagram! @creatorsinsaigon

Learn more about Marie Forleo’s book “Everything is Figureoutable”

Check out Tarek’s YouTube Channel “Zero to Hero” 

Follow Tarek on Instagram! @goingfromzerotohero

TRIGGER WARNING AND EXPLICIT CONTENT.

WARNING: Do not listen to this episode with children. Do not listen if you are triggered by discussions of rape or sexual abuse. We discuss explicit topics around sex and sexual activity. This episode is intended for educational purposes and is done in a tasteful and serious manner. It is not intended to offend anyone.

ALSO: You will hear "beeps" in the beginning. This is beeping out our guests name because she prefers to remain anonymous for now:)

In this episode we've got three girls talkin about SEX BABYYYY. We talk about the disconnect between the perception and the reality of the sexuality of Vietnamese women. We discuss the differences of sex education in Vietnamese vs. other Western cultures and what impacts it has had, particularly for women. Dana talks about why she hasn't had sex in...a really long time. Lam talks about her recent sexual awakening and our special anonymous guest shares her sexual journey, stressing the importance of loving yourself and female empowerment. Our guest also gives us a REAL sex education on masturbation, orgasms, porn, and the non-verbal signs to look out for when you're on a date with a guy to know if he actually respects you.

Our anonymous guest was born and raised in Hanoi. She's a tiny woman striving to make love the universal language. She writes about stuff we are often scared to talk about like pain and guilt. She also coaches women who struggle to find the love within them, hoping that we can all lead a more positive and fulfilling life.

Music by: Lewis Wright

Cover art by: Priyanka Mehta

Produced by: Dana Drahos

Follow us on Instagram! @creatorsinsaigon

Thank you Bliss Saigon and The Next Somewhere for featuring our podcast on your website!

TRIGGER WARNING: Light discussion of rape and sexual abuse in the context of healing traumatic experiences.

Do you ever start panicking or feeling anxiety and have absolutely no idea why? Or maybe you keep getting caught in the cycle of unsuccessful and unfulfilling relationships?

In this episode we learn how one man couldn't understand why every time he went to the gym, he'd have a panic attack. After two sessions with our guest Rachel, he found the specific event where it all started, healed that wound, and enjoys life anxiety/stress free. We also hear about a woman who couldn't fully connect in romantic relationships, uncovered a repressed trauma with Rachel and healed after two sessions, and is now happily in a relationship.

Rachel Jones works predominantly with two therapeutic healing modalities called Transpersonal Regression Therapy (TRT) and Integrated Clinical Hypnotherapy (ICH). In this episode, you will learn about two of the most cutting edge and effective  healing modalities available today. That's because, unlike other types of therapies that are treating the symptoms, TRT and ICH go directly to the source, to heal the root cause, so you are permanently liberated from suffering. What takes years in talk therapy can take only two or three sessions with Rachel!

We also get a deep understanding of what a session with Rachel looks like and why she considers it is a form of art, with concrete case study examples to help you visualize. We discuss how NOT healing means you can be passing your trauma down to future generations. Relative to that, we discuss traumas that have been passed down the generations in Vietnamese families due to the war, and how it is presenting in the young adults of Vietnam today. Lam shares with us this situation in her own life, how she healed, and how she helps her clients heal.

Rachel is available for one-on-one therapy sessions and can be contacted directly by phone or email at:

[email protected] or WhatsApp/Zalo/Viber: +84 126 217 1530

Rachel is also now running immersed workshops. Please Note: With only 8-10 participants these workshops book quickly. She currently provides four types of workshops available in March and April 2020:

If you and a group of friends, family, or colleagues are interested in these incredible workshops you may also contact Rachel directly!

Our next guest is John Dewhirst, an English teacher in Saigon. We talk about the two creative projects John's got going on, including an English language sticker book designed to teach kids English through sticker collection and speculation, and a brand new YouTube channel called VNYO (Vietnam Yo!)  which is dedicated to giving Vietnamese people a platform to show their amazing personalities, and also to give more information to the world about Vietnamese peoples' lives and attitudes.

Our host Dana was featured on the channel by the way, trying some Vietnamese fruits!

Our main focus was talking about the pivotal moments in our lives that shaped us- the ones where when we look back from today to the past, and think about those moments we can point to and say, THAT's when everything changed. ALL of us had these moments as a result of someone else expressing their creativity, which gave us permission to do the same.  Therefore we encourage everyone to keep creating because you're not just doing it for yourself, you're doing it for the people who will be inspired by your work and do the same.

Shout out to listener @heytaylajade thank you so much for all of your support of the podcast! 

Music by: Lewis Wright

Cover art by: Priyanka Mehta

Produced by: Dana Drahos

Follow us on Instagram! @creatorsinsaigon

Thank you Bliss Saigon and The Next Somewhere for featuring our podcast on your website!

As promised, this is a BONUS episode for season 1 to give you a glimpse into the new format and to introduce our new co-host!!

I had sooo much fun recording this with my soul sista Millette of @thenextsomewhere (seriously, we found so many parallels in our lives and personalities it’s freaky!!) and my bestie and now co-host @lam_tarot_into_clarity.

Millette lived in Saigon 2.5 years ago and now lives back in the States with her husband (props to her hubs who spent their first Thanksgiving without her!). I was introduced to Millette by another @creatorsinsaigon alumni guest, Frances, of @so_theadventurebegins (thank you for introducing me to this GEM Frances!!)

When Millette introduced herself, she said that she was back in Vietnam for a “creative immersion”. Vietnam was a place where her creativity really blossomed and where she feels the most at home (away from home).

Her purpose in coming here really struck me. Some people go on vacation and don’t really put much thought into the purpose. Many of us go through LIFE this way- lost, living day by day not really knowing why they do what they do. Millette had a totally different approach and I was really inspired by it and think you will be too!

Take a listen, share on your social media and let us know what you think! It really means so much when I hear from you guys:)

To follow and support Millette:

Website: www.thenextsomewhere.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/thenextsomewhere

Facebook: www.facebook.com/thenextsomewhere

Youtube: www.youtube.com/thenextsomewhere