The One Decision that Killed My Career Path
and made me realize what mattered
Back in 2016, as a junior in Tufts, I won the Peter Drucker Challenge. A fancy global competition that got me become speaker in front of thousands of people. Wild.
I was then offered an internship for a new project at the Financial Times & IE Business School.
Dream opportunity.
Prestige max.
The kind of thing that looks incredible on LinkedIn
and makes your Asian parents proud.
But my heart was set on something else: I wanted to come back to the Bay Area.
I turned it down and interned with Mei Lin Fung instead at an ambitious nonprofit tech People-Centered Internet
--
Here's the crazy part.
That summer, I met this guy Stephen Turban again in Palo Alto. (We first met at admitted student weekend at Yale NUS in Singapore in 2013)
We actually met at the grocery store Trader Joe (and of course he was doing his signature move: charming the cashier 😆)
He invited me to his book launch,
and I brought along a Vietnamese lady
who later inspired him to care more about Vietnam.
—
He moved to Vietnam slowly,
and now he's completely committed to building something great here.
Wild.
--
Sometimes I still wonder
what would've happened if I'd taken that Financial Times project.
Being trained to deliver in intense, high pressure environment.
(Could have got a full time job there after graduation even 😛 )
---
Why am I telling the story?
Because I've been in conversation with many people in transition mode thinking about what's next.
I've had my fair share of regret over the years
about not being more conventionally career-driven & brand-conscious in my 20s.
It bites you in your 30s.
--
But for this decision? Nah.
Because look what life brought to me instead.
It brought Stephen in my life - someone I truly admire, respect, love and call family.
Someone whose presence reminds me that
human connection isn't just nice to have
esp when AI is changing everything
It's the thing we MUST stick with.
--
Two lessons for me
1/ Choose People
When everything else gets automated, displaced,
the people we choose as our running mates become everything.
For me,
I trade anything for *creating the future with people I choose*
over optimizing my individual career trajectory.
---
2/ The Best Decisions Don’t Maximize. They Align.
The most important decisions aren't about maximizing individual outcomes.
They're about staying true to what you value most deeply - even when you can't see the full picture yet.
Even when it looks like you're making the "wrong" choice.
—
Curious to hear what this brought up in you.
Much love,
Khuyen
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