The Resolution That Made Davis Nguyen Of Click With Anyone UNIQUE

INTRODUCTION:

You’ve probably seen the Facebook posts that pop up regularly asking this question: If you could have dinner with any three people, past or present, who would they be? For blogger and Yale graduate Davis Nguyen, it’s not just three people – it’s more than fifty. Over the past several months he’s made contact with dozens of people who have inspired him. Will his story inspire you?

Typesy: Most people make resolutions like “lose 10 pounds” or “learn Spanish” but we’ll admit that this is the first time we’ve heard of anyone making the resolution to connect with one of their personal role models each week over the course of a year. Where did you get this idea?

Jim Rohn has this quote about how the people you choose to spend your time with will affect your own personal success. He says you are the average of the five people you choose to spend your time with. I knew was true both in my personal life as well as in my professional life.

When I first came to college I was 38 pounds heavier. My lifestyle included drinking only soda and eating fried foods at least 3 times a week; I didn’t even know how to do a proper push up. But once I started college, I was surrounded by people for whom eating healthy and exercising every day were regular parts of their lives. Without much thought, I started drinking more water and cutting out soda, going to the gym regularly, and reducing how much fried foods I ate. Within a year I lost 22 pounds.

Professionally, I saw the power of being influenced by others during my time working at Quiet when I was in college. The summer before my senior year, I worked and lived with Quiet’s CEO, Paul, a successful entrepreneur and former executive at JPMorgan. Spending more than 16 hours a day with Paul for 12 weeks, I adopted many of his habits and mannerisms such as using money to make your life easier not harder. As Paul would say, money is a great servant but terrible master. By the end of my summer, I was a better person both professionally and personally.

Starting this challenge was a way for me to continue what I had with Paul and my friends who made healthy living part of my life. I wanted to continue spending time the people who would help me become the person I want to be.

Typesy: Have you had any face-to-face conversations with many of the people you’re contacting, or is this all done on the internet?

My goal is always to meet face-to-face. The internet is convenient, but you lose a lot of the personal touch when you are only communicating behind a keyboard. What mostly begins online, I figure out a way to meet my role models in person when I can.

For example, about a year ago, a friend of mine put me in touch with another person named Dr. Davis Nguyen (if you Google our name he outranks me). Dr. Davis Nguyen is based on Los Angeles on the west coast while I was at the time based on New Haven on the east coast. We figured out over email that we both often had business in New York so the next time Dr. Nguyen was in New York I made a day trip to New York and the two of us had lunch. Over lunch we talked about our family’s journey from Vietnam to the United States, why our parents named us Davis, and why he chose to go into the medical field. We could have had this same conversation over Skype or even email, but being there in person even if only for an hour created a bond that does not exist when two people are not physically next to each other.

So with everyone I reach out to, I figure a way how I can meet them in person.

Typesy: How much time do you spend on the keyboard each week for this project? Are you a good typist?

This is the first time anyone has ever asked me this. I spend a good amount of time on my keyboard for this project. Between researching background information on the person I want to connect with and crafting emails, I spend a few hours each day on my keyboard which adds up to a lot of time each week. I would say I am a decent typist.

Typesy: You make regular updates to your blog to document all of your clicks and contacts while offering advice to people who want to learn how to connect to people. Are you planning on writing a book about this challenging experience?

One of my dreams is to publish a #1 NYT bestselling book. I use #1 NYT bestseller as a goal not because it would be a nice accomplishment but because if that many people are buying my book, it means my book is adding value to people’s lives. In that book I hope to include my experiences from the last year if it will help people.  

Typesy: When you’ve finished the 52nd week and this challenge is over, what’s your next project?

While the challenge will end, I’ll continue reaching out to my role models and those around me finding ways I can add value to their lives. Generosity and being bold are ideas I want to hold as habits for the rest of my life and not just during the 52 weeks of this challenge.