Vladimir Okhotnikov – an entrepreneur who pursued his business, lived in Dubai and became a father. But his business secrets are not from the luxurious meeting room or prestigious qualifications, but mainly forged on Asian roads, where he spent many years wandering with a 120 -liter backpack, exploring the strange lands that few tourists dare to set foot, always away from pre -determined routes.
| Join the channel Telegram belong to Anonyviet 👉 Link 👈 |
Of all the journeys from Türkiye to Tibet, Vietnam has deepened a special impression in his mind. Not because this country is strange or mysterious, but because of the way this society becomes culturally rich and practiced throughout the difficult stages. Vietnam still knows how to evolve without losing its own identity.
“Vietnamese people do not fight with uncertainty – they adapt to it,” Okhotnikov recalled. “But family relationships, community cohesion are not moved. Witnessing that balance has contributed to shaping the way I understand durability.”
Unlike the dust tourists carrying Lonely Planet books, Okhotnikov traveled without a predetermined roadmap. Going to a car with him is not to save money, but to fully immerse yourself in real life, something you cannot experience from the tourist car window.
“Going on the car brings a unique experience: when standing on the side of the road with a backpack on the shoulder, basically you are quite vulnerable,” he said. “And it is that weakness that naturally opens so many hearts and doors, creating honest connections between people but the model traveling in the pattern can never be done.”
This experience can have, but Vladimir chose Vietnam as a special place. Here, he not only heard stories from drivers but also learned important lessons, things that have shaped how he approached both work and life.
Romance: The strength from the transient relationships
Later, Vladimir pays more attention to the way of ’emotional’ activities in Vietnam – it is an emotional connection that Vietnamese people create even with strangers. Unlike the connection in other places, Vietnamese people not only exchange business cards; They put both affection into the relationship, although that relationship may be very short.
This is shown in small interactions. “When asking the road, you can get not just the instructions but the number of your nephew’s phone, the history of the whole area, and the invitation to drink coffee when coming back,” Vladimir said. Every time they interact, they have the opportunity to bring someone into their social networks. “That grandchild will probably try to sell you something. But the connection created is true.”
This concept became clear to him in the mountains of Dalat when the driver’s car was broken. A rare spare part from the old Honda – a local mechanic shrugged helplessly. What happened later as a classic lesson about social navigation art. The worker started to call acquaintances: his brother in Nha Trang coastal, then his brother’s acquaintance, then your friend. Within an hour, about seven calls, spare parts were found in Cam Ranh.
“The solution comes from the relationship network,” Okhototikov pondered. “But not just finding spare parts. By the end of the chain, we know why this spare part is broken, which Honda has a better type, whose cousin can get that spare part at a cheaper price from Cambodia. A transaction that simples into the process of communicating knowledge.”
To navigate in this system, the way he rides his car to develop into sophisticated observation art. He learned how to “read” people through details – family photos on the control panel, how they treated the staff at the stop, whether they invited food before being asked or not. The ability to feel this intention, honed through thousands of kilometers on the road, helping him distinguish when emotional is true compared to when it is just a transaction.
“This is not romanticism but a realistic way of survival in society where social and trade transactions are attached,” Vladimir said.
Time needs to be “residing”
Vladimir’s journey not only passed by – crossing the roads – but also walking along, diving deep into himself. This search led him to Buddhist Meditation Center (Zen Buddhism) around Hue area. In ancient temples, including the famous Tu Hieu pagoda where Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh used to study, Vladimir immersed himself in the practical practice sessions.
At first, his mind was so familiar with the continuous electronic stimulus from the business world, so he protested violently. It requires familiar troubles. But gradually, Vladimir realized that it was the simple and simple of the monastery life that was the key to his practice. It cleanses consciousness from chaos and overload of information, encourages him to find the meaning in the process of cultivation, in his presence in this place and right now.
“A monk once told me: ‘In the West you try to manage time. We learn how to stay in it,'” Vladimir recalled.
This experience is priceless. Skills “Listen deep” – Listen to both words and silence, both thoughts in the head and feeling in the body – have become the tool of Okhotnikov to find the truth among the chaos. When returning to the business world where people speak non -stop, now he can hear more real needs and true fears of customers as well as partners, things hidden behind the flow of words.
Enough philosophy: Art is enough
The idea of ​​challenging the business thinking of Vladimir is the concept of Vietnamese people – an ideal balance and the ability to cherish what they have without chasing redundant things. He saw it in practical action when observing a village in the Central Highlands together making a decision.
In the three evenings, the community discusses to see if the old road should be repaired or built a new path. Although the village leader is clearly more influential, people still collect their opinions widely before making a decision.
“But this is not a Western -style compromise, the situation that people leave in his mind is a bit dissatisfied,” Vladimir commented. “It is a solution that everyone can accept – the ‘enough’ consensus to move forward without causing a great conflict.”
He contacted this collective mindset with popular personal philosophy in Vietnam. The small motel owner in Hoi An, where he used to live in, has simply expressed it: “We need to eat enough, wear enough, and have enough happiness. More than not always better. Sometimes more ‘is just a burden.” Of course, young Vietnamese still chasing success as anywhere in this world. But the wisdom from the ancient life of the Vietnamese father still exists as a balanced force.
This dual view – a active collective principle and personal intelligence behind it – very strong contrast to the familiar world of Vladimir about the startups and venture capital funds, the environment diving in the motto “More, faster, higher” with the slogan “Promote and break everything.” Thanks to witnessing an effective society based on the spirit of harmony, he knew how to re -evaluate the measures of personal success and ask an important question: What is really necessary for a balanced, complete life?
Return to invisible luggage
The Asian trips have left a deep impression on the world’s world view. Returning to the current projects and roadmap in Dubai, he is still applying lessons that have been acquired on Vietnamese roads and in the tranquility of the monastery.
Vladimir is now conscious of building a network wide throughout unofficial connections but more prestigious than official agreements. Now his morning coffee now has no room for smartphones, and the conversation with a taxi driver will often focus on the perspective of life instead of the weather. In negotiations, he strived to reach the consensus that made everyone feel that they were “enough”.
“Vietnam is not just a destination – it is an education,” he confessed. “It taught me that for sustainability, do not resist changes but follow the flow. That the true power does not come from what the individual can do, but from the harmony of the whole community. And sometimes, the distant routes lead us to the destination faster than the shortest shortcuts.”
His 120 -liter backpack is waiting for the next journey. But the most valuable luggage that he brought with him was invisible.
