You take your life in your hands when you cross the road in Saigon.
The city is filled with motorbikes. And there’s no such thing as traffic lights.
This has created a “perfect chaos” where motorbike riders judge the speed and direction of anyone crossing the street and change course to avoid them.
I experienced this last month.
I was in Saigon and got chatting to a
local.
He told me about a stall which served banana sticky rice. He said it was the sweetest, stickiest, most sumptuous sticky rice in Vietnam.
As soon as he said this, I knew I had to find it.
And on my quest I came across a road overflowing with bikers.
I paused. I hoped a gap would open up.
But after a few minutes I realised this was wishful
thinking. And if I didn’t bite the bullet, I’d never find this mystical sticky rice.
So I said a small prayer and stepped into the road.
My eyes darted side to side like an owl rotating its neck.
The first bike whooshed past me, inches from my torso.
I kept walking.
Horns shrieked all around me. Hot air from the exhaust pipes blasted against
my ankles. And I noticed the hairs on my skin standing on end.
I soldiered on.
It was like the parting of the Red Sea. And I was Moses.
After what felt like an eternity, I made it to the other side.
When I stepped onto the pavement I noticed I’d been clenching my teeth the whole time.
But as I took a bowl of the syrupy, sugary rice in my hands and the scent of banana wafted around my nose, I realised it had been worth the trouble.
I looked back over my shoulder.
The same sea of motorbikes were scooting along in both directions.
The road looked just as impossible to cross as before. But now I knew it was possible.
Anyhow, I bet you can guess why I’m telling you this.
Crossing the road in Saigon is just like changing your career or quitting your job.
There will
always be obstacles in your way.
In fact, the route ahead might look impassable. There’s no guarantee you’ll get to the other side.
And it can be scary. It’s enough to make you stay where you are and give up on what you want.
But unless you get into action mode and take that first step you’ll never get the rewards you’re seeking.
You’ll never find that job you love or start that side hustle you’ve always wanted to.
You’ll never taste that sweet, sweet sticky rice for yourself.
And one day you might look back and think “I wish I’d gone for it”.
Saying all this, I have good news.
Help is at hand.
See, some tourists use a trick to cross the road in Saigon.
They’ll wait for a local to start crossing. And then glue themselves to that person.
The
local becomes an unwitting human shield.
And it works.
The local has dodged motorbikes many times and knows exactly how to get from one side of the street to the other. Even with a tourist clinging on for dear life.
Bottom line - joining forces with someone who knows the way will stop you from being knocked off course.
So if you’re thinking of taking that first step with a new career goal…
Or if you’ve already started but you find yourself stranded…
Then hit the link below.
And we’ll chat about where you want to go and how I can help you get there.
That’s it for today.
Catch you tomorrow.
- Tom
p.s. Whenever you're ready, here are the ways you can connect with me