25 Life Lessons That I Regret Not Learning Sooner...

In 2025, I spoke on two of the biggest

podcasts in [music] the world. I did a

keynote for a billionaire. My team and I

ran over 50 plus communication classes

and we grew over 15 million followers.

But behind these wins, there were many

lessons that I had to learn the hard way

that has taught me so much about life.

And in this video, I want to share with

you 25 lessons that [music] most people

learn too late. This is the kind of

video that I don't normally post.

Normally, I post a lot of content about

communication skills. This one's going

to be a little bit different. Today is

day one of the Dubai 1 billion Follower

Summit. We're going to be showing the

stage of some of the biggest creators in

the world. We literally saw Mr. Beast

just walk past us in the lobby. So,

we're going to spend the first half day

connecting with others. Then, we've got

a keynote slot. Day two is going to be

us running a workshop for 4 hours. So,

this is a massive 2 days of networking,

keynoting, [music] and workshopping.

Lesson number one, live the story you

want to tell. Let me explain this. I

teach storytelling and one of the

biggest objections I get from my

students is they say to me, "Havin, I

don't have any good stories." If you

want great stories, then go live them.

Live them so you can tell them. The very

reason we're here in Dubai right now is

because I said to my team, I want to be

able to tell the story and say the

story. Do you remember that time we did

New Year's in Dubai? Do you remember how

we saw the fireworks on the the Burge?

Do you remember how amazing that was? We

now can tell the story because we've

lived there. So, in 2026, live the

stories you want to tell. Don't be like

most and wait for life to happen and

wait for amazing things to happen. Go

create the very moments that you desire.

[music]

>> Okay. What are you most excited about?

>> I'm most excited about connecting with

other creators around the world because

where I'm from, South Australia, there's

not many creators. So, we're here with

hundreds [snorts] of creators from all

over the world, which is super exciting.

What would you say to those young kids

out there? What would be your best life

life advice?

>> A lot of young kids always think about

how do I discover what I meant to do in

my life? Well, I learned this lesson

from my dad. How did I discover what I

wanted to do? Here's the metaphor. How

did you discover what your favorite food

is? So, my favorite food is saté from

Malaysia. How did I discover that dish?

I had to try hundreds of dishes before I

found saté look, right? How do you find

what you love in life? Same thing. Try

lots of different things. As a kid,

don't be in a rush to make money. Don't

be in a rush to monetize. Be more in a

rush to taste all the flavors. And once

you taste all the flavors, you'll find

one that you love.

>> And I think that's one of the best parts

towards finding what you love. Finding

your purpose is taste all the flavors.

>> Love that, my friend. Thank you very

[music] much.

>> My pleasure. Lovely to meet you.

>> I did my first ad. I was [ __ ]

myself, man. I was like,

>> probably my worst.

>> We all do. We all [ __ ] ourselves, mate.

>> What do you

>> It's Well, well, it's desensitization,

right? You [ __ ] yourself cuz it's

probably the first time you've done it.

do it a thousand times, you'll no longer

>> I I met some of the window cleaners of

these buildings. Right. And I I said to

them, you must be yourself up there

every day. Like I've done this for five,

six years.

>> Yeah. Okay.

>> I call this a Tuesday. [laughter]

>> So I think a lot of the times we

mistaken a lack of familiarity

>> for this crazy fear that we feel just

get more familiar with it.

>> The next lesson I want to share with you

is something most people don't know

about me and didn't know what happened

to me last year. Just before my podcast

I did with Steven Bartler on Diary of a

CEO, one of the world's biggest

podcasts, as I was leaving Australia,

just before my plane was about to leave,

one of my family members messaged me to

let me know that they've just been

diagnosed with cancer.

This was one of the worst pieces of news

that I've received all year. And then I

got that text, I sent one text back, the

plane took off, and there was no Wi-Fi

on the plane. So the whole time I could

not reach out to my family member. So I

landed, got on the phone, started

speaking to my family member, crying on

the phone, and then within hours after

that, I had to get on the podcast with

no sleep. I couldn't enjoy it because my

mind was frazzled. I saw 5 minutes of

the podcast and I spoke too quickly. I

spoke in circles. I rushed my answers

and I was beating myself up. And it

reminds me of this concept in in

Buddhism that my dad shared with me

about how pain comes in the form of two

arrows. The first arrow is an event that

happens in your life that you can't

avoid. So for me, that event, the first

arrow, I did a bad job. I didn't do that

great of a job. The second arrow was me

then beating myself up. You see, the

first arrow I could not avoid. But the

second arrow, the arrow of me beating

myself up consistently weeks after the

diary of a CEO. That could have been

avoided. So this year, I want to get

good at only being struck by the first

arrow and minimizing [music] the number

of times I strike myself with the second

arrow. I want to be kinder to myself. I

want to give myself more grace. And I

want to remind myself and not just

others that I am also human. And guess

what? You are too. So give yourself some

grace this year. Don't be too hard on

yourself.

Wow, look at that big billboard. The

only thing missing up there, Peter, is

my face. You know, I look at this and

one of the lessons I've learned in this

life so far is you're not as good as you

think you are, but you're also not as

bad as you think you are. Because even

though I'm not up there, guess who's

still speaking on the main stage, baby.

And Peter, look at that billboard. We'll

be up there next year, baby. We'll be up

there. One of the most difficult things

I've done in the last 12 months is the

book writing process. Oh my goodness.

It's one of the most challenging things

because when you are speaking in person,

you've got your voice, you've got your

body language, you've got your presence.

There's so many different things that

you can incorporate. Whereas when you

write a book, you are now confined to

words on a page. And there were so many

moments when I was writing this book

that I felt, I can't do this. It's too

hard. Maybe I shouldn't have started

this process. But then I had to keep

reminding myself that struggle is where

we grow. Doing hard things is where we

become better. So, as you go through

this year, pick something hard to do.

And while it feels hard, continually

remind yourself it's meant to be because

[music] that's where growth lives. So,

choose hard things. Pick one thing and

give it a crack. And the book's coming

out soon and it's going to be great.

I hope.

Don't worry, there's a refund policy if

it isn't. All right. Where do you think

we should film uh film film the next

There's another sign. Peter, let's do it

over there. Added credibility. We're

just in the middle of some filming. Good

to meet you, bro.

>> Picture.

>> Yeah, let's do a quick picture, man. No

worries.

>> Much love, man. Take care. All the best.

Enjoy the conference. The craziest thing

about being at a creator conference is

you get to see and meet some of your

favorite creators. And it just made me

reflect because there was a time in my

life where I knew more about my favorite

creators and had more clarity on what my

favorite creators wanted to do with

their year and their chapter of life

than I knew about myself. I had no

clarity on what I wanted to do and it

was crazy. And when I reflect on it,

well, why do I know more about my

favorite creators? Because I spend more

time watching them. I spend more time

getting to know them than I do getting

to know myself. I would say you have to

get to know yourself more than you

understand the Avengers or you

understand the Game of Thrones

characters. Sometimes we know our

characters that we love more than we

know ourselves. So many people feel

lost, overwhelmed, a lack of clarity

simply because they haven't learned more

about themselves. I've been able to

understand more who I am.

>> So then I can take actions that's more

aligned with who I am.

>> Whereas when you don't know who you are,

you take random action.

>> And random action does not lead to

happiness. So one of the big lessons I

want to apply to myself this year is I

want to spend more time getting to know

myself just like I'm reviewing 2025 with

you in this video. I hope you'll take

the time to reflect on your 2025 to

collect all the clues on who you want to

become in 2026.

Seek curiosity. be more curious because

there were times on my journey I let ego

get in the way and I thought, "Oh, I

know everything." But I think when we're

young, the more we learn from others,

the more we're able to advance in our

careers. Yeah. And you're asking a lot

of questions. It's fantastic.

>> Thank you so much.

>> So nice to meet you.

>> Nice to meet you.

>> Nice to meet you, too.

>> Hi, man.

>> Hey, brother. How are you? Nice to meet

you.

>> Listen, um,

>> it's okay. Sorry. Take a breath. Take a

breath.

>> You have no idea how you inspired me.

>> Oh, thank you. like your video where you

were talking about the fact that don't

use the and we forgot how to pose. Yeah.

>> And you know you changed my life with

only that

>> part and you have no idea how honored I

am to be a speaker with you in the same

event.

>> Oh, you're speaking here Sammy. Oh,

that's incredible. Congratulations.

>> Thank you. Like I'm I'm really a big

fan. I've following you like from very

long time.

>> Oh, really?

>> Yeah. I speak four languages

>> and this is like a big barrier for me.

Especially when I communicate in

English, I struggle to pick the words

they used to be for me too.

>> I speak three languages.

>> Oh, you speak three?

>> Three? Yeah.

>> Oh, awesome.

>> Chinese, Vietnamese, and English. Nice

to meet you. Do you want a conversation?

>> How did you overcome like when you speak

three languages?

>> Yes. Yes.

>> When you switch sometime struggle a lot

when uh so how do you how do you

>> The only way I got good at English is I

had to make English my primary language

that I spoke back then when I spoke

Vietnamese and Chinese. My primary

language I spoke 80% of the time was

Vietnamese and Chinese.

>> So you will be good at the thing you do

most.

>> All right.

>> So then I had to start speaking. I had

to make more friends that were English

speaking

>> cuz all of my friends were Vietnamese

and all of my friends were Chinese. So

when I go to school, even though I'm at

an English school, I speak Vietnamese

during the breaks. I speak Chinese

during the breaks to my friends.

>> So I had to get out of my comfort zone

and make more friends with Westerners

who spoke English. And the more you

immerse yourself in English, the more

you have to speak it. The more you speak

it, the better you get.

>> So, it's so simple. But I I didn't

realize that.

>> Simon,

>> my friend, how are you?

>> We finally connect.

>> What's your dream? That's what I want to

know.

>> Well, I love helping people learn how to

play their instrument. Because I think

of this as you may have the greatest

music written by Beethoven, but if you

can't play it well,

>> is it great music?

>> So, I think everybody has great music

within them. My dream is to help them

unlock that music and play their music

beautifully.

>> I have a young entrepreneur who what

dreams of being an actor.

>> Oh wow.

>> And we've just flown him out from

London. Say something to test his voice

and then give us some feedback.

>> Well, I'd love you to share your dream.

Let's hear how you would share and

articulate your dream.

>> How I articulate it. Oh my god, that's

difficult. Um,

>> well, I am an actor

>> and being an actor is difficult.

>> Yes.

>> But having said that, being an actor is

the best thing in the world. All I would

say is a lot of the times when we ask

the question point blank, the first

thing we tend to do is we um and we are

and then we apologize for what we're

about to say. That's true.

>> Right. So we go um uh sorry I Right.

Instead of doing that, just say nothing

and pause and think because as you pause

and think deeply, people now associate

that with oh he's thinking deeply. He's

going to share something rather

brilliant. So that just heightens your

value as opposed to subtract the value

from you. You've just helped millions of

people articulate their dream between

the two of you. Thank you. Thank you for

what you do.

>> And you facilitated it. So, thank you

for what you do.

>> You're an awesome human being. Very

talented.

>> Turns out also very tall.

>> Oh, thank you. Oh, yeah.

>> All right. Good to see you.

>> Thank you. Good to see you, too. [music]

>> I'm just in the green room. We're

literally about to go on stage. And one

of the most common questions I get asked

is, "Bin, how do I deal with nerves?"

When you're about to get in front of a

thousand people, what do you do to help

you control the nerves? One simple quick

thing you can do is a psychological tip.

A lot of the times you get nervous

because you're thinking mostly about

you. How am I going to come across? What

will people think of me? What will they

think of what I'm saying? If they ask me

a question, am I going to know the

answer? It's me, me, me, me, me, me, me.

So, the more you think about you, the

more self-conscious you become

naturally. So, if you want to break out

of that self-consciousness and hyper

self-consciousness, all you have to do

is take all of that self-consciousness

and put it outward. So, what do I do to

help me not get nervous? I think about

the thousand people out there that I can

impact. The more I think about them, the

less I have cognitive capacity to think

over myself, the less nervous I'm going

to become. So that's what I'm doing

right now in my head as I prepare for

this presentation. When I think about

imposter syndrome, I think of this. I

had this belief in my mind that I had to

be a level 9,000.

Level 9,000 before I was allowed to

teach anything. You have to make sure

you've got a PhD, multiple degrees.

Because at the time when I first

started, I was like a level 10. When I

was a level 10, I just thought, "No, no,

you have to be here before you do

anything." But then I learned an

extremely valuable lesson. Because the

person who is at level 10 creating

content for communication, for example,

who are they the best teacher for? They

are the best teacher for those who are

at level 987654321.

The teacher at level 10 remembers what

it's like at level 987654321.

The teacher who's at level 9,000 has

long forgotten the nuances of a

beginner. I'm not creating content for

these people here. I'm creating content

to teach these people here. That gave me

permission to move forward. And then an

accidental realization is that when you

teach a craft, it makes you better at

the thing you're doing. So I realized

that when I was at level 10 and I

started teaching people here, that

helped me get to level 11 because as you

teach a craft, you deepen your knowledge

within that realm. And this became this

wonderful road map that every time I

felt imposter syndrome, it was telling

me that you're on the right path towards

mastery. My friends, we experience

imposter syndrome every step of the way.

Don't let it interfere with you becoming

the future version of you. Oh, thank

you. Thank you. Lovely. Thank you.

[applause]

I struggled with English all my life.

So, the teasing started before YouTube.

Teasing started when I was a kid. And I

remember coming home to my mom and I I I

didn't know what to do. Mom and dad were

the wisest people I knew. So I'd come

home and I'd say, "Mom, dad, what do I

do? What do I do, mom?" And my mom

looked at me and she just said, "If

someone gives you a gift and you don't

want this gift, who does this gift

belong to?" To me. It belongs to me,

right? Fantastic. So my mom then

explained to me that son, when you go to

school and these kids give you the gift

of negativity and you don't want this

gift of negativity, who does the gift of

negativity belong to? It belongs to

them. So my mom shared with me this

beautiful lesson that just because

people are trying to gift you negativity

and trust me people online gift me

negativity all the time. But the thing

is I didn't look at it as I have a

choice. I have a I don't have to accept

your gift just because you give it if

it's a crappy gift I don't want it.

Anytime someone tries to throw me

something negative in person online I

think do I want to bring it home to my

family? So to me do not fall victim to

imposter syndrome. Do not fall victim to

accepting every single comment as if

you're going to take that gift home now,

divide it into eight, and share it with

your friends. Steve Jobs says, "Those

people in the world who are crazy enough

to believe they can change the world,

they are the people who actually do."

Those of you who are crazy enough to

believe you can create anything you

desire in this life and create impact

that changes the world, you are the very

people who will. [cheering]

[applause]

Thank you.

THANKS EVERYONE. [applause]

HELLO. LOVELY to meet you. I'm

>> and I'm your coworker.

>> Oh, wow. What? That's crazy. You teach

it as well.

>> Appreciate it.

>> Oh, that's amazing. Congratulations on

what you've built.

>> Thank you so much.

>> We need more communication coaches in

the world.

>> Of course. Can I take

>> Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely.

>> I have I try to do these videos content,

but I tend to have a stammer when I do

it. But sometimes when I talk to

someone, you know, like I'm celebrating

like for you.

>> Yes. It tends to happen. I tend to speed

up my speech.

>> Yes. Yes.

>> What advice who do you have for me?

>> You almost had part of the answer in

your question. The reason we stumble is

because we're speaking too quickly.

>> Well, I I'm not able to stop that.

>> Uh well, we can because just slow down

your speech now. Just give it a go.

Continue to speak with me, but slow down

to my level.

>> So, I'm starting a clothing brand.

>> Oh, slow it down. Lower.

>> So, I'm starting a clothing brand in

>> Yes.

>> And I would love to give you a piece.

>> Yes. What would your shirt size be?

>> I'm a large.

>> You're a large.

>> Now, you see, you see what you just did

there?

>> You come across more calm.

>> Yeah.

>> You come across more collected. You come

across more composed.

>> Whereas before, if I come to you like

this and I'm talking to you like this,

what you're going to do is you're going

to start feeling really anxious.

>> But you see how you feel.

>> It's not just a stammering issue. It's

or stumbling issue. It's also going to

be that you raise the anxiety in other

people. Whereas if you come over and

you're much more calm and you're

collected like I'm just by slowing down

just like I am now. Don't you feel more

calm?

>> Yeah.

>> And that's and we can speed up when

we're passionate if we want to. But

don't stay there.

>> One of the most common reasons why

people stumble over the words and they

start. It's because they increase their

rate of speak and you can control them.

>> Thank you very much.

>> Yeah, you just did. Just finished the

keynote. I miss doing those. It was a

previous life thing I used to do. But

listen on to the next lesson. The next

lesson I want to share with you is

invest in your environment. I never

realized the importance of creativity in

life in general. Creativity as a father

to think of really fun and eventful

things to do with the family. Creativity

as an entrepreneur, creativity as a

creator. Creativity requires an optimal

environment. This is why with our

office, we invested into getting murals.

We invested into making it fun. We do

this because we understand that

creativity is a competitive advantage.

So invest in your environment this year.

Create a space where you can be

creative. Onto the next thing.

[music]

This one's uh it's a little bit

different because it's not just about

the last 12 months. This one is about

the last four to about five years. I've

had to redefine my definition of

success. So, in my previous chapters of

life, my definition of success was more

about building financial abundance and

wealth. That was a big value of mine

because I came from a refugee family.

But then that definition of success was

no longer serving me. And for many

years, I didn't redefine my definition

of success. I've now redefined it to

this. Doing things I love with people

that I love. I have a team that I love,

a team that I enjoy. We get along. We

laugh till tears come out when we create

content. We're silly. We're playful. And

I share this with you because I also see

many people live with one definition of

success that they defined 20 years ago.

And that definition no longer serves

them in this chapter. So, think about

the chapter you're in now. And I want to

ask you this question as you comment

down below. What is your definition of

success in this chapter of life? And

does it need updating? Speaking of fun,

I'm going to teleport to the next

destination hero style. [screaming]

Well, that was a bloody cool transition,

wasn't it? Now, listen. We had this

message from the event organizer this

morning that really blew us away. The

event organizer messaged and said, "Hey

guys, we just want to let you know that

you were the only session on day one

that got a standing ovation." How wild

is this? And as I reflect on this, how

do we create that outcome? How do we

create that standing ovation? It's

because I've learned how to fall in love

with the fundamentals. I didn't do

anything more special than any of the

other speakers that were on stage. I

just did the fundamentals well. I used

my voice to connect with the audience. I

played with my instrument masterfully. I

used my body language to have more

presence in the room. And I use

storytelling to connect with people's

hearts and minds. Don't be so swayed by

the fancy tips and tricks and different

scripts that you must learn. If you just

become world class with the

fundamentals, you too will be able to

create astonishing results in your life.

So cool. I have to mention this one. I

got to meet two incredible creators

yesterday. I got to meet Simon Squib and

I also got to meet Mr. Beast. I was

literally 10 m away from him. And then I

got a selfie with him. Even though the

selfie was with the back of his head

while he's in an elevator and I was in

the lobby, still counts. I'm going to

just check that dream as being done. I

share this with you because to me, I've

always had a useful belief in my life.

And the useful belief is reality is

negotiable. I fundamentally have that as

a useful belief. And many people

challenge me on this and go, "No, it's

not negotiable. It's it's rigid." But to

me, I choose to believe that reality is

negotiable. And that that belief has

served me so well in this life to the

point where even if I get to the end of

my life and I meet the higher beings and

they say to me, Vin, you're wrong in

preaching reality is negotiable. You

know what? I would still be glad that I

lived my life believing it's negotiable

because everything that I've been able

to achieve is because of that one useful

belief. So you can borrow it too if you

want.

Far out. This space goes on forever. I

can't believe we've been able to find a

quiet corner. There's 30,000 creators

here from all over the world. Now,

here's the crazy thing. In 2025, we were

able to do something we've always wanted

to do as a team to create a community.

So, we created the stage community for

our students. And there's a word we use

for our students and we call them

luminaries. So, luminaries, if you're

watching this video, hashtag the word

luminaries down below. But why do we

call our students luminaries? We teach

our students communication skills in the

hope they'll be able to use that to

negotiate the reality they desire. But

outside of this, there's a stronger

purpose. We call our students to use

their instrument to spread more light,

love, kindness, compassion, and a little

bit of fun. And even if you aren't a

student of what we do, just by you

watching this video, I already see you

as a fellow luminary. So this year, as

you move forward, use your voice to

spread more love, kindness, and

compassion. The world needs it more than

ever.

>> Good afternoon.

Oh, thank you. Oh, that's so lovely.

Thank you so much for being here. I'm so

excited about the next 4 hours we're

going to spend together. This doesn't

just apply to the world of magic. This

applies to your world. Pharmacist,

accountants, carpentry, electrician,

being a doctor, being someone financial

adviser. Whatever that is that you do,

you have to recognize well technically

where are you? Make a no BS assessment.

Are you a 7 out of 10? You an 8 out of

10. How good are you with your technical

skill? But then make a no BS judgment on

where is your communication level?

Because if your level of communication

is below your technical ability, you

will forever be invisible.

You will be invisible. How many of you

are afraid? Have you used bigger voice,

bigger body language? Are any of you

afraid of being too much? Any of you

think, "Oh, I'm going to be too much."

Okay. Okay. Can can I just give you a

different fear? The fear that I want to

give you that I hope you carry for the

rest of your life is this. You go

through this entire life being too

small. Do not fear being too much. In

Australia, there's something called tall

poppy syndrome. Do you all know what

tall poppy syndrome is? Yeah. It's like

when you dream big dreams, everyone's

like, "Ah, mate, get who are you to

dream such big dreams?" So, the reason I

moved to America for 5 years is because

I had to get over the tall poppy

syndrome. When I was in America, I was

taught to dream. Dream again. Don't be

afraid. I was so afraid of being too

much my entire life. I lived 28, 29

years being too small. Don't go through

this entire life being too small. If

you're sitting here right now and you

have a label for you, oh, stop it. You

stop believing in this nonsense. Far too

long in my life, I've allowed useless

beliefs to control my life. You are far

more capable than you think. [music] You

have wonderful gifts that exist inside

you. Wonderful stories to share,

wonderful music to play, wonderful ideas

to share. Learn how to play this

instrument. Play beautifully. No label

defines you. Why? You know what's

happened in society? In society, what

we've all done is we've given our pens

away. We've given our pens away. We let

other people write our stories. We let

them do this. You've given your pens

away to other people, to your friends,

[music] to your communities, to the

greater world. But I need you to

remember this. You are the author of

your own story.

Take your pen back.

Write the chapter [music] you want to

write. It's your damn pen. You get to

dictate what this story means. You get

to write whatever next chapter you want.

Thank you. [applause and music]

Oh, thank you.

Thank you very much.

[music and applause]

>> Yes.

>> I want you to share one piece of advice

or one piece for my listeners or for

stories that matter that can make

difference in their lives.

>> I think one of the rarest things I now

see in adults that is one of the most

powerful competitive advantages.

>> Uh-huh.

>> Is willing to be playful.

>> Willing to be playful.

>> The willingness to be playful.

>> Uhhuh. I think a lot of the times we

grow up as adults, we're taught not to

play. Play is silly. Play is a waste of

time.

>> Whereas to me, play is life. And I find

that so much unhappiness in the world

exists because people have forgotten how

to play. Whether it's playing with your

voice, playing with your ability to

storytell, playing with your body

language. It's all gone. So I encourage

you, I encourage all your listeners

who's listening, [music]

>> okay?

>> Engage in play,

>> laugh, live,

>> and learn to learn to be more playful

[music] in life.

My goodness, I can't believe you've made

it to the end of the video. And I just

want to say thank you for joining me on

this journey as we've been able to do

the very thing we've wanted to do for a

long time. And that is what that is to

be able to say, do you remember that

time we did New Years in Dubai as a

team? Do you remember that time we were

able to speak at the 1 billion follower

summit? Do you remember that time we got

to take a selfie with the back of Mr.

Beast's head? We've been able to live

the story that we want to tell. I hope

you remember that you are the author of

your own story. Take your pen back and

write the chapter you want to write this

year.