[Reading level: B2 – Upper Intermediate]
At the age of 44, Khemaridh Hy surprised his family, friends, and colleagues when he decided to give up his position as a managing director and an annual income of $2.3 million. He did not quit because he had failed or was facing financial difficulties. On the contrary, Hy walked away when he was in a position that many people could only dream of — simply because he realized that he was not happy.
Born into a Cambodian immigrant family in the United States, Hy grew up with many insecurities and feelings of inadequacy as the child of immigrants. He believed that studying hard, having a prestigious job, and earning a lot of money would make those feelings disappear.
Thanks to his excellent academic performance in high school, Hy was admitted to Yale University before pursuing a career in finance. His career progressed rapidly. At the age of 31, Hy became a managing director at BlackRock, one of the world’s largest asset management companies, earning around $2.3 million a year.
He had money, status, and the respect of his colleagues. But none of these things gave him the sense of fulfillment he had expected.
At the time, Hy’s life revolved almost entirely around 12-hour workdays. Interestingly, he did not actually hate his job. He simply could not find any joy in it.
“I wasn’t sad, but I wasn’t happy either. I definitely didn’t like the work I was doing, but I didn’t hate it either,” Hy recalled.
He tried to fill that emptiness by expanding his network, writing a blog, and seeking new challenges at work. But the feeling that his life lacked meaning remained.
The turning point came in 2015, during a vacation. Hy wrote an email called RadReads, in which he shared things he had learned about life, along with interesting articles he had read. At first, he sent the email to only a few friends, but the response was far more positive than he had expected.
More importantly, Hy himself realized that he genuinely enjoyed doing it.
“Something that took up only about 5% of my time gave me 99% of my happiness. I felt like I could do it all day.”
The idea of leaving finance grew stronger, especially after Hy and his wife welcomed their first child. He began to wonder whether he really wanted to continue spending most of his day doing a job that did not make him happy.
After saving enough money to cover his family’s living expenses for about 18 months, Hy decided to hand in his resignation.
But leaving a million-dollar job did not mean that happiness appeared immediately.
After years of living with a packed work schedule, Hy suddenly found himself with too much free time. Almost every day, he received messages from friends or former colleagues asking, “What are you doing these days?” There were times when even he began to doubt his decision.
“A few times, I almost applied for another job,” Hy said.
To find a new direction, he hired a life coach. The coach helped Hy reflect on his relationship with work and confront an important question: Why was he so obsessed with work?
Gradually, Hy realized that what he truly wanted was not to stop working, but to build a life in which work was no longer at the center of everything.
His family moved to California. Hy spent more time with his children, pursued his passion for surfing, and focused on developing his weekly newsletter. His reflections on work, money, and happiness also began to resonate with many people, particularly other middle-aged professionals who were questioning the meaning of their careers.
Today, Hy makes a living from writing, publishing content, and sharing his views on work and life. His annual income is now no more than around $250,000 — less than one-ninth of what he used to earn — but for Hy, it is enough.
His life is completely different as well.
Hy does not start work before 11:30 a.m. In the morning, he spends time getting his children ready for school and then goes surfing. His evenings are devoted entirely to his family. In total, he works only about 30 hours a week.
Hy believes that the pursuit of money can easily become a vicious cycle: if we want to earn more money, we have to spend more time working; but once we have money, one of the things we want most is more time.
And that is a cycle he does not want to enter again.
“My philosophy is that work should fit around life, rather than life being arranged around work.”
Source: efinancialcareers.com
WORD BANK:
annual /ˈæn.ju.əl/ [B1] (adj): hàng năm, thường niên
immigrant /ˈɪm.ə.ɡrənt/ [B2] (n): người nhập cư
insecurity /ˌɪn.sɪˈkjʊr.ə.t̬i/ [C1] (n): sự bất an, cảm giác thiếu tự tin
feeling of inadequacy /ˈfiː.lɪŋ əv ɪnˈæd.ə.kwə.si/ (n): cảm giác mình không đủ tốt, cảm giác kém cỏi
prestigious /preˈstɪdʒ.əs/ [C1] (adj): danh giá, có uy tín
academic performance /ˌæk.əˈdem.ɪk pɚˈfɔːr.məns/ (n): thành tích học tập
be admitted to (school) /ədˈmɪt̬.ɪd/ [B2] (v): được nhận vào (trường)
progress /prəˈɡres/ [B2] (v): tiến triển, tiến bộ, phát triển
asset management /ˈæs.et ˌmæn.ɪdʒ.mənt/ (n): quản lý tài sản
status /ˈsteɪ.t̬əs/ [B2] (n): địa vị
sense of fulfillment /sens əv fʊlˈfɪl.mənt/ (n): cảm giác mãn nguyện, cảm giác viên mãn
revolve around sth /rɪˈvɑːlv/ [C1] (v): xoay quanh cái gì
definitely /ˈdef.ən.ət.li/ [B1] (adv): chắc chắn
fill the emptiness /fɪl ði ˈemp.ti.nəs/ (v): lấp đầy sự trống rỗng
turning point /ˈtɝː.nɪŋ ˌpɔɪnt/ [C1] (n): bước ngoặt
genuinely /ˈdʒen.ju.ɪn.li/ [C1] (adv): thực sự, một cách chân thành
take up /teɪk ʌp/ [B2] (phr v): chiếm (thời gian, không gian)
cover living expenses /ˈkʌv.ɚ ˈlɪv.ɪŋ ɪkˌspen.sɪz/ (v): trang trải chi phí sinh hoạt
hand in sth /hænd ɪn/ [B1] (phr v): nộp, giao cái gì
resignation /ˌrez.ɪɡˈneɪ.ʃən/ [C1] (n): sự từ chức, đơn xin nghỉ việc
packed schedule /pækt ˈskedʒ.uːl/ (n): lịch trình kín đặc
former /ˈfɔːr.mɚ/ [B2] (adj): trước đây, cũ
doubt /daʊt/ [B1] (v): nghi ngờ
life coach /ˈlaɪf ˌkoʊtʃ/ (n): huấn luyện viên cuộc sống
reflect on sth /rɪˈflekt/ [B2] (v): suy ngẫm về cái gì
confront /kənˈfrʌnt/ [C1] (v): đối mặt, đối diện
obsessed with sth /əbˈsest/ [B2] (adj): bị ám ảnh bởi cái gì
pursue one’s passion /pɚˈsuː wʌnz ˈpæʃ.ən/ (v): theo đuổi đam mê của mình
newsletter /ˈnuːzˌlet̬.ɚ/ (n): bản tin
resonate with sb /ˈrez.ə.neɪt/ (v): tạo được sự đồng cảm với ai, gây tiếng vang với ai
one-ninth /ˌwʌn ˈnaɪnθ/ (n): một phần chín
devote sth to sth /dɪˈvoʊt/ [B2] (v): dành cái gì cho cái gì
the pursuit of sth /pɚˈsuːt/ [C1] (n): sự theo đuổi cái gì
a vicious cycle /ə ˈvɪʃ.əs ˈsaɪ.kəl/ (n): một vòng luẩn quẩn
philosophy /fəˈlɑː.sə.fi/ [B2] (n): triết lý, quan niệm sống
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