LESSONS FROM THE CRASH SITE

Writing That Doesn't Pretend

Honest takes on leadership, startups, people, and what happens when the plan meets reality.

Một ô cửa sáng khẽ lay rèm theo nhịp gió, gợi hình ảnh hơi thở được mượn rồi âm thầm trả lại.

Breathing In Is Borrowing, Breathing Out Is Repaying

A breath comes with no invoice and no due date. And that quiet rhythm of borrowing and returning keeps reminding me how I am using this body.

August 5, 2026·8 min read

Một bàn tay đặt xuống làm việc bên khung cửa, ngoài hiên mây đen kéo tới nhưng mưa chưa rơi

Reflections

There Is Thunder Already, When Does the Rain Come?

Some words carry a long way and never soften the ground. The real work is usually quieter, slower, and leaves a mark that outlasts anything that was said.

Jul 28, 2026·11 min read

Một căn bếp nhỏ với nồi trên bếp, làn khói mỏng bay lên, ánh sáng chiều dịu và cảm giác lắng nghe.

Reflections

Catching the Burning Smell Before the Pot Handle Melts

Some things you can catch early if you let yourself settle for a moment: a flash of anger, a sentence about to leave your mouth, a kindness that arrives too late.

Jul 7, 2026·8 min read

Người đàn ông Việt ngồi cạnh chiếc bàn buổi tối, tay xoa chân vừa va vào cạnh bàn, ly nước nguội đặt bên cạnh.

Reflections

The Hand That Rubs the Sore Foot, and the Times I Nearly Told the Table Off

A talk about patience made me laugh, and then go quiet. Maybe the table does not need telling off. Maybe the foot just needs rubbing first.

Jul 6, 2026·16 min read

Căn phòng nhỏ, ánh sáng trưa chiếu trên bàn gỗ, một người đàn ông Việt Nam trung niên ngồi yên lặng trước cốc nước lọc, không gian ấm và yên tĩnh.

Reflections

Outside It Is Still Noisy, Inside Me It Is Finally Quiet

I used to think stillness meant a room with no sound in it. It turns out the noise outside can carry on exactly as it is, and the quiet only has to happen inside you.

Jul 4, 2026·5 min read

A quiet morning room with soft light, no phone in sight

Experiments

One Month Without the Morning Phone: The Pull of Instinct and the Quiet Emptiness

I put my phone in the living room every night for thirty days. What I didn't expect was how loud the silence inside my chest could get.

May 14, 2026·12 min read

A laptop showing an AI dashboard beside a cup of coffee

Experiments

I Tried to Automate My Life with AI: False Hope, Letting Go, and a Little Bit of Magic

I spent weeks setting up AI to handle the repetitive stuff. Some of it worked. Some of it spectacularly didn't. Here's what actually stuck.

May 13, 2026·13 min read

A single path diverging at a crossroads in an open landscape

Reflections

First Crossroads: The First Time I Threw Myself Into Something Completely New

There's a version of courage that isn't loud. It's the kind that shows up when you walk into a room where you're clearly the least qualified person, and stay anyway.

May 12, 2026·11 min read

An open notebook with a pen on a wooden desk, soft morning light

Experiments

30 Days of Writing Every Day: Not the Neat Journey I Imagined

I committed to writing something every day for thirty days. I thought it would make me a better writer. It mostly just made me more honest.

May 11, 2026·10 min read

A family dinner table with warm evening light

Reflections

How Family Changed the Way I See Work

Not a story about work-life balance. A story about what happened to my relationship with ambition after I had something more important to come home to.

May 10, 2026·9 min read

An open road stretching forward, left side in shadow, right side in light

Reflections

The Things I Left Behind to Live More Clearly

Not about minimalism. About the specific things — habits, relationships, identities — I quietly stopped carrying, and what it felt like when they were gone.

May 9, 2026·10 min read

A stack of books with sticky notes, slightly dishevelled

Reflections

I Memorised Dozens of Books, Then Forgot Everything — a Stumble Taught Me I'd Been Learning Wrong

Years of reading, highlighting, summarising — and almost none of it stuck. The failure was useful. It forced me to change how I learn entirely.

May 7, 2026·14 min read

A person sitting quietly by a window, looking out

Reflections

The Word "Enough" in My Head Weighs More Than I Thought

I kept telling myself I was fine with stopping. Then I noticed how much energy I spent convincing myself of that.

Dec 1, 2025·8 min read

Two people in a conversation, one older, one younger, in an office setting

Reflections

Holding Principles Without Crushing Young People: The Cost of Standing in the Middle

I believe in standards. I also believe in people who are still learning to meet them. Holding both at the same time turns out to be the whole job.

Nov 27, 2025·7 min read

Two people walking side by side on a path, one slightly ahead

Reflections

I Pushed Someone Close to Me Out of Their Comfort Zone — Then Wondered If I Was Wrong

I thought I was helping. I still think I was helping. I also think it's possible to be right and still owe someone an apology.

Nov 26, 2025·9 min read

A person in a meeting, listening rather than speaking, head tilted

Reflections

I Don't Like Being Called 'Boss'

There is something more fragile than the end-of-quarter budget: the trust between the person who signs and the person waiting for their salary to land. One sentence in the wrong tone and that line snaps like a thin cable.

Nov 26, 2025·9 min read

A round table meeting with people looking slightly tense but engaged

Reflections

Speaking Honestly in a Team Where Everyone Is Afraid of Giving Offence

The meeting ends. Everyone agrees. Then in the corridor afterward, the real conversation starts. I've been in too many of those corridors.

Nov 26, 2025·8 min read

A person standing at the edge of a stage, looking out at an empty auditorium

Reflections

Someone Who Leads From Behind — But Won't Stand in Front of a Crowd

I can make decisions for a team, manage conflict, hold a direction under pressure. Public speaking still makes me want to cancel my calendar and move to a different city.

Nov 26, 2025·7 min read