The Greatest Failure In Life

I never imagined in a million years that I would star in The Apprentice with 16 candidates from around the world vying for a job as my protege. In fact, it was never a dream of mine to do a reality TV show, but it turned out to be a blast. I was blessed to have Niharika Singh, my right hand woman at ONE, join me as my advisor on the show.

In my early 20s, I used to dread going to work. On Sunday nights, I would get a nervous pit of sadness in my stomach because I hated Mondays. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but something inside of me yearned for another life. I remember that I had this gnawing fear of waking up one day as an 85 year old man with nothing, but regrets. You see, society makes it easy to follow an empty career. In many ways, it encourages us to chase prestige, stability, job titles, money, and safety at the expense of what really matters in life – our passions, our dreams, our purpose. If you are not careful, you could end up in a job that leaves you empty and hollow inside, despite all of the external rewards.

The greatest failure in life is success without happiness. I know because I have been there. I owned a US$500 million global hedge fund when I decided to retire from Wall Street at 37 years old. On paper, I was on top of the world. I had everything in life and more. Inside though, something was missing in my soul. No one knew it, but I knew it. All of the money and material things in the world could never fill that void. I was not living my definition of success. I was living society’s definition.

It took me a lot of introspection, failure, courage, and good luck to find, create, and build the life of my dreams. I wake up every day full of gratitude for this crazy adventure called ONE. Our mission is to unleash real-life superheroes who ignite the world with hope, strength, dreams, and inspiration. You see, the world does not need more mindless sheep who blindly chase material things. No, the world needs more inspired souls who are alive – truly alive with passion and purpose – to help make it a better place.

Chase your greatness. Live your dreams. #success

Chatri Sityodtong is a self-made entrepreneur and lifelong martial artist from Thailand. His rags-to-riches life story has inspired millions around the world on BBC News, CNN, Financial Times, Bloomberg TV, CNBC, Channel NewsAsia, and other major media. He is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of ONE, Asia’s largest global sports media platform in history with a broadcast to over 150+ countries around the world. He is also the star of the first-ever global edition of The Apprentice, the award-winning reality TV series on Netflix. Sityodtong was named “Asia’s King of Martial Arts” by the Financial Times and was ranked the “2nd Most Powerful Person in Sports in Asia” by FOX Sports. Sityodtong was also selected as one of “Asia’s Top 100 Business Leaders” by Business Insider. He is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at INSEAD, Europe’s top business school. Inducted recently into the Black Belt Hall of Fame, Sityodtong is a Kru in Muay Thai under Yodtong Senanan and a Purple Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Renzo Gracie. Sityodtong holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Tufts University.