5 Things I Learned (Again) In 2018

At the end of every year, I like to write down some of my key learnings about life from that year. After just re-reading my list from 2017, I realized that several of the lessons hold true again for 2018. So without further ado, here are the 5 Things I Learned (Again) in 2018.

1) People are inherently good.
I experienced so much kindness, love, and support from family, friends, acquaintances, and strangers in 2018. Don’t let the bad apples taint your belief in humanity. Humans are good. There really is goodness in everyone. I think it is important to remember that everyone was once a baby. And babies are awesome. Seek the goodness in others, and you will always be surprised.

2) Love is all we need.
Do what you love with people you love. Fill as many hours of each day with love. For me, success has nothing to do with the size of your house, or how many cars you have, or how big your bank account is. Success is doing what you love every day, and making a positive impact on the world. If you do what you love with people you love, you will be happy. And happiness is the greatest barometer of success in life. At the end of the day, we all die. Nothing remains, except for the impact we make on our loved ones and on the world. Love fearlessly, do good in the world, and everything else will take care of itself.

3) Forgiveness is good for the soul.
Forgive others. Forgive yourself. We all make mistakes. To err is to be human. I wish that I had learned this lesson in my 20s. I would have forgiven my father for abandoning us a long time ago, and I would have given both of us much peace and love. Forgive everyone who has wronged you, but don’t forget the lessons. Let go of negative energy. And always seek the beauty in others. As Plato once said, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”

4) Karma takes care of everything.
Good luck blesses good people. Bad luck curses bad people. I’ve seen it over and over throughout my life. Over the course of my career, I have had people lie to me, steal from me, cheat me, badmouth me, backstab me, deceive me, betray me, and more. It is easy to become jaded, but I refuse to let these bad apples taint my belief in humanity and dampen my desire to do good in the world. Eliminate the bad apples in your life. Protect your inner child. Believe in people. Do good in the world. Chase your greatness. And let karma take care of everything.

5) No one succeeds alone.
I have been the recipient of many blessings in life, especially the phenomenal people in my life. First and foremost, I am full of gratitude to the most amazing woman in the world, Clara. Without her love, wisdom, advice, and support, I would be nothing. She is my love, my best friend, and my partner in everything. Thank you to Saurabh Mittal, my best buddy from Harvard. We were among the poorest kids at Harvard, but we both somehow managed to make it. The coolest thing is that we have both been one of the main reasons for each other’s success in life. We have always helped each other every step of our lives and careers over the last 20+ years. Thank you to Derek Lau from Heliconia Capital, Shailendra J Singh from Sequoia Capital, Rajeev Natarajan from Iconiq Capital, Ravi Lambah from Temasek Holdings, Ankur Meattle from GIC, and Neil Mehta from Greenoaks Capital for your friendship and support. Thank you to everyone on Team ONE, the greatest sports media team on the planet! You guys rock! I am so blessed to serve you as your leader. Lastly, thank you to all of the athletes and fans of ONE Championship for giving me the precious opportunity to live the life of my dreams! Without a doubt, ONE Championship would not be where it is today without the whole world supporting us. Everyone has been absolutely instrumental in building what will be Asia’s greatest multibillion dollar sports media property in history. #gratitude

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!!! Let’s make 2019 the greatest year of our lives yet! No one is perfect, but everyone deserves happiness. May your life be filled with love, laughter, and joy in everything you do.

Here is to an EXTRAORDINARY 2019!!! LET’S GOOOOOOOOOO!!!

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 Championship, Asia’s largest global sports media property in history with a global broadcast to over 1.7 billion potential viewers across 136 countries around the world. Forbes most recently selected Sityodtong as one of Asia’s next generation tycoons. He was also named “Asia’s King of Martial Arts” by the Financial Times and the “3rd Most Powerful Person in Sports in Asia” by FOX Sports. He is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at INSEAD, Europe’s top business school. Sityodtong holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Tufts University.