Last week, I had the pleasure of seeing Anh Do perform his live show ‘The Happiest Refugee’.
If you’re familiar with my recommended books or my Find my Niche book, you may already know that I’m a huge fan of Anh Do.
Seeing him perform live has only increased my admiration for him.
His show was both hilarious and moving. Anh definitely wears his heart on his sleeve!
As a three-year old child, Anh fled Vietnam during the war with his family and lived in a refugee camp in Malaysia for three months before seeking refuge in Australia (although his parents mistakenly thought they were coming to Austria, but that’s another story). His childhood was challenging with an alcoholic father who abandoned the family and his mother working incredibly hard to provide for her three children.
Fast forward a few years and Anh completed his university studies as a lawyer, but in the year of his graduation, he decided to pursue a career as a comedian instead.
Anh is an incredibly successful comedian as well as a published author of his award-winning autobiography and numerous children’s books. He is also an artist with his portrait of his father chosen as a finalist for the Archibald Prize. As an actor, Anh has appeared in numerous television shows as well as hosting his own television series. Anh also announced that Russell Crowe is going to be involved in producing a movie of Anh’s story.
Anh’s story is inspirational and motivational. His family clearly provides so much motivation for him. He spoke of his motivation to earn money from his career in order to buy his mum a house. He also spoke of his motivation to win a comedy competition to pay for his sister’s braces. He also shared his pride in his younger brother, Khoa Do, who was the 2005 Young Australian of the Year and is now a movie producer. His father, who he was estranged from for many years, continues to inspire him. He often recalls his father’s advice to ‘give it a crack and see what happens’. Anh has ‘given it a crack’ in so many different areas and his courage is an inspiration.
Anh’s show made me think ‘does Anh Do naturally have more courage than the rest of us?’ It certainly takes great courage to be a stand-up comedian. It takes a lot of courage to abandon a more traditional career path as a lawyer to pursue a career as a comedian. It takes great courage to become an artist and display your artwork when you’re already an established comedian. It takes great courage to write your own autobiography.
Or does it? Does Anh just ‘give it a crack and see what happens’. Does he just take action and see where it leads him?
I think we could all benefit from this type of thinking—are there times where you can take Anh’s father’s advice and ‘give it a crack and see what happens’? How could this help you pursue your dreams?
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