We were lucky to catch up with Lyly Hoang recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lyly, appreciate you joining us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I think success essentially boils down to three things: planning and grit. Every success that has come my way appeared in a stroke of luck and coincidence, but the difference was that I was well-prepared to receive the opportunity. People who agree with me feel the same way – they always have a far-reaching goal in mind and stay determined to work towards that goal every single day. Have a big-picture plan and show up every day, even on days you don’t feel like it at all. when I don’t feel very motivated to show up, I would try my best to drag myself out of comfort and just sit with the difficulty of discipline, even just for a minute. And it always works, it always works.

With planning and grit, I managed to achieve many hard goals over the years, both for my external and internal well-being. I got the chance to work with amazing people. I had disposable income since I was 17. I always find more ways to be happier and more aligned with my life goals. 2025 is coming (so fast!), I think around now would be the best time to start thinking about what you want to accomplish in the next year, and how you are going to approach it.

Lyly, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I write, draw, script, produce, blog, vlog, etc. I find myself at the crossroads of many fields, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. I am doing anything creative I can get my hands on, from works of fiction to reality TV to documentaries to feature-length movies. I am here to contribute to the space of critical thinkers.

Perhaps I am one of those people you call a ‘generalist,’ and I love it! I had a hard time in the past trying to force myself into a niche that would be easier to market, but I found out that it would not be beneficial to me in the long run. So far, to be honest, being a ‘generalist’ has opened me up to many more paths and kept me optimistic about my ability to shine anywhere.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I take a lot of time thinking about how to make a contribution that matters on the Internet. There is a lot of money-grabbing, empty-headed, rotten content you can find on any corner of the web, and morally I could not see myself enjoying building an audience that I would negatively affect.

I pride myself in producing work that sparks reflection and engagement – and they tend to be things that we don’t often skim over or don’t talk about in this urban capitalistic society, where white superior complex, culture erasure, modern racism, and sexism are still absolutely rampant. I know I am only one person, but being able to contribute to those voices that are fighting for a better world for everybody and the generations following, is how I know the audience that I am building also feels the same way.

My advice would be to start with soul-searching: who do you want to be watching and following you? What would you say to them, if you can only make one video? What is the next one?

Don’t think about the views, if ever. That doesn’t matter as much as your content is aligned with the values that you want to put out to the world.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I grew up being taught to be very competitive – I think that is the general feeling of everyone. There is always a secret comparison game going on between all of us, even if we know in our hearts we don’t like it.

At one point while studying in my prestigious college, I can recall a certain time when everyone in my class of 2025 dropped the facade and became a lot more real about our own struggles with each other. Our first years, as it turns out, were ridden with jealousy and feelings of incompetency, even if that was all an illusion our insecure 18-year-old heads came up with. I think we were tired of competition, and we realized that having a tight-knit community who can support each other through our ups and downs is critical to our growth.

Unlearning this wasn’t easy, I’m sure everyone understands how it feels to be in an environment where everyone is vying for power in the workplace. It’s tiring, and actually detrimental to your life, if you let it go on for long enough.

From then on, we always try to understand one another and help each other through hard times. Our friendships became unbreakable and stable. It is beautiful.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lylyhoang.weebly.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zaccr.9/?next=%2F
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyly-hoang-39b755231/
• Twitter: https://x.com/zaccr_9
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@zaccr.9786

Image Credits
All works are done and produced by me!