Yasmin Nguyen is a thought leader, speaker, podcast host, and veteran entrepreneur of 17 years. He is committed to inspiring over 1 million acts of gratitude to grow magnificent relationships, businesses, and communities.
In 1978, at the age of 5, he, his mother, grandmother, and two younger siblings snuck through the jungle to board a small fishing boat. Fleeing Communist-controlled Vietnam, they were rescued at sea as their boat sank to the bottom of the ocean. He could never have imagined that 40 years later, he would be building businesses and inspiring so many to people to shift their lives to experience more love, joy, freedom, wealth, and community.
Yasmin has interviewed Fortune 500 company leaders, industry influencer, and countless nonprofit organizations to share stories of gratitude and impact. Even though he is an extraordinary achiever, he struggled with self-doubt and a serious case of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). Saying yes to everyone and everything to feel important and fit in, he finally hit the wall with overwhelm, exhaustion, and complete burn out in 2015.
What started as an afternoon trip to the Oregon Coast as an escape became his weekly “retirement practice” that literally changed his life. By creating space each week to heal, connect with nature, and appreciate his gifts to the world, he was able to transform his life and business. He no longer had to prove, convince, justify, promote, or sell. Instead, fantastic opportunities simply show up as he continues to help others, inspire, teach, and practice gratitude.
What is MOFO?
MOFO is an acronym that stands for “Manifestor Of Fantastic Opportunities.” It’s the opposite of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). Contrary to how our society may define the word MOFO, I’ve reclaimed this word in a way to embody strength, empowerment, and connection.
I invite you to adopt a new definition for MOFO: “A person who empowers their life with meaning, abundance, growth, generosity, kindness, inspiration, and gratitude to create magnificent relationships, wealth, freedom, love, joy, and community.”
When we shift from FOMO to MOFO, we shift from stress, overwhelm, burnout, convincing, justifying, and proving to experiences of joy, possibilities, inspiration, appreciation, collaboration, and love. This is achieved through the regular practice of both “retirement” and “gratitude.”
How does it connect to your primary business?
To help business professionals, entrepreneurs, and community leaders grow their organizations and amplify their impact, I have designed a platform for learning, collaboration, and community called GratitudeInspiredLiving.com.
This platform consists of the Gratitude Hacks Podcast which shares guest stories and innovative strategies to “practice gratitude” in our relationships, businesses, and communities. MOFO products and training are designed to help business leaders reduce burnout, gain clarity, and align with their purpose through consistent “retirement” and “gratitude” practices. Through speaking, consulting, and video services, my team and I help businesses implement gratitude-based strategies to accelerate the effectiveness of sales teams, elevate retention and team productivity, and activate community engagement with brands.
These initiatives and collaboration with aligned partners, move us closer to our mission to inspire over 1 million acts of gratitude.
What inspired the MOFO cards?
Over the last two years, I took more than 52 trips to the Oregon Coast as a part of my weekly “retirement” practice. Each time, I would use my phone to capture the beauty I witnessed.
During those hour long drives to and from Portland, I got a chance to reflect on the experiences in my business and life writing down nuggets of insights I discovered. I began to share my photos on Instagram and inspirational quotes on Facebook. The response from my community was unexpected and incredibly moving with stories of the impact they made.
I realized that in order to inspire more people, I needed to make them more accessible than endless scrolling through my Facebook or Instagram profiles. Inspired by similar card decks from Danielle LaPorte (#TruthBombs) and Marli Williams (Stoked Quotes), I decided to combine my stunning images from the coast with these nuggets of wisdom to create the MOFO Cards.
Each week, users can choose a card from the 52-card deck and set their intentions based on ideas I share from my journey from FOMO to MOFO. Each MOFO experience is designed to elicit a moment of inspiration, appreciation, and ideas to help us make empowering decisions and take action that opens the doors to fantastic opportunities.
How does nature inspire you?
I am always in complete awe how the water, clouds, rocks, light, and people meet to create such beauty and harmony. The way these elements come together changes every time I visit the Oregon Coast.
To witness and capture the essence of these once in a lifetime moments is one of the most precious gifts we can experience and share. If you’ve ever been to the beach, you know the healing effect listening to crashing waves, taking deep breaths of ocean air, and burying your toes in the sand.
This weekly practice of making time for myself and fully appreciating nature inspires every aspect of my life, relationships, and business. It grounds me and creates a moment when worry, fear, responsibilities, and frustration disappear and possibilities awaken.
Each time I share these experiences, it is my way of showing appreciation for this magical place and how it changed my life. I pass along this inspiration through my MOFO cards as an invitation to others to experience these possibilities for themselves.
Who has been an influence in your career/business?
So so many people and too many to name.
- I start with my parents who not only gave me life, but through their courage and sacrifice created freedom and a better life for their children. They are always my internal compass for kindness and generosity.
- All of my close friends over the years who have supported me through countless successes and failures.
- Mentors, coaches, and leaders like Tony Robbins, Brendon Burchard, Eben Pagan, Fabienne Fredrickson, and Michael Knouse who guide and inspire me.
- All the amazing clients I have helped and learned from.
- Countless authors like Bob Burg, Dale Carnegie, Brene Brown, Simon Sinek, Gary Chapman, Marie Kondo, and hundreds more who have shaped my ideas and opened my mind.
How do you define success?
Success is the true alignment and actualization of purpose, talent, desire, and impact.
I have always wanted to build a 7-figure business as I believed that it would be the mark of success. However, what I realized was that 7-figures wasn’t about revenue for me. It was about making 7-figure impact. Success means making a difference at least a million times.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe that revenue and money are important to creating my desired lifestyle and making such an impact. The other component of success is being able to appreciate how much I grow and contribute every day.
See more of Yasmin’s work at GratitudeInspiredLiving.com, and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.