Four Attempts for Freedom: Annie Loi’s Story of Escaping Communism

Profilers: Umith Azad,  Adam Young, Reid Narciso, Tatiana Morales, Camilla Pearson

Part 1: Introduction

Annie Loi: My name is Annie Loi. I am from Vietnam. I have six siblings, and I’m the oldest one. 

Reid Narciso: When you were younger, what did your family do for a living in Vietnam? 

I remember when I was younger, my dad was a businessman. We had a furniture store in Vietnam. We were doing the wholesale and retail furniture so just like a middle class Vietnamese-Chinese. 

As a kid, did you have any specific dreams or aspirations? Did you want to become something in the future, or anything like that as a kid?

When I was little, I would just think that I can just go to college, just like everybody else. Just like, persist, just work, study well and get my degree when I grow up. So that was my dream. 

Did you have any idea of what you want to get a degree in or pursue a major in?

I never thought of that. I just want to study well, and then pursue what I was thinking in the future. I didn’t think that much then. I was so young.

Transitioning into life before the Communists took over, how was life before the Communists took over in Vietnam?

It was great. I was so young then. I remember that when I was young, my parents put me into both Vietnamese and Chinese schools. So in the morning I’m going to Chinese school, and then in the evening I’m going to a Vietnamese school. But the thing is that, Vietnamese school is not quite a Vietnamese school, just like combining Chinese and Vietnamese school together. 

Every day was so busy. I remembered that when I was little, I had to get up at six or seven o’clock in the morning and then go to school. We hired people to help my family. We had helpers. We had three or four helpers back then. So I had a driver to drive me to school, and then he’s the one who actually picked me up too. 

Back then, they didn’t have — like here they have lunch in school. So during noon time, the driver had to drive you home and then have some lunch and take a nap, an hour nap, and then go back to school. So going back to school, and then until Adam, we met, we called what time. And then after that, I have tutoring as well, tutoring school afterward. So just a busy day,

So basically, since you were younger, [before] the communist rule, the only thing that you really remember is the joint schooling with the Chinese school.

I was so young then. I remember going to school, but before the communists took over, so that is the time that [I went] to school.

Do you remember any memories after the communist took over when you were still in school? Did that affect your school life after they took over? 

After, still going to school, it is different then because I noticed that after the Communists took over, kind of everybody I saw, just like some of my classmates, they actually joined the club, or something like that. They have to wear the red scarf, the communist red scarf. But I didn’t join that part, because I was still young. I don’t know what that is for. But in order to join that particular club, you actually have to attend the meeting or something like that. That’s what I heard. So I didn’t do anything. It’s not safe anyway, so I just didn’t want to join and my parents doesn’t let me. 

Was there a boundary or a separation after that club was made? Would the people with the red scarves treat you differently in school? How was that? 

Well the thing is that I remember that kind of people with the red scarfs, they feel honor about it. You see what I’m saying. Something different. But without a scarf that means that you [will not be] the class leader or something like that.

So there’s like a representation of power, if you had the red scarf around you. 

Yes, yes, yeah. 

Did that lead into something more? Was there more [of a] separation of power, or did it just stay at “You’re not wearing a scarf” versus “you have a scarf?”

For myself, I don’t even consider that part. I just do whatever that I think, I don’t know. The thing is that, when I was young, I just wanted to have fun. I don’t want to go to the meeting all the time, you see what I’m saying. So that’s why I don’t want to join that club.

So after the communist took over and after they settled in, was there one certain event or situation that prompted you to think, “I can’t stay here any longer. I have to try to leave.”

Back then, I was so young, I didn’t think of that part. I remember that I had a good memory back then. My memory was very sharp when I was young. So now my memory is kind of draining. I remember the time that the Communists took over in 1975. I was in Saigon. I live in Saigon, so I went to my — I don’t know why. My parents let me follow one of my uncles. I’m living in Saigon, but in the main Saigon, which is in district number one. 

So one of my aunts I think they were fleeing. I heard that they fled a few days before the communist took over. I went to her restaurant — her restaurant is close by the harbor in district one. Back then, her restaurant was very, very well known. Very well known. Everybody wanted to take over her restaurant, very well known. So somehow I followed one of my uncles, I don’t know why I followed him, but I just followed him. He took me to her restaurant, which is like a big restaurant like a nightclub. I went there and nobody was there because they all left. Nobody’s there. So I would just stay there. I don’t know how long, I don’t recall. 

My uncle said, “Let’s go. Let’s go.” I said, “Okay, let’s go.” and so I followed him. I went to the harbor with him, and then “Oh, let’s go and then follow that particular boat.” That boat, I think that boat was the small boat that takes you to a large ship. The large ship will take you to the U.S. I don’t know, that’s what I heard. I would just keep on running, running, running, and then we almost got to the tiny boat, and somehow there’s a gap, a big gap. 

I was so young that I couldn’t even jump into the boat. If I jumped, I would’ve fallen into the water. So I couldn’t do it. So we missed that. We missed that part. If I can go to that boat, I might be in the US back at that time already. But the thing is, if I’m in that boat, I heard that the boat sank. I don’t know if that is the right one. That’s what I heard. So that was the story in 1975. 

Part 2: Other Escape Attempts

Annie Loi: I remember the second time. I think one year later or something like that. I don’t know why, but my parents let me go by myself, but I was very, very brave. For [a] young girl, you are actually not scared of anything. You do whatever the parents let you. But the thing is that now, I was thinking that they let me go because they want to [have] at least one person get out of the country and then they can sponsor the parent, the family later on. I think that’s what they were thinking.

The second time that I think that I was trying to escape was with my other uncle that my parent let me go with. That time was a shorter time. I remember at night time that we have to take a train. The thing is that back then, if you go anywhere, because of the communist, when you go anywhere, you actually have to request for a permit to go to another town or something like that. But I think when I was young they didn’t care. So I just went with him. 

I remember it was kind of dark at night time, a.m. or something like that, early in the morning. So he took me to the train. I was sitting on the train and was so sleepy, I was sitting there. I think that train is for shipping merchandise or something like that. It was just so stinky. I remember it was so stinky. I would just like, “Oh, who cares.”  I was so sleepy. I was just like, “just take a break, and then I sleep.” And then in the morning, when I woke up, and that train I saw a Vietnamese woman with a little kid. They were sitting in the train. There’s no chair, though. You have to sit on the floor on the train, and the floor was so dirty. All dark, muddy, black colors on the floor. It was so dirty. And then, the mom would [be] holding the little girl, and then try to, pull her hair. I said, “Why is The mom pulling the girl’s hair?”

Now I remember. She pulled her hair, and then they picked up some kind of, I think it was lice. And then [she] picked the lice, and then put it in her mouth and ate it. I said, “Oh my god.” That is so different. You pick the lice from her daughter’s hair, and then try to put it in her mouth. Like, oh my gosh, she’s actually eating lice.

It was kind of scary. When we went to the rural area, something like that. I, at that time, I don’t recall what was going on, because when we got there [it was] not quite in the morning or at night time. I don’t recall that part, I lost that part of that memory. So we went there, and somebody said that something was wrong with the ship, or something was wrong with the captain, that he doesn’t know how to drive the boat. So I came back to Saigon at that time. That was the second time.

Camilla Pearson: Then you said you escaped a third time as well?

The third time that I went, well, I went with my uncle. The same uncle too. So I went with my uncle, it was at night time. We went to another rural area this time. It was night time and I remember that we went to a rural area [where] they don’t have a hotel there. There’s no hotel at all. There’s a house that they actually have a bedroom with a bunk bed. You have to rent the bunk bed, and then they have the tent, to cover up [for] the mosquito. 

We slept there, until in the morning. Then in the morning, somebody just came and then took my uncle away from me. I’m by myself. One of the guys that actually said, “Oh, you know what? You know, your uncle has to go somewhere.” I don’t know where he went, but at that time, I didn’t know where he ended up. 

“Okay, don’t worry. We will take care of you. But your uncle has to leave now. Okay, we’re going to take you.” I said, “Oh my God. What is going on here?” 

One of the guys took me. They took me to like one of the  countryside where you see a farm area. They put me in the farm area, and then they said. “Okay, you stay here. I will pick you up tomorrow.” That’s what he told me. I said, “Okay, fine.” 

They put me in there, and then they locked the door. They locked the barn door and left me there. At night time, I was just like, who cares? You can’t see anything. It’s so dark there. So I would just take a nap. And I saw the mattress, a worn mattress. I would sleep there until morning. 

In the morning I heard a chicken, the sounds of the chicken. I live in the city. I never heard of that before. The sound of chicken. So I said, “Oh my God. What is going on here?” I opened my eyes and looked around me. “Oh my God. There’s nobody around.” 

They let me in that barn. Surrounding me, when I looked through the hole, you can see the farming. Far away I can see the house so distant. I was looking through the hole, and I said, “Oh my god, where am I? Are they going to leave me by myself here? I cannot survive.”

In the morning, I rubbed my eyes and I saw chickens walking around like, just like walking around my body. I said, “Oh my god, I’m scared of chickens. I have never held an animal before.” They were pooping all around the area. I said, “Oh my God, what happened?” I was so scared. So I thought, Oh my God. I started praying.

I remember that the guy told me “Don’t talk. Don’t talk too loud.” Because at that time, for the city people, our skin is very fair skin. For the Vietnamese, their skin is dark, so they can recognize you right away. They said, “Don’t talk, because we have an accent.” Our accent is the southern accent, so they can recognize us really well. 

The Vietnamese, when they recognize you, they know that you will go to the other area and escape, so they will call the officer there. It’s really dangerous. I remember I have to dress up like a Vietnamese girl, not talk. You cannot say anything, because when I open my mouth, they know that I’m from the city.

I was just like, “Oh my God, what is going on?” And then I would just sit there so hungry and waiting for around evening time. I would just keep on praying. “God, help me. Somebody come and rescue me. I don’t want to stay here forever.” 

Suddenly, I heard a motorcycle. And then slowly come to me. And then somebody unlocks the door. They said, “I’m going to take you to meet your uncle, okay?” I said, “Okay, okay, that’s fine.” I followed him and then I remember this guy who actually took me. I knew him when I was in Saigon because he’s the one that was tutoring me. Or else I wouldn’t sit on his bicycle, he’s the one tutoring me. He’s like, “Do you remember me? I was the one tutoring you when you were young, [when you were] a baby girl.” I said. “Oh, okay, okay.” Then, he said, “You are safe now. I’m going to take you to see your uncle.”  

But, he took me to somebody’s house, because they say, that my uncle is  somewhere, but they’re not ready to leave Vietnam yet. They took me to somebody’s house nearby the supermarket. When you walk out, you can see the supermarket, the wet market. I felt kind of safe then. They put me in that family’s house and that family was actually selling herbal stuff. 

At that time, I remember [it was the] first time that I saw that they have wells. You don’t have a faucet anymore. They have to get the water from the well. I said, “Wow.” The city girl has never seen well before. I remember, the family was very nice. The mom helped me take a shower for me and this and that. It’s like, “Oh, wow, this is really nice.” Then she washed clothes for me. And then I think I lived there for a couple days, or something like that. 

When you were escaping. Did you think about your family safety as well, or were you more concerned with yourself and trying to survive?

The thing is that back then, I was so young, what I was thinking that if I can escape, I can sponsor them to the new country.

You said that it was so exciting. Did you–

I was young then, you never experienced those things before. You are very brave. Right now, if you want me to go, I’m scared. When you’re young, you don’t even care about whatever you say, “Oh, just go with the flow.” You thought we had fun and then you were scared, but you don’t think of what that means. You don’t think of if you die, whatever, you don’t think of that. You think you can leave the country, and then when you go to another country, you can sponsor your parents or let them have another new opportunity.

When you were in the forest or in the cave, did you ever think, “I want to go back to Saigon,” or were you only focused on leaving?

When I’m in the cave, my thoughts are just like, I just want to get out of the cave. That’s it. I just want to get out. When they say “you can get back home.” I say, “I’m very happy to get back to my parents.” I said, “Oh, I’m very happy to get back home.” 

When I got back home, we actually had to ride a bus home, a very small bus. My thought is just like, “When I go home, I have to have noodles or something like that.” Because over there, they don’t have noodles. When I got home, I want to have beef noodle or something noodles. That’s in my mind. I’m craving for that thing. 

So you attempted to escape three times, and you failed three times. I know you were young, but did you have hope that you would escape still after failing three times?

The thing is that I was so young, I was going with the flow. Whatever everyone asks me to do, I just do it. I actually escaped the fourth time as well. The fourth time was totally different. 

How did your successful attempt go?

The fourth time, my parents let me go. The fourth time, they let me stay in central Vietnam. We stayed at my mom’s relatives’ house. Their house was really big, so we stayed there. I was the first one who got there. I think I stayed there for about a month. Then my parents, my whole family, came to that place. We thought the ship was ready to take us. All my family members came, they had to apply for a permit to stay. If you cannot stay that long, you have to go back.

So my mom, my dad, and all my siblings came and stayed there. But then they said, “Oh, the ship is not ready.” We asked when it would be ready, and they said maybe in a year. The thing is, my sister was so young. My dad said he had to go back to Saigon because if he didn’t, they were going to confiscate the house. So my dad had to go back to Saigon, and he took me along with him. They said to take a kid back to the house so people wouldn’t notice that there were no kids there. If there were no kids, people might ask questions or do something to [our] family.

I went back to Saigon that day. My dad said, “Oh, let’s register you back [in] school so they know you are in school, so they know you are still active.” They let me go back to school. I still met my friends. I was so happy. I said, “Oh my God.” But [they told me], “Don’t let your friends know you are escaping. You never know—your friend might tell someone, and then it will be bad for your family.” You don’t know if your friend is a good friend or not, so you have to shut your mouth. Even if you [accept], you don’t want to tell anybody else.

I went back. I lived there for not that long, maybe one or two [months]. Then suddenly, my dad got a message from my mom’s side saying, “Oh, you better come back here.” That meant it was ready to go. My dad went to apply for a permit, but the officer didn’t approve. He said, “You cannot go this time. You just went one time.” The message actually said that my grandmother was very sick and that my dad had to go back home. But the thing is, my grandmother was not there. [She] was in China.

My dad tried to get the permit, but they didn’t let him. They said, “No, you cannot have the permit. You cannot go.” But without the permit, we could not go or else we were going to miss the boat. My dad had to ask a friend to do something. Somehow, he got a permit. I don’t know if it was fake, but I heard it was not the real one.

We took a bus, but if you didn’t have a permit, you couldn’t buy a bus ticket. So you had to give money to the driver under the table. The hard thing was that the driver had to stop at different areas to drop off and pick up people. At those stops, officers would come and check people’s permits. When they checked, we had to hurry up and get off the bus. When they left, we had to get back on. We had a couple of stops, and everything was safe—no problem.

Then at one stop—Vietnam was really hot. My grandmother had given me a long jacket to wear. The bottom of the jacket had gold sewn inside. It was very heavy, but I couldn’t take off the jacket. They also gave me other stuff to wear, like rings, but everything was hidden inside my jacket. It was so hot, and the jacket was heavy, but I couldn’t take it off.

At one of the stops in central Vietnam, we tried to get off the bus. But one of the officers was very smart. He was waiting at the end of the bus. When we got off, he caught us and asked for my dad’s permit. My dad gave him the permit. He looked at it and said, “That’s not the real one.” He said, “Oh, you [have] to go with me.” I went with that officer. Before we [got] into the station—the station was an open area, a very small open area, like a rural area. You can imagine, like in a movie, just a rural area. Before walking in, I saw one little guy kneeling down, praying to one of the captains or something like that. The captain was sitting in the middle, and two men were holding guns next to him. When I walked in, I heard the captain say, “This guy is not honest enough. Take him out and get rid of him.” I was just like—oh my God, what is going on here? They took him out, and then I heard a gunshot. Boom! My dad said, “Oh my God, this is serious.” Because he didn’t have the real permit, this is very serious.

I was so scared. Then the guy said, “Where are you guys trying to go?” My dad said, “Oh, we’re trying to go back home because her grandmother is very sick.” Then they said, “Oh, you know what’s going on. Why are you going back there? You’re wearing nice stuff.” My dad had a Rolex watch. He said, “This is just a souvenir. [I] wear that all the time.” Then they said, “Now you have to stay here. You need to be in jail because you are not doing the right thing. You know your permit is not a real permit.” My dad said, “I’m sorry, I’m trying to take my daughter” and tried to beg [at] the guy. The guy said, “No, you can’t. You have to stay here and let your daughter leave by herself.” I thought—where am I going to go? I don’t know where to go. Leave by myself? I begged them, saying, “Please let my dad go with me.” I was crying very hard. I prayed to him.

Then the guy said, “Okay, fine. I will let your dad take you there. But you have to swear with God. Once he takes you there, you have to make your dad come back here to serve at least a couple of years in prison.” I was young, so I just swore. I didn’t care—I just swore. They let us go. 

After a couple more stops, we arrived where my mom lived with my sisters. We stayed there for a year. My dad didn’t want to go back to Vietnam. They had already taken the house. We thought we couldn’t make it because something went wrong with our boat.

The first time we tried to escape from Vietnam, the ship had a hole. Water went into the ship, so it was almost sinking. The ship was not that big—maybe 200 people in the ship. Everybody had to sit. We couldn’t lie down because there was no room. We stopped at a countryside village [while] they tried to fix the ship. But the first captain didn’t know how to drive, so they changed the captain the second time. The Vietnamese officers said, “If you want to go, you can go.” But the fishermen said, “You can’t go that day. That day is a stormy day. The chance of survival is only 5%.” Still, they let us go on that day. It was very dangerous.

We almost died because of the storm. The boat was so heavy with so many people. I was wearing my jacket with all the gold. We had to drop everything—our jackets, birth certificates—everything. We had to make the boat lighter. We had nothing left with us. We escaped. I remember, in the middle of the ocean, it was so foggy. The captain hired didn’t have the experience. He said, “We have to stop. We can’t move anymore, it’s very foggy and we cannot see.” That night, I was sleeping in the basement of the boat, with all the kids and older people. It was for safety. I closed my eyes, and I could hear people talking. Then I heard kids crying. I heard someone saying, “Help, help!” and crying.

I thought—why is it so noisy? I opened my eyes and looked around. But everybody was quiet. I closed my eyes again, and I could hear it again—kids crying, people yelling, “Help, help!” I opened my eyes and looked. Everybody was just sleeping. I called my mom and said, “Mom, I hear something.” I think my mom heard it too because she said, “Be quiet. Just sleep. Don’t say anything.” A lot of people escaped from Vietnam many times. A lot of people passed away in the ocean, I think it’s that. 

In the morning, everything was calm, everything was clear. People let us go outside the boat to get some fresh air. I went outside, and I looked around. I saw bodies floating around the ocean. They said men and women float differently—some upside down, some another way. I saw fish following the bodies. I thought—wow, this is so different. I didn’t want to say much. But now, I understand why, at night, I heard those noises.

In the morning, the captain said, “Oh my God, luckily we moved forward. You know why? Because there’s a rock beneath the ship—like, a rock here, and our ship is here. The rock is beneath. If we went forward, we would have hit the rock, and everybody would have been out.” They found the rock just in front of us. Luckily, the captain was smart enough to stop in time. It was such an adventure, but it was so dangerous.

We successfully went to Hong Kong.

Part 3: Hong Kong

Tatiana Morales: When you went to Hong Kong, you talked about in your biography that you were at a refugee camp. What were the conditions like in the refugee camp?

Annie Loi: We were the first ones in the refugee camp. That refugee camp was empty when we got there—nobody was there yet. We were the first ship to arrive. What I heard is that when my ship arrived, the ship actually cracked in half.

What happened to the people on the ship?

Everybody was safe. They all survived. Elder and younger—everybody survived. So we went to this big warehouse near the harbor. We stayed there for I don’t know how long. And then after that, they took us to this place. It wasn’t exactly a camp. It was a place where they used to keep prisoners. So they let us stay in the prisoners’ home. They shipped us to the prison to stay there. We were there for, maybe a month or half a month—I don’t remember, because we didn’t have calendars or anything.

After that, they shipped us to another camp, which was called the [Canton Road Refugee Camp], or something like that. It was next to the [Sham Shui Po refugee camp]. We lived there for about a year. And then after that, we came to the U.S.

At the refugee camp, by you guys making it, did it give you a sense of hope—like, you were one step closer to getting to the U.S.?

In the refugee camp, back then, a lot of different countries were trying to help refugees. You could apply for whatever country—like Australia, Canada, USA, Denmark, Turkey—whatever country you apply. If they had openings, they would let you in. Back then, the process was really straightforward. It was different back then.

Did you make any bonds with anyone along your travels?

You mean when I was on the ship, or at the warehouse, and then going to the camp?

Yeah, like along the way.

We made friends with the people who were on the same boat as us. We met one another, and we just played around. That was it.

And for your family, did you guys only choose the USA as part of the application process?

Yeah, because my uncle and all my mom’s side relatives were in the USA. So we went there because of them. But we could have gone to Australia or other countries.

Where in the U.S. did you move to?

We arrived in Idaho first. When we got there, it was just different. I remember we took a helicopter to this particular rural area called Kendrick. It’s funny because when we arrived in Idaho, my dad said, “Oh, is this the United States?” We had a sponsor, though. They were really nice. It was good. I loved them.

And then you guys also moved after Idaho? You moved to California, right? How was California compared to Idaho?

Totally different. Because in Idaho, we were the first refugees there. We were in the Idaho newspaper back then. When we arrived in Idaho, I didn’t speak any English at all, so I didn’t know what people were saying. But my uncle had arrived there first, and he spoke a little English, so he could translate. We were in the Idaho newspaper—the first refugees in Idaho.

Part 4: Living in America

Umith Azad:  When you got to Idaho and California, were there any cultural shocks you experienced when you moved to the United States? Anything that really stood out compared to Vietnam and Hong Kong?

Annie Loi: Oh, it was totally different. In California, we had so many different kinds of people—different cultures. You learn different stuff. In Vietnam, you mostly stay within your own people, but over here, you see and interact with different cultures.

When we arrived in California, I lived in a city with a lot of Mexican people. It was nice. I loved it. It was different. You communicate with them, learn English, and they are really nice people. When we arrived in California, my dad didn’t have a car or anything. But luckily, I had a neighbor friend—she was Mexican. She was very helpful. In the morning, I would ride with her and her mom drove us to school. It was different. The culture here, you can see how people are treating you. As long as you are kind to others, they will treat you the same way.

So, after settling in the United States, what were your reactions when you learned how the U.S. thought of the Vietnam War? What was it like to be someone who experienced the war firsthand and then hear the U.S. citizens perspective of the war?

If you haven’t experienced what I went through, you don’t really understand the need to escape from your own country. From my point of view, coming to the U.S. was a new opportunity, especially for younger kids.

Back then, I was so young, but I told myself, “I’m here in a country who accepted me. I have to do my best—not just for myself, but also to help the country as well.” My parents let me escape because they wanted opportunities for the kids. They sacrificed so that I could have opportunities they didn’t. So, once you get an opportunity, you have to take it and move forward.

Was there anything about the United States that you didn’t like specifically? Anything you found that was unfavorable, or any form of prejudice you’ve received from citizens of the United States?

No, I love the United States. I’m here. I do what I can to help this country that I’m living in. The country that you’re living in, the place you live is like your home. If you want your home to be nice and everything, you have to take care of it. That’s how I feel about the U.S. If I live here, I want everything to be perfect. 

We’re almost at the end, but I have a few closing questions. If you could go back and have a conversation with your younger self—the girl who escaped from Vietnam—what would you say to her? How would you prepare her for the journey ahead?

I would tell her: “Grab the opportunity. If something is waiting for you, take it. Don’t hesitate or overthink. Just go with the flow. If you think too much, you might talk yourself out of it. But if you just do it, you never know what good might come from it.”

When you escaped from Vietnam, you were really young, and you were also the oldest sibling in your family. Did that responsibility affect your family dynamic?

I think my younger siblings looked up to me. I was like a guide for them. If I could do well, they could do well too. That’s why I worked hard to get into college—because I knew if I did it, they would follow. When you’re the oldest, you have to lead by example. If you take the right steps, your siblings will see that and do the same.

Did you feel a lot of pressure being the oldest?

No, not really. I just knew I had to step up. When we arrived in the U.S., my dad took me everywhere with him because he didn’t speak English. I remember always carrying a dictionary with me. If I didn’t understand a word, I looked it up right away.

There were also TV programs that taught English, and I watched those. My parents went to adult school, and they had booklets to learn English—I studied those booklets too. I learned English by myself. And anytime my family needed to apply for something—citizenship, paperwork, anything—I was the one who helped them.

You’ve had so many different experiences throughout your journey. If you could share one message with anyone listening to this, what would it be?

Go with your instinct.

Is that how you’ve lived your life—through all the escape attempts and everything else?

Yes. Go with your instinct. Believe in yourself. And when you have an opportunity, take it. If you do that, you will be successful.