My Story

Intro

A big achievement of each individual is to find out what one really wants in life. Many people never try to figure out what they want, not even mentioning trying to work on achieving it. Rithy always had higher ambitions. As the first child of his family to go to university he was still working towards much larger aims.

About Me

My name is Rithy Thul. I am 23 year old and born in Cambodia. I am the first born child in my family, and have one brother and one sister.

I finished high school in 2004, and moved to Phnom Penh to study at the University. I wanted to be a Member of Royal Academy of Cambodia, because I had read about many of the great scholars of the past. Being from a poor family, and without a scholarship, I could not pursue my scholarly dream, and settled for studying English at a private university.

I completed a two year associate degree. I have always had an interest in business, psychology, philosophy, and
politics, but have not yet been able to afford to attend formal University studies. I took some short courses in business, began collecting and reading a variety of books on the subject, and made an effort to meet and speak with successful business people. It was during this time that I also began to learn about computers and the Internet. I was very curious about this new technology, and began to use it as a new learning tool. Now I collect and study from audio and video files found on the Internet, as well as from
books.

I was fortunate to begin working when I was very young, and developed a healthy work ethic. My parents taught me about small farm agriculture, and how to care for livestock. It was very difficult at the time, but I appreciate this knowledge very much because it taught me how to be self-motivated and independent.

As a young adult, and with my extra earnings, I funded an environmental awareness project in my village to help clean up the pollution and improve our quality of life. This was a personal learning project for me. I am proud to have helped so many people, and have inspired many of my friends.

My Venture

I have set a personal goal to be a young successful businessman representing Cambodia to the world. It is my vision to see Cambodians think and work cooperatively, creatively, and more productively. In the decades to come, I hope to see Cambodia increase exports significantly. To do this, I want to create programs to encourage small business development in local communities throughout our nation. Through these programs I want to promote and inspire strong leadership skills in my own generation and the next, so others will take action to do good for their village and their nation.

While studying at the University, I worked teaching English and Khmer to orphaned children. At the same time, I began to study about the local Real Estate market, and  work independently as a home finder for International clients who needed to live and work in Phnom Penh. I continue to study Cambodian Real Estate, serving foreign investors and developers as an
independent consultant.

Recently, I began exploring ideas for a new venture whose purpose is to increase cooperative behavior within Cambodian society.  I am doing research to learn the real problems and possible solutions as told by the villagers themselves. I believe such research will lead to new business opportunities between myself and local communities.