ReAmbitioning Stories: Jeremy Tran on Rethinking Ambition & Building Impact

ReAmbitioning Stories is a series featuring real people who have redefined ambition, success, and purpose on their own terms.

Jeremy Tran once thought success was about climbing the corporate ladder. But when life threw him a series of hard-hitting personal and global events, he was forced to ask: what does success really mean—and who gets to define it? Now, he’s building businesses that challenge how we think about impact, sustainability, and legacy.

Too often, ambition is framed as a linear path—climbing the corporate ladder, maximizing financial success, chasing external validation. But for many, ambition evolves. It changes shape. It becomes about something deeper.

For our first feature, we’re speaking with Jeremy Tran, who transitioned from a traditional corporate career to building impact-driven businesses in sustainable travel. His story is about questioning old definitions of success, overcoming self-doubt, and aligning ambition with purpose, balance, and legacy.

Meet Jeremy Tran

🔹 Previous Career: Marketing and communications
🔹 Current Focus: Sustainability, social impact, and responsible leadership
🔹 Current Ventures: Sainha & Asia Sustainable Travel
🔹 Key Shift: From financial ambition to impact-driven ambition

Q: What made you rethink ambition and success?

It wasn’t one big moment, but a series of realizations that reshaped my view.

For years, I followed the traditional path—secure a good job, climb the ladder, increase my earning potential. That was my definition of success. But deep down, I knew I wanted a career shift.

At first, I focused on making myself more “hireable” outside of Asia, where most of my experience had been. I worked with an executive coach who told me:
"You need to fit the conventional mold. Employers won’t know what to do with your unusual profile."

I tried. I landed interviews. But none of them resonated.

Then, in the summer of 2020, two natural disasters changed everything—wildfires on the U.S. West Coast and devastating floods in Vietnam. These weren’t distant headlines; they directly impacted my family.

I watched my aunt’s asthma worsen from the smoke. My uncle’s business was nearly wiped out by the floods. These weren’t abstract climate problems; they were shaping lives, including my own. It was the moment I realized my work needed to do more than earn; it needed to serve a greater purpose.

That was my wake-up call. Climate change wasn’t an abstract problem—it was here, now, and shaping lives.

I realized I needed to align my career with my convictions. With my background in travel marketing and my passion for sustainability, the path forward became clear. I needed to build something that had impact.

Q: What was your biggest fear in making this transition?

Financial insecurity.

I worried: Would I be able to sustain my lifestyle? Save for the future?

In my first year of self-employment, I equated my self-worth with my income. If I wasn’t constantly busy or making money, I felt like I was failing.

I also had to unlearn the belief that being successful meant being busy all the time. Moving from a structured corporate role to entrepreneurship left me feeling unmoored. I second-guessed every decision, overanalyzed every move, and feared I was making a mistake.

There were moments when I thought about abandoning it all and going back to being an employee.

Q: How did you navigate the transition?

At some point, I realized I wasn’t just redefining my career—I was redefining my mindset.

✅ I leaned into what I knew best—planning. I built structured timelines and routines, treating my transition with the same discipline I had in corporate roles.
✅ I immersed myself in learning. I read books, listened to podcasts, and studied impact-driven business leaders. Learning about their failures as well as their successes gave me perspective and reassurance.
✅ I prioritized well-being. I exercised regularly and cooked balanced meals—something I used to dismiss as a “waste of time” because I could be working instead.
✅ I made space for reflection. Time in nature, solitude, and deep conversations helped me navigate uncertainty.

Eventually, I realized I wasn’t failing—I was rebuilding. That shift in mindset helped me stop seeing uncertainty as a threat and start seeing it as a space to create something more meaningful.

Q: What’s next for you?

With Sainha and Asia Sustainable Travel, my ambition is to create a thriving ecosystem that promotes dialogue and action in sustainable travel across Asia.

Two key projects driving this vision:
1️. AST Forums – Breaking echo chambers and debunking myths about sustainability.
2. AST Sustainability Solution Providers Program – Creating partnerships and cross-industry collaborations to accelerate change.

Beyond work, I’m also navigating climate-conscious living—ensuring my personal choices align with the future I want to help create.

Final Thoughts: What Does ReAmbitioning Mean to You?

"ReAmbitioning, to me, means giving yourself permission to change. Success isn’t just about moving forward; it’s about ensuring you’re headed in the right direction."

What About You?

Jeremy’s story is a reminder that ambition isn’t just about pushing harder—it’s about aligning success with what truly matters. It's the first of many ReAmbitioning Stories we’ll be sharing—real voices, real shifts, and new definitions of what it means to succeed.

💬 If you’re thinking about redefining ambition in your own life, ask yourself: What does success actually look like for me now—not five years ago? And if you had the freedom to build something that truly mattered, what would it be?

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📌 About ReAmbitioning

ReAmbitioning is a platform exploring new ways to think about ambition, success, and purpose. If you have a story to share—or know someone who’s rethinking what ambition looks like—reach out. We’d love to hear from you.

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