Pain is my friend. I’ve learned that, as humans, we need to feel pain to grow up. When I was young and had pneumonia, I’d run to the hospital bed when it was time for my injection, knowing that the pain would help me get better.

Endurance is in my nature. I used to be a gang leader and got expelled from high school twice. It wasn’t that I was good at fighting, but I could hang in there longer than my rivals. I would just wait until they passed out.

Change your life by changing your goals. I’m still the same person I was in high school, but I’ve shifted my focus to studying. My grades in high school were like binary code, one or zero out of four, but I became the number one student when I started studying economics at university.

I didn’t get why our schools were so strict when I was a kid. Why did we have to wear the same uniforms and why couldn’t we have long hair? Now I kind of understand that it was a way of teaching us you can’t always have things the way you want.

Education is not an assembly line. It’s dangerous that our education system can kill creativity. As a lecturer, I used to meet kids who were geniuses but had it trained out of them by the time they went to university. That’s such a pity. Education should let students bloom in their own way.

Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. My career in entertainment was going really well, but I decided to quit after receiving a royal scholarship from the Ananda Mahidol Foundation. I knew that I would get a second chance in the industry but I wouldn’t get one from the foundation.

Actors are intimidated by the media these days. I noticed this when I returned to the industry last year. The press always distort the truth and people just accept it. It’s just like the boy who cried wolf.

Be honest with yourself. Whenever I get caught up in controversy, like when I was rumored to be sneaking out on my university instructing to do other jobs or when I broke up with Ploy Chermarn, I ask myself “Are you doing the right thing?” If the answer is yes, I know I have nothing to worry about.

People put a low value on entertainment in education circles. I found this out when people gossiped about why I had returned to entertainment despite already having a Ph.D. and being a lecturer. But I see every type of work as having its own value. Even if I didn’t get paid in this industry, I’d still love it. But having to dance like I did when I was 17 years old would be pretty embarrassing!

Having your relationship play out in front of a crowd makes you forget what made it what it was. When I decided to break up with Ploy, I had to consider a lot of consequences. But in the end, I don’t regret it because it was for the best.

Don’t cling to your goals too tightly. I suffered depression while trying to finish my Ph.D. in the US. I was stuck rewriting it over and over again. I had been successful my whole life and thought I was invincible. But when it struck me, I locked myself in my house for three months and didn’t talk to anyone, not even my family.

Family is the best. Even when you think you’re at your worst, you’re still good in their eyes. I was in meltdown when my dad and brother flew over to the US and knocked on my door. They took me home to heal my spirits. I finally got stronger and went back to complete my economics Ph.D. a year later.

Setting targets is just like making up stories. I used to think my biggest goal in life was achieving my Ph.D., but the second I got it, I was like “Yes! What’s next?”

Living in the present is essential.  If you do everything to the best of your ability, take every step brilliantly, the result will always be good.

I love to challenge myself. I love to do new things and see how far I can go. It’s fun to push myself beyond the limit. Next I plan to enter a big triathlon competition later this year.