THPers reflect on six months of discipline, discovery and personal growth.
The Thornehope 2025 iDream Challenge concluded recently with an awards ceremony celebrating six months of steady commitment and personal growth among Thornehope staff. Now in its 14th year, the July to December program invites THPers to pursue meaningful goals beyond the workplace, track their progress and share milestones along the way. From sport to craft to creative exploration, the spirit remains simple: show up, move forward and build a better you, one step at a time.
This year’s top iDream points earner was as Thornehope Producer Dylan Ye. Other top achievers included Design Director Noke Li, Human Resource Head Joanna Xu and Executive Producer and Head of Marketing Simon Lu. Let’s listen to what they have to say about their iDream effort.
Dylan’s pursuit was one of endurance. “From the first second on the pedals, I doubted I would finish,” he admitted of his 100-kilometer bicycle ride. Early optimism gave way to numbness and self-questioning. “Why did I decide to ride these 100 kilometers?” he wondered halfway through. Shifting gears and adjusting rhythm, he pressed on. When the odometer finally reached 100, there were no cheers. “I came to accept myself,” he said, “an ordinary person who gets tired, yet still chooses to pedal one more turn.”
Noke reframed ambition from the start. “Why build your dreams into a mountain?” he asked. Instead, he divided his challenge into four pieces: handicrafts, life, food and exercise. From perfecting oil temperature for fried dough sticks to relearning calligraphy and riding a stationary bike at lunch, he embraced steady effort over dramatic milestones. “There is no single peak that must be climbed,” he reflected. “iDream is not about arrival. It is about kneading each handful of dough into everyday life.”
(Vermicelli is especially difficult to wrap). I also learned how to roll out the dough (this used to be my biggest technical weakness).
Joanna turned inward and chose craftsmanship. “My dream is to create a fragrance I truly love,” she shared, exploring handmade incense inspired by the ancient wisdom of “harmony between man and nature” described in the Huangdi Neijing. She experimented with fresh and dried rose petals, adjusted her blends and even taught herself filming techniques to document the process. The hardest lesson was patience. “The incense must age for a year before I know the result,” she said. “That long wait is the greatest test.”
Simon explored creativity through technology. “For many self-taught musicians, the guitar in the corner is both a dreamy beginning and a symbol of limitation,” he reflected. He could play a few chords, but without music theory, the melodies in his mind never fully formed. Turning to AI, he wrote lyrics through clear prompts, refining them until they felt right, then fed them into a music generator and waited as the melody emerged. “AI doesn’t replace creation,” Simon said. “It helps translate what you feel, turning feelings into lyrics and lyrics into melody.”
Reflecting on the journey, CEO Arthur Zhang shared a simple analogy: “When an egg is broken from the outside, it becomes food; when it is broken from the inside, it becomes life.” He noted that the iDream Challenge has always been about that internal breakthrough and the quiet discipline that reshapes habits, strengthens character and builds resilience from within.
Looking ahead, Zhang added, “As we step into 2026, the Year of the Horse, we embrace its spirit, one that does not hesitate, but runs with direction and strength.”
https://thornehope.com/thp-idream25/: From Intention to Action: Looking Back on Thornehope’s iDream 2025
