The following article was printed on Wednesday, March 17th 2010 in
Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journals.
Title: Realizing the American Dream
In her new book Why Chinese Women Are Not Broke, Giovanna Pang Garcia, a Chinese immigrant and highly successful entrepreneur, reminds readers what it takes to achieve the American Dream. She tracked down 100 of the most successful and influential Chinese women in America, convincing them to share their secrets of success. The 208-page book outlines how their core values and commonsense practices can be utilized by anyone willing to invest in hard work and persistence. Not surprising, their core values mirror the core values that have made American immigrants successful for generations.
Among the trailblazers profiled is Carol Lam, former U.S. Attorney. Here are some of Lam’s reflections on what has made her a success…
On Education . . .
Carol Lam grew up seeing her parents work hard, and she was taught the importance of an education. “I think I was pretty spoiled,” Carol says good-naturedly, but her parents clearly emphasized the importance of education to her and her siblings. “My mother wanted us to focus on our studies and our music. She really wasn’t much of a taskmaster when it came to housework. I suppose you could say we were lucky in that regard. We were able to do pretty much what we wanted to do. My parents were not overbearing. They did not try to tell us what to do as long as we kept up our standards and our studies.”
On Perseverance and Taking Nothing for Granted . . .
Carol Lam, former judge and U.S. attorney, has become successful because of how she defines success itself.
Carol Lam’s story and philosophy teaches us something beyond the work ethic we’ve looked at so far, though. Carol is currently senior vice president and deputy general counsel of Qualcomm Incorporated, and she is also a former Superior Court judge. She was one of the first two Asian American women to become a US Attorney. She was appointed by Republican President George W. Bush to the job in San Diego, California, a state that had two Democratic senators at the time, so it was a politically charged and very tough position to be in. Through it all, though, she persevered, and from talking to her, I’m convinced that it is her very Chinese attitude of taking nothing for granted that has enabled her to succeed in life. When I asked her what it takes to be happy in life, here’s what she had to say:
“You can go down the list, from the theoretical to the concrete. If you have your health and the health of those around you and everybody’s issues are well in the range of normal, then you’re way ahead of where you might be. That itself is a great blessing. Then add to that the fact that you have a roof over your head, you have a good job, you have satisfying work, you have some things you really enjoy. For me, there’s nothing that compares to sitting in a hall and listening to my kids play music on the stage. It’s incomparable. For other parents, it’s watching their kids play baseball, or soccer, or football, or reading their poetry. You have stuff like that; you have a good marriage. You’re comfortable enough that you can take a vacation now and then; you have a nice car. At that point, you’re so far ahead of most of mankind—how can you possibly complain about anything? I had a kind of funny bump in the road a couple of years ago with the whole US Attorney thing, and sometimes people say, ‘How did you handle that stress?’ It was stressful, but it was a job and there are so many huge tragedies and difficulties that people have to deal with in their lives, who am I to complain? Everything just has to be taken in perspective…. This recession has taught me a lot. It was convenient to go out to dinner a few times a week, but if I have to stay home and make hamburgers, that’s kind of nice too, and so what? I think a lot of people sort of figured out in this recession that happiness is much more of a 360-degree thing than money or status or power.”
I saw this same type of attitude in all the Chinese American women I spoke with—the attitude that we should not take anything for granted, that we should work hard and appreciate what we have. The truth of the matter is that no one reaches success in life without hard times, and you require this kind of attitude to persevere through the hard times. As Dr. Dawn Liu, who we met earlier, says, “Chinese are very tenacious people. They do not give up. That is very important to Chinese success. If you’re talking about the characteristic of Chinese, it has a very water-like quality to it; it flows. No matter what, stick to it. That’s perseverance.”
On Selflessness vs. Selfishness . . .
Carol Lam, the former judge and US attorney, has become successful because of how she defines success itself:
“I really believe the saying that you can’t assist the village unless your own house is in order. There are many steps towards success, but the way I would define success is really understanding yourself and figuring out what a satisfying life means to you. I think everybody has different definitions of that, so I’m not going to define success too narrowly. I think that you do things better when they are things you are both good at and very interested in. Figuring out what that is and then pursuing it—I would call that successful. I don’t want it to sound entirely self-centered, but I think it’s partly a necessity that you feel comfortable in what you’re doing and you find it satisfying in order to contribute to others and the success of others. If you feel dissatisfied with yourself, or if you’re insecure with where you are, you aren’t in a position to assist others. Money is wonderful, but it is not the answer to success.”
On Confidence . . .
“As for being one of the first two Asian women to hold the position of US attorney, I didn’t feel a lot of extra burden or weight because it was a job I felt so comfortable doing. I knew that job so well—and this is something that is important to me; I don’t like taking on jobs or responsibilities I don’t feel qualified to do. If I know what I’m doing and I’m qualified, I have no hesitation whatsoever and it doesn’t matter what race or gender I am. I can do the job very well, and that’s how I felt in the US Attorney position. I never worried about being a disappointment or anything like that. It was a very natural job for me to take over. I don’t think a lot about being Asian or female. I’m aware of it, conscious of it, and proud of it, but I think if you’re too conscious of these things, they begin to color what you do and how you perceive yourself and your job. To me, it’s just how you do the job. I think I’m lucky that I’ve been born during a time when people are willing to judge you based on how you do the job.”
Excerpt from “Why Chinese Women Are Not Broke,” by Giovanna Pang Garcia © 2010. Used with permission
Giovanna Pang Garcia emigrated from Hong Kong to the U.S. alone at the age of sixteen, speaking no English. She started her own computer company with only $300 and turned it into a multimillion dollar corporation. She now tours as an inspirational speaking.
Tags: Carol Lam, Giovanna Pang Garcia, inspirational, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Motivational, Self-help book, Success, Why Chinese Women Are Not Broke