"Only in America"--the Story of Dr. Paul Hsu
Ment
Mentor, Tech Entrepreneur, Presidential Appointee,
Philanthropist, Visionary and Author. Dr. Paul Hsu is a man that will inspire you
to have a renewed belief in America’s future. Listen to him speak or read his
book if you want to find out how visionaries invest in the future—the next
generation needs people like Dr. Hsu. Listening to him tell his American
journey is riveting and inspiring, a story of American exceptionalism. He
believes that as a first generation immigrant to this country, he became a shepherd
of the American Dream.
Dr. Hsu was the September RCOC speaker at the Fort Walton Yacht
Club. Everyone in the audience was treated to two free books, including his
book, “Guardians of the Dream.” Dr. Hsu is a busy man with family commitments
but adheres to the principles he preaches. After a last-minute cancellation, I
needed a speaker, but I knew Dr. Hsu was still in California, as he had been for
several months. When I called him, I was surprised to find out he was returning
a few days before our meeting. He graciously agreed to become our speaker and did
not disappoint his audience.
Dr. Hsu believes in building relationships and cultivated many
on this night. Relationship building is one of the principles that made him a
successful entrepreneur and person. In business, he connected the dots that did
not exist because he was courageous enough never to give up. He did not seek to
get rich but sought to create from his heart. He believes that immigrants are
successful because they are generally hungrier and greater risk-takers, having
overcome hardship, rejection, and setbacks. Their unique stressors make them
stronger and more adept at accepting and thriving through adversity.
Entrepreneurs have exceptional confidence and strong self-esteem
and are visionaries with courage springing from the heart. One of his mentors’
advice was to ensure that people can like you because you are likeable. He
cares about others. The Bible offers the same advice, “A man that hath friends
must shew himself friendly” (Proverbs 18:24a). Dr. Hsu is an optimist that
recognizes the highly addictive nature of the entrepreneurial spirit in his
blood.
Even amongst the economic instability in a polarized society, he
believes that an argument needs to be made for optimism. His story provides hope
for parents of wayward children. Dr. Hsu grew up not liking being told what to
do and hating school; he became defiant. His mom inspired him by telling him always
to be able to look into the mirror with no regrets, a bit of advice that I
regularly repeat when trying to inspire others.
He especially liked a quote from Ronald Reagan concerning
immigration that went something like this. People who go to live in France
don’t become Frenchmen. Those who go to live in Germany or Italy can’t become
German or Italian. Yet, Reagan pointed out that anyone from any corner of the
world can come to live in the United States and become an American. This fact is
true from America’s origins because this country was created as an immigrant
nation. Dr. Hsu believes that immigrants need to assimilate. He does not think
of himself as a Chinese-American but simply as an American. He believes in the
ability to dream big and follow through with the determination to reach your
dreams.
America remains the most welcoming place for legal immigrants. America
is the only country where an immigrant can be embraced as an insider. This
unique aspect is not found in any other country. He believes in America’s five
core values of freedom, ingenuity, integrity, opportunity and inclusion,
elements lacking in most other countries. Most countries have widespread
bribery as just another aspect of doing business. America has an infrastructure
built around fair play and ethics based on the rule of law and common decency.
Americans with ingrained negativity toward America are likely
taking too much for granted. Dr. Hsu started his first business in his garage. American
children must get interested in math again. He believed he really needed to do
something about solving the problem by inspiring youth to consider engineering
degrees. He believes Artificial Intelligence (AI) will dominate the next ten
years. Robots will take 80% of the workload. 3D printing will dominate
manufacturing.
Amanda
Negron, Executive director at HSU Educational Foundation, discussed the
foundation for the last half of the meeting. The mission of the HSU Educational
Foundation is to encourage excellence in teaching and inspire innovation in the
classroom. She said she believes in this community and the education given to
our children. “If you like what we are doing, roll up your sleeves. We create
space and get out of the way.” A foundation principle involves growing up
future talent and filling the void where needed. They do this through the STEM
workforce program—Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) programs
raise interest and inspire students to prepare for careers of future
demand. Check things out at www.hsu-foundation.org.
It may surprise you what is happening here in Okaloosa County, and it will undoubtedly
inspire you and give you hope for future generations.
Pictures from the Okaloosa County Republican Club:
No comments:
Post a Comment