“I will create a successful business club where people can learn how to give speeches and can benefit from business networking.” 

In less than a month after I joined a Toastmasters club, I started to make that wild commitment to my friends. They all laughed at me and said, “‘Listen to your thick Korean accent! Who’d want to learn public speaking from you?” But I paid no
attention to what they said, because I knew I could do it.

At the Toastmaster’s semiannual conference, I found the top five speakers with the most presentation experience. They
were leading their own Toastmasters clubs as presidents. Approaching each one, I asked them to help me build a new,
successful business club. Unbelievingly, these five people quit their clubs to join mine! And I was able to establish the most
successful business club in the Bay area. As long as you have faith in yourself and your dream, you will find resources and
people who can help you. Without a dream, there is no way.

“Hey, I want to get master’s degree, to become a CPA, to get married to a good man, to buy my own house, to have a dog, and to have a baby!”

I met Kyeong-Mi during my MBA program. Whenever I saw her at school, I encouraged her to keep all of her dreams alive. She had only come to the US to avoid her mom’s nagging about getting married. Though not much of a hard working student, Kyeong-Mi was very persistent in pursuing things she was determined to accomplish. When I first visited her home, I was shocked to see how small it was: she even used cardboard boxes for storage. She barely made ends meet since she worked full time during the day and studied full time at night. I felt so sorry for her and wanted to help her. I always watched over her and tried to have as many talks with her as possible.

Even in those days, she had very clear dreams for her future and strongly believed they would come true. She finished her studies in two years, earning her master’s degree and becoming a CPA. She received $70,000 in salary and proudly showed me her first check. Then she got married to a wonderful man, bought a house, got a dog and, a few days ago, gave a birth to her son, Matthew. She even kept to the order in achieving her dreams. It was just amazing.

I have seen too many people give up too easily on their dreams saying, “I can’t speak English” or “I’ve never tried any kind of business in my life.” But I know a lot of successful people here who don’t speak English well. A Korean lady who owns a beauty shop in Berkeley is one. I’ve known her for a long time. She cannot speak English at all. She started by working for someone else. Then, she bought her own shop and expanded her business gradually. Now, she has four or five hairdressers who work for her. Her shop is always crowded with a lot of Americans, most of whom are her frequent customers. She doesn’t worry that she can’t speak English nor do her customers seem to mind. They wait their turn silently, sitting and reading magazines or newspapers. Like a scene from a silent film, it makes me laugh whenever I visit her shop. Her customers believe in her and in her skills even though they have difficulty communicating with her.

Her dreams have come true silently. “Why should I not believe in myself?” she has always said.

Many Korean immigrants complain, “America is not the place I expected. It’s so hard to get a job because of the language barrier. Asians are racially discriminated against in so many ways.” And so on. I admit I was also one of them when I first came here. My poor English frustrated and depressed me. I felt discriminated against in everything. However, with 16 years of life here and with experience in hiring people to work for me, my attitudes have changed a lot.

One of the primary objectives of American companies is to produce a profit. Customers want quality products and good services. As long as you have good skills, experience, and provide quality products and services, or become a profit-producing factor for a company, success will find you. You have to consider these points when you set up goals for your career. “How can I sell myself better? What kind of skills do I have? What kind of skills do I need to develop? What do I need in order for them to hire me?”

Today, I would like to talk about how we can achieve our dreams. This should come after we develop the necessary self-confidence and positive attitude that I mentioned last week. Here are the things that we should do this week.

1. Ponder upon what you have wanted to do and wanted to achieve in your life.
2. Write them down on paper. Use positive and passionate language in writing them. The ideas should be concise and clear since you’re going to read and memorize them.
3. Then, imagine your dreams actually have come true. Enjoy those feelings.
4. Talk about your dreams and their importance with your friends. Talk as if those dreams already have come true.
5. Write down the due date when you will have achieved.
6. Build up faith in your dream.
7. Carry the paper with your written dreams wherever you go.
8. Read that paper again and again whenever you have a chance.
   

Believe in yourself. Believe that you can do it. Of course, you will face obstacles. But you will also find solutions. Think about what you have to do step by step to achieve your dreams. Promise to yourself and to your friends that you will not give up. I dare say there is nothing in the world that can obstruct your will. There is nothing in the world you cannot achieve, as long as you do your best. If you ever fail, I believe it’s because you did not try hard enough. Your vision has been established. It’s time to create your action plan. Is there anything in the world that you cannot do? No. You can do it.

Jinsoo@JinsooTerry.com