We just have to take a look into our culture. The way we bring up our kids/being brought by up by our parents; the way we live out life; the way see the world.
Chinese are doing very well in academics. They are smart, work hard, very disciplined and respect knowledge so that help them to achieve greatness in academics. But that do not help them in achieving greatness in leadership. They are not used to take risk, challenge authority, being creative, fighting to win and endure failures. They do not have the fighting spirit and the stomach to take a loss and to be a fighter again.
We like to prepare for everything, to have stable life, to have security in everything and plan well and way ahead. So we study hard in order to secure a seat in top university, get a good job in a good company, keep our job there forever, save enough money to retire. We do not like trouble, we do not want to hurt people especially those who are strong and who dare to challenge us. We like to be obedient, to be well liked by others especially by our boss and be a good employee. In doing this, we become just like some good tools, good assistance, good helper, and good soldier in other people’s eyes. We are not considered to be the engine, the one with trust for great and dangerous task, the one who can give great responsibilities. As we are wonder why and feel terrible about others surpassing us, we are kept digging a hole for ourselves.
We do the same not only for us but also for the next generation of us and the one coming after. Only few of us get out this cycle and create great wealth and success. Then we just say that they have all the good lucks or talents and we can not copy them. We live our life the same way.
The Indians are doing much better then us, they like to be aggressive, take risk, show their muscle, take a fight with the white and the proud Chinese and even they lost they will do it again and again. While they are being hated, fought, dismissed by the proud Chinese as the brown people, the “a sir”, they are being picked up by the white guys as directors, executives to carry the job of being the bad guy, the one who can fight and do everything to get the job done and help the company to earn more money. At the end, the people who hired them win the biggest and the Indians win too.
We really need to change the way we see the world, the value of our life, the way we value success in our education system and the way we see what being a boss means. We should not think that world is a place we need to fit in but to think that the world is a stage and you are the player who makes a play. We should not live a life that is so well planed, risk free but so predictable and normal but a one that makes you happy and exciting. We should not just value our life by how stable it is, how smooth and how trouble free it is but by how colorful it is, how rich in contents it is and how eventful it is. We should not value the success of the education only by the technical skills achieved or the knowledge obtained but by how physically and mentally strong a kid is, how happy and positive toward life a kid is and how creative and imaginable a kid is. We should not think that being a boss only means the rank, the title and the power but also the responsibility, the challenge and the trustworthy.
