TICKET TO SUCCESS
In America, people who have immigrated from Asian countries are generally called Asian Americans. Most of these individuals arrived after 1965. Their current population in the U.S. is about 2%. Among them, some are Jewish, some are Buddhists, some follow Confucianism, and others belong to different religions.
In America, if Asian immigrants believe that their future success depends on someone from their community becoming President, they might find the door to advancement completely shut. This is because the position of President requires being a natural-born citizen of the U.S., a rule that excludes Asian individuals. In their efforts to achieve this goal, Asian immigrants either fall into despair or try unsuccessful campaigns to change the American Constitution to remove this requirement, allowing one of their own to run for president.
However, Asian Americans did not make that mistake. Based on their actual circumstances, they understood that while chances to reach the presidential office were limited for minorities like themselves, there were plenty of opportunities to secure top academic positions. They saw education as their pathway to success. As a result, they put all their effort into education, which brought them great achievements. Even though they make up only 2% of the population, they now hold 20% of the seats in prestigious educational institutions.
This is the way to achieve success in this world. In life, some opportunities are open to a person while others are not. The height of wisdom is to take advantage of the opportunities that are available and to progress accordingly. If someone keeps banging their head against closed doors, the doors will not open, but their head may suffer. Especially today, education is the key to success, and opportunities to get this key are available to everyone, everywhere.
The principle that is the secret to individual advancement is also the key to the progress of nations and countries. In this regard, Japan sets a commendable example to follow.
An American author wrote a book about Japan titled “Japan as Number One.” In this 250-page book, the author shows how Japan, after suffering total defeat in World War II, managed to bounce back and even challenge its conqueror, the United States. According to the author, the Japanese became masters of change instead of victims. While other countries were wrecked by outside forces, Japan came out stronger.
“Thus, they became the masters of change rather than the victims. Other countries were devastated by foreign influence, but Japan was invigorated.”
— Ezra F. Vogel, Japan as Number One, Harvard University Press, London 1979, p.256.
According to the author, Japan’s remarkable success mainly comes from its transformation following military and political setbacks. Japan shifted its focus from warfare to the pursuit of knowledge. In the third chapter of the book, the author highlights a single key factor behind Japan’s current achievements: the continuous passion for learning shared across the Japanese nation. The author writes:
When a foreigner visits Japan, Japanese people often instinctively think, “What can I learn from this person?” Similarly, the three million Japanese who travel abroad each year aim to find new ideas and concepts to bring back and use in their own country.
