When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.
Actions speak louder than words.
Look not at where you are, but also at from how far you have come, Eleanor Roosevelt.
The Beginnings
What brought you to this country?
I was born in Hong Kong, the second of four children. Family rumor had it that my mom married my dad as her ticket to America for herself and for her brothers and their families. (Who knows whether it’s true, but my whole family and the extended family on my mother’s side have successfully immigrated to America.)
My parents had a debate about whether my father should come first and make money to send for the family or whether we should come together. My mom won out and we came together – my parents, my 7-year-old sister, my almost-4-year-old brother, my 2-year old brother and me, aged 5. My parents had a quarrel while we were on the trip, as my dad de-planed in Japan to buy a 50-cent Coke. My mom said that it was 2.5% of our fortune and we had no job on the other end, and my dad said that it was 50 cents. I remember thinking that they were both right.
We stayed with my aunt in her crowded San Francisco flat and were grateful for her support. But we were on our own. My mom asked my 7-year-old sister to watch the other kids so that she and my dad could both work, and my sister said, ‘No, I’m 7’. So my mom asked me and I said ‘someone has to’. So I was the one cooking, cleaning, washing, and teaching the other kids English. I even helped my parents learn English so that they could get jobs. We weren’t latch-key kids. My mom worked downstairs sewing, but we were on our own.
We came to America for the great opportunity it presented. My sister is now a college graduate with geology major, currently at home with five kids in Southern California. My brother is an IT professional in San Francisco, my other brother has a dental practice along with his wife in Malibu. My mom’s brothers and their families came over one at a time, and we helped them all, giving them a place to stay and helping them get established independently. It’s amazing the opportunities my family, our children, my aunts and uncles, my cousins and their children now have, because we came to America.
What problems did you face when you got here?
We were really poor but managed to come up with the essentials every month. We didn’t really have toys, so we made up our own games. My favorite one was ‘Hawaii Five-O’ where we would run down the hall and ‘surf’ on the long carpet in the living room, screaming the Hawaii Five-O theme song. We also converted the dining room table and hand-me-down books to a ping pong table.
We did not have mentors and role models, so it was difficult to make career decisions. I knew that my future would be dependent on my education, so I put myself through school (UC Davis), even though my mother would prefer that I attended the local junior college. I did not know enough about the world and its opportunities to know what my strengths were and how to best leverage them. I majored in psychology and minored in education, thinking of going into teaching because I didn’t want to be a doctor or a lawyer, and didn’t know anything about business.
What were some of the things you learned on the way?
Align Your Head, Heart and Hands. Be passionate about what you do, and everything will fall into place. (Heart) But the passion should also fit what the market and people need. (Head) And you must take action on your passions and the market need. (Hands)
Keep Learning and Growing. Life is a journey, not a destination. Any failure is not the end, any success is only a beginning. Learn from your mistakes and keep reaching for stars!
Enjoy the process.
Nothing is more important than your family and friends, so get your priorities straight!
It is a world of bounty and ‘Empowering One is Empowering All’. Helping others will make more opportunities for everyone. Those who believe otherwise will negatively impact your own mindset, so choose your friends and associates carefully.
It All Comes Down to Leadership – help everyone lead, from any chair. This is the foundation of what we do at FountainBlue.
The Transition
What challenges did you face in the transition to get to where you are today?
Although I had my basic needs met (food and shelter), I did not have knowledge, access or resources to realize my potential, or even to see the possibilities. There were so many people with the ‘who are you to think you can do this’ attitude, but I was the kind of person who just liked to prove those people wrong, even when they were right, and I didn’t have the skills, experience or expertise to follow my dream.
This is why I’m passionate about helping others get access to the network, knowledge, and resources to also succeed and empower and support others. Together, we are stronger!
If given an opportunity, what would you have done differently?
Actually, in looking back, I can’t believe that I had the strength and courage to keep breaking ground in new areas, and in my ripe old age, I’m not sure that I would take the risks I took in my youth! Today, I plan much more and am much more calculated with my risk-taking. But I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t take the risks I took in my youth.
With the benefit of hindsight and experience, I wouldn’t have done half the dumb things I did, but I wouldn’t have taken those bold risks that really helped me in the end either, so I guess it balances out in the end!
What kept you inspired to do better?
My internal compass kept demanding a better tomorrow, for me and for others. For me, there was no ignoring that internal voice which was relentlessly inquiring, demanding, encouraging and challenging me to keep reaching for stars.
I took guidance and support from those I admired, and enlisted the support of others along the way. I am now focusing more on enjoying the journey as well.
The Present
What are your current personal & professional pursuits?
All my life the ‘heart’/passion/community side of me has battled the ‘head’/business side of me. My work in teaching and in the nonprofit world gave me the experience to recognize that I didn’t have sufficient personal ‘boundaries’ to truly thrive in a ‘heart-centric’ profession.
FountainBlue’s current model is to focus on the ‘head’/business side, specifically to help businesses lead and succeed, by providing networking and educational opportunities through our events, through our consulting practices, and with the help of the Boomer Seed Fund we are creating. The premise is that when organizational leaders succeed, everyone benefits, from staff to investors to community.
How did your past experience lead to your current activities?
Responsibility and leadership came early for me so it’s only natural for me to empower others to better lead and succeed.
With every position I took, in education, in small start-ups, in the nonprofit area, I was faced with the importance of leadership, and shown the results of what happens when the wrong leaders are in place.
Creating FountainBlue was my way to make a stand for leadership. I didn’t realize that it was a business opportunity until I launched FountainBlue and discovered that there’s a revenue model for doing well while doing good, provided that that one acts with competence, creativity and persistence and flexibility.
What are your hobbies? How do you relax? Are you able to manage work life balance?
I enjoy reading, cooking, playing games, drama, long hikes, traveling, etc., But mostly I enjoy just hanging out with people, particularly my family, in deep or light conversations peppered with laughter.
To relax, I enjoy creating new things that are not in a business setting – like a new recipe, a new dance move, a new exercise, a new way to do a craft. I also exercise regularly – daily rides on my stationary bike, yoga and pilates, weights, etc.,
To help with work-life balance, my husband and I have negotiated our nights off for child duty and make sure that we have enough family time every week. I can’t say we always succeed, but we keep trying!
The Future
What is next in your life?
The logical next step for FountainBlue is to continue building the FountainBlue community and convening decision-makers in high-tech, life science and clean energy and develop an early-stage Boomer Seed Fund to support these early-stage entrepreneurs. The fund will focus on targeting Boomers (born 1946-1964) as investors, entrepreneurs and customers for the life science, technology and environmental causes they believe in.
As I have no previous experience as an investor, I will first be partnering with a company who will provide me with the fund raising, fund management, and portfolio company management experience and connections I will need to succeed. I’m looking forward to starting the Boomer Seed Fund. To me, my life’s work is flowing in that direction.
I’m looking forward to seeing my daughter evolve into her pre-teen years, and hope that she will continue to make the right choices.
I’m looking forward to deepening my relationship with my husband, taking it to the next level. We have been through so much together, and have truly grown together. It has been a beautiful journey, and I’m looking forward to the next leg of it.
What do you think would help women who wish to break cultural stereotypes at home and workplace?
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We need heroes to keep breaking the ground for the rest of us.
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We need to all be on the same side – taking a collaborative rather than a competitive view of fellow women professionals.
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We need to keep inquiring about a typical woman’s leadership style, and how that’s complementary to a typical man’s leadership style.
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We need to focus on empowering others to succeed.
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We need to celebrate our successes.
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The sky’s the limit leaders! Together, we are stronger.
Guidance
From your vast experience, what is the message for people who wish to breakthrough, rejuvenate and energize what they are doing?
Start with your heart, as it will bring energy and passion to your work, but don’t stay there or you will just have a hobby. Follow with the head, to funnel the passion to a sustainable business cause, one that can draw the right partners and bring the right results. Then go to the hands, and take action, or it’s just a dream! Linda Holroyd
Have you seen people who achieved breakthroughs in two weeks?
Yes I have, but the best people don’t stop there. They see it as an on-ramp to the next adventure.
See the full interview and make your comments at http://www.invincibelle.com/post.php?p=211 or visit http://www.invincibelle.com to see interviews of other women.
