No one taught me how important my Asian ancestral heritage was in helping me be good at business.

I had to figure it out on my own. And here’s what I figured out.

I am thankful for my Confucian heritage.

It instilled in me one of the most defining values I hold, which has been passed down in my family: education is the most valuable asset in the world. More than any material possession. Without it having to lead to any capitalism-friendly “outcome.” Enriching one’s mind is its own reward, and the most valuable one.

This kept me focused on learning business for the way it sharpened my mind, without being anxious for material “returns”. This non-transactional relationship I had with business is exactly what kept me in it long enough for me to get really good at it.

I am thankful for my Taoist heritage.

It taught me that no one thing is separate from the ecology surrounding it. That you are not separate from me. That there is only Oneness.

That cultural knowing is exactly what planted the firm attitude in me that my thriving is vitally interlinked with yours, that I cannot use, manipulate, and extract from you to get ahead. When I cheat you to get what I want, I only end up cheating myself. 

The Taoism baked into my culture also taught me this. When there is an up, there is a down, and when there is expansion, there is contraction. 

Don’t get too excited on a good day, and don’t be too depressed on a bad day. Proverbs of this nature are passed down and repeated in my family.

This is exactly what gave me the steadfastness to keep going long enough to see my efforts bear full fruition in the long term.

I’m thankful for my animinist/shamanic heritage.

One of the teachings I’m known for is the idea of “the spirit of your business.” I believe your business literally has its own spirit. So does your social media account. So does your phone. So does your email.

I’m often asked where I got this idea from. And while certain sources gave me inspiration for articulating it out loud, it was always obvious to me because of the animism that is part of our traditional culture. 

Western culture sees certain things as living (birds, trees, humans), and other things as inert (mountains, seas, the soil). 

Animism recognizes everything as alive and conscious — each different thing in its own way.

This way of seeing everything in my business ecosystem — even things that are dead or inert according to Western culture — as ALIVE, CONSCIOUS, and being in a LIVING RELATIONSHIP — has been key to my creativity and genius-level intuition about making strategic moves for my business. 

The ideology around ancestral veneration that is central to my culture (which is half-Confucian and half-animist/shamanic, I think)… also turned out to be critical for my business success.

Koreans believe that our lives are closely interlinked to our ancestors.’ We are also taught that everything good that happens to us is NOT only due to our own merit, but due to our ancestors’ benevolent deeds. 

Almost like I’m receiving delayed good karma for what my ancestors did. 

For example, my mom tells me the story of her grandmother, who would always welcome into her home travelers who needed a place to rest. 

She would feed them the best food, give them a warm place to sleep, and send them on their way with more provisions. 

And she would tell my mom: “I do this for you. All the good I do will come back to you. So, when you grow up, you must remember to be kind to everyone, and help as many people as you can.” 

The recognition of interrelationship across time and space is baked into our worldview.

Do you know what this means?

It means that, from day 1, I knew that my business would fail if it didn’t benefit others before it benefited me.

Generosity and benevolence had to be the primary values through which I filtered all of my business decisions. 

This was not only the way I created success for myself (it all flows back to me, always), but the way I create good fortune for my descendants.

Actually, I’ve oriented my business to community care in much more radical ways since I became a mother. 

Because now I think acutely about my son’s well being, and I want him to have a good future. 

The best way for me to invest in his future well-being is taking care of the community around me now. 

Yes, we were a colonized and impoverished and war-torn people, living to this day with a legacy of trauma.

But. 

I’m not prosperous in spite of being Korean.

I’m prosperous because I am Korean.

(Please, substitute “Korean” with whatever you are.)

What about you?

If you’re from a non-dominant culture, in what ways has your heritage made you stronger, better, more prosperous?