Thirty-five of my BFFs and I decided last year to write snippets of our lives, reflecting on how we used our mojo to survive and thrive. Many of us escaped adversity in our home countries, including the genocide of the Killing Fields in Cambodia, the Cuban Revolution, and the brutal life in the rural mountain villages of Perú. Others in my list of BFF escaped the equally harsh demons of drug addiction, while others survived poverty, racism, war, and all forms of discrimination. However, nothing could stop any of us in our aim to lead a successful life with no sulking.
None of us considered success the result of becoming rich and famous; instead, to us, success meant bettering ourselves, bettering the world, innovating where we could, and creating businesses, such as Charles Schwab, Energy Solutions, Yahoo, HBO, MTV, Nickelodeon, parts of the Virgin Group, and many others. We have accomplished our goals through passion, leadership, and perseverance without sacrificing our values, and we continue to do so today.