Guo Bei: a shy yet loud public speaker

Therefore, Guo Bei thought hard to no avail until one day she went to her hometown to keep a promise to her financial sponsor, a private business man. She was to deliver a lecture on her own academic success at a high school in his hometown to encourage kids there to follow her example to work hard. So it happened, during the lecture, a boy stood up and asked her a question. That boy told Guo Bei that he felt like he and his peers have been receiving a "cookie cutter" education all the way from kindergarten, to primary school, and through high school. They have become clean cut biscuits, so to speak. It's all set (programmed) and he sees no meaning in life and he feels his life is trash, of no substance... This was the very first lecture she delivered in her life and this very lecture caught her unprepared. Guo Bei admitted that she was shocked to hear this boy boldly speaking his mind and only remembered that she did respond to him, but totally forgot what she said because she simply didn't have an answer at that time.

Guo Bei, Vice president of EIC Group. [File photo: provided for China Plus]

But the boy's question prompted her to search for an answer. During the second semester of her second year in Harvard, one slogan post on the campus got her on a faster track to search for an answer. "What do you want to do with your one, big, and wild life?" Different students posted different answers there. This inspired her to create her answer. She then did a small test by writing down what she wanted and what she didn't want in two parallel lists on a piece of paper. The more detailed the better, as advised by another mentor she met in her work place. Looking at what she had written, Guo Bei finally saw the answer she'd been searching for: "I want to be of help to others!" And since then helping others to change their lives through education has become her life's calling and this passion of life has helped turn Guo Bei into what she is today: a confident and content lady who is determined to pass on to as many people as possible what she has learned and experienced inside and outside of China. She has benefited from China's opening up and reform. She has come across mentors and sponsors during her growth. She's also made leaps forward in life due to the opportunities and the help she received. International education and exposure have transformed her and turned her into a successful international career woman. She is the beneficiary and she wants to give back.

She lectures, writes books, recruits students and tells people what happened to her could also happen on them. She redefines success, telling people life can never be planned but successful lives need to be designed. She preaches that a happy life with hope and focus can be attained as long as one acquires three core capabilities: grit, curiosity and humanistic thinking. Grit (perseverance and discipline) can be attained through brain muscle exercises, by deliberately leaving your comfort zone, learning to solve one problem at a time, and never give up. The more exercises you do, the stronger your willpower will become. Curiosity brings passion and is interest- driven. Curiosity can be nurtured with exposure and fulfilment. Humanistic thinking is also achievable by learning liberal arts. Guo Bei says Chinese and Japanese educational systems are more passive learning and able to churn out top notch scientists for the world, but western universities are more good at producing creative minds and thinkers.

I agree with Guo Bei. Having grit ensures that we will one day get what we want. Curiosity leads us to what we want. And humanistic thinking promises us that when we get what we want, we get them justly and fairly. There is a Chinese saying, 君子爱财，取之有道，which literally means all gentlemen love money but money needs to be earned with proper means and ways. Isn't life beautiful once we possess these three super weapons?

The 21st century is precarious and one can never be prepared for changes. When asked how we or parents should prepare ourselves or our kids in education and career, Guo Bei explained that Stanford University offers students one selective course called Life Design. In this course Professor Bill Burnett suggests that students always need to have three life plans. Plan A is the imminent or urgent plan you are executing. Plan B is when you don't have Plan A you need to know what to do. Plan C is after getting rid of all conditions, restrictions, excuses and difficulties, is it still the thing you want in your life? While sketching her profile with words, a picture of Guo Bei formed clearly in my mind. Guo Bei's personal stories form the best model to showcase how these three plans have worked and gave rise to magic in her life. Her Plan A was to study hard and make a living. Survival of the fittest and she survived well. Her plan B was to give up what she achieved in Plan A. She started a completely new direction of life, in a foreign country, pursuing an MBA in Harvard Business School. Her plan C was her dedication to international education. That's what she wants to do. And in that field is where she realized her personal value of helping others. As a result, she is leading a life of her own design.

Life design is a new concept for many people. Guo Bei is trying hard to sell it to as many people as possible. Four decades have passed after China opened its door to the outside world. Throughout the 40 years, Chinese people have never stopped learning from the outside world. Guo Bei's parents' generation has learned to make up and catch up. Her generation has learned to adapt, merge and engage. Now, her hope for her little girl is however to learn to actively participate, change and lead.

Guo Bei, Vice president of EIC Group, and her daughter. [File photo: provided for China Plus]

Yes, the world is different now and we need design in order to adapt and stay focused. In the first decade after 1978, China only saw the elite students get the chance to study overseas, either financed by the government or through scholarships. A decade or so later, more families like Guo Bei's had access to private funds to send kids abroad to study. And now, to many Chinese kids, to study overseas is simply another option. Top students consider it in order to pursue higher academic goals. Mediocre students choose it to sugar coating their CVs. And those who fail China's Gaokao or those who simply want to escape the torture of Gaokao also take the option to get a degree in a foreign country. But whoever and whatever reasons people are going out to study and work, one thing is for sure: we are all pursuing a life of our own and we all want to see our own personal value and to live a happy life.

In the two hour long interview, Guo Bei shared her stories and experiences with us. In such a fast changing and unpredictable world, I do wish that what we've learnt from her can help us build up the three core capabilities essential for success. Armed with these abilities, we will be able to constantly adapt, design, and eventually get what we want to live a happy life of our own. I also hope more people can sit in her inspirational lectures. I also dare to dream that one day perhaps she can come across the boy who gave her a challenging question in her first lecture and tell him that because of his thought-provoking inquiry, she has been inspired to get that answer and share it with youth all over the nation. As I continue to dream, I imagine she has so much more to say and teach the young man who ignited the spark of a self-searching odyssey that has served so many. I also dare to envision that she thanks him, as any good instructor knows that the teacher learns from the student.