83. From Boat to Mind: Len's Journey of Freedom, Engineering, and Martial Arts

Short N' Sweet: A Donut Princess Podcast

In 1982, Len and his father along with twenty-three people left Vietnam on a small fishing boat to find freedom. After 21 days at sea, they were rescued and brought to the Hong Kong refugee camp. After almost a year at the refugee camps in Hong Kong and the Philippines, they settled in New York City. In 1998, Len graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering. He has been working as an engineer and a supervisor at the Patent and Trademark Office for more than two decades. With over thirty-five years of martial arts experience, he is also the founder of Virginia Shorin-Ryu, a traditional Okinawan karate style since 2005. In addition to teaching karate, he founded Kinetic Mind in 2020 with the vision of helping people engineer their busy minds to maintain focus and improve everyday life. He has just released his first book about his journey.

“One thing that I have to admire about my dad was, he has this discipline and his focus. He was asking me to endure the hardship and to endure the bullying and to face all the obstacles. One thing I've learned from him is it doesn't matter how big the obstacle is, just keep facing it, keep facing until you make it. It's not even about faking it, it's about the courage to keep facing it."

These tips can help you find the courage to write and share your own story with the world.

1. Write without worrying: If you have a story worth sharing, don't worry about who will read it. Just start writing and put the worrying aside.

2. Everyone has a story: No matter how ordinary you think your life is, we all have stories to tell. It's all about how you write and present it.

3. Motion creates momentum: When faced with writer's block, just start writing. Once you get the motion going, momentum will carry you forward and unlock your creativity.

4. Be open to feedback: Embrace feedback and be willing to listen. Growth comes from being open to constructive criticism and using it to improve.

5. Believe in yourself: If you don't believe in yourself, don't expect others to believe in you either. Have confidence in your abilities and the value of your story.

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