Seeing Opportunity Where Others See Misfortune
By Rocio Vivanco
A
t 17, I immigrated from Peru. It was 2002, and I was filled with dreams and expectations for the great future I was determined to create in America. My father raised me to believe that with a degree from the greatest nation in the world, I would have doors open to me. All I needed to do was study and work hard, and I would be on my way to build my American dream. I attended college for International Business and chose Chinese as my elective foreign language. I wanted to challenge myself and Chinese is really difficult. Exposing myself to the language and culture when I studied abroad in Shanghai for 10 weeks opened a wide variety of opportunities. I received a paid internship from a high tech company that was not part of the study abroad program. All I had to do was walk into the President’s office and introduce myself with my language skills. But mainly it was my obsessive desire to make the best out of my opportunity of being in China. This included the four summer crash courses I was already taking at the time. After my experience in China, I understood that opportunities are everywhere, and that we have to be bold and have an open mind to see them when they show up. During my time in college, I met my first husband with whom we made a great team helping each other get through college without debt. We both worked full-time at a bank call center from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m., which left time to study full-time after those hours. In 2005, real estate was booming, so we decided to take a leap of faith and buy our first home. Prices were skyrocketing. Six months later, we decided to buy our second home and keep the first one as a rental. I became a landlord at the age of 22. But there were more challenges ahead. When the worst recession since the Great Depression hit in 2008, we lost the houses in foreclosure. The $30,000 in down payments that we still owed our parents was gone, along with the opportunity of being homeowners and landlords.
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At the China Wall
Rocio age 8
I graduated right after the recession in 2010 and the consequences were still hitting hard. A week into my new position at a new company, the company downsized several departments. I could not believe what I saw happening to the greatest nation. I prayed every day that I did not lose my new job. I also prayed
for the wisdom to understand what I could have done differently to minimize my losses. In the meanwhile, I was clinging to my American dream—the one I had left my dear family, friends and hometown to chase. My prayer was answered in the form of a book, “Rich Dad Poor Dad.” The book not only revolutionized my way of thinking, but contradicted what my loving parents had taught me. My parents always said get a degree, work hard and you will succeed. This probably worked in their generation. But in my generation, following that recipe did not guarantee a good job or a good income, especially not in my American dream. The book taught me about the power of cash flow and leveraging my time. I was mesmerized by its lessons and I was ready to take action. But my husband was not. He was paralyzed with everything that we had experienced and the new challenge of keeping our jobs. I do not blame him. Starting again is never easy, but if you do, it is always rewarding. In 2011, my husband met someone who changed his life and we divorced shortly thereafter. My world was upside down. Some of you might have experienced that time when your biological clock starts ticking. Mine involved my dream of becoming a mother. I learned that everything in our lives happen for a reason and for a greater purpose. This painful experience taught me the power of faith. Through my spiritual journey, I healed and began looking forward to finding my better half—a person who shared my faith and purpose in life. In the meantime, while my maternity intuition was at its best, I decided to channel that love and desire into fostering children. I fostered for two years and I would not trade the parenting lessons I learned for anything in the world. In 2012, real estate was booming again at a much stable pace. I decided it was time to pursue what “Rich Dad,
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