"what you don’t have is actually a blessing in disguise." - Interview with acclaimed autho
"what you don’t have is actually a blessing in disguise." - Interview with acclaimed author Logan Tsu - 火星爺爺
Recipient of 10 book awards, such as the Germany Red Dot Award and London International Creative Competition. Over 2.5 million views on his TED Talk. Logan Tsu, the author of “The little bag” talks about his life journey, his conceptions of Being complete, the idea of “Not having something”, and success…
Q – When you were young, did you feel you were different?
When I was young, I always knew I was slightly different. (I was diagnosed with Polio at a young age.)
When I started walking with the cane, I noticed I was very particular. So I realized I needed to become better than others to stand up. So growing up, I made sure I would be the 1st in class in every exam. I felt I only had value if I was the 1st in class. But whenever I wasn’t the number 1 in class, I felt I had no value.
Because of my difference, I knew I had to work harder than others. But from another perspective, it is actually a great thing to be different.
Q – I heard when you were 12 years old, you fell down in a major intersection and refused to stand up. Could you tell us why?
When I was in 8th grade, I was walking in the streets and suddenly I fell down at a major intersection. It was a difficult period in my life. My father just passed away, I was bullied by my classmates, and I was too shy to talk to the girl I had a crush on.
So when I fell down on the street, I felt a sense of desperation. I wondered: “What is life worth living for? I can’t even walk normally.” So I refused to stand up.
Suddenly, a random stranger ran toward my direction and picked me up from the street. He carried me all the way to the other side of the pedestrian road. And kept on asking me if I was okay, or if I injured myself.
Many years later, I realized the stranger, was a guardian angel in my life. Even though I have some challenges due to my physic, I noticed guardian angels kept on popping into my life whenever I needed support. They will always help me out. So I felt grateful of the accident. It made me acknowledge god is looking out for me.
I realized, what you don’t have is actually a blessing in disguise. And this is the ideology that I delivered during my TED Talk.
Q – What inspired you to write “The little bag”?
“The little bag” talks about a knapsack went on an exploration journey by himself. The story brings the analogy of people departing from your life. Their departure can be triggered by the end of a relationship, the passing of family members, or a change in a career field etc.
I am interested to unravel the notion of “Being by oneself”.
I still remember when I was in kindergarten, and I couldn’t play in the playground due to physical constraints (polio). So my classmates managed to lift me up, and put me on a pirate boat spring ride. I had so much fun. But suddenly, the recess bell rang, and everyone went back to class. So I was stranded in the playground without a way to get out of the pirate boat.
I panicked, but didn’t know what to do. Then the teacher found out I was missing and found me sitting isolated in the playground.
Looking back, I wondered what I should have done in that situation. If I was with the children, I would have encouraged the child to get off the boat by himself.
And that inspired me to write a book called “The little bag”.
What I wish to convey is:
It is not because you are with someone that make you complete. And, you are not incomplete without a particular person. Because you are complete as a person.
Q – There’s a sentence that I deeply enjoy about your Ted Talk. “Not having something” isn’t a restriction. “Not having something” is a gift. If you have nothing, you can focus on creating. Don’t focus on what you don’t have. Could you explain this theory to us?
I grew up with a lot of restriction in life. If you believe restriction prevents you from your growth, then you will stop progressing. Imagine if you view this life restriction like a villain from a videogame. When you play a videogame, and you encounter a villain. You never stop playing.
You are willing to devote more time and resources to defeat the villain. But once you defeated him, your inner strength and capability have become stronger. So if you took this basic analogy of playing video games, and re-apply it in your life. The actions and behaviors you take toward this restriction will determine how you succeed in life.
If you manage to win against this constraint, you will become a strong being. But if you are fearful and choose defeat, then the villain will forever become a barrier in your life.
Q – What do you think is the ingredient to success for the new generation? But I believe there are 2 key component to success are that critical for any generation. It is persistence, and patience. If there is something that you dream to achieve, and you believe it is a very good accomplishment for humanity. Then you should never give up. You need to be persistent on the things you are passionate about. And not be persistent on the thing everyone believe is good for you. You should be determined on something you really enjoy, even if you can’t make a lot of money right away. When you are passionate, you will stay determined. Eventually, you will accomplish success.
Q - What is your recommendation to the youth of today? Don’t waste your youth. Don’t have too much hesitation. Don’t over listen to feedbacks, and become confused in your own path. Don’t waste your time on thinking, but spend time on doing. Keep going in the direction you wish to carry on. If it doesn’t work out, then take another path. If you keep evolving, then the things you work on will lead to a compound effect.
2016 - Merit Winner, 3x3 the magazine of contemporary illustration, New York/lJSA. 2016 - Best of the best, Hiii Illustration International Competition,32 / 1525 Nanjing/ China 2016 -Excellence, Greater China Illustration Awards, Hong Kong/China 2016 - Gold, Graphis Competition New Talent, Switzerland/New York. 2015 - GRAND PRIX, JIA Illustration Competition, Tokyo/Japan. 2015 - Platinum/Best in Category, Creativity International 45th Louisville/USA. 2015 - Shortlist Winner, London International Creative Competition, London/Britain 2015 - CHOSEN WINNER, American Illustration, New York/USA. 2015 - TOP45 / 2384 entries, Golden Pin Concept Award, Taipei /Taiwan. 2015 - TOP72 / 1706 entries, FJ art plus, Shanghai / China #winner#author #youth #direction #evolving #nothaving #focus #dream#achieve #passionate #evolving #humanity
#complete #incomplete #inspiration #lacking #different #blessing #different#polio #desperation #angel #strength #grit #火星爺爺 #author