The Power of Believing
June 20, 2010, the last day of our Hong Kong Disney trip. It is also the 50th day of the Expo, and there're still 134 days to go. SAIC-GM Pavilion just welcomed our 500,000 visitors.
Nicholas, who's 4 years old now learned how to swim for the first time today. And his little tanned face was glowing with the self confidence that he's never had before. With that new found believing of himself that he can swim, he even ventured into the adult pool and water slide for the first time.
Many friends have asked me what it's like to work on a project like this. My first answer has always been "Well, it's like deliver a baby that takes three and half years of making", or "it's THE Mission Impossible made possible". It is all of the above, and it is also a once-a-life time experience.
Life is all about experience, bitter or sweet, cry or laugh. What you have experienced and what you've learned from your experience is what truly shapes who you are today. What I have learned from this project is the power of believe. And, I'm glad that Nick experienced a little bit of that power today.
The make of the SAIC-GM pavilion is all about believing and the compound effect of the power of believe from everyone:
Believing in what you're working on is the right thing to do.
Believing in your partner and everyone around you.
Believing that nothing is impossible if you set your mind for it and try hard enough.
The 6 month we spent in 2007 on expert interview and numerous brainstorming sessions with technologists from SAIC and GM made us believe that the vision of 2030 is not only uplifting but also achievable.
The 12 month of roller coaster ride we had on pavilion experience concept selection from 2007-2008 made us believe that we would and could deliver an experience that is both entertaining and memorable.
12 month of storyline revisions in 2009 and 67 versions made me believe that I have a trust worthy partner who's on a mission to pursue a perfect experience to demonstrate our vision.
8 months of making of the movie and 11 months of the making of the pavilion architecture, made me believe that our suppliers were on the same quest as us and willing to challenge themselves beyond their existing capabilities.
Most importantly, 39 months of having Dr. Jin as my partner on this journey also made me believe that if you set your mind for something and try hard enough, you will make it happen.
As I female, I don't easily cry, even when I had the birth of my two beautiful kids (one of them was an Expo baby, born during this project). I did have an unstoppable cry, however, when we had the first successful rehearsal of the stage show at 3pm on our media premier day – the event started at 6:30pm.
There is a Chinese saying "All good must things come to an end". I know the next time I will have a good cry will be on the closing day of the Expo and the SAIC-GM Pavilion. It's been truly a once-a-life time experience that has enlightened me about the power of believing and will forever re-shape who I will be.
