The World Cup reminds me why I’m grateful my parents chose America.

Not because America is perfect.

No country is.

But because America gave my family something they could not find everywhere else:

Opportunity.

My parents came here after leaving Vietnam.

They lived through war, instability, and the pain of trying to escape a communist government that took their gold every time they tried to leave the country.

That kind of story changes how you see the world.

It makes you realize freedom is not abstract.

Opportunity is not guaranteed.

“And the ability to build a life through faith, work, grit, and community is something worth being grateful for.”

That is why the World Cup hit me differently this year.

One of our neighbors is hosting Amin, who is training to become a pastor. He is really into soccer, which reminded me that basically every country outside of the U.S. treats soccer like a religion.

So I started following Japan, Korea, and the U.S.

I found myself cheering for Japan because I love Japanese culture.

I cheered for Korea because so many of my friends are Korean.

But when the United States walks onto the field, I realize:

This is home.

And what makes America beautiful to me is not that everyone looks the same, talks the same, eats the same food, or sees the world the same way.

It is the opposite.

I live in the New Jersey and New York City metro area, one of the most diverse places in the world.

Everywhere you go, you hear different languages.

If I want really good Korean food, I can go to Palisades Park in Bergen County.

Nearby, I can find authentic Chinese food where I don’t even need to go to Chinatown anymore because so have so many amazing choices that are just as good.

Right in my backyard is Edison, New Jersey, which people call Little India. Even people in India know about it.

Yesterday, we had Peruvian food right next to the train station.

One town over in New Brunswick, there is really solid Mexican food.

My next-door neighbor Femi is Nigerian, and I love hearing stories about his life.

This is the America I know.

Not just red, white, and blue.

“But Korean barbecue, Indian buffets, Vietnamese families, Nigerian neighbors, Peruvian chicken, Mexican tacos, Chinese bakeries, and people from all over the world trying to build a better life.”

That is why I loved hearing World Cup fans from other countries talk about how amazing the food is here.

Texas BBQ kept coming up. (Which I totally agree is life changing. I had home made brisket at a party 6 years ago and I’m still thinking about it. :P)

And it made me smile because that is America too.

We are a country where someone can fly in for soccer and walk away talking about brisket.

But the deeper lesson is this:

“America is special because people from everywhere can come here, bring their culture with them, and still become part of something bigger.”

You do not have to erase where you came from to belong here.

That matters to me as an Asian American.

My experience will always be nuanced.

I grew up with refugee parents.

I worked in Philly.

I lived in New York City.

I built a career in sales, coaching, personal development, and business development.

I have spent my life around people who look, think, speak, worship, eat, and live differently than I do.

And I honestly cannot imagine living somewhere where everyone looks, acts, and talks the same.

To me, one of the most interesting parts of life is learning from people who grew up differently.

Different cultures teach you different values.

Different neighborhoods teach you different rhythms.

Different stories teach you humility.

And different people stretch your understanding of the world.

Even the U.S. World Cup team reflects this.

So many players come from families with immigrant backgrounds, dual national identities, and multicultural stories.

That is not a weakness.

That is the point.

The team reflects the country.

Different backgrounds.

Different stories.

One jersey.

That is also why I get frustrated when people only complain about America.

Again, we are not perfect.

There is real brokenness here.

There is real injustice.

There are real things that need to be addressed.

But my parents’ story reminds me that it is still a gift to live in a place where you can come with very little and build something through work, discipline, sacrifice, faith, and courage.

They did not come here because America promised comfort.

They came because America offered opportunity.

There is a difference.

Comfort makes you passive.

Opportunity requires responsibility.

You still have to do something with it.

You still have to work.

You still have to take risks.

You still have to stop blaming everything around you and ask, “What am I going to build with what I’ve been given?”

That mindset shaped me.

It shaped how I see sales.

It shaped how I see leadership.

It shaped how I see faith.

In Acts 17:26–27, Paul says that God determined the times and places where people would live so that they might seek Him.

That passage hits differently when I think about my family.

Why Vietnam?

Why America?

Why New Jersey?

Why this neighborhood?

Why these people?

Why this moment?

I do not believe those things are random.

And in Revelation 7:9, John describes a vision of people from every nation, tribe, people, and language standing before God.

That is one of the most beautiful pictures in the Bible to me.

Heaven does not erase our differences.

It redeems them.

Maybe that is why the World Cup moves people so deeply.

For a few weeks, the whole world shows up with flags, food, songs, languages, stories, pride, and pain.

And for a moment, you remember how big the world is.

You remember how much there is to learn.

You remember how many stories are unfolding all around you.

The World Cup reminded me that America’s greatest strength is not sameness.

It is diversity with a shared opportunity.

My parents came here as refugees from Vietnam.

Today, their son gets to build a career, serve in his church, cheer for multiple countries during the World Cup, eat Korean food on Friday, Peruvian food on Saturday, Indian food on Sunday, and hear 30 different languages within an hour of home.

That is something I will never take for granted.

And for my friends in sales, leadership, and business:

Curiosity is not just a personality trait.

It is a competitive advantage.

The more curious we become about people’s cultures, backgrounds, stories, and experiences, the better we become at understanding them.

And the better we become at understanding people, the better we become at serving them.

Curiosity has made me a better salesperson because curiosity first made me a better neighbor.