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I am inspired and humbled by the amazing women who have followed
their dreams and passion and have achieved much
success. The world is a richer place and blessed to have them. I
am honored to have an opportunity to share my story. Im a
diversity educator, trainer, consultant, author and president of
World Unity, Inc. a non-profit organization dedicated to making
a continuing and lasting contribution towards the elimination of
all forms of prejudice, bias and discrimination. We envision
this can be accomplished through the construction of a permanent
landmark showcasing the following poem: Are you greaterthan the
sun/ that shines on everyone: Black, Brown, Yellow, Red and White/
the sun does not discriminate
Finding ones purpose and passionI arrived at the place I am
today by asking a question when I was 10 years old, why am I here
on earth? This question led me
through a journey of self-exploration; discovering who I am and
my purpose for being here. When I went to college at
BostonUniversity School of Fine Arts I learned one of the most
important lessons in life make sure you love what you do. With
that
as my mantra I pursued everything with a passion until it left
me and then I was on to the next. My passion when I left
college
was pottery. The passion waned the day I asked myself this
question, how many pots do I have to make to pay the rent andcould
I see myself doing this for the next 5 years. The answer was a
resounding NO! I was on to finding my next passion.
During this search I worked as a receptionist at a large radio
station. It was here I discovered that I loved meeting new
people
and my sense of curiosity as a child never left me. This
ultimately led me into a career in the media.
Following my passionFollowing my passion took courage, patience,
dedication and being spiritually grounded. As I pursued my passion
in the media
industry there was a slight detour I took before landing my TV
job. This experience prepared me for the work Ive devoted my
life to since 1993. In 1985 I introduced the Sun poem to a
banker as an educational piece to consider for a public service
campaign. His response was immediate. He loved it and from that
point on a city-wide multi-media public service campaign
was developed to promote racial and ethnic harmony throughout
Boston. The Sun poem was promoted on billboards, displayed
in the mass transit line, and produced into a public service
message for television and aired on all three network affiliates.
The
campaign was so successful it was duplicated in New York City in
1986. NBC and CBS network television and radio aired the
public service message so it could be seen and aired across the
country. Making this campaign happen in NYC required
overcoming a lot of nos. This gave me a lot of resilience in
dealing with future nos and future obstacles. This detour also
led
me into developing programs in diversity and inclusion; however
I did not pursue it as a full time career my heart was still in
the media.
Turning point in my lifeIn 2000 I was laid off my TV job and had
to decide next steps. While I was working as a TV reporter I also
founded World
Unity, Inc. in 1993. Now I had a choice to continue pursuing a
career in the media or change the direction of my life. I wasvery
uncertain about what to do. Fortunately I had no family to
consider. I remember hearing a story on radio about the founder
Adventur es of Sara T ingPresident and Founder ; Diversity
Consultant,
Trainer - POET Educator atSara Ting and Associates
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.zarsmedia.com/archive.htmlhttp://www.asthesun.com/http://www.asthesun.com/http://www.asthesun.com/http://www.zarsmedia.com/archive.htmlmailto:[email protected]
7/30/2019 Adventures of Sara Ting
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of Kentucky Fried Chicken that led to his success. He asked
himself an important question - what was the most valuable
thing
he had to offer the world? For him it was his recipe for fried
chicken. For me it was the Sun poem. And going back to this
question of why I am here on earth I focused on World Unity,
Inc. our mission and I developed my business as a diversitytrainer,
educator and consultant.
In 2011 I was inspired to write a book entitled, Small Book with
a Big Idea 5 Minute Training To Empowers You and
Transform The World. I did not followthe traditional route and
look for a publisher or agent. I tried in myearlier years
andhadno success. I followed a non-traditional routeself
publishing. Its a little bit over 2 years since the book has been
out.The first large order I received was 200 hundred copies from
the Michigan National Guard. In 2011Unilever sponsored 5,000
copies that were distributed at the Urban Leagues National
Conference in Boston. The book is now in 22 colleges
anduniversities across America.
NowIve devoted my time and life to World Unity, Inc. and being a
diversity and inclusion educator, trainer and speaker and
author. Ive worked with colleges, universities, housing
authorities, municipalities and non-profit organizations across
the
country. It has been an incredible journey coming to understand
the depth of prejudice in America and the world and realizing
the role World Unity Inc. would play. The construction of the
World Unity Landmark will help ignite a consciousness ofequality
for everyone in America and the world. As Albert Einstein said
once, You cannot solve a problem with the same
consciousness that created it. You must stand on a higher
ground. The Sun poem engages the reader to be reflective and
provides an opportunity to have a transformative experience. As
a diversity and inclusion educator and trainer Ive meet somany
great people who are also committed to eliminating prejudice and
bias in the world and young people who ve been
inspired by the Sun poem. Right now there is a young man in
Nairobi Kenya who was deeply moved by the Sun poem. Hehas a vision
to promote it throughout his country. My approach to diversity and
inclusion training is about empoweringindividuals from the inside
out. Using innovative and engaging approaches to develop
self-awareness and criticalknowledge the individual can help
transform an organizations and their community.
Defining SuccessAs Ive followed this path of understanding my
purpose here and this journey of self-exploration whats helped me
is defining
success for myself and not letting society define it. The dream
comes from within and can only be realized by you, its your
dream. I was also following a path of understanding who am I and
serving a great greater purpose. Being an Asian American
woman carried some extra challenges that I had to become aware
of and not let define me. Success for me is having good
health, doing something thats fulfilling and serving a greater
purpose, having a strong loving relationship with family,
strong
abiding friendships, a strong spiritual foundation and building
relationships with colleagues and new people who come into my
life. I also believe its important to keep life simple and to
know that while you were here on earth you lived a life of joy,
happiness and helped make the world a better place is my
definition of success.
Overcoming obstacles and keys to successThere are always
obstacles to overcome in following ones passion. There are the
external and the internal. The internal are the
most important to overcome. Believing in one self, not letting
fear, doubt, insecurities and negativity overtake you. Having
the
patience, resilience, fortitude and determination to overcome
whatever is standing in your way. Always keeping your eyes on
the goal and not getting caught up in the obstacle. For me
having strong family relationshipand spiritual foundation has
been
essential. There were times along my journey with World Unity,
Inc. when I was tested and I felt powerless against the
obstacles. In those times it was my deep faith and spiritual
friends that guided me through. Having aloving family, core
group
of friends who are spiritually grounded has been a tremendous
help through challenging times.
Routine and Balancing ones lifeWhen you work for yourself one
must be very disciplined. I have a set of tasks and goals every day
to accomplish. I start my
day with a 15-20 minute physical routine, meditation and prayers
to ground myself and continue my spiritual growth.
Prioritizing the tasks and having a great team of people to work
with who deliver quality work on time contributes to thesuccess of
short and long term goals. Being single all my life the balance Ive
had to maintain is to make sure I make time to be
with family, maintain a personal life and not be totally
absorbed with work. My college years helped me understand balance.
I
was an extreme example of being a workaholic. Never missing one
class in 4 years, only seeing one movie and never
discovering a beautiful park that was about a half mile from the
college campus until my junior year gives you an idea of how
unbalanced my life was.
The special man is not in my life yet. Ive been deeply in love
and had my heart broken more than once. I know that being
happy is not dependent on a man. Happiness and joy comes from
within. In the Asian culture there is a Chinese character
translated into English it means double happiness. The idea is
when two happy people come together theres double happiness.So I am
open to the happy man who will come along in my life to have double
happiness.
