Chin-Ning Chu
President of Asian Marketing Consultants, Inc.

As a young person, it is sometimes hard to understand exactly what opportunity looks like and how to find it. The first step is to know yourself — assess your strengths as well as your liabilities. Just as a general must assess the terrain of the battlefield being entered, you must study yourself and everything around you. Then you must use what you have, whether it seems positive or negative, to maximize your position.

Albert Einstein once said, "In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." I believe this is a key truth for young entrepreneurs. Everyone's life is filled with a certain number of liabilities. Yet, these so-called liabilities can be turned into secret weapons for prevailing. Understanding how to turn weaknesses into strengths can result in an endless variety of opportunities.

So how do you turn a liability into an asset? First, you must not be afraid to use all of what you are to achieve your aims. Then, you must prepare to be challenged. Many times, people around you will attack you or your ideas for being "different." Often, when this happens, we feel ashamed of our abilities and our entrepreneurial dreams. But don't worry. When we are different, being attacked or laughed at is to be expected and should be viewed as a tribute to our creativity. Remember, people rarely laugh at ordinary ideas.

Don't be afraid to use what is different about you to take people by surprise. Be the first to explore and execute unconventional solutions and business strategies. Always seek the fresh angle and strive to be out there on the leading edge of your market.

Never wait for someone else to blaze a new trail. Conforming people often say things cannot be done, but innovative minds search for ways to be an exception to the norm. Successful entrepreneurs are the ones who say, "I am going to be the one who is different," and refuse to buy into the judgments of the crowd. Being different is not your liability, it is your opportunity to give the world something uniquely wonderful and original.