coming up on "asian focus" imagine giving a box of toys not just around the holidays but every month. we will meet the founder of cubbycase. and a life and business coach explain why asian professionals fall behind at the workplace. i am mary sit and join me next >> mary: taking off in the retail world everything from razors to healthy gourmet meals to make-up. now a service that delivers every month a box of toys and activities for children age 5 to 9. fred ge, co-founder of cubbycase studied at the harvard university discovered a business opportunity for his love of play.

>> mary: you loved growing up. >> yes, i did. always a great part of my childhood. >> mary: as an educator, so many products out there. how did you get this idea of cubbycase. >> with my co-founder we n noticed a lot of educational products on the market that were fun and interesting but the problem is people often had a very hard time finding or telling the efficacy of thesepr so we thought, hey, why not have a way for -- to help parents and kids discover the more invo saytive and interesting educational toys that will appeal to them and help them engage and learn together. >> this is a start-up company. randy, you just got these boxes manufactured this summer. if someone subscribes to this, you get a box every month in

inside from cubbycase. a little product list that te tells me everything in the box, is that right? >> yes. >> mary: a little letter for the parents. >> yes. >> mary: really for the parents or the kids. >> we like to think of it a box for the family. let your kid play what it and he or she learns from it and have a lot of fun with it. other than the items in the bo box, with avenue hand-crafted curriculum item created by harvard university school graduates helped have fun. >> mary: like a little harvard in a box. >> thank you. yes. >> mary: instead of playing with cell phones, video games and tv watching, they can play with these toys. see what we have in here in box is general interest. the first box. a helicopter building set. >> helps kids create an engineering mind set and the concepts related to building construction in general. >> mary: doing the stem

like duct tape but it is not play tape. >> think of it as painter's tape that you can put it on. and you can create a road or building. >> mary: this guy is doing roads and buildings. that is nice. you can put anywhere and doesn't ruin the floors and walls. i have never seen this. i like that. >> mary: and learn electronics by sticker. >> this was created by someone from the mit media lab. easy way to teach kids circuitry with one battery and one led light. >> mary: all in this package. >> an art piece to this as we well. after you create a circuit and a light, you put a piece of paper over it and you can draw stuff over it such as a lig lighthouse and your design

get electrocuted. >> no. >> mary: it is sea. >> it is very safe. >> mary: what are these little cards? >> the curriculum card created by us the team. one card per item in the box. and both cards have two sides. on the front side, the orange side, it is activities. we want to help -- ask kids to think about us and pretend they are either a professional related to the toy. you are a writer. you are an engineer >> mary: our mechanical engineer and tells what you to think about when you are doing that or you are an author. >> yes. the back side and the blue side shows general learning and concepts. >> mary: if i am a kid i am not going to go through the cards but the toys itself. the parent can learn with the child. >> easy way to learn with the kid. >> mary: a bar graph and how does it work.

designs. >> mary: you stick the pen in there and move the wheel. >> a very popular product three decades back. >> mary: before you were born. >> we are kind of reintroducing that. >> mary: at the bottom of the box a nice book "pieces of another world." >> a heartwarming story. our team reviewed over 30 different books and decided to go with this one about a little girl and her dad wakes up in the middle of the night and together to somewhere. she doesn't know where. at the end, her dad takes her to this field and they sit under the kai and they see a meteor -- the sky and they see a meteor shower. teaches about family bonding and the love a parent has for his child and also teaches astronomy actually. at the end of the book it includes a quick lessons on meteors and where do they come

>> mary: every box have a book. >> yes. >> mary: are going to customize the books -- cubbycase. let's say off khoyd is real -- -- a kid who is really into art. will you see more art than science. >> the first box families will receive are general purpose bo box. but going forward as families -- if they are interested, they can put in information about their kid on their order and on our web site, and, therefore, specific products for the child based on his or her interest, age rage and grade level and such and such. >> mary: the parents say she really loves bah ballet and music but we wants her to be an engineer. >> mary: you are gear her interest. >> we help parents curate fun

subscription cost. >> 25 a month. >> mary: not bad. you suggesting on the web site that grandkids can do that with the kids to keep in touch with them. >> we didn't think about that at first but as people started buying from them a couple of grandparents interested in buying it for their grandkids. we make it a great gift because every month they will receive a box from grandma and grandpa. here is something. very fun to play with and the grandpa. >> mary: they can skype each other while they are playing and they can send a pdf, scan it and find out what is going on, ask questions. really nice. tell me, how did you get the funding to start something like this because you started this right out of damage watt scho school. >> the team is bootstrapping this from ground up. we are putting in our own money and we had this idea and take

something like this? are they too busy to find the products these days? >> a lot of parents we surveyed doing start-ups parents are very busy. except dual income parents. they are always working and feel guilty they don't have time spending time with their kids. a box that will bring forth the best educational products on the market but helps them spend >> mary: rather than just handing it to them you can have fun with your kids. different values and goals you are trying to establish with each box. develop critical thinking skills. can you tell us a little bit about that. >> sure. each box -- each item in the box covers a different area usually. you saw engineering to art to reading comprehension. but -- so, if you look at the curriculum cards, there should be one more piece of paper that

case the growth mind set. we want this not only to be an educational opportunity for the kids but educational opportunity for the parents as well. >> mary: good luck about your new venture cubbycase." you can read about it on the web. yes, cubbycase.com. a life and bus case in innovation and in the most unlikely places. stay with us. stay with us. we offer a variety of medicare plans to fit your budget and your lifestyle. with plans starting as low as $0, you'll have zero things stopping you from really doing what you love. so call now to learn more about our plans that offer everything from annual wellness visits to routine hearing and vision exams, and prescription drugs.

medical deductible and no referrals. plus, all our plans come with the peace of mind that you get when you have a health plan with over 50 years of medicare experience. the next chapter of your life should be all about you. that's why we're here. to learn more, contact us for our free medicare guide with no obligations. you can call us at 1-888-800-8813 or visit us at bluecrossma.com/medicareguide. ? ? ? ?. >> mary: ever wonder why asian americans can do stellar work in college, land a dream job and languish in the world. it is about our cultural upbringing.

reengineer their abilities for success. thank you for being with us. >> thank you for having me. >> mary: tell me this whole thing of asian americans doing really well in school, they get this job, and then they sort of stall out. >> yeah, mary. i see this very often. why is it that the most talented people, the people who work the hardest are actually the last to be promoted. almost like a joke, why does the duke la crosse player gets promoted before someone working 10 to 12 hours an interesting mismatch. we value introverted qualities, sense of ability, putting nose to the grindstone, a sense of respect. >> mary: part of the team. >> yes, very humble and very enclosed. however when you go into the corporate world -- great for education, helps you study and succeed. you go into the corporate world, what we don't realize a lot of really highly

the other half is the value on extroverted qualities, the values on the politics, permits and connecteding with others and that tends to get people promoted. granted you have two people who are good at what you do. the person more out there more likable is seen more as a leader. >> mary: do you have to self-promote at work? >> there is a good level of really understanding what you are good at, and being able to speak it at a moment's notice. so sg business, as your own start-up and having your elevator pitch for whoever walks in the door. >> what would you say -- what kind of advice. what are some quick tips to the asian professionals. the quiet type put your nose to the grindstone and not say anything about your accomplishments. >> a lot of quiet people are quirky on the inside and you get them with their friends,

whoever you are with the family and friends, bring that into the workplace. you get a brand of confidence. we don't need to be a specific way or loud. weapon need to feel comfortable in who we are. that is very mag nev netic and very attractive. >> mary: very nice. has it worked with some of your clients. >> improved their relations relationships, their sex lives. new jobs and promotions. people invest in people who take themselves seriously. and so a lot of times we take oursel it is more like let me work hard for someone else but not necessarily invest in myself, my character throughout my personal growth. that's why i do what i do. i feel like we need to invest in ourselves first, and then we are able to be our own advocate and help others too. >> mary: how do smart people sabotage their careers? >> mart people sabotage themselves all the time because smart people tend to be honest and tend to want to get the job

and let me do this. >> they think they are the smartest ones in the room and may be. >> they may be and work really hard, but sacrifice the relationship component. remember what we said in the job, not just your skill but the relationship. 50/50. >> mary: stand around the cooler talking to each other. talking about the football game is important. >> building close relations relationships. every time someone comes to me i am not getting the promotion that i deserve. who areou conversations with. usually they know. ton of people and a ton of events they are avoiding because they don't want to deal with it. >> mary: too busy doing the work. >> too busy doing the work and too busy making excuses to not go to company events because it it is not comfortable for them. but if you take your job serious low important to cultivate your relationships. >> mary: you have it and something comes up. somebody down the hall can do it because you remember the

>> that person is top of mind. i remember liking that person and feeling like they are trustworthy. i have a lot of people who come to me and her doctors or lawyers a really good people who really want to help people, but they come off as standoffish, they come off as arrogant. >> mary: like dr. house of the tv show. >> not because they are they are shy and don't know how to relate to people. a muscle they never worked. thatak really do care and their perception is not who they are. >> mary: how do you teach people to be comfortable in a setting they are not normally comfortable in. a social setting. >> it is tough. i myself is an introvert, i moan and groan before going to any event but when i get there i am okay. a lot of people say i am good with one to one conversation.

identifies what makes them comfortable. three things they are really comfortable with. for example, people usually say if i can find someone one to one and i feel that they actually are interested in the conversation we are having, then they will open up. so it is finding the three things that allow them to feel comfortable in any social environment. >> mary: usually a small setting or one to one. whatever it could be for that person. >> usually they are in a big group and they see someone they areom they are in a group or having an ally or finding someone who also might be on their own and having a one-to-one conversation. they don't need to be the center of attention if they are not comfortable, but say i am going to go to this event and talk to three people. or talk to one person and be fine with it. >> mary: you mentioned on your web site or blog reengineering and being your own architect. how do you show people to have

>> mary, so interesting. so many different personas, so many different traits. we can be the happiest person in the world or feel like the more alone person in the world. all within us. very positive but also complex. all these beautiful traits. usually when someone has a goal they want to meet or something they want to achieve, they really just need to identify that part of themself, that persona that gets them there. i work with actu individuals who want to start their own private practice. start entrepreneurial adventure, maybe start a different company and oft oftentimes what stops them is their normal persona of just being -- i am just regular anna or i am corporate anna or mommy anna. when i think about that from that perspective, it is kind of difficult to get myself in the right perspective. what i have a lot of them do most of them is adopt -- i am my ceo persona. so i am the executive of my

differently. this me doesn't necessarily make emotional decisions or stops myself from proposing his because i am fearful. this me has a deeper commitment to succeeding in business. so they have that within us, and we can tap into it immediately. >> mary: so you are saying don't be limit by our beliefs, right? instead, sort of adopt another set of -- i can do this but this role of this is a >> we can't be limited by the person we think we are. we are very complex and we have different possibilities, different personalities within us. >> mary: tell meet story a young pom a single mother of two who did not are a college degree. and you helped her. tell me what she did. >> a beautiful woman of color, two kids. adhd, a history of family trauma and abuse but had this one desire to build her own

we tapped into the ce offerings part of her and found once she was fully able to commit and visualize which is very important for people with adhd and add, to commit to this ceo part of her that wants to create this beautiful event planning business. what happened was, she created a first event. wait listed and a huge immense hit. we just got off the phone today, she told me her in box is full of people who want to work go to her next event and it is because -- she said i can't believe that because they have no clue that i kind of just made this up. and a lot of times it is taking that role seriously because people will respond to that. >> mary: she had a very strong desire to do something and she took that first step of courage to start believing in herself that she could do it. >> yeah, exactly. she gets so much energy from it now because it is exactly what she should be doing. >> mary: what do most of your

and the reason people get stuck is, we make a lot of decisions from our head. i should do this, you know. i got a law degree and i should be a lawyer, for example. what happens is when we don't listen to ourselves. asians are really good at not listening to ourselves. disconnects us from that energy and power and we forget who we are. we are making decisions for our parents and making decisions because it make intellectual sense and it doesn't light us up. >> mary: helping them unstuck. >> beside hiring a coach, the best way to get unstuck is to identify what you really, really want. and what you really, really want and who you really want to be. you want to that be person that is magnetic. >> mary: scary if you want to do something i will have to give up my 9 to 5 secure paycheck job. >> sometimes you don't have to. they are scared to dream and i need to give up everything and

a lot of times we find out it is that much closer and they can be the person they want to be at work and they feel good. so many people loved their jobs more even though they wanted to run away from it and love their jobs more and are more effective at their jobs. >> mary: can read more on your program at annatsui.com. thank you so much mary, so much fun. coming up the cool jazz sounds

? ? ?. >> mary: our last segment

features the jazz band an-no-ne. hiro is from japan and director of the berkeley school of mus music. hiro and his band performing "here we go." thank you for watching and i will see you again in four weeks. >> here we go. here we go ?

?

?

? with simply right checking from santander bank, just make one deposit, withdrawal, transfer, or payment each month to waive the monthly fee. and there's no minimum balance. you're alright with simply right checking from santander bank.

>> announcer: the following is a paid presentation for the worx air, brought to you by worx. prepare to be blown away. [ whirring ] you're not looking at an ordinary blower. there's no cord. there's no gas. it goes where no other tool could ever go, does things no other tool could ever do. it finds every kind of dirt in every kind of space... and makes your whole home cleaner in just minutes so you get to spend more time enjoying it. the incredible worx air -- so versatile, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. meet the powerful, lightweight, cordless worx air. it makes all kinds of cleanup faster, easier, and more efficient than ever before. with 20 volts of lithium power, you can go wherever the mess is. the patented worx air system includes eight exclusive