The recent election was remarkable and historic and one that will be remembered for many years to come; not only because of the incredible turn-out of young people, with 23 million young Americans under the age of 30 voting, a turn-out this country hasn’t seen since the 70s, but also because it was an election that was felt around the world.

On the night of the election results, people could be seen dancing, crying, and celebrating all over the world, from the homeland of Obama’s father, Kenya, to countries that had zero obvious connections whatsoever to the election.

No connection except for the fact that Obama in office means better foreign relations, better foreign diplomacy and more intelligent and informed decisions. At home, many Americans were proud to be called Americans again, Facebook status messages erupted with relief and jubilation, and newscasters predicted a surge in patriotism.

And it was an election to which the whole world reacted and rejoiced. French President Sarkozy wrote that the election outcome “resonates well beyond your borders.” Former German ambassador to the US, Wolfgang Ischinger, declared that, “a new face offers Europe a new chance to remarry America.” Peru’s prime minister, Yehude Simon, emphasized that the Obama win was a win for many, stating, “Peru wins with the change; it’s a change that we all expected. God help us.” “Even Iraqi President Jalal Talabani publicly congratulated Obama on his win and stated that he looked “forward to the relations between our two countries under your mandate, and further consolidation and development in all fields.”

Maybe this will mean that fewer American travelers will feel they have to have the Canadian flag sewn on to their backpacks for fear of being identified as American and therefore “underappreciated”.

I live and work in the Silicon Valley and have published a book written and researched through tremendous luck and with passion – They Made It!. I interviewed great leaders of the Valley who were born overseas and who came here and made it. I also talked to American leaders here who work with and appreciate the foreign entrepreneurs’ contributions to the US economy and to high tech in particular.

http://www.professional-business-communications.com/Book/Contentbooks.html

I don’t qualify to be in the same category as the incredible foreign and American-born executives I interviewed over the last 14 months, but I certainly share their passion for work and for connecting to the community around me. This is a group of individuals, who are pulled together by their passion for IT and by the curiosity to discover the new, best thing to solve a problem that will benefit people around them.

What struck me when I met them was the kindness with which they received me, the direct way I could talk to them and get them to tell me stories about their lives, their “drive” to work, to create and have fun in their jobs – they were already having fun in their lives with their friends and their families, something that was very evident; even if we count all the hours they worked, they made sure they shared their lives with people close to them.

Ok, so in this past year and a half, I spent time with people who had already made it; now comes the time to look for foreign-professionals who are still trying to make it in the Valley, in IT or who are planning on coming here to the US to study and learn the American way of doing business.

How have you made your own ”way”? How have you gotten here (or still want to come to the US) and what made you find your path? Success is measured differently by every person, what would success mean to you? Where would you have to be professionally, or maybe personally?

If you have a story to tell, or if you know someone whose story would interest all of us, please leave your (detailed) comments and emails or I can get in touch with you to hear more. Not only would I like to write another book where I present stories from the next generation of entrepreneurs, but I also am starting a podcast with interviews of such professionals.

You can also contact me directly via email: angelika.blendstrup@gmail.com