It is rare when you go listen to a speech given by an entertainment executive, you not just come away more inspired, more determined, more excited and shrewder; but you also come away as a better person. This was the experience of the attendees at New York University when Kyu Lee, who is affectionately known as the man who "introduced Psy to America", gave a speech there. It happened on the same day Psy was in New York appearing before NBC's Today's Show for the second time in just over 6 months.

A wise man once said luck is when preparation meets opportunity. Kyu Lee is an embodiment of that sentiment. A young 21-year-old Kyu was visiting a friend in Los Angeles and it happened to be the weekend of The Oscars Academy Award Ceremony. Kyu unwittingly told his friend that rather than watching from home, they should go and watch it live. A ridiculous idea to the sane mind; his friend turned him down and a solo Kyu dressed in a black suit proceeded to go and mingle with the crowd at the Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium for the 2001 Oscars hosted by Steve Martin. It could all have ended there, but this is where Kyu's preparation met opportunity and spawned some amazing luck.

The night before, Kyu had gone to the venue of the award ceremony to scope out the place and know the lay-of-the land. Next up, he could have gone in jeans and a t-shirt, but figured that since most attendees dress up for the award night, he should too. So on the day of The Oscars, Kyu put on his Sunday best, a black suit.

Incidentally, the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon had been released the year before and was nominated for some of the awards that night. Without foreknowledge of this, Kyu spots an opportunity when he sights some Asians, the cast of Crouching Tiger, entering the venue, right in front of him. He then manages to feign ignorance of English to the security, and points at the Asians going inside. From this moment, Kyu's life would never be the same; the guards let him, Kyu watches the 2001 Oscars from inside the theatre, Crouching Tiger wins a record four awards that night, he is invited to the after party, becomes friends with the cast of Crouching Tiger, is introduced to Sony executives, and through his persistence and personality, the rest they say is history. A stroke of good luck some would say, but beyond that it was preparation, persistence, and determination meeting opportunity. Others may even say a bit disingenuous, but successful business leaders call this "thinking on your feet".

Fast forward to the summer of 2012, Kyu received a call from none other than Scooter Braun, the man behind the teenage phenom, Justin Bieber, and asks him if he knows P-S-Y? Kyu by this time had become a Sony executive, built an extended network of talented and reliable people, and co-formed the female pop group Blush, who are known as the Asian Spice Girls. Kyu makes some calls for Scooter, and before long Kyu had Psy on a plane from Seoul, Korea bound for Los Angeles, U.S.A. Kyu was bringing Psy to America.

Kyu's message for the rapt audience was simple: find happiness. He continued, there is no set formula for success, do what makes you happy and build on that, never be late and always be prepared, use stereotypes to your advantage, it is important to cultivate friendship and relationships with people you like. Finally, when asked what his ultimate dream is, he says it is to create and build a bigger "family". A platform and community that houses all the relationships and friendships he has built over the years and in the years to come.

Written by: JohnO @ Kpopstarz . com / @GoodMoMusic