The American Way and a lack of "substance"

As I'm often surrounded by people from other countries. I take note of the cultural differences that are ever-present. There are some differences that I regret, like the lack of a culture and traditions that are thousands of years old. Even things that are both a gift and a curse - such as a more homogeneous society as far as ethnicity or religion - has some benefits culturally that we miss out on; such as monuments as extraordinary as the Giant Buddha in Hong Kong or the Batu Caves here in KL. But I realize now that one of the biggest differences is a success oriented "dare to dream" mindset. Although I'm relatively inexperienced in my field, I maintain a mindset that I want to continue to improve at what I do. I ask a lot of questions and ask to be involved in more and more because I plan on being the man someday. And when some smart kid straight outta college shows up askin me tough questions the same way I do, I need to be good enough to answer. It seems many other nations have very successful people but they get content much easier. Noone sets out to 'change the world.' Of the many inventions that have truly changed the world or fundamentally changed the way we do certain things, many of them have been invented by Americans. With as little history as we have compared to so many countries, how did we get so ahead of the curve? Da Vinci designed a flying machine in the 1400's. There were no more great minded dreamers in Europe who could figure out how to finish it. It took two young bike salesmen in America over 400 years later to finish the job? With all the minds from different countries that had hands in giving the world the computer, how is it that it took Americans to allow them connect and form the Internet? Better yet, how did two college drop outs in Silicon Valley become the first to make a workable interface systems to operate computers? With foods from European originals being so popular - Hamburgers (named for Hamburg, Germany), Hot dogs/Frankfurters (named for Frankfurt, Germany), pizza (of Italian origin), french fries (self-explanatory), etc - how did fast food of such foods become an American creation? How'd someone like Henry Ford - who invented neither the car or the assembly line - become first to fuse the two into the modern automotive industry? Theater and entertainment go back thousands of years, how did Hollywod end up in America? There are so many others. Even lately, there have been several Internet-based inventions that have fundamentally changed the way we do things. Google has fundamentally changed the way the world shares and finds information; it was started by college students who expanded it from research project of theirs. Facebook has fundamentally changed the way people communicate and find each other; It's founder, Mark Zuckerberg is a programmer who dropped out to run with an idea. Wikipedia has replaces volumes of encyclopedia as the dominant way to research and find collections of information on certain topics;Its founder left a lucrative financial business to make the vision a reality. These are just examples of what I mean. Maybe it's a by-product of a nation of immigrants who went to the "New World" to shake things up. Maybe, we don't have sentimentalities that could hold us back. I'm not sure what it is. But I appreciate it. It almost depresses me to see people with little focus or ambition. I've come to look for it in conversation in general and especially look for it in women that I plan on taking seriously. The combination of intellect, critical thinking, will to stand for beliefs, and ambition are appealing. I've ccome to call this "substance." And I would say I have not met enough women here with adequate substance. I've met college grads with no sense of wanting to do more than just "hold what they have." Even among those still in college, there is often a lack of focus. I meet people who party almost every night and use that as an excuse to miss class; which they consider "boring." And I'm not saying classes aren't boring. I'm saying that this is not the proper mindset of an achiever. Do I think I'm some genius? No. Do I think I am going to be president? Not at all. Do I think I'm going to be Mark Zuckerberg and be a billionaire by my mid-20s? No, but if the opportunity and passion struck me I may go for it. The point is I'm ambitious enough to want to keep moving forward, to do things a cut above what most ppl my age do; like this trip in general. Even if I'm not a billionaire, or hailed as one of the minds that shaped my time, I wanna do something with myself. I wanna be successful. I want to look back and say I achieved something. I want to harness a slice of the American dream...