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America gave me the opportunity to open successful restaurants, start a TV show, and write books. I can even fill an auditorium when I give a speech, which in America is rare for a chef.

Being educated in the United States gave me a good understanding of American culture. I think I got a lot of influence from the entrepreneurial mind in the United States.

I got my degree. More importantly, I got a key to American opportunity. That's who we are - a nation that rewards ambition with opportunity. Where hard work can lead to success, no matter where you start.

The success I have achieved in bodybuilding, motion pictures, and business would not have been possible without the generosity of the American people and the freedom here to pursue your dreams.

I had to get out of America to get a professional life going where I could actually make a living.

Moving to L.A. when I was 11 was when my entrepreneurialism started because it's the land of the American dream.

I grew up believing in meritocracy and the American dream. My parents came here from India. They had no connections. My brother and I went to public schools, and both of us succeeded.

So the America I came to know growing up was filled with all the excitement and possibilities found in living the American dream.

While I appreciated the educational advantages I enjoyed in the school and was proud of what I could show in mental culture, I had an earnest desire for something more than a mere business education... I desired to study for a profession, and this prompted me to leave my native state.