On his journey to becoming an international basketball star, Yao Ming had to first overcome a difficult period of transition. While the Chinese star was adjusting to a higher level of competition with the NBA's Houston Rockets, he was simultaneously learning English and dealing with cultural differences away from China.

After concluding a successful career in the United States, Yao reflected on how he was able to manage these difficulties in a recent conversation in Hong Kong:

"The key is to find something that we have in common," he said. "We all agree about something — [maybe] we all want to help the poor, [or] we want to help the disabled, [or] we want to win the game — something like that."

Yao was joined by Timothy Shriver, chairman of the Special Olympics, and Asia Society Global Co-Chair Ronnie Chan in an event entitled The World’s Greatest Challenge: Fear of Difference and How We Can Solve It.

Click here to watch the full program.