As many of you who know me and have worked with me throughout my career know that in every job I take, I measure my personal success and achievements by the impact and value my work creates in the world, which I was able to do plenty of in the past year. Thus, as I ponder on my one-year anniversary at the Foundation, I wanted to celebrate the great impact that the Foundation had on me and what it enabled me to do in the past 12 months.
Therefore, here are 12 nuggets I’ve gained in the past year regarding impact, defining success, and finding peace and purpose. Be warned: there’s a lot of puns and cliché metaphors showcasing the type of nerd/geek that I am.
1- Sometimes, things are not meant to work!
You can work hard to fix things, but when they don’t fit or work out, it’s okay to look outside the box (or even throw the box altogether and start over). Force-fitting things to work is usually unsightly and often ends up breaking even further.
2- You need to be lost every once in a while in order to find new paths that you never thought about.
Don’t fear the fog in the road; it’s there to guide you on the path you are actually meant to walk on or deter you from a path that is not right for you at that moment. Nothing is an accident. It’s all part of your grand design, so get lost every now and then. Take the road less traveled because that might be where you are meant to be all along.
3- Stick to your values and who you are.
It’s so easy to get caught up with fitting in, not standing out, and going along with the masses. It’s easy, and we’re all guilty of it. But the more you go along with others, the easier it is to forget where others start and where you end. Don’t forget what makes you the unique you, what values you uphold, and the value only YOU can bring to the world.
4- Don’t exchange the kid you were for the adult you wish to become.
Part of what makes us all unique is the kind of weird and interesting kids we once were, our hopes, dreams, and innocence. Carrying who we were as kids helps remind us every day to work towards the future we envisioned as youngsters and, thus, helps keep us grounded and authentic.
5- Know that it’s okay to ask for help!
As the saying goes, no wo/man is an island. However confident and sure of yourself you might be, you cannot do it by yourself. Rather, you shouldn’t have to do it on your own since there’s more than 8 billion people on the planet now and a high unemployment rate. Be a job creator. It’s also okay to be vulnerable, and it’s okay to need others (even if it’s difficult), as we all thrive when we reach out and when we’re being reached out to.
6- When it’s hard to get out of bed, stay there!
Okay, I know this one is very out there, but hear me out. We all have those days when we hate getting up and doing anything. If you’re one of those people who say, “I can’t wait to get up to go to work,” stop spreading toxic positivity. Those hard-to-get-up days are an important reminder to tell you that it’s time for a self-check-up (mental, physical or spiritual). It’s a way for your mind to reset and refresh, and your way to be able to start a new day with a new perspective.
7- Your job is not who you are, it’s what you do.
If you’re anything like me, you get completely consumed by the work that you do, as in you sleep, dream, and speak your job. So you can imagine that this one was hard for me because I love what I do, and I so easily define my entire personality based on the type of workday I had. While tricky, it’s important to distinguish the type of person that you are/want to be, and the job you do. Those two don’t always align, but being able to define each other through bringing the best of you to the job and taking the best your job has to offer, brings balance to yourself and the work you do.
8- Be cliché, “Dreams are not impossible, they are only in pursuit.”
When I turned to my thirties, I realized that 15-year-old me would never have imagined the life I have today. In my 15-year-old bedroom, I had a wall that listed all my impossible dreams (while some might be basic to others but, to me, those were flying cows). What I’m trying to say is why limit your conscious from all life has to offer? Put it out in the universe, walk on your path with hopes and dreams for the world you want to see and the “you” you wish to be, and be pleasantly surprised by what kind of lemons life ends up giving you.
9- Remember where you come from.
As you move up and around in your career and your life, remember where you come from. Remember your community: the people and the places. Think about what I can do to improve the future rather than just disprove the past. We all come from somewhere (sometimes we like it, and sometimes we don’t). Either way, what counts is how we move forward and give back without forgetting where we started.
10- Before you become a hero, work on discovering your superpower.
If you like comics/manga as I do, every superhero and villain has an origin story, how they became who they are. What makes the difference between a hero and a villain you say? It’s the choices they made when they found their superpowers. Take the time to discover your own power, what you’re good at and how you will utilize it, and what you’re bad at and how you will improve it. Don’t just be another figure in a super suit, be the hero of your own unique power that no one else can replicate.
11- Deep dive into the uncomfortable zone and keep swimming.
One thing I have to say about the comfort zone is that despite the title, it’s still very uncomfortable. It constantly reminds you that you are missing out on the great things outside of it, and the kind of person you will become if only you stepped out. So I say just deep dive into discomfort, deep dive into the unknown, take the risk where it matters, and keep swimming. Even if the waters are shark-infested, be the fearless whale blowing away your insecurities and forging your own path in uncharted blue waters.
12- Know that the world will only change when you decide to speak up.
I often speak to many people about wanting to change the world, of which many people agree, but most (if not all) say that change is unrealistic and too tiresome. Most people assume that it’s better to forever hold your peace or constantly complain with no plan of action, saying things like, “It’s not our job.” The thing is, however, making the world a better place is our individual and collective responsibility, which starts with simply pointing out things that are not working while coming up with solutions. We might not be able to fix everything, but we can, at least, speak and try to fix the ones we can.
Bounce nugget: You will receive as much energy as you put out.
Essentially think of Newton’s third law (for every action in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction), if you choose to wake up everyday and decide to take the world with kindness and empathy.
