Have you ever thought what makes people successful in life?
It's not natural talent. It's not intelligence. It's not even the right connections.
Now, lest anyone take aim and shoot down that rather bold claim, I don't mean that those things aren't factors. They are, and they make quite a difference. They just aren't the key.
Rather, the number one factor in determining success is a desire to create value - a genuine drive to cause something to be or improve upon an existing foundation, to be a catalyst for change or a beacon for inspiration. It consists of recognizing an unmet need and then going about solving this.
This may sound simple, but I'm afraid that many people never learn that. We grow up being taught to get a good education or experience so we can get a job, to secure employment where we are owed a paycheck. We work six months to a year, and then we expect a raise. We're owed that, right? A higher-up position opens up and we've been there the longest - the spot should be as good as ours. Shouldn't it?
I answer that with a quote from the late Pres. Hinkley of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: "The world will in large measure pay you what it think you are worth." As said another, "the world owes you nothing. It was here first."
They key difference to be learned can be largely summed up in one word: selflessness. Are we selfishly looking to our own good, feeling entitled to raises and promotions, or do we eschew the titles and the honors and go about doing good, creating value in the lives of others?
That is our choice.
Carpe Diem.
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Saturday, October 24, 2015
True Nobility
I take today's title from something Earnest Hemingway once said:
“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.”
I rather like that thought.
One of the things that impresses me about the beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the near-constant attention to improvement. Paraphrasing Elder Boyd K. Packer from the April 2015 General Conference, to look to Christ as a Savior is to recognize that there is a disconnect between who we were once and the better people we are now - and that the Sacrifice of Christ severs the bond our former selves claim upon us, allowing us to rise unhindered to greater heights.
Returning to that Hemingway quote - One of the reasons I like this quote so much is that it indirectly infers where we ought to find the source of our self-worth. In Stephen Covey's book "7 Habits of Highly Effective Teenagers" (and contained within his father's more well-known book, "7 Habits of Highly Effective People"), he sets forth three ways we can view our standing among our peers: 1) Win-Lose, 2) Lose-Lose, and 3) Win-Win. Win-Lose and Lose-Lose are simply phrased: "Between you and me, only one of us can be better, and that's going to be me. If it can't be me, I will ensure that it will not be you." It is seeking to be superior to our fellow man.
Win-Win is different. It is seeing the world as open opportunity for everyone to be successful, with my success being of no detriment to yours. It is seeking to be superior to your former self, and allowing all the opportunity to do the same.
The first two focus one's sense of self-worth on standing among peers. Essentially, if I'm not better than you, than I have no worth. If I am better than you, than you are of no worth. The last focuses it in a much more healthier, positive way: all that matters is if we are better than we were before.
I believe that if we make this a motto in our lives, we will stop uselessly worrying about where we are in comparison to others and start making meaningful progress in our own lives. Life will cease to be an endless competition for scraps and become a collaboration toward meaningful creations.
Carpe Diem.
Saturday, October 17, 2015
Of Going and Getting
I had a change of perspective today.
To preface it, and by way of explanation, I'm currently in the middle of networking toward an eventual career in Investment Banking. I meet people for lunch, write emails, make phone calls, sit down with professionals, and anything else that grows my network and deepens my understanding of the career. While I enjoy doing it, and always viewed my time as well-used, I nonetheless had some reservations.
First off - and this is the main point - I'm a Sophomore. Most firms don't look at anyone seriously until they're at least a Junior - at least, that was what everyone told me, and I believed them.
Now, to some degree it is true. To see it as absolute, however, is misleading.
Which takes me to my experience today.
I met with a good friend who did an investment banking internship last summer. In the course of our conversation, he asked if I was applying for the summer internships already open. I told him no, that I knew that it was only open to Juniors. His reply shocked me:
"Well why not?!"
He then explained to me a simple truth - there are no true rules set in this area. Anything we get is by our efforts, and nothing is off limits. We are only held back by our own decision to not try.
That stunned me. I thought of all the dreams I had, all the things that I thought I could never do. I listened as all of those preconceptions shattered on the ground. I went home and immediately put in my application for a bank I've had my eye on.
The point is, we make our own luck. We get the good opportunities when we try to make them happen. Like my good friend Shia Labeouf says, "Just DO it! Make your dreams come true."
To preface it, and by way of explanation, I'm currently in the middle of networking toward an eventual career in Investment Banking. I meet people for lunch, write emails, make phone calls, sit down with professionals, and anything else that grows my network and deepens my understanding of the career. While I enjoy doing it, and always viewed my time as well-used, I nonetheless had some reservations.
First off - and this is the main point - I'm a Sophomore. Most firms don't look at anyone seriously until they're at least a Junior - at least, that was what everyone told me, and I believed them.
Now, to some degree it is true. To see it as absolute, however, is misleading.
Which takes me to my experience today.
I met with a good friend who did an investment banking internship last summer. In the course of our conversation, he asked if I was applying for the summer internships already open. I told him no, that I knew that it was only open to Juniors. His reply shocked me:
"Well why not?!"
He then explained to me a simple truth - there are no true rules set in this area. Anything we get is by our efforts, and nothing is off limits. We are only held back by our own decision to not try.
That stunned me. I thought of all the dreams I had, all the things that I thought I could never do. I listened as all of those preconceptions shattered on the ground. I went home and immediately put in my application for a bank I've had my eye on.
The point is, we make our own luck. We get the good opportunities when we try to make them happen. Like my good friend Shia Labeouf says, "Just DO it! Make your dreams come true."
Thursday, October 1, 2015
National Advisory Committee Luncheon
This past week I had the incredible opportunity to attend a luncheon hosted by the Marriott School for the National Advisory Council (NAC). For those of you who are, like I was, unaware of what the NAC is, the NAC is a body of professionals from various careers who have decided to give back to the community of students by offering their experience and advice to students who are interested in pursuing similar careers. They are incredible people with a wealth of knowledge to share.
I'll admit to being nervous at the outset of the event. This was the first event of its kind that I've ever attended, and I felt very much out of place sitting among some very successful men and women. However, as I began to chat with a few of them, I discovered an amazing secret: they're human! They are people, complete with interests, stories, and senses of humor. I found that barriers quickly dropped as I took initiative to talk to them, take an interest in them, and meet them on their terms. I found it incredible just how many of them had begun with dreams and aspirations that mirror my own; I took it as assurance that I too can realize them one day.
If I could say one thing about the event, it would be that networking works, and not in the way you might think. Networking is at its best when it ceases to be self-serving, and instead seeks to inspire and enrich other's lives. We humans thrive on affirmation and encouragement, two characteristics at the core of real networking. By meeting someone new, you expose yourself to a whole different life, complete with paradigms and motivations that could potentially change your own life. It's not just a tool for the businessman or businesswoman, it's an opportunity for everyone - an opportunity I plan on taking for the rest of my life.
I'll admit to being nervous at the outset of the event. This was the first event of its kind that I've ever attended, and I felt very much out of place sitting among some very successful men and women. However, as I began to chat with a few of them, I discovered an amazing secret: they're human! They are people, complete with interests, stories, and senses of humor. I found that barriers quickly dropped as I took initiative to talk to them, take an interest in them, and meet them on their terms. I found it incredible just how many of them had begun with dreams and aspirations that mirror my own; I took it as assurance that I too can realize them one day.
If I could say one thing about the event, it would be that networking works, and not in the way you might think. Networking is at its best when it ceases to be self-serving, and instead seeks to inspire and enrich other's lives. We humans thrive on affirmation and encouragement, two characteristics at the core of real networking. By meeting someone new, you expose yourself to a whole different life, complete with paradigms and motivations that could potentially change your own life. It's not just a tool for the businessman or businesswoman, it's an opportunity for everyone - an opportunity I plan on taking for the rest of my life.
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