What I Wish I knew When I Was 20

by nabinhait

Yesterday I have completed another mind-blowing book “What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20” written by Tina Seelig. Tina is an entrepreneur, neuroscientist, a popular teacher and an executive director of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program. In her book, she shares with us what she offers her students – challenging tasks, provocative stories, inspiring advice.

The book is full of amazing stories and anecdotes, each one with a unique lesson. But at the same time, it is written in very simple language. While reading the book, if you think to underline the great inspiring quotes, you will end up marking up almost each and every page of the book.

Though looking at title of the book, you may think it is just for those who are at their twenties, that’s not true. It is a “must read book” for any person whether he/she is a student, a businessman, an entrepreneur or doing job in any company.

Tina shows us that sometimes it is fine to not know what you are doing, and sometimes the best opportunities are right there in front of us, just waiting for us to seize them. And it is okay to fail, because the best lessons come from failures and it can be the doorstep of bigger successes.

If you pay attention to successful entrepreneurs, you will notice a tendency to look at things from different angles and often trying different approaches to various problems. When we take on problems from more attentively, we become more confident and proficient at solving them.

Throughout the book she gives some really creative examples of this type of approaches.

Every problem is an opportunity for a creative solution

The bigger the problem, the bigger the opportunity. No one will pay you to solve a non-problem. Many ideas are good but great ideas create value for others and those are the ones that succeed.

The harder you work, the luckier you get

Lucky people are never just lucky. They are acutely aware of their surroundings and find unusual ways to recombine their findings and knowledge. You need to put yourself in a position and have to work hard, to make yourself lucky.

Try lots of things and keep what works

If you always do things the same way, you will never know that may be there is a better way to do that. Things always can be improved, so you should always try something new. If you are not failing sometimes, you are not taking enough risks. Tina describes “dealing with failure” as a secret sauce of silicon valley.

The little things matter most

Don’t take the little things for granted. Always say thank you if you get any kind of help from anyone. Write a thank you note within 24 hours of having a job interview. If you are working in a team, try to make every team member successful. The more you make other people around you successful by helping them, the more it comes back to you.

Find an intersection between your passions, your skills, and the market

May be you are very passionate about something but it may not be profitable. It’s better to know your passions, polish your skills and look out for opportunities in the market.

Never miss an opportunity to be fabulous

You will never get a second chance to make a first impression, so give your best whatever you do. Why be just good if you can be great?