START-UPS & ENTREPRENEURSW
ith the heightened
romanticism around
entrepreneurship, there is
a growing propensity to
try to emulate those who
grace the covers of business magazines. While
it can be useful to learn lessons and gain
inspiration from those who have come before
us, it is important that we do not view ourselves, or our path,
in comparison to them.
As Peter Thiel, Co-Founder of PayPal highlights in his book
Zero to One, “The next Bill Gates will not build an operating
system. The next Larry Page or Sergey Brin won’t make a search
engine and the next Mark Zuckerberg won’t create a social
network”. Indeed, to copy the greats is to not learn from them.
Whether it is the building of a flourishing company, raising
a happy family, or embarking on a meaning ful career, human
beings create great things when what they do is fuelled by
who they are.
Some call it intuition, some call it gut, some call it heart,
or perhaps they call it soul. Others call it God, and some
don’t call it anything at all. It’s that piece of us that science
can’t explain, but to be human is to feel it. It’s that hunch,
that inner sense that feels so clear. It’s the feeling of joy that
makes time disappear, or the curiosity that urges you to take
a step forward.
I believe that inexplicable feeling that lights you up right where
you are or that pulls you in a particular direction is your
intuition speaking to you. The things that resonate with you do
not resonate with you by accident, but rather because they
have struck a chord deep inside.
One of the key differences I’ve observed between those who
live a life that reflects their true potential and those who don’t,
is that the latter spend a lot of time seeking validation and
asking permission from others. Often, we are taught that when
we are making important decisions in life, somebody else will
have the answers we seek — someone smarter, someone more
experienced, someone more qualified. While it can be wise to
seek the counsel of a trusted guide, it is
important that your decisions ultimately rest in
the hands of the only person qualified to make
them: you. When the voice inside of you is
louder than the voices outside of you, you have
begun to master your life.The challenging part about letting your life
be guided by your own self is that we live in
a culture that places too much emphasis on intellectual
rationale and too little on intuition. Often, when our intuition
is suggesting we explore a certain path, it goes against the
conventional wisdom or the rationale of the tried and proven
way of thinking. While it is important to be intelligent in our
decision-making, it is equally, if not more important to feel
what our heart is saying and to trust our intuition. In his
Stanford University Commencement Address in 2005, Steve
Jobs said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can
only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that
the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to
trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.”
This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the
difference in my life. Your intuition is your compass.The scholar and mystic Rumi said, “There is a voice that
doesn’t use words. Listen.” Intuition is the language of the soul.
It is your inner GPS system that will help you walk and
navigate your path in life, if you let it. Those who strive to live
a life that is aligned to their true self must first pause long
enough to hear what their true self is telling them.To know oneself is simpler than many believe. It starts with
listening to your intuition; giving volume to your inner voice.
Follow what brings you joy. Follow what makes you curious.
These are the senses that lead you in the direction of your
best self.The clearer you are on your own direction, the more familiar
you are with your own strengths, and the more engaged you
are in your own journey, the less you will look to others as a
frame of reference or a means of comparison. While you will
still learn from the example of others, you will not view your
life in comparison to theirs.It starts with listening
to your intuition;
giving volume to your
inner voice. Follow
what brings you joy.
Follow what makes
you curious.