You were not born just an engineer or a researcher
You are more than your job title. Unleash your potential
Today I want to speak about something that’s really important to me. I will address two aspects :
The “I am just an engineer/lawyer/trader and I can’t start a business" problem
The 3 phases of an idea.
It shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes but it might get you ten years ahead in personal development.
“I’m just an engineer” - Rewire yourself
I’ve been working in France for the past four years already after two years having worked in the US. Thus, to me, there is some thing in France, and in Europe in general, which is lacking or missing to have more tech leaders - and leaders en general in any field - starting their own business.
In university in the US, you have a lot of disciplines gathered in the same place, you can go through the campus and see science, economics, literature, philosophy, sociology, and so on and so forth.
One of the problem of education in France - it might be a little bit true for all the countries in Europe but I don’t want to pretend that I’m a specialist and I know that some people would know better than me - but for France I know :
Once you get out of high school, you think that you have to choose what you will do for your entire career: engineer lawyer, trader, etc… And once it’s chosen and it’s started, there’s no coming back. Ever got that feeling ? I have.
In this very newsletter, I want to address this topic and I want to talk to those people like me to search for a long time
They are not their job title.
Your job does not define who you are.
Were you engineer/lawyer or trader before actually accepting the job ?
In society, we present ourselves like this “I am en engineer” as it was something definitive and a characteristic. We should say: “My job today is engineering” - Psst : the word “today” is important: it is what you are DOING (not BEING) now and you might be doing something completely different 10 years from now. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that !
It’s not because you’re never done any sales, finance, recruitment, technical, technological or scientific activities that you won’t be able to do any of the things, that you are not capable of those things.
Do you remember the way you became a lawyer or engineer?
You worked and you studied long and hard
Guess what ? You can do the same in any other discipline.
So if you are out there and thinking that you don’t know if you can become an entrepreneur or anything else. “I am not an entrepreneur”. Let me tell you something you’re wrong.
Aren’t you inspired by those people that are homeless and jobless one day and 10 years later they are investors intrapreneurs billionaires
What do you think they have that you don’t?
Please let me answer that question for you :
They didn’t have anything else than the belief in the faith that they could be who they are right now.
I want to give you something or that I learned in the past about cognition
Your brain is wired like this: It’s doesn’t want to be wrong.
That’s been proven scientifically. I like this quote from Henry Ford.
If you believe that you’re going to lose that football game or lose that business contract or fail that side business, this is exactly what will happen ! Even if you love it - it won’t be enough because your brain is leading your actions towards failure
What’s the success secret of those people that you admire so much and who inspire you? They believe that they will win and they see themselves winning or millionaire or billionaire or tech leaders or bakers - whatever their dream is. Through that visualization, their brain is making everything possible to make that make that happen.
! Call for action !
Write down on a piece of paper what you want to achieve. Write in the present tense: “I am a tech entrepreneur. I am a baker"
Visualize yourself being that dream of yours right here and now. Be precise, see the details of that new life.
Repeat every day
Book recommendations
If you want to go deeper in those visualization methods, there are two books that I highly recommend for you to read :
the first one is miracle morning
the second one is think and grow Rich
The three steps of a new project
After having convinced YOURSELF that you are doing that startup project, you want to present your idea to the OUTSIDE WORLD.
You might visualize your boss’s answer, your wife’s or husband’s answer or anticipate your friends’ reaction and they might say ‘it’s crazy’. They might say it’s insane they might say it’s impossible.
What should you do about that? You should remember that every idea goes through three different stages.
The first stage of any new is ‘revolutionary’.
What you’re trying to do now does not exist so every time you present your idea to someone and that person does not see the solution like you do and they refuse it. Do not take it personally. That person has been doing things the same way for the last 20 30,40 years or even just two years.
You are bringing on the table a solution that is completely outside of their comfort zone and they won’t see it because it’s an effort to change the way you think so in that case, be empathetic and explain again.
If you remember that in order to make people buy somethings, they need to see it seven time in average! So be patient with the result, and be impatient in action
“Impatience with actions, patience with results.”
— Naval Ravikant
The second stage of any new is ‘opposition’.
You are presenting your idea that is revolutionary and now everyone around you knows that it exists.
Now comes the opposition or battle to resist change and you have got to be there and stand the fight. Why ? You know better than anybody that your solution can improve the current state, the current situation and thus solve your customers’ problem at hand.
This might be long and difficult. Do not focus on “We haven’t been doing things that way X for such a long time and now we can’t change it” and focus on how better it will improve your customers’ life. Refine your arguments. Give them time to stop the opposition and accept your solution. Because eventually, you will reach the…
The third and final stage of any new is ‘self-evidence’.
After a strong opposition, which followed the revolutionary stage, the last stage of your idea is wide acceptance by everyone.
So, if you endure the first two stages, and I know they are difficult to live with, you could expect that your idea will finally be recognized and its benefits largely acknowledged. The solution will become the new “normal” for the industry and the following best idea after yours will have to go through the same process.
Key takeaways of this newsletter
The first lesson of this newsletter is:
You can learn anything, don’t believe that you are an engineer indefinitely , or a researcher or a even CEO. Everyone can learn anything as long as they put the effort to do so, and if you are willing to go on with your tech start up, you have got to be ready to believe and visualize the tech leader that you want to be.
Don’t let your education or your boss or anyone else let you think that you are not able to start a business and change the world.
The second lesson is :
You will face mockery and fierce opposition to your idea, and especially if you are doing a deeptech startup as disruptor of industries, so hold to your vision, be ready to keep your fort and be empathetic with whom you are talking to
That’s it for today !
Thanks for reading
Keep working, failing and learning 📚
To the Moon 🌕
Jerome 💖