What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20: A Crash Course on Making Your Place in the World

by Tina Seelig

In fact, real life is the ultimate open-book exam.

Even more important, it should be acceptable to fail.

extract the lessons out of every experience and to move on with that new knowledge.

these ideas are relevant to individuals working in all dynamic environments, where situations change rapidly, requiring those involved to know how to identify opportunities, balance priorities, and learn from failure.

We can and should challenge ourselves every single day. That is, we can choose to view the world through the lens of possibilities. The more we take on problems, the more confident and proficient we become at solving them.

to think about the opportunity hidden

the importance of having an attitude that allows you to see and seize opportunities.

your attitude is the biggest determinant of what you can accomplish—and you alone control your attitude.

problems are inevitable, and the key to success is not dodging every bullet but recovering quickly.

problems can be solved if we give ourselves permission to look at them differently.

catalyst enough to move people to act.

tiny gap between doing nothing and doing something,

looking at obstacles in their lives from a new perspective.

identify a problem

random ...

Craigslist,

“need finding,”

if we clearly define a problem, the solution will logically present itself.

“Problem blindness”

The key to need finding is identifying and filling gaps—gaps

Some people are particularly good at identifying and challenging assumptions.

In each case, these entrepreneurs question the status quo and look at the world with fresh eyes.

It’s much more comfortable to stay locked in a role that’s “good enough” than to reach for an alternative that has a higher degree of uncertainty.

“before” list with all of your assumptions about how you spend your time,

unpacking as many assumptions about your life as you can.

“after” list.

opposite, or an exag...

mix and match from the “before” and “after” lists to craft a brand-new set of scenarios.

“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while or the light won’t come in.”

having the zeal to solve an important problem,

“make meaning than to make money.”

there is great benefit to identifying problems in your midst and then relentlessly working to solve them.

This takes acute observation, coordinated teamwork, the ability to execute a plan, a willingness to learn from failure, and creative problem-solving.

turn the problems around them into opportunities.

all human behavior can be viewed as adaptive to either the individual, the gene pool, or society at large.

The social rules and norms are designed to make the world around us more organized and predictable, and to prevent us from hurting one another.

We draw imaginary lines around what we think we can do—lines that often limit us

Each definition locks us into specific assumptions about who we are and what we can do.

to break free from established guidelines by having a healthy disregard for the impossible.

There are lots of different routes, you will likely give yourself the time and resources to get there, and you will be flexible if things don’t unfold as planned.

One of the biggest obstacles to taking on “impossible tasks” is that others are often quick to tell you they can’t be accomplished.

most ideas, even if they look silly or stupid on the surface, often have a seed of potential.

it is essential to break with the assumption that ideas need to be feasible in order to be valuable.

to expand upon the ideas of others.

participate and witnessed the emergence and evolution of all the ideas,

shared support

there are no bad ideas and build on others’ ideas.

Brainstorming is about breaking out of conventional approaches to solving a problem.

idea generation involves “exploration” of the landscape of possibilities.

“exploitation” phase, in which you evaluate the ideas and select some to explore further.