Can Do #21: The best life hack I have ever learned
(Mordecai Ardon, Yom Kippur "Requiem", 1973)
Welcome to edition #21 of Can Do, a newsletter where I share my journey of building a Career Multiverse™.
You can also read my previous editions and follow me on Twitter.
Newsletter at a Glance
Career Multiverse™: Asking questions
Video: What is Web3
Tweet: Giving ideas away
Career Multiverse™
I continue to be amazed by how supportive is the entrepreneurial community. When people figure something out, they share it with others to save them time and money. That is why everything moves so much faster in startups. People are building on top of each other’s success.
The corporate world is the complete opposite. There, everyone works in silos. Those silos are often in the same company or even the same department. Nobody shares. People are trying to figure out the exact same problems in virtual isolation. No wonder progress is slow, and so many companies have toxic cultures.
I remember when I started my last corporate job, a few weeks in, I had a question. I asked someone who had been there for four years. In as many words, she told me that she had to figure out an answer to that question on her own when she started, and everyone should do the same.
Several weeks later, I asked my boss a question about something else. He also made it clear that I should not be asking questions. In his situation, that was because he did not know the answer, and he did not want to admit it. Regardless, the lesson was clear: do not ask questions.
Throughout most of my corporate career, I asked very few questions. It always felt that the expectation was that you should already know the answer. That’s a very uncomfortable way to work. You become programmed to believe that, and it goes deep. After a while, you don’t even realize that you are functioning with a mindset that you should always have all the answers. That’s a recipe for disaster. We live in a rapidly changing world. Nobody has even a fraction of all the answers.
I had to deprogram myself from believing that I should not ask questions, and frankly, I am still working on it. A major breakthrough happened for me last October when I was talking to a highly accomplished person in Silicon Valley. He said, “I’ll tell you one of the best life hacks. Learn how to ask the right questions. Whoever asks the best questions wins.” It was such a liberating revelation.
Being in the startup world, everyone is completely honest that they have no idea what they are doing 99% of the time. Everyone is trying to figure it out. They ask questions and are generally supportive of each other. No wonder one of my biggest fears is to be forced to go back to the corporate world.
Video
If you are still not familiar with Web3, this is the best introductory video I have seen. Web3 is inevitable. It’s already on its way to being an essential part of our lives. Get ahead of this fascinating technological evolution.
Tweet
Greg is a perfect example of someone who shares knowledge freely that is pure gold. When he tweets, it is common to see at least one comment, “I can’t believe Twitter is free.” In the past, you had to pay thousands of dollars to access the knowledge that Greg and people like him share every day for free on Twitter and LinkedIn.
They genuinely want to help others, and in the process, they help themselves. Greg has a massive audience, and when he comes out with new products, he has no problems finding customers.
Feeling comfortable “giving away” valuable information for free is a mindset shift. Most people lead from a place of fear, while people like Greg lead from a place of abundance. There is enough to go around for everyone.
Thank you for reading!
Alina