You’ll have heard this query earlier than: “What recommendation would you give your 16-year-old self?”
I do know it is a common method to bundle the “knowledge” of somebody with expertise or success, and as Google’s first chief innovation evangelist, folks requested me this generally. However I by no means obtained it. Why would I ask my older self what my youthful self ought to have recognized or achieved? The missteps I made or the odd turns I took again then are a part of who I’m now. Providing another person a highway map of my very own pitfalls and pace bumps would give them a defensive technique, at finest. Nobody’s gaining any yards by wanting in my rearview mirror.
However I do assume it is helpful for folks to do a retrospective on their personal lives, noting significant milestones, as a result of these moments are likely to reveal one thing crucial: a persona trait that I will name your “Dimension X.” That is your distinctive superpower — the lens via which you see the world — not as it’s, however as you might be (to softly paraphrase Anaïs Nin). Over time, your Dimension X turns into a signature reflex that performs an more and more essential function in shaping your future. It is your through-line response in occasions that transfer you ahead. And for those who domesticate it, it might act like a powerful, assured hand on the rudder in your day-to-day choices and in your overarching narrative.
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