The road to harnessing the power of motivation

There have been many times in my life when I felt I lacked a vision, oftentimes succumbing to a rigid form of thinking that would hinder creative exploration and the pursuit of meaningful projects. What got me through was the imagination, strength of spirit, and confidence of those who helped me navigate through life and guide me through the challenges I have overcome. My parents cultivated my discipline, shaped my newfound values, and projected tremendous motivation on me as they navigated through their new life themselves.

Life wouldn't be the same if I hadn't learned to fall apart and rebuild several times, and if I hadn't found inspiration in the most far-fetched goals and moved towards them with sheer belief and discipline. I am happy to report that I am a work in progress. But of course, everyone needs to see the way, sometimes finding one's vision is the hardest thing. Once there is vision, purpose, hope - not necessarily the immediate acquisition of one's goals- then one's soul can be at its most fulfilled. I feel this way as I have come to find the uncertain path more promising in terms of hope and potential, than one that is cut and dry and acutely predictable.

On my path, I met many people who felt lost, they pushed, and they had plenty of unseen potential, but they had no guidance. Others resisted. They internalized notions that they weren't worth it, that things were not going to get better, or that there was nothing else to see or accomplish. Mental health concerns notwithstanding, people can find inspiration from anything and anyone, if they are open to it and if it is available in a way that isn't fake, impersonal, or institutional. The latter I mention, because for the entirety of my high school, college, and graduate school journey, I noticed the dearth of motivation radiating from assigned counselors, except for one in graduate school but I consider her an outlier. Many others did their job at an absolute minimum, went over a schedule (not necessarily the right schedule for me), and some even brought me down with a simple logical overview of my GPA and how it compares to the top 10% pursuing a specific path, and the prospects it would afford me. Most did not truly see me or make me feel better after just an hour with them. Thus I turned to TEDTalk and anything else I could listen to while driving; I heard scientists and artists describe where they found their inspiration, which sayings or books shaped their mindset, and how they believed in the unbelievable such as a eureka moment in a PhD program which shaped their entire 15 year career searching for an answer to that moment's question, until they created a technology so futuristic, science fiction writers would have a field day with that one.

I want to live in a world where your mind can directly shape your experiences and opportunities in your external environment. Within the tiny room that you may view as your life on the most uninspired of days, it shouldn't have to remain dark and dingy as the leak from the ceiling makes its way to the worn-out couch which is positioned directly in front of cobweb-covered rusting pipes sticking out from the musty walls where a burst pipe is increasing the insurance premiums every hour of every day. From that kind of vision, or lack thereof, one can feel anxiety, depression, hopelessness, and a sense that things will never change. That sort of thinking, internally, directly impacts your body. Oftentimes, I have found it has made me feel physically fatigued, for months on end.

People lose sight of some fundamental truths; that last job doesn't define you, neither does the micromanaging boss that sees you and your dreams as a nuisance to the corporate machine that is meant to tire you out, so you can't go home and work on that project you truly love. You don't have to prolong the agony to earn that last buck for the day and succumb to the expectations that everyone else will always lay on you because it has always been done one specific way before.

I say, let's invest in the perpetuation of connectedness and motivation. Not to sell false hope, but to really pay attention to people and identify their inner drive. Reintegrate them into society meaningfully, giving a nudge and some guidance in a way that is savvy, in a way that they didn't see before. After all, who best to learn from than other people? I don't tout the magic pills of the modern age such as quick weight loss, celebrity status or tons of money from crypto; if this is the only thing you see, then try to redirect your thoughts to your daily life and the purpose of your growth. Passionate people across centuries have ventured out to cure diseases, write inspiring fiction or non-fiction, run a bookstore because they just love being surrounded by books, advocate for others, sail, and maybe even patent new technologies. Some succeeded and some remained forlorn in the dusty pages of history books, but did Nikola Tesla give up when he was much less popular than Edison? He had imagination, spirit, and audacity. Some writers died terrible lonely deaths, though I think they deemed it worth it to create some of the most groundbreaking heart wrenching works ever written. At least, I am grateful they did. It was who they were, in essence.

In an era of loss and grief, environmental degradation and subsequent loss of morale, and pandemics, we have to work hard to find the moments worth living for, fulfill our aspirations and come back to fix whichever of the many problems we set out to fix. Sometimes the investment in the self is mutually beneficial to the improvement of the world around us, never underestimate its power.

It may sound like empty mantras to one, but to me it has been a mental stronghold. Even when I wasn't financially independent, I dared and still dare to dream of possibilities such as being a motivational speaker/researcher, writer, epidemiologist, and entrepreneur. Perhaps I plan to inhabit more roles in the future? Why should things be limited to survivorship and depend solely on money? Not to be dismissive of the need for money, but let's not be dismissive of the need for spiritual needs.

I have always been a curious person, genuinely invested in learning about the people around me and trying to understand their strengths and talents. The more I looked, the more of their unique spirit I could capture and possibly inform them, if they were interested. The more confidence I gained in life, the more I realized that life and a career quest aren't a competition, that to see beauty and talent in others is part of the fun of the process of self-exploration as well.

My passion in life is to write, to motivate, and to learn from others.

The writing prompt has asked me to identify how I would monetize that passion in a perfect world. Well, in our imperfect world, I am happy to report that creating a central hub or community for real people with real experiences would allow users, of all ages (not just up to 24 as career hubs like to limit), those who wish to learn or self-explore, to engage and learn, gather resources and real advice, and talk to people who have been through interesting journeys. The Philadelphia Museum of Art has pay-as-you-wish days for you to engage in artistic reverie and feed your creative spirits, so why can't people give back to motivational career groups once they get something out of them first? The future of consumerism will have a sharing economy boldly embedded in it, thus paving the way for more opportunities. Community building efforts through a platform where people connect to learn and motivate others is one such possibility.

It is up to all of us to create a movement, post-pandemic. A movement that redefines success, instills hope, and creates a niche for people who open to new experiences and opportunities for self-development. Most often, people may not find that in their personal or even professional relationships. Resources are vast but finding one's niche is harder than ever. It is especially overwhelming for those who are older and renewing their careers, or people who have immigrated and not sure how to restart in a new country. Would an immigrant doctor benefit from personalized advice about the need to do well on the United States Medical Licensing Exams on the first try, or being informed that a work gap here would impact their career more than anywhere else? Would I benefit from knowing that there are academic bootcamps that offer certain benefits over others that could give me current market ready skills and connect me to a better professional network than just browsing Indeed? Would we all be better off if we had people from vast cultural and linguistic backgrounds who could join? I would think that is the case.

Evidence based decisions can be made if you are aware of:

• how to define the role that interests you

• what are your hidden talents? what has been in the back of your mind, or that side project you have been doing that has potential (sometimes you alone won't see it)

• what are market trends for that role

• what are valuable skills and how is that changing

• how to prepare a CV, what are others doing/how do they stand out? especially important if the field is saturated at that point.

• if you are in point A, where to go next; if you are in point C, what's better after that? If you are very far behind, where to begin?

• If you are already in a program or on a path, how to continue to find strength and solidarity, what are inspirational materials or scholarships out there, why it's worth staying and not dropping out?

To name a few; at every step people struggle with each of these at some point in their lives. Especially the part where they have to define the interest thus the role, and the subsequent strategy that comes with that.

I don't think I have ever come across a singular hub where motivational speakers connect with audiences in a personalized manner, and people have a chance to connect to working people in other fields and hear about their journeys. Maybe webinar series where speakers take requests and are free to do research on a particular path would inform and give a centralized link to materials to read, classes that are most useful (and ballpark price options), and a few fellowships would give people a jumping off point?

In a hectic world, support systems have to be wraparound services that don't strain people to dig in the minefield of information in the digital age to procure one key to one task they have to do to move forward until they stumble open the second. It would take too long and doesn't utilize the collective wisdom. Collective wisdom and its accessibility is the key to a happier society.

We all create our own societal collective wisdom; every time we try freelance work and the workarounds that requires from us, open an LLC, or navigate the career hubs of the international business or healthcare system. Our personal and technical experience are rife with wisdom that could benefit someone else. It is richer than we are aware. When there are a lot of moving parts to this sort of connectedness, such as discussions with seasoned or even novice professionals, access to motivational speakers' content on topics we request, and connection to strategic advice with relevant resources that we can explore, we are less vulnerable to false claims and advertisements. Spare me the next $1000 session that an unknown person from an unknown organization will post on Facebook about how they quit their jobs and started making $10,000 a month writing from some beach house. At least, I haven't touched that clickbait.

Day to day lives can desensitize people from their dreams, allow them to remain in a rut seeing the world from only one angle, and some of them desperately want to hear what is out there and what people are doing, to widen their perspective. Some just want to be heard, their goals, dreams, and endeavors. It is time to treat people with respect, listen, and, if they want, give them true advice with trustworthy resources that are realistic but strategic, help them figure out who they truly are instead of engaging in random fantasies that end up disappoint them. Let's provide them with someone to brainstorm whether that next global fellowship may help them move in the right direction, given their goals. I am trying to write, but I still have no idea how a person who is out of college and not in that direct network of writers in prestigious clubs and universities, how they find their niche.

Nothing is a guarantee, but it seems that extensive work on your part would possibly land you on a low skill temp job, or only one type of Coursera course that wasn't the right one for you, and after college, life coaches don't come cheap, especially when you're paying off student loans and scrambling to define your purpose at a later age.

It's not a one-time meeting, it's a process of self-exploration that gives you room to discuss, extensively over months at times, and try different things over time. Let's harness the power of virtual connectedness, collective wisdom, and the success of the emerging sharing economy. As for right now, with nothing but my experience handy, if someone I don't know reaches out to me on LinkedIn or asks for support while they figure out their paths, I won't hesitate to listen.