You will have heard this query earlier than: “What recommendation would you give your 16-year-old self?”

I do know this can be a well-liked option to package deal 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 bought it. Why would I ask my older self what my youthful self ought to have identified 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 street map of my very own pitfalls and velocity bumps would give them a defensive technique, at greatest. Nobody’s gaining any yards by trying in my rearview mirror.

However I do suppose it is helpful for folks to do a retrospective on their very own lives, noting significant milestones, as a result of these moments are likely to reveal one thing crucial: a character trait that I am going to name your “Dimension X.” That is your distinctive superpower — the lens by 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 necessary position in shaping your future. It is your through-line response in occasions that transfer you ahead. And if you happen to domesticate it, it may possibly act like a powerful, assured hand on the rudder in your day-to-day choices and in your overarching narrative.

The remainder of this text is locked.

Be part of Entrepreneur+ at this time for entry.