“It got me thinking that much of what we take for granted are really fundamental human rights - access to food, water, basic health care, and information,” Teter explains. Working to solve important problems is a thread throughout many of the conversations. Kwami Williams, whose company suffered from two fires, the pandemic lockdown, and personal tragedy, talked about the importance of taking one step at a time to stay resilient and recover. No surprise, grit is one of the qualities that stood out in the entrepreneurs Teter spoke with, especially in the face of unprecedented adversity. It’s hard to pick favorites, but some stories held special resonance and, in retrospect, revealed key themes about the long, often lonely, yet rewarding journey of entrepreneurship. He not only shares powerful moments but also some of the lessons he’s learned along the way about the struggles and opportunities of entrepreneurship in emerging markets. Make every learning an “Aha” moment.After a year of Grit & Growth podcasts, Darius Teter, our host and executive director of Stanford Seed, looks back on his conversations with entrepreneurs from Africa and India. Acknowledge the moment, pat yourself on the back for knowing that the learning will allow you to capture a future opportunity or avoid a mishap. If you don’t learn from this Aha moment, what difference will it be a year from now? If you had learned what you learned today a year ago, what difference might it have made? Quantify your learning … Will it save you time or money? Will it make youhealthier? Will you be happier? Ask “Where can I apply my learning from today in other situations?” Ask others “what did you learn from this experience?”
Keep a daily log to write your Aha moments down. You learn something new every day, so dig for it. Don’t take “Nothing” as an acceptable answer to the above question. At the end of the day ask, “What did I learn today?”.
(Aha #1 - asking for help is OK… Aha #2 - When you learn from the help of others you should make it an Aha moment so you won’t have to ask again !) You ask for help for something you would normally not ask for … and got the help. (Aha - what other investments might you make that can save you time and money over the long term). You realize that you have never changed the LED bulb in your lamp. (Aha - maybe there are other shortcuts in other things you do)? In this way, the next time you are in a similar situation, you won’t haveto re-learn what you already know. Acknowledge all the Aha moments, no matter how small. This will allow us to avoid anerror or recognize an opportunity in the future. Ask, “What did I learn from this incident?” Consciously recognizing the little Aha moments can go a long way in remembering them. Instead, what if we were to cherish these little Aha moments by recognizing thelearning. If it’s learning that has value, but we don’t recognize it, then it’s worthless. What a waste! If it’s learning that would avoid a future problem, then we aredestined to repeat it. This often results in us forgetting the learning. We don’t even ask if what we learned is actually new learning. In our automatic mode, we don’t stop to acknowledge the learning. Every time you learn something new, even if just a small thing, you should consciously declare an Aha moment. Like when becoming clear that you are in love with the person you are dating, or when you decide to look for another job, or when you create a solution that will half the time to complete a project. The oversight a lot of us have, me included, is that we assume Aha moments need to be those momentous occasions when we have such a huge awakening that it changes everything. Progressing from not knowing what to do to knowing what to do. Moving from unclear about a problem to clear about the problem. In critical thinking we designate the Aha moment as that time when you go from being unclear to clear. What’s an “Aha” or “Ah-ha” moment? Merriam-Webster defines “Aha” as “a moment of sudden realization, inspiration, insight, recognition, or comprehension”.
0 kommentar(er)
