Nick Woodman invented GoPro after he went surfing and realized he couldn’t take pictures of himself. J.K. Rowling got the idea of Harry Potter as she sat on a 4-hour delayed train from Manchester to London. Ingvar Kampard launched Ikea after becoming frustrated at a table he bought and couldn’t fit into his car. I’m not suggesting you should drop everything you’re doing to do whatever the heck you like (e.g. skip work to hang out with friends or watch TV instead of polishing up your resumé), to be like these successful entrepreneurs and hope that you’ll come up with a million dollar business. Overnight success doesn’t quite work like that. And it might be awhile until you do come up with a brilliant idea. So in the meantime: Focus on work and build a safety cushion against a crummy life. BUT whenever your mind is not “at work”, think about your current situation and how you can improve it, or how you can make an impact in this world. Because when you do, you bump up your chances of creating something that could be the next revolution. You may just think of something people might absolutely love that nobody has thought of, or has yet managed to push out in public. Something that could make you insanely famous. Probably not. The truth is, most of us get too caught up working at companies that only want us to perfect 1 or 2 skills, (Possibly 3 if your boss really believes in you). The longer we push ourselves towards this path, the less we care about uncovering our hidden talents. Don’t let yourself sink into this pitfall. Learn how to get out of it. If you’re told to keep a record of people you meet for business, don’t just ask for their phone number. Snapshot their business card and jot down notes. If you’re told to create Facebook ads (even though there’s no increase in profits for the past few months), learn to market on Instagram or Medium. There’s always a better way of doing something, and sometimes thinking outside the box could lead to a newfound strength and eventually a full-fledged business. Remember, our brains weren’t designed to master a few things. They were designed to expand, to become sharper and give us the edge to outdo everyone else. Because of that, you can still discover your hidden talents. Just keep thinking about how to improve your current situation and the world — it’s the first step great creators take to build their empire. Because one day, it could change your entire life.
