The Start of Every New Journey
Reading Time: ~15 mins
Welcome to the first post on my Learning Hub! As someone who grows from trying (and failing) and learning from others who try (and fail), I figured - what better way to give back than by sharing about what I’ve learned from my triumphs and failures?
So - friendly warning - this journey will not be clear skies and calm seas. As with the ups and downs life brings, these posts will reflect the same. Hopefully, this will give you a good sense of what to expect when you take on the journey of a founder, a creative, an entrepreneur, a business professional, or just a human in general (especially if you’re nearing or at the quarter-life crisis stage!)
Topics you can expect:
Personal & Professional Growth
Career & Personal Branding
Productivity & Leadership
The Importance of Embodying a Growth Mindset
Job Search Strategies (Networking, Resume, Cover Letters & Interviews)
Benefits of Social Impact Work
Did I mention growth yet?
…
…
Growth - just so it’s super clear - everything will be growth oriented around here!
With that out of the way, let’s dive into this month’s topic - The Start of Every New Journey!
New Beginnings
Everyone will experience a new beginning at some point. Whether it’s a new job, starting a new business, or getting into a new relationship, beginnings can be daunting. More importantly though, beginnings can be consequential - the impact of a first impression is no joke - starting on the wrong foot with key stakeholders like coworkers or co-founders (or worse, your partner’s parents) can be devastating, and might throw all your plans out the window before you’re up and running.
I’ve found that one of the best ways to tackle a new beginning starts with self-reflection - what are you trying to accomplish? What do you want to learn, how do you want to grow, what do you want to leave behind, with whom do you want to develop… Figuring out your starting point helps you navigate the uncertainty, and setting clear goals for the future serve as checkpoints so you don’t stray away from the path you’ve set forth on. Listing those who you will affect, how they will be affected, and ways to leverage positive effects while mitigating negative ones, and you will have created a stakeholder strategy. The combination of all these becomes your action plan, which keeps you honest and motivated without veering off the right path.
Challenges, Roadblocks, Obstacles - “The bad stuff”
It's also inevitable that you’ll come across blockers along your path. What’s life without a few curveballs to knock you down? The way I see it, challenges, roadblocks and obstacles are proof that you’re on the right path, because the path of least resistance is often the path with fewest rewards. What’s most important is how you react to it.
To many, it may be instinctual to shy away from a challenge, because it is difficult and comes with uncertainty. As for me, I would encourage you to tackle challenges head on! Every challenge and obstacle presents a learning opportunity. Regardless of the outcome, you will leave this experience with new insights and skills, and the next time you come across a similar roadblock, you’ll be primed to surpass it.
Critical Decisions - Will this make or break my life? (Probably not - but it may feel like it at the time!)
As is with all things in life, you are often forced to make difficult decisions. While I'd like to say it becomes easier over time, I’d be lying to you. However, your intuition will become sharper over time as you make more decisions, and eventually your gut will be able to point you in the right direction (most of the time). What will never become easier is dealing with the fallout after you make a decision. Choosing one path means forgoing the other - this is the concept of opportunity cost. Assuming you are faced with two choices, picking either one will always leave you with the following two questions down the line:
What if this was the wrong / more difficult path? - This is the Fear of Uncertainty, which comes with the lack of clarity and foresight.
Would the other option have been the better choice? -This is the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), or more easily understood as the fear of regret.
Personally, I’ve experienced this in a few critical crossroads during my journey - whether or not I would leave my career at YVR for a new opportunity; whether I give up on relationships that I’ve cultivated for a long time; whether I abandon passion projects because of high costs or steep time commitments… The list goes on and on. Each decision required delicate weighing of the pros and cons, figuring out the impact it would have on my future and those around me. Ultimately, to me, it was important that my decisions were made with a forward looking lens, and not influenced by fear of uncertainty or the unknown. An important activity I did was framing each decision as a new opportunity. Leaving a job I loved was an opportunity to dive into a new job with growth prospects; giving up on some relationships meant opening up capacity to forge new ones; and abandoning passion projects meant opening the door to exploring other passions and interests. With this mindset, it became a bit more bearable to make tough choices, now knowing that there are in fact new opportunities along the horizon.
Not convinced yet? Read on for a case study on taking the path less travelled.
Case Study: Simu Liu - from Big 4 Accountant to Marvel’s First Asian Superhero Lead
You’ve probably heard of Simu’s name, whether you’re a Marvel fan, a Dragon’s Den viewer, or came across his name amidst a bubble tea controversy. The Chinese-Canadian actor, aged 35, now worth over $4 million, has become a staple in the acting space. To land a lead role and be the first Asian lead in a Marvel film, you would think he had been acting all his life with a comprehensive portfolio to show. Looking at his history, the truth couldn’t be further from that. Before being cast for Shang-Chi in 2019, Simu had only appeared in 2 other films as an extra, and a few television shows, only two of which he starred in the main role. He debuted in 2012, working as a stunt-man and an extra. In 7 short years, he has effectively gone from “zero to hero”, and now continues to lead in blockbusters like Barbie.
If you’re reading this and thinking that I’m diminishing his success down to factors like luck, that couldn’t be further from the truth. His success reflects the benefits of resilience and perseverance, and a strong-will. In fact, I relate to Simu to some degree. Did you know? Prior to his acting career, Simu worked as an accountant for Deloitte after graduating from the University of Western Ontario’s Ivey Business School. For most, landing a job at a Big 4 firm would be a dream come true. However, Simu wasn’t particularly passionate about accounting, and only stuck with it because it “seemed like the right thing to do”. Then he was laid off. What seemed like “the end of the world” to him at the time is now something he celebrates as he looks to it as the start of his new journey in acting.
Pivoting is never easy. There is fear of the unknown, the endless risks that come with jumping into something new without experience, the fear of failure, the list goes on and on. Taking the first step is daunting, and often feels insurmountable, especially without a light (or forceful) shove. In Simu’s case, it was being laid off, and rather than weep and self-destruct, he reframed this into an opportunity to try something new, and it turned out to be the best thing that has ever happened to him (so far!)
Takeaways:
Setbacks? More like new opportunities! How you frame and respond to a setback can be the difference between a sad ending and a happy new beginning.
Start small, scale gradually, and be persistent. It took Simu 7 years for his big break - 7 long years where he took on stunt-man and extra roles to build his experience and network, and learn the ins and outs of acting - but he did make it eventually!
Embrace uncertainty - it will always be part of the process - whether you let it control you, is up to you!
Question of the month:
What contributed to the best beginning you’ve ever had? Whether it was a new job, new business, new relationship… what elements made it easy to transition into?
For me - the best beginning I had was when I first started at the Vancouver Airport Authority. Although a thoroughly chaotic and eventful role, I was surrounded by amazing and friendly people. Starting a new job is always intimidating - whether it’s a new industry or job function, learning the ropes, the acronyms, the company culture and structure, and the (ideally, absence of) company politics, can become overwhelming very quickly. Having someone to lean on, to ask “dumb” questions (there really are no dumb questions - especially when you’re first starting!), and even to have lunch with, makes it all the more bearable (and hopefully, enjoyable too!)
Pro tip - if you ever want to make new friends at work: candies, chocolates, donuts (or anything sweet, really) will do wonders. I start all my jobs with a bucket of candy on my desk for people to help themselves to - this has started so many conversations with people you normally wouldn’t interact with!
It’s easy for people to write off a toxic work environment thinking that they can leave it behind once their 9-5 is over, but when you pan out, you’ll be spending quite a lot of time with those people. In fact, the graph below shows that you’ll spend a very good chunk of your life with your colleagues - even more so than family! So make it a priority to find and surround yourself with good people - those you can rely on, can trust to have your best intentions at heart, and can grow alongside with.
Additional Resources:
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie - if you haven’t heard of this book, it’s about to be your best friend and winning strategy to life - check it out on Indigo!
The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter by Michael D. Watkins - another great book on how to take charge effectively in a new role - Indigo
Starting a New Job: 18 Tips for Early and Ongoing Success from Coursera - tips and actionable items to set yourself up for success when you start a new job
How to write SMART goals by Kat Boogaard - setting clear and achievable objectives to work towards and measure your own growth
Breaking Barriers: New immigrant Journeys in the Canadian Workforce by Vision2Reality Foundation - inspiring newcomer stories about navigating the Canadian workforce
That’s it for this month - hope you were able to take something away from this post! Until next time.
Ryan
