If you haven’t had a chance to see it, Steve Job’s Stanford Commencement speech is one for the ages. As a young adult, I’ve watched it countless times, one day hoping for the opportunity to be one of the students in the audience, or better yet, invited to speak at graduation. One of my favorite quotes of all time comes from that speech:
You can’t connect the dots looking forwards; you can only connect them looking backwards. You have to trust the dots will somehow connect in your future. Believing the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart”
While this quote has always resonated with me, I’ve developed an additional point-of-view over the last few months: While it's true that you cannot connect the dots looking forward, I believe each individual can do more than merely trust as we navigate our lives. We have the power to co-create our path ahead, and while life may not turn out exactly as we envision it, if we approach the future with intentionality, we can start planting the seeds in place for our desired path.
In this first post, I’d like to cover:
Where this line of thinking came from
Why I think it’s relevant in today’s world
What’s next for me
In each section, I hope to share a lesson / learning that may be applicable to others own journey.
Reflection Allows for Intention
[#1] Where this comes from
After graduating college and joining the working force, I focused all my energy on performing and executing at the highest level. Everything was happening so fast: new job, new city, new friends, new independence, new structure. My priorities were to build foundational skills, establish a professional brand, make friends, and create memories. I didn’t set time aside to think about the life I wanted to live, and therefore simply relied on trusting my dots would connect if I did good work and built good relationships.
It wasn’t until five years into my professional career, when I was applying for my MBA that I started to develop this perspective of taking ownership of my future. My essay for Stanford revolved around intentionality and how many of my life decisions at critical junctures were made with clear purpose. In those moments (quitting basketball, finding mentors, leaving consulting), I used the knowledge I had to make an informed and intentional decision; however, I didn’t take the time to see how these choices fit in to my long-term ambitions.
The MBA application process was the first time I had to pause, review my 26 years on this planet, and answer some deep questions:
What matters most to me?
What do I want to do with higher education?
How do I want to positively impact the world?
What kind of leader/person do I want to be?
As Steve Jobs said, it was really easy to look back on my life and see how the dots connected to get me where I was at that moment. What wasn’t as clear was where I was going next, and why. I was learning at DoorDash how to step back and take a 10K foot view of the strategic vision I conceptualized; however, that same line of thinking didn’t make its way into my actual life. I was simply doing.
Lesson: It’s important to set time aside to reflect on what matters most to you and what brings you happiness. To best use this time of reflection, consider the following questions:
When have I been the most motivated in my work? The most happy? What was I doing?
When I think about opportunities in this life, what makes me the most excited? (Which industries, technologies, types of people, activities, outcomes)
If I were doing [insert] in 20 years, I’d be proud of the initiative and steps I took today to get there.
Then, use the answers as a framework to begin building your long-term vision, which helps inform if your day-to-day activities are in alignment with where you want to go in this life.
FOMO is overrated
[#2] Why this is important today
Being intentional with my energy, decisions, and time took a while for me to understand, and even longer to accept and come to terms with. I’ve always been the person who ambitiously sought to be aware of and included in everything. Every new trend, big newsletter, key event, party, conversation, friendship, technology, etc. If the subject was moderately interesting, there was a part of me that wanted to get involved.
In today’s world, with the exponential growth of technology (generative AI, AR/VR, Robotics, crypto, fintech), increasing polarization of politics, socioeconomic + geopolitical volatility, and a never ending stream of information from various outlets, I personally find it challenging to figure out what’s the most important thing to focus on. In the last year, I realized that the answer to that question is different for everyone, and that’s okay. So many decisions in my past were driven by, “This is what I should do” and not, “This is what I want to do.” I would read certain articles, try to follow specific stories, and often times force myself into social/professional circumstances because I thought it was the right thing to do. I was not taking a step back and asking myself:
How does this decision, this information, this group help contribute to my long term goals?
Do I feel more empowered, happier, and loving when I engage in this area / topic / group?
What is my motivation behind my decision? Is it loving (learning, support, growth) or is it egotistic (status, admiration, greed)?
Taking the time to reflect during the MBA process provided clarity on the areas that mattered to me and where I wanted to spend my time. When I looked again at the barrage of information, learning opportunities, professional opportunities, and social opportunities to choose from, I was able to sift through the noise and delineate areas that actually mattered to my core beliefs and goals. It was a resoluteness I hadn’t felt before, and provided the discipline to say no to investing my time and energy in places where I previously would have.
Lesson: Once you’ve reflected, and started to carve out your long-term goals, build the discipline to invest your time and action working towards your destination. This will require careful consideration of things you read, people you engage with, activities you partake in, but will payoff in dividends as you make progress towards your defined future.
By doing so, we begin to accept our role as co-creators in this life, where we have the conscious ability to shape our future.
Why am I writing this
[#3] What’s next for me
When I finished my application process, the answer to those questions about my reflection were:
I will pursue my passion of working with early-stage entrepreneurs who are leveraging technologies to improve human’s lives physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually
Specifically, my current vision is to enter the VC space with a focus on early-stage companies in the consumer, AI, and wellness sector. In 20 years, I aim to have established a successful track record in VC, founded at least 1 company with a strong exit, and mentored a growing group of aspirational entrepreneurs. I will have helped build TAMID’s Alumni Network into one of the largest and most credible communities for leaders who are interested in learning about and supporting the Israeli start-up economy. I will have published at least 1 book on spiritual psychology, and hopefully learned a bit more guitar and Japanese / Hebrew along the way.
That’s where this blog is coming from. I am encouraging myself to read and write more about what’s going on in my areas of interest. To better understand how early-stage technology businesses whose mission is to support humans in living more joyous, connected, healthy, and loving lives are disrupting the world.
My intention is to learn as much as I can about these industries and improve my ability to articulate interesting findings to my network, future entrepreneurs, and potential VCs + investors down the road.
In this sense, while I am trusting that the dots will connect when I look back in 20 years, I’m going to do all that I can to play my part in planting the seeds along the way.
"Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That's why it's so hard." - David McCullough. Keep writing, Zach!
Such a great and inspiring read! Good luck with all your pursuits my friend, can’t wait to read more!