No Limitations Only Innovations
Rayan's Monthly Check-in!
Sup ya’ll! Welcome to my newsletter, my name is Rayan, and I’m an energetic, emoji-loving, 🙃 ultra-ambitious teenager, chasing some huge dreams. In this newsletter I will be as transparent as possible about my growth, as I take on new challenges, learn new skills, and even endure failures from time to time.
October’s Growth Insights
Building True Antifragility in Velocity
In my September newsletter, I mentioned how I’ve joined a fantastic program for ultra-ambitious teens called The Knowledge Society. Well, I’ve joined an exclusive program within T.K.S called velocity. All this means is that we’re under more pressure to accomplish our goals and become over-achievers. Our fantastic program leader Skylor, the mastermind of velocity, tracks our weekly progress, and anyone seen lacking behind any tasks or goals is kicked out of the program. 😳 (Only for a week, Skylor isn’t evil lol). This is done to ensure everyone in the program is being held to the highest standard possible. In velocity, failure is almost inevitable. For this reason, being successful means, we must develop Antifragility. This is the ability to take a harsh loss and keep working with the same commitment, ambition, and passion as ever. 😎 Everyone knows you must fail first before you can succeed, but to actually be in that position of failure and still be dedicated to succeeding can be very difficult. Remembering to be anti-fragile is what ensures I excel beyond any harsh loss.
“Antifragility is beyond resilience or robustness. The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better.”
~ Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Learning to Lead Under Pressure
Ending October, I attended my first hackathon. My team and I were challenged to create an interesting future using emerging technology. With only two hours to prepare a full presentation pitch, this was very stressful, especially with me being the project manager. Regardless I had a blast. Being a leader has always been one of my greatest passions, but leading under such pressure has shown me areas where I can strengthen myself as a leader, from critical decision-making 🧐 to adaptability. Through this experience, I learnt the importance of quick decision-making by slowing myself down to realize that even though a task done is better than perfect, a task done right is better than both. Meaning don't get it done for the sake of it, or you'll have low-standard outcomes; do it well but don't optimize for perfection. Whenever I’m put into a leadership position, the concept of this quote always drives me to do my best for those I lead.
“The duty of a leader is to serve their people. Not for the people to serve them.”
~ Elon Musk
My hackathon team!
Book of the Month 📚
Key Takeaways:
Now or never. We all say if only I had this or that, I’d be so happy, but the word if, is lethal 🚫. Because, as humans, we’re biologically ungrateful. No matter how much money or fame anyone can achieve, our brains will eventually adjust to the situation, and our day to day will feel the same. I’ve found that by genuinely believing & understanding this concept, I’ve captured the same level of happiness that I could ever have sitting on a beach in the Bahamas or buying luxury items.
Could you do it for yourself? Not too long ago, I was having a conversation with one of my siblings about university. I brought up how I wanted to become a businessman, make money, and build an empire perhaps. After saying this, my sister asked me a simple yet groundbreaking question, “would you still do it if you had to do it behind closed doors?” 🤯 Meaning no one would see your success, and there would be no appraisal or stoicism. This is one of the major concepts Neil Pasricha discussed in his book. Everything in your life must be done for yourself, not others.
Podcasts of the Month 🎙️
In November I’m going to be intentional about…
Creating my own perspectives. 🤔 Societal factors have forced us to have closed perspectives and accept that real-world challenges can be viewed only in traditional, ordinary ways. But to innovate, you need the ability to view things from never before seen angles, taking a close look into paths that to most seem irrelevant 🔍 . Because modern problems require modern solutions, solutions of which approaches will be unconventional.
Hearing people’s stories. Growing up, I’ve always kept my crowd small, having only 2-3 friends each year by choice. That’s because, like most people, I believed there were only a select few people I was suited to be friends with. But In the past month, while I’ve been studying the art of storytelling in presentations, a short yet powerful quote from the legendary storyteller Andrew Stanton has expanded my mindset beyond my previously narrow thoughts... “There isn’t anyone you can’t learn to love once you’ve heard their story.” I love making friends, and I’m always open-minded toward everyone I meet, but In November, I’m going to remember to hear people’s stories.
Thank you for reading my newsletter! If you enjoyed it, please subscribe! & check out my medium for content on the research I’m currently doing on Nuclear Fusion!