Catalin Costea

I have heard this question a million times. I have even asked a lot of people this exact same question and received tons of different answers. Some were crystal clear, while others had almost no idea what they wanted. But almost all of them had a thing in common. Their wishes were linked to their future careers,  jobs, start-ups or companies they wanted to build.

Recently I realized how wrong these questions – and especially their answers – are. The only answer I deem as acceptable to the question is “I want to be happy”. Eventually it should be the final goal of anything we do. The means to achieve your objectives are countless, but the end is – or it should be – almost always the same.

As I was growing up, I had a lot of different answers to this question. As a kid, I wanted to be a professional football payer, then I changed my mind and because I loved playing games I wanted to work in the gaming industry, then I changed my mind again and wanted to be a developer, project manager, work in a big corporation, teacher/ trainer, speaker, entrepreneur. Actually, this is what I did throughout time. And I decided I wanted to do each of them as the opportunity arose. I never had the clear goal to become any of them as a lifetime profession.

My focus was to do the things which made me happy. My ideas, plans, future expectations changed so many times until now. I never saw my life or career as something linear, since I like a lot of things (I have the tendency to get involved in a lot of different projects).

At the rate jobs, technology and society are changing, you may decide you want to become something that will become obsolete in 10, 5, or maybe even just one year or you might find that in a few years something totally new comes up, you love it and you want to do that.

What never becomes obsolete though is the set of skills and aptitudes that includes, but not limited to, things like problem-solving, communication, leadership, fast learning, adaptability to change.

Rather than focusing on what you want to be, focus on how you want to be. Choose to create a mindset and acquire the skills that can make you a valuable resource no matter what you do. This way, you offer yourself countless possibilities to find and do something you enjoy. And also, if you get bored or things are not working out as you would like them to, you always have the chance to do something else which makes you happy.

I had a lot of flights in the last period and I usually like to sit in the first few rows in the airplane, right after business class.

One thing I noticed is that right after takeoff they pull the curtains almost until landing. Why is that? Do people in the first class like the privacy? Is there something to hide?

I don’t believe people in first class love the idea of privacy so much when it comes to this. It’s not like the other passengers don’t see them while boarding. So this seems out of question.

Is it because the air companies don’t want people from economy to see the special treatment people in first class get? Why would you want to hide that? I, for one, would encourage it. This way, more people would see the benefits of flying first class. Get a glance on what they are missing and think again next time they buy a ticket.

If it’s not a privacy issue then by all means, show off. Show people what they are missing. This is how you promote your services and get more people wanting the “premium feel” you get when flying business.

A lot of people kill curiosity from the very first moments of our existence. Then, school also kills it by its people and the system that always has to keep up with a curricula, a timetable and the textbooks. There is never time to be curious, to discover new things or to ask questions. And, even when you do, there’s always someone trying to put you back into your place, call your question stupid and to demand to stop wasting time and get back to what you are supposed to do.

When we grow older we’re already used to keep in line. There’s always work to do, activities required to be done and there’s no time to waste with anything outside of the daily routine. There is rarely time to be curious, to explore, to see what’s new and what you enjoy.

But curiosity is what makes us grow. This is how we extend our horizons, how we expand our knowledge and capabilities. All our evolution was based on the desire to know, to understand, to experiment. Curiosity (even if you think about the Mars rover) is what pushed us to where we are right now and what’s going to keep us moving forward and evolve as individuals, society and race.

Curiosity killed the cat… but satisfaction brought it back.

being a billionaire.

saving as many people as possible.

being famous.

owning a Ferrary.

having a family and two kids.

changing the world.

discovering the cure for HIV.

being happy.

Success is whatever you want it to be. We are all different and success is different for each of us. You might define how successful you are by a lot of different things. The only way to judge if you are successful and how successful you are, is by comparison with what your definition of success is.

Stop taking other people’s definition of success and comparing yourself to that. You can be successful without even knowing it, but miss it by trying to be successful by some other person’s definition of success.

Try something you have never done before.

Work-related or not, try to do something new. If you’re a coder try a new programming language. Or even better, try writing something. The more different it is from what you usually do, the better it will be. You might discover something you like, something interesting and develop some skills you never had.

Remember something you have always wanted to do and never had the courage to.

Did you want to try bungee jumping? Or ask a particular girl out? Did you fancy singing karaoke? Or dream of speaking in front of a big audience? We all have things on our list which we have never tried just because of fear. It’s time to get up and do it! Once you overcome fear you will be able to do things you never imagined you could do.

Go to someone near you and ask what you can help them with.

Ask someone on the street, in the office, a friend of yours if they need help with anything. It’s the perfect opportunity to connect and interact.

Stop smoking, eating sweets, using the internet, drinking coffee or whatever addictions you have, for a day.

We are what we eat. We are what we drink. We are what we repeatedly do. Try changing some of your habits in order to change yourself.

Do something foolish, childish, stupid.

We all need some time to do crazy things; to go wild; to have foolish fun and forget about all the worries, stress, problems. Go bananas!

In order to get something you never had, you must do something you have never done before.

We live in a world of potential. Actual value, worth, skills, knowledge, capabilities mean a lot less than the potential of development which something or someone has.

People are hired because of the potential which employers see in them. They might not be the best right now, but they can become a lot better than anyone who’s good at the moment. These are the talented employees everyone wants to have, retain, keep motivated and for which they are willing to do almost anything in order to retain them.

Start-ups sell for huge sums of money, even if they don’t have any income or their income is only a fraction of the price they are sold for. A mature company may be sold at 10 times less than a start-up even if it has a profit 100 times bigger.

An old property in the middle of the city is worth a lot more than a new, beautiful house at the edge of the town.

It’s not about what something or someone can offer now, but about the potential it has. Actual value becomes more and more about the significant future gain it can offer, rather than the tangible profit it produces now.

Focus on your development and how to achieve your potential. Forget what you think you are worth now, otherwise you will be stuck with what you believe you deserve, instead of what you are capable of. Potential beats actual value.

What is your approach: making people want the products you have to offer or offering the products people want/need?

With the industrial revolution, most companies began making products that needed to be sold. And with the invention of the radio and television, advertising was specifically designed to push products to people. Until recently, this has been the main engine of the consumerist society of modern times. Creating a product, making as many copies as cheap as possible, and persuading people into buying them even if they didn’t really need them.

As many have noticed though, things are gradually changing. More companies become aware of the fact that it’s far more relevant to create products that sell themselves, rather than “force feed” the market. Investing in finding what people want and delivering a product designed for their needs is also much cheaper, and reduces the risk of developing products to which the market will not respond.

Don’t build a product and then ask yourself what you have to do for people to buy it, rather ask yourself what people need and build that instead.

The educational system is failing. It’s failing at getting the kids involved and eager to learn. It’s failing at sparking kids’ curiosity. It’s failing at offering them things they want to learn. It’s failing at keeping up with the modern society. And most of all it’s failing at offering kids the education they need.

We actually have a disorder that is “responsible” for the lack of performance in schools. “The attention deficit hyperactivity disorder “affects school-aged children … [and] may impair school performance.” It’s much easier to blame it on ADHD than to admit that kids are getting bored in class because the educational system is not working.

Kids are curious. They run from left to right to see, discover and experiment everything that’s new. They get easily distracted and try to have as much fun as possible. That’s just how kids are. It’s in their nature to explore, be curious, eager to see new things.

The system worked when you could get all the kids in one room where there were not many distractions. But now technology offers kids 24/7 access to internet, games, chat programs and pretty much anything they want, everywhere they want it – even in schools. When you have a smartphone or a tablet with you all the time it is a lot easier to get distracted, especially when what you are in fact supposed to be doing is not engaging.

When school is designed to fight the very nature of kids, how can we expect great results?

Last Sunday I did an experiment which I called the Open table experiment. One almost full day, from 11:00 AM till after 7:00 PM, I sat in a café with my laptop, waiting for people to come along, join me and engage in a conversation on any subject they wanted.

The support, interest in the experiment and appreciation were overwhelming. A lot of people welcomed the initiative and many of them where curious to know what happened and how it worked. I have a few conclusions about the event and some plans for the future:

1. People are reticent about going all out into the unknown

Everyone who came I already knew. Some were really good friends; others, people I just met a few times. But there was no one I had never met before. Even if most of the information about me, my work and expertise is public, people are still reserved about going into the unknown.

2. Topics come and go

Even if some discussions started on specific subjects, we “went all over the place”, covering a plethora of topics. It’s inspiring to have such diverse things to talk about and see how the conversation naturally flows and you find common subjects and points of interest.

3. If you want to know how it was, come and see!

While I appreciate the interest many people showed in the experiment, it was all about face to face interaction, meeting each other and having a (hopefully) fruitful conversation. We are too busy, too scared to go out of our comfort zone and too lazy to come and see for ourselves. We would rather have some else describe the experience, tell us how it feels and because of that, we sometimes miss out on a potentially great first-hand experience.

4. Do it better next time!

I have decided to try and do this on a monthly basis for at least one year and see how it goes and what is there to improve, both in terms of people joining the experiment and quality of topics and discussions.

So, see you in December!

This is something I’ve been meaning to try for a long time but never really put in practice for various reasons… until now! It’s never too late to do it, so let’s get started!

What’s an open table?

The whole idea of this “open table” is that I will get my laptop and sit at a table all day. I have nothing else planned or scheduled for the entire day. I am just waiting for people to come and have a chat with me.

Can I come?

Anyone can come. Friends, acquaintances, online connections, business connections or strangers. Everyone is welcome!

What will we be talking about?

Anything you want. It can be job- or business-related, ideas, projects, plans, solutions, traveling, movies, women, love… Anything… (you can find more details about my expertise, interests and passions here)

When and where?

Sunday, 17.11.2013 you will find me at one of the tables in Simbio starting with 11:00. See you there!