Spark SC kicks off every weekly meeting with a “fun question” that can be funny, serious, quick, lengthy, or anything else that brings us together. This week, we answered the question, “If you could give only one piece of advice, what would it be?” Our answers are paraphrased and organized below.
Friendship
You know those shitty Pinterest quotes? This one has stuck with me: People will forget what you say and forget what you do, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel.
You can always be a ray of light on someone else’s coral reef.
Curiosity
Embrace what you don’t know — so you can learn everything!
Say YES a lot more.
Taking the “L”
You win some, you lose most, but two L’s make a W!
When hurricanes or tsunami come through, the palm trees remain standing because they bend but don’t break. Bend like the palm tree.
Mindfulness
Be mindful.
Don’t forget to be human. If you’re super busy it’s important to enjoy being a person. Enjoy food, company, family, and take a step back.
Make time for things that matter. If it’s something you love to do but tend to drop, make sure to factor it in.
Enjoy what you do. If you’ve chosen to do it, then it must be important.
Take a step back and be grateful for where you are, people you’ve met, friends and family.
Once in a while, sit down and clear your mind and figure out what you really care about and what makes you happy.
You’re not a tree. If you don’t like where you are, just move.
Empathy
When you go to a forest and see a tree a certain way — bent, gnarled, old, young — we don’t judge the tree for how it is, for how it has weathered. Yet, for people, we judge them for how they are all too frequently.
People will do things that aren’t considerate. Try not to take that as a personal offense. Let them wash over you and avoid being stressed out about it. Also, be a little more considerate; people will appreciate it.
Try find a balance between confidence and humility.
Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
Growing
Have a growth mindset for everything. Many things won’t go well in life, but these are opportunities to learn from mistakes. Talent and passion are not innate; Everything is constant growth.
Seek being uncomfortable. You can only grow in those situations.
Be present. Understand the difference between experience and outcome. All the learnings will be in experience. Outcome doesn’t really matter.
Recently I put out some work and felt criticized. You don’t need to define who you are by the work that you are doing. Until someone can understand you from beginning to end, they shouldn’t criticize who you are. You are constantly evolving, and it’s important to realize that.
Risk Taking
Don’t fear rejection — often times you’re going to get a “yes” and a helpful hand, so take that chance.
A ship is safest in the harbor, but that’s not what ships are built for.
Finding a Path
It’s from the end of the Bell Jar (via Season 1 of Master of None). Laying under the fig tree, and each fig is a life you could take. But you can’t take all the figs. As you sit there in uncertainty, they plop to your feet and die. You should choose a fig.
Focus on doing what you love. We’re all going to end up in the same place, just not here.
Do as much stupid shit as you can do in college. College is the last time you have protection.
Credit to Irfan: Don’t be a greedy algorithm. Greedy algorithms have a set of criteria and try to optimize the best approach. They cut corners. In life, there are no right criteria. Expectations, school, etc., are frameworks placed on top of you, which is why it feels like there’s one right path. In the scope of the universe, there is no one path and there are no criteria. There is no right way to do things, so enjoy the uncertainty of that. It’s tough, but relieving once it reaches solidity.
Life Pro Tips
If you don’t create a culture of disrupting yourself, someone is likely to disrupt you.
Be less sketch when you’re taking food out of dining halls.
At Chipotle, there’s no reason to not get a burrito bowl.
Always go to a new restaurant. If you can’t go to a new restaurant, order something new. If nothing is open, then go to Ono’s.
Perspective
Don’t compare yourself to other people.
As people grow older, they care less and less about what other people think. We think so much about how we are judged, but what we think of ourselves is what matters.
Chinese proverb: Sometimes the trees do not let us see the forest.
About Spark SC
Spark SC champions the entrepreneurial spirit at the University of Southern California. Through initiatives like 1000 Pitches, the Startup Career Fair, and Project Launch, we inspire students to participate in a culture of innovation at USC and beyond. Learn more about what we do and how to get involved at our website, sparksc.org.
