Ambitiously Expectation-less. The Reward is Who You Become.

As a founder, I used to have incredibly high expectations for myself and my company. All of my early twenties, I was maniacally obsessed with wanting to build a legendary company that served society, talents, and companies. A company that would change the world!

While having big goals can be motivating, I have realised that my focus on outcomes was taking a toll on me. Massive expectations pulled me away from the present moment, my focus and overall happiness. I was in a frenzy to succeed with overdrive mode and "run through the art gallery" as one of my mentors joked.

I recently experimented with reducing my expectations across my personal and professional life. This has not been an easy process, as it required me to let go of some of my most deeply held beliefs and desires. It took a lot of reflection and introspection to realize that my fixation on such ambitious outcomes was actually holding me back. But once I made the conscious decision to let go of that attachment, I found that everything became a lot clearer. I am recognizing that the real reward of entrepreneurship is not the outcome itself, but rather who we become in the face of the challenges we encounter.

An Unusual Energy Transfer: By re-directing surplus energy from expectations, I am creating periods of flow state "deep work" that have been fulfilling when applied to my craft. Rather than constantly worrying about the outcome, I am able to focus on the process of improving our product experience for our customers, workplace experience for our teams & enterprise experience for our partners. I am able to spend my energy and time honing my skills, bring awareness to my knowledge gaps and seek to become a better leader. I feel lighter and more focused by the day while I observe my self-worth shifting from achievements to who I am becoming.

The Meaning We Choose: I truly believe that a nihilistic approach to life can be liberating. It means that we get to choose our own meaning and purpose in a universe that inherently has no meaning. For me, that purpose is to build a legendary company that makes a positive, exponential impact on society. Being actively involved in education and climate fits very clearly within my three core values: truth, adventure and service. By reducing my expectations, I was able to focus on that purpose with maximum fulfilment and passionately ensure my craft is a mirror reflection of my values.

The Real Reward: Reducing my expectations has surprisingly allowed me to be more present and grateful for the moment. Instead of incessantly worrying about the future, I am able to truly enjoy the challenge of building a company from zero. This mindset allowed me to appreciate the smaller wins and accomplishments along the way by leaning into the impact we can make on society, talents, and companies. I am able to focus on hiring and nurturing quality talent, and leading a team that is aligned with our values and vision for Xccelerate.

Cause & Effect: I seek to let outcomes that I cannot control be a natural byproduct of a single minded pursuit of excellence of what I can control. Becoming the best version of myself and focus on what truly matters - the craft that goes into building something legendary, the people we surround ourselves, choosing our meaning - will invariably produce better outcomes. We can either be driven by a constant pursuit of external validation and achievement, or we can take a step back, let go of our attachment to "should be" and embrace "what is".

As the one of my favourite philosophers Albert Camus once wrote, "The only way to deal with death is to live a life that is worthy of remembrance."