I am NOT a self-made man: 7 lessons I have learned from my mentors in 2020

I call 2020 the year of transformation. If you followed my journey; you know I have grown so much in 2020. History of my activities: 03.2020 I moved from the Silicon Valley to France; in a small village of 1000 inhabitants; back with my parents. 06.2020 I was looking for a new job, but I wasn't even sure what I was looking for. 07.2020: I created my own company and joined a startup. 08.2020: I got my first client; 09.2020 got my second client; became an advisor, and I was involved in 5+ projects. 12.2020: I received a full-time job offer for 2021. I finish 2020 with financial savings; confidence and a lot of hope for 2021.

My Linkedin has grown over 1000% since 03.2019 and my website crossed the bar of 45 000 visits. I started to be invited to conferences about technology, science, et even about the mindset for embracing change. Last but not least; I was selected to give a TedX talk, but the event was canceled due to corona.

If you would have met me in June 2020; I was a bit lost, scared, uncertain and I had a lot of limiting beliefs about money; myself, and life in general. The reality is that I received A LOT of help from 1000+ individuals; which helped me make the right decisions. I engaged with 5-7 mentors on a weekly and monthly basis and this was a game-changer.

" Sometime in life we decide, sometime in life we discover. " - Tim Storey

2020 helped me to discover who I was, and my mentors help me to make decisions that will help me to accomplish my dreams. Below; 7 keys lessons I have learned from them.

1. Focus on your strengths & be self-aware.

Early in 2020, I met with Eylem; a wonderful woman; born in Turkey who lived in Switzerland for over 20 years. She worked decades in pharma and now; started her career coach business called " Women on Stage ".

When we met, she directly wanted to evaluate my strengths and weaknesses. We worked together; I took the Clifton strengths and she tried to identify them by herself. 

My strengths are Strategic, Woo – Connecting with people, Positivity, Arranger & Learner.

Then; she said, “ Find a job where you can find all of these strengths. Focus on this; nothing else. You’ll be so much more performant and happy “. This is what I did; I finally found two amazing consultant gigs for the rest of 2020; where I could apply my 5 strengths. I was happy, and I had a ton of fun at work. 

2. Triangulation - Let other people see it for you.

This word actually comes from Ray Dalio. I was listening to different podcasts all year long; including some with Ray Dalio. He was saying that having a person listening to your needs is not enough; you need a second person watching you from a different angle. This person would see the goals and desires that you can’t see. I realized that this one is so important. 

Rama Penta; one of my mentors from the Silicon Valley; told me the following ideas: “ What you are actually doing is project management; you should do a PMP certification soon“ Or…

“ Mikel; you could consider to become a futurist, there are some certification you could do to become one “ 

Those ideas; for example; didn’t come to my mind before my discussion with him. I let him watched me evolving and he saw opportunities for me.

3. Be clear about what you want (and realize you are not them!)

Another mentor, Nina - a VC investor from the Silicon Valley - made me a mental exercise in early 2020. First, we started with “ What can you do; what can you sell; how can you add value? “ and I listed all the things I was thinking about. 

Then; we focused on money. She said: " Great, now, how much do you want to make? "

And guess what? I realized I had a limiting belief about money; I couldn't believe I could maybe become a millionaire, or making $25k / month because “ my friends and colleagues don’t make that much “. She then told me: “ Mikel; you are not average; you are not them “ 

Following these exchanges; she asked me how much do you want? Pick a number. For me; it was extremely hard to pick a big number. After a few weeks of training; we found out I would love to have 500 000 - 1M $ / a year in the best of the world possible. I would love to be a world-famous CEO, leading a multinational company like Richard Branson; talking to thousands of people every week; dealing with problems to solve, and commanding a big ship towards success and innovation.

Having a vision is so powerful; she helped me to have mine.

4. Ask better questions

If there is one thing that I had to learn; is to improve my ability to ask good questions. I learn this from my boss in Europe; CSO in the company I am currently working with. Why? Stupid questions lead to generic answers. To discover real insights about a project; customers; or even to motivate people to join an initiative; we have to learn to ask better questions and discover the needs & concerns of the person we are talking to. Empathy is king.

5. Focus on Impact 

In late 2020; I started to have several opportunities in from of my mind and I started to struggle between them. Many of these mentors guided me about how to evaluate them. First; I realized it is purely a personalized approach and each of us has to call out what is important to us.

In my case; I selected the following criteria to evaluate the opportunity: 

• Entrepreneurship development, Personal brand building, Reach, Income, Exposure to the startup world, Exposure to the corporate world, exposure to open innovation initiative. Ability to learn finance & investment, Ability to connect; talk & connect with people, Ability to grow within the company, Learning science & technology, Learn innovation, across industries, Location, Ability to publish academic papers; books; blogs, Ability to give talks, Ability to travel, Leadership development, Work-life balance, Happiness at work, Freedom in working hours; time & more. Cost to buy a car; and apartment

I sent this to another great mentor I have for over 18 months; Dirk Schapeler, a native German who moved to the Silicon Valley more than 10 years ago. He said; “ Mikel; you forgot IMPACT “ 

I move the criteria IMPACT to the top of my list.

6. Think collaborative 

We all know it: “ If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far; go together “. Once again in 2020; I realized how powerful collaboration can be. In one of the projects I had in 2020; I was in a situation where I believed I could not work with my colleagues; it just didn’t work. We couldn’t agree on the same scope. After discussion with my mentors and friends; I realized I HAD TO LISTEN MORE, and not try to change the process. I finally agreed to do it the way they wanted and asked kindly for a few changes. After a lot of listening and respectful communication; everything went smoothly. The project ended with smiles; friendship; and hope. 

A friend of mine who is a negotiator in the US - even recommend me to be collaborative and not competitive when negotiating a salary. Instead of sating " I have other offers; I may leave soon " rather; trying to find a win-win approach such as " I love the product and the direction of the company "

7. Be grateful

At the end of the day; we are all here to be happy, and fulfilled. It doesn't matter how much money we make; or how much power we have if we're not happy. Nina, one my mentor cited above forced me to be grateful as much as possible and to WRITE IT DOWN; sending to a friend and to feel abundant. It is crazy how much life-success depends on our mindset.

Conclusion:

2020 was a very difficult year with a lot of pain, insecurities, and worries. As a young professional; I face daily tasks I am not good at. As a chemist; there are infinite things I don’t know in the financial world. As a young innovator; there are still a ton of things I don’t about the future or how to make the right predictions. I NEVER have all the answers to accomplish my tasks. And if I was alone during these challenging times; I would have probably crashed on the floor. However, in 2020; I called an insane amount of people for help. Sometimes; it was to know about a typical industry; sometimes it was about business models; sometimes it was about how to present a slide; sometimes it was about administrative tasks and SO MUCH MORE.

In the END; everything WORKED OUT - because I realized we are never alone. 

To finish this blog post; I would like to thank all the people that inspired & guided me. From January to December this is probably around 1000+ people. Like everybody, 2020 was a crazy year. One thing we can all do is to reflect on the 2020 experiences and to think,

What have I learned from all of this?

Comment with yours!!!

More about me on www.mikelmangold.com