Unleashing the Superpowers of your Inner Child

I regularly hear people worrying about how they need to get their goals done- the set of skills, tools, languages, connections, or even training they think are required. We sometimes forget that mostly a big problem that scares us can be broken into pieces and solved through a process, sometimes in parallel. When we were young, we learn to deal with small issues, we fall down, don’t give up, and try again. problems get complicated when we grow up but at times because we make them so or our muscle memory is holding us back.

 I couldn’t ask for better friends, guidance, parents, and a set of opportunities.

I was a very stubborn child, if I was asked to go right, I’d go left, if I was asked to wear a white shirt, I’d wear black and so on. However, I was in love with animals, people, languages, observing processes adored adventures. At some point, my parents either gave up or just decided to allow me to develop skills on my own. The 6-year-old me leaving earlier and disappearing back to the hotel while my parents still took a stroll in the forest in the Czech Republic did the trick and pushed them to give me more independence.

 My parents used to take us to the Austrian alps for the summer, to escape the Israeli heat. We used to rent a cabin or a house on the mountain and take daily long treks. During that time, I could only communicate in Hebrew and understood only a bit of German.

 It was when I was 6 or 7 years old while spending a summer holiday in Austria’s Sankt Johann while getting bored that I told my parents I’m fed up with the treks. They asked me why and my answer was that we trek daily but that their pace is too slow so I always have to wait for them and that I would like to manage my time better.

They laughed and asked – what else could I do.

My answer to them was that I’ll head to the town, at foot of the mountain as I’m already quite familiar with it.

They asked me how will I get there?

I replied that I would take the rodelbahn.

To you who never heard of this word or experiences, here it is in plain words- during the summer months, the Austrian alps open their doors to hikers, bikers, climbers, and for the little brave adults and children then offer a mountain kart slide. If you’d look uphill you will find a slide along the mountain and a ski lift that takes you there. When arriving at the station you would find a plastic structure designed to seat one person or one adult with a child. A simple gear (drive & brake) is attached that would drive you downhill- true joy.

 As we were based at the top of the mountain and tickets were bought at the bottom, they asked me how I would handle going downhill. I replied that I will buy a weekly membership but as we live on the top of the mountain while the ticket stamping takes place at the bottom, I’ll get to know the operator, a simple smile combined with a kind heart and a system loophole would get me downhill.

 My parents continued asking questions- what will I do in town and how will I survive.

My answer to them was simple, I would return the glass bottles that they usually drink from and then recycle. I’ll collect the funds and then head to the public pool and if I have changed – I’ll get some snacks.

After a long conversation, of me pitching my business plan, go to market, and operation plan I was able to convince my parents to initiate the adventure.

I filled a backpack with a daily supply of glass bottles, the rodelbahn operator became “my friend” (without speaking any German) and let me get a daily free ride down, my parents gave me a few extra bucks for emergency and the adventure began.

I used the extra money to scratch cards (so I can potentially earn more money and for some bizarre reason, statistically I did), I went to the public pool, where I had met new friends (from Norway, the UK, Austria) and returned home in the afternoons. I easily made friends communicating with items, hands, sounds, and whatever possible tool I had at my disposal.

 My parents shared my experience and their social experiments with some of their friends who told them they are total nutcases.

I’m still alive, breathing, and healthy and my parent’s social experience made me who I am today.

Yes, sometimes the water is cold, and maybe you can’t swim that well, but you know what? You can always jump in and then right out and cover yourself with a robe and a friend/colleague/partner would direct you the right way.

You can simplify your problem and think about what a child would do or use your active imagination, curiosity, the processes you know, and tools/resources at your disposal. Find time to learn new things and observe your surrounding environment (no matter if professional/personal) then don’t keep it to yourself- you will always get surprised who might be your knight in shining armor.

 This process is no different from fundraising, client pitching, or asking your loved one to allow you to go on a holiday with your friends ;-)

When I decided to learn mandarin and set up my own company, I chose the farthest place I could think of, pushed myself away from English-speakers, imagined myself as a baby who’s learning his first language, committed to the process, sat down to learn the language and culture daily, communicated with strangers and built a network. During this process also make sure you won’t be afraid to make mistakes and even if you do, teach yourself to not give a F%$k as it is a part of your journey, the learning curve, and one more story you can laugh about.