The Path Redefined. Lauren Maillian Bias
led me to reconsider my knee-jerk reaction to the person who asked me if I wanted to begin a venture fund. When I took time to actually consider the possibility, I knew that this was exactly what I should do, and I changed my answer from “no” to “yes.” Soon, I was immersed in the industry and finding success pursuing my new passion. I wanted to do everything better than I had seen it done before. I thought a better way was possible.
So, yes, my life really is serendipitous, and some great opportunities have come my way, but they happen because of the way that I integrate my work life with my personal life. Consider how I started Gen Y Capital Partners. I began the fund with people I met about a year before through an entrepreneurship organization. We weren’t working together at the time, but we realized that we could start a business together and Gen Y Capital Partners was born.
After the business was up and running, I spent a long time asking myself, “Now, how exactly did that happen—how was it that the right people were all at the right place at the right time?” Now I realize that the company was no accident. I didn’t plan it, but there was some design involved. It came about because of the people I chose to surround myself with and because of the networks that I have created throughout every facet of my life.
Think about your own life for a moment, and ask yourself the following questions:
What are you doing to make your life serendipitous by design?
Who’s in your network?
Who are you having lunch with next week?
What events are you attending?
Who would you like to meet that you haven’t yet done so?
In what business networks and social circles do these people spend their time, and how can you become a part of them?
Your reputation within your network is priceless. Anyone who tells you that they don’t think about what someone else thinks of them isn’t being truthful. Opinions and impressions matter whether we like it or not.
A point worth clarifying since the term “networking” is overused and shrouded in jargon more often than not: Do not social climb; it is, generally speaking, very obvious, immature, and almost always tacky and disingenuous. However, learning to socialize intelligently will change the game of how you operate and are perceived by others. When you learn to socialize intelligently, you prove that you are thoughtful, insightful, and smart. As a result, the relationships you accumulate in your career will reflect the approach you took to nurturing and growing your network in a sincere way that provides reciprocal value.
Don’t daydream—strategize how you’re going to execute the vision of your dreams. Believe me: If I can do this, then so can you—so can anyone.
My parents set high goals for themselves. They worked hard and were very successful in their own right. But despite their success, nothing was ever handed to me—ever. My father never let me get carried away with feeling that the good life was guaranteed to me. My mother never let me show anything but grace and dignity. I have always known that anything I wanted for myself I would have to earn, the same way my parents did.
My father was a trailblazing self-made man. He was hard on me—almost as if I were the son he never had. He gave me extra homework assignments and was demonstrably unhappy when I brought home any grade less than an A—even an A–would get me into hot water. He constantly reminded me that, although my parents could afford to give me a comfortable life, there was no guarantee that I would be in this place next year, or next month, or next week. My mother epitomizes grace, tact, poise, and sophistication—she is undoubtedly the reason I was always far more sophisticated for my age than most. She taught me how to face adversity with grace.
I can still hear their words in my head, and I carry that “hard work means success” mentality with me everywhere. I have access to some of the most influential people in every industry that I care about, but I never take this access for granted. I know that I’m not one of them, at least not yet, but I’m soaking up all the knowledge and experience I can from these incredible people, so I can eventually get “there.” I’m not living in a fantasy world—I am not yet a billionaire, though this may very well be a powerful motive behind my aspirations.
It’s up to you to gain access to the resources you need by building up contacts, and strategically making specific “asks” of your network, such as for advice, support, and access, to help you get to where you want to go. Make what matters to you happen every day.
I’m not a big believer in the idea that people luck into good fortune. Sure, you can play the Powerball, and maybe you’ll win the big jackpot. However, you’ve only got a 1-in-100-million-or-so chance that you’ll hit all the numbers at any given time. I personally believe that you create your own luck, and it’s no accident when luck finds you. In “The Last Lecture,” Carnegie Mellon computer science professor Randy Pausch put it this way: “Luck is where preparation meets opportunity.”
The notion of irreverence can be liberating because you feel like you can do anything. Sometimes, doing something unknowingly is the best action you can take. Many times I’ll be at some event where I won’t know exactly who I’m in the room with. I know that I’m in good company, but I don’t know who the power players are exactly. When I treat everyone, even the power players, as regular people and have genuinely engaging conversations with them, I have been able to establish some of my strongest relationships.
Lives built around people, causes, cultures, and businesses with similar values, goals, and perspectives create an ever-expanding network for serendipitous opportunities and chance meetings with new, like-minded people. My advice is to engage yourself with the outside world and to grow your network when and wherever you can. The world is a remarkable place, and there is no telling where our lives will take us next.
I am Lauren Maillian Bias, and I am an entrepreneur.
Who are you, and how will you get to where you want to go?
FOR REFLECTION
Make sure that your networks align with your interests, values, and goals and complement your weaknesses.
Challenge your network and ask that they challenge you in return.
Be open with your network about your dreams and desires—there may be synergy worth exploring!
Build rapport through one-on-one interactions, but occasionally curate the like-minded people in your network for dinner or drinks. The power of collaboration will quickly expand your networks of friends and future colleagues, accelerating the serendipitous encounters by design along the way.
Engage in genuine conversations. People are people no matter how accomplished they are.
CHAPTER 3
Make No Small Plans
(Don’t Just Wing It)
FOR EVERY SUCCESSFUL MAN OR WOMAN, there are plenty of others who, for some reason or another, don’t make it. The reasons for failure in business—and in life—are many. In fact, when you run down the list of possible problems, obstacles, and missed opportunities, you’d think it’s a miracle that anyone succeeds at all. But succeed they do. And although on some rare occasions, people succeed merely because they happen to be in the right place at the right time, in my experience, you’ve got to plan to be a success if you want to ensure that you will be a success. This is true whether you’re an entrepreneur starting up a new venture, a manager in a large corporation hoping to land a promotion, or an active volunteer in a community-based organization. Success is not synonymous with winging it. Like I said above, you’ve got to plan for your success, not just hope for it. You’ve also got to be ready for the inevitable failures—see Chapter 14 for more about that.
I have found that one of the most powerful (and as it turns out, one of