Hey, I just spent a few weeks in the Air Force,
that's something that's still mandatory for
Swiss male living in Switzerland.
Apart from being in operations and learning
interesting stuff, I also got to chat with
quite a few soldiers I hadn't known before
because you're sitting in an operations room,
you don't have access to your mobile phone.
And so you have some time to chat with each
other.
One of the questions that he asked was who
has inspired me to become a minimalist and
be to become an entrepreneur or now investor?
And it's a question that I get from time to
time, and as a first remark, I don't believe
in aspiring to become someone else.
I don't think there's any value in trying
to become a copy of Bill Gates or a copy of
Benjamin Franklin or whomever you might find
inspiring.
I think we all have our own journeys.
We all have a very unique set of experiences
and learnings that we bring to the table,
and it isn't realistic nor healthy to try
to imitate someone else.
However, I believe that smart men learn from
their own mistakes, but wise men learn from
others.
And so it only helps us to read and listen
to and learn as much as we can about other
people's journeys and what they are willing
to share in order not to have to make the
same mistakes, the same learnings by ourselves.
So when it comes to who has inspired me first
on the Minimalist site, there are not that
many people that I followed or read about
before I decided to get rid of my stuff.
My intention was not to become a minimalist
for me was merely a tool to just get rid of
stuff that was dragging me down and be able
to more flexibly spend time where I wanted
and where I thought I could contribute the
most value and learn the most.
So I've never seen Marie Kondo's Netflix show,
I've never read Greg McKeown Essentialism
book, and I've also listened to very few podcast
episodes off the Minimalists.
Now those are from what I've heard great sources
if you're planning to declutter your life.
All I'm saying is for me that that was never
the inspiration for me.
It was just always a tool, just a clear path
to becoming happier and being able to spend
more time on the things that I value.
On the other hand, becoming an entrepreneur
from a very young age, I have been inspired
by people like Benjamin Franklin, Elon Musk,
Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, all these legends
that have created massive empires and have
changed the way we live our lives.
Apart from them.
I really enjoy reading profiles on Silicon
Valley entrepreneurs, in general, being a
Jack Dorsey or Evan Williams, or countless
more.
I've been just as inspired by reading about
examples where things haven't gone according
to plan like Theranos, a book that covers
the journey of Elizabeth Holmes and the company
as so famously failed.
That's just as inspiring to understand what
works and what doesn't work.
So there's definitely been a lot of people
that I've been inspired with.
In general, I would say the inventors in this
world, the people that are willing to take
the extra step and go the extra mile is who's
always inspired me as a kid and as a young
adult, and even now.
If I had to pick just one person that stood
out, it would be Richard Feynman.
Richard Feynman was a physicist that worked
on the Manhattan Project; that project eventually
led to the development of the nuclear bomb.
The reason that he was so inspiring to me
and kind of forming when I first read the
book when I was in my teenage years, was not
really what he had done, but how he had approached
life.
He had fought quite a few tragic events in
his early life.
His first wife died when she was still very
young, and just a way of him never seeing
anything as a problem, but rather as a challenge
to overcome hard times and to grow and to
learn from everything that life threw at him
and also dealing with that he felt he had
some part in what the atom bomb had cost in
the world.
The way he approached all of this with a lightness
and a light heart and, to some degree, very
positive thinking.
That was something that truly inspired me
and what still drives me every single day
to see every challenge not as an obstacle
but as an opportunity to learn.
So there you go.
I think in general, there's not one person
that I'm inspiring to be or that has inspired
me.
But I do like people that took big risks,
and in most cases succeeded.
But also, I find it even more interesting
to look at the cases where that's not the
case.
And the one person that really stands out
is Richard Feynman, a physicist that unfortunately
has died, I think about ten years ago, but
watch some of his videos on YouTube read his
book "Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman."
I just really enjoyed reading that and seeing
how he approached life.
Now I am curious to hear who has inspired
you if there's some guiding figure in your
life, whether it's someone that you know,
personally or someone and that you've read
about or watch the video about, please let
me know in the comments.
And if that have a beautiful day, stay curious.
We'll chat soon.
