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You are what others think you are
- Kevin
- Mar 16, 2016
- 3 min read
Hi - I'm obviously the Dad. Kathryn has introduced what we're going to talk about so I won't go over that.
I was interested to read what Kathryn wrote - I didn't actually see it before she posted it (she did ask me but I declined to look) - no harm in that. I'm clearly flattered by her comments. I did think I knew what to say but she's floored me. But why was I surprised? Frankly she has been flooring me her whole life. She is stubborn, persistent, and once she has set her mind on something she really goes for it. This blog is a good example.
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However, one very important point she notes is that of curiosity. It wasn't until I went to college that I learnt the value of asking questions. This wasn't the college itself but actually my best friend there. I think I actually learnt more from the questions he asked than from anything else - he seemed to have a knack to asking the right questions. He was also very clever - maybe the two are linked?
This was after an early experience when I was about 13 years old - I was lucky to be asked by a friend of my parents to visit a small factory making oil pipeline valves for North Sea oil rigs. The idea was to see if I might want a career in engineering. I actually found if fascinating. During the visit one thing I remember was the testing of valves using liquid nitrogen - it was pouring out into the air and evaporating before it hit the ground - I thought it was extraordinary - it hooked me. However, when I was delivered back to my father I overheard the friend saying to him that I would never make an engineer - apparently I didn't ask enough questions!
With this and the college experience I started asking questions everywhere. No one knows everything! Conclusion - always ask questions - you never know what will happen.
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Back to Kathryn, I don't want to turn this into the mutual admiration society so probably best to stick to saying thanks! She describes me as an inventor. The thing is, I've never thought of myself as an inventor. What have I ever invented? I tend to take other ideas and make them work. So what is an inventor? To some extent we agree. An inventor is creative, someone who builds new things, a practical person, and typically very persistent and methodical (sounds like Kathryn!) I may be all of these things but does that make me an inventor? I like the idea so I'll go along with it for now.
Maybe a different way to look at the question is to draw on other experiences. Take being an entrepreneur for instance. For many years in my career I was creating new products for big companies but I hankered after the idea that I wanted to be an entrepreneur - it sounded great. Trouble was I didn't know what one was. You can attend all the training courses you want but that won't make you an entrepreneur. Still the idea kept lingering. Eventually, after what in hindsight was too long, I jumped ship and started creating new businesses, not just new products. Some with other people, some alone. After a few years someone I respected (he had founded and successfully built a chain of over 60 mobile phone shops during the 1990's) surprised me by saying I was not only an entrepreneur but also a good salesman - neither of which I had been called before. On reflection I realised the answer. You are not what you are, but what others think you are.
I conclude that since Kathryn thinks I'm an inventor, then I must be!
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