Have you ever heard someone say if you want to be successful just emulate those who you wish to be? In your mind your probably thinking, how in the world am I supposed to emulate someone that I've never met? I want to be an actor how am I supposed to be just like Will Smith or Tom Cruise or Johnny Depp. When I started on my journey to creating my own tech company and becoming an entrepreneur, I didn't exactly understand that concept fully. As I continued to read, study the tech field, work on my craft and fully dedicate myself to personal and physical self growth, that phrase begin to make sense. So without further ado, I will present you with those who I seek to not only emulate but one day meet as well. I view these figures as role models and people who I aspire to be.
The first set of people on my list are my grandparents, Bill and Liller Green.
The second person on this list I have gotten to know via technology and social media. His blog was one of the driving forces for me to step out on faith and attempt to turn my dreams into reality.
Garrett Gee, CEO and founder of SCAN is such an inspiration because; he had no prior experience in the tech field and self-taught himself the skills necessary to get a company off the ground. His work ethic to better his skills allowed him to outwork those with nature talent. From my interactions with him, I can tell that he is a humble and down to earth person. From reading his blogs, I learned that,"There is nothing quite like having an idea, and having the skills needed to take this idea and, seemingly out of thin air, bring it into being. To create it."
The next person on my list is multi-talented actor/singer, Tyrese Gibson.
Tyrese is the definition of a "Go-Getter." Born and raised in the Watts district of Los Angeles, California, Tyrese was able to overcome every possible obstacle to reach the top. I admire Tyrese's not only for his drive to be the best person he can be talent wise but to be able to balance his life: spiritually, mentally, and physically. I learned from him the ability to overcome no matter your situation. If you have the right mindset, the universe will begin to open doors for you. If you have not watched his documentary, A Black Rose That Grew Through Concrete, I suggest you do and prepare to be inspired.
The next two people on my list are Russell Wilson and Jeremy Lin.
If you have not heard of Russell Wilson, he is an American football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. His story is so inspiring because he was constantly told he wouldn't be a successful quarterback in the NFL because he's too small yet Russell took all this in stride and as a rookie, lead his team on a remarkably playoff run that captivated the country. His ability to stay humble and focused while maintaing a sense of his identity is the reason I look up to Russell Wilson.
Jeremy Lin, was thrust into the spotlight last year when he lead the New York Knicks on a winning streak unlike anything people have ever seen before. Though Lin displayed an uncanny ability to play at the NBA level he was constantly criticized due to his race (Asian-American). Lin was also told he'd never make it in the NBA. He was not offered any athletic scholarships coming out of high school and ended up attending Harvard University. He was undrafted coming out of college and jumped from multiple teams until he was called on to play in New York. What I take away from Lin is his commitment to continue to work on his craft because you never know when an opportunity will come your way. If he was not prepared he would have missed his chance.
The next person on my list is Tristan Walker.
If you don't know, Tristan was the former Director of Business Development for Foursquare and is a staple in the tech community. The reason Tristan is on my list is not only because he is African-American and in the field of technology, but because he is heavily engaged in helping to give back. His company, CODE2040 seeks to match high performing black and latino undergraduate and graduate coders and software engineering students with Silicon Valley start-ups. One of my goals is to be able to help inspire others to aspire and give back to others and that is why Tristan is such an inspiration.
The final three people on my list are Will Smith, Jony Ive and Wiz Khalifa.
Now you may be thinking why these three men, Will Smith said it best, “I consider myself to be of basically average talent, right? What I have that other people do not have is a sick, obsessive, raw animal drive.” These three men display this animal drive and have changed the world while pursuing their dreams.
We all know Will Smith from his days on the Fresh Prince and him being one of the highest paid actors today. What we didn't see was his unstoppable work ethic. Smith is not candid about his belief that he is not the most talented actor or rapper, however, he has found great success in both of those avenues. Will inspires me to continuously push myself. I know that all of the long days when I get off work at midnight and come home and coding until 6, 7am will surely payoff.
Jony Ive, many of you may not have heard of this man, but he is responsible for leading a design team widely regarded as one of the world’s best at Apple. As the driving force behind the look and feel of Apple's innovative products, Ive helped change the tech world as we know it today. Ive has had a major role in development of the iPhone, the iPod, the iPad, three products that ignited my love for design and simplicity. Ive inspires me because of the way he finds a way to make products visually appealing and stimulating while still making them basic and simple enough that someone from 8 years old to 88 years old can use it.
Wiz Khalifa, the weed smoking rapper may seem like an odd choice but hear me out. What I truly like about Wiz is his ability to stay true to himself in an industry that is ridden with men who portray themselves as something false. If you ever watch one of Wiz's daytoday videos you will see how generally happy he is to be making music, traveling the world, and enjoying success with those who were there with him from day 1. What I take away from Wiz is the ability to not only keep a select group of positive and true friends around who I can enjoy not only success with but the downs of life too, but to not take myself too serious. When I say to not take myself too serious I mean this, if someone dislikes my work, or publicly criticizes me, to realize it's okay, at the end of the day I'm happy and others are benefitting and enjoying what I do.
Though a majority of these people I have never met, that does not matter to me and it shouldn't matter to you. If your looking to become successful in a certain field then study those who have made it. Research things they did, watch videos on them, read their blogs, books or papers. Follow them on Twitter, Facebook or visit their website. Famous Italian writer, Niccolo Machiavelli once said this
Men nearly always follow the tracks made by others and proceed in their affairs by imitation, even though they cannot entirely keep to the tracks of others or emulate the prowess of their models. So a prudent man should always follow in the footsteps of great men and imitate those who have been outstanding. If his own prowess fails to compare with theirs, at least it has an air of greatness about it. He should behave like those archers who, if they are skilful, when the target seems too distant, know the capabilities of their bow and aim a good deal higher than their objective, not in order to shoot so high but so that by aiming high they can reach the target.
I am in no sense in place where I can say I have achieved success or reached my goals, but what I can say from embarking on this journey I have not only grown as a person but I have come to realize there is no secret recipe to success. There is no mandate that says only a certain group of people are destined for greatness. It is up to us to create our own success, make the journey easier for yourself and learn to emulate those who are successful. Remember to always aim for the moon because even if you miss you'll land among the stars.
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