Building something new or improving something for the greater good is hard.
There is always the gravity of dogma. Things are the way they are for good reason.
As engineers, we use existing systems and knowledge everyday. Sometimes we use existing systems and knowledge to build better systems and knowledge.
As a collective, we make progress always. Every system and tool you use as an engineer was thought up by an engineer like you. It was probably a twist on an existing system or a new way of combining something’s.
Every system can be improved.
Every methodology is up for examination. There is always a better way to do things.
Look at how you do what you do and notice all the things that could be better. Try to ask the right questions that get to the heart of what the ideal outcome looks like… Start then with the end in mind.
Once you identify an idea you could be passionate about, get to work immediately on bringing it into reality.
You most likely are not going to solve something big this week, this month or maybe even this year. Your idea might be ugly early on and have more holes than Swiss cheese. You need to keep at it though. Pick something that needs to be improved and don’t stop until you make it better. Champion something. Improve something. As the saying goes, many saw the apple fall, only Newton asked why.
Think about these quotes from the perspective that these were statements made by super successful people, while looking in the rear view mirror at their own massive success.
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I’m convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance
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Steve Jobs
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Energy and persistence conquer all things.” -Benjamin Franklin
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There’s a way to do it better – find it.
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Thomas Edison
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The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine.”
Nikola Tesla