Curiosity and Empathy

I have been associated with three start-ups in the last five years (of course still working in one of them). It is a great experience couch surfing, living on croissants, working from cafes, making new friends on the go, observing people at work and most importantly learning new things every day. I got an opportunity to meet and interact with amazing people who built great things for others and succeeded. I try to observe things as is and put them together to find patterns.

During my observation, I discovered two qualities that mattered the most. These two qualities separate the best from the rest.

Curiosity

We should be genuinely curious and go out of our comfort zone to learn things. Curiosity leads to new discoveries and possibilities in life. Some of us stop being curious after our school or college. But some of us are curious till the last breath and unknowingly this curiosity makes them the path breakers. Successful founders or people are usually more curious than others. They find joy in learning about everything that matters to them or comes in their way.

Empathy

To build or create anything, first, we need to slide into the shoes of the other person and feel the problem for ourselves. Then we should start building a solution to solve our problem that will eventually solve others problems too. People and products without empathy rarely succeed. Empathy wins everyone.

We can develop these qualities by consciously practicing them every day in our life. Charlie Munger or Benjamin Franklin (I’m not sure of the name) suggested two hacks for developing these qualities. The hacks are — learn two new things and help one person every day.