I was supposed to be in school with my classmates during that time for our subject but I was unable to attend last meeting’s discussion. Nevertheless, I was still able to gather and hear some interesting and hilarious insights from my classmates about what had happened. I could read from the tone of their voice that some of them were excited and most were frightened.
I was actually out for a competition and I was gladly one of those who represented USeP against other schools for IT-Olympiad. Fortunately, I was able to bring honor to the school and my absence for that day’s discussion was not put to waste. I had fun that day and there were also a lot of realizations.
According to my classmates, they were tasked to do an activity about connecting dots, which I will talk about later, and a short statement of expectations on the subject and the facilitator. They were actually prepared and they had yellow papers with them. Fortunately, another section already told them what they were going to do and need for their discussion. However, as it turned out, the facilitator needed them to have an A4-sized paper which was unexpected from what was needed from the other section.
They even jokingly shared with me the tiring and air-gasping experience that they had to rush and buy an A4-sized paper outside the school.
Preparing for the unexpected
The stated situation may seem humorous but I believe it is packed with a deeper lesson in life. – preparing for the unexpected.
According to an online article by Michael F. Kay entitled How to Prepare for the Unexpected, there are just times we are accustomed to life that everything is working out as we want it to be and life is not hard as we expected.
“There are times when life seems easy and everything is working out just as desired.” – he said
“Proper and effective planning, however, mandates taking into consideration the what if’s that happen when you’re not expecting them. I am referring to potentially life-altering experiences that you rarely contemplate when everything is working just fine” he added. – How to Prepare for the Unexpected uploaded in psychologytoday by Michael F. Kay, November 2, 2017.
The concept of being genuinely happy about life should be expected. But, there are also times we just cannot help but be negative especially when we are in doubt and in fear. It seems like this has become our defensive mechanism for protecting ourselves from the possibilities that might harm or hurt us again.
Given the possibilities and since we want to prepare for the unexpected, the best idea would be to expect for the worst to come. We should not be too complacent of what could happen. Thus, the odds of experiencing the worst should not be neglected even though it is cliché.
It would be a waste of time and an instant regret if we lacked in preparation and we neglected the worst. Being reluctant in times of disaster, for example, could lead to tragic accidents, or worst, death. Therefore, if we prepare, we prepare for a contingency plan. If we expect, we expect for the worst to come.
Similar to what had happened, not all hear-says and rumors will always turn out to be true and most of the time, these things do not contribute something beneficial. More often than not, rumors cause petty conflicts, degraded reputation, and false information. Hence, we should always remember to ask and confirm the real source of information instead of fooling ourselves with unreliable third-hand information. Asking questions won’t hurt but false information from rumors do.
Ordinary is boring
Just when my classmates thought they could start writing what they were told to do, a blue ballpen was actually the needed pen for the write-up. Again, they rushed outside and bought blue ballpens. Though it is expected to write with a black one, often no color is required, they were not really expecting that there would be a specified color and who would have actually thought that it would be blue and not black? Well, maybe because ordinary has been boring.
I then realized that this concept applies to people.
Other than our names, we have aliases for our close friends and we call them names as a friendly insult. Even if we like it or not, these names are more likely inspired by what makes them stand-out from other people. Ganda, taba, or payat. – these are just some of the names we call our close friends with but it already makes us realize that calling them with features that are already common would not get any of their attention or we would end up calling a lot of people.
Similar to start-up ideas and innovations, usually, the ordinary won’t stand out.The ones that get most recognition and acknowledgment would be the weird yet uniquely-featured idea. The ordinary features of a technology are not bothered as much as its unique features because obviously, ordinary is common and unique is not.
“What is weird might not be understood today, but by tomorrow it could be the new norm.” – an excerpt from 9 reasons why it’s okay to be weird uploaded on HuffingtonPost by James McCrae, October 05, 2018.
Think outside the box
The task that was given to them was to write their expectations about the subject and the facilitator that was worth thousands of points, and a mind game that involved 9 dots and 4 non-breaking lines. The mind game that was given to them also had a profound life lesson within it to reflect. It may seem like a simple connect-the-dot game for others but it came along with subjective and objective lessons.
The objective of the game was to connect the 9 dots with 4 strokes of lines with a twist. The objective should be accomplished without having to lift their pen from the paper or break the lines. I have actually tried it before and it took me a lot of attempts to get it. The twist of the game kept me thinking for a while. I really thought that I was too restricted and it was sort of a paradoxical, never-ending game but it was actually not.
One would just have to literally and metaphorically think outside the box to solve the problem. Literally, the person should exceedingly stroke some lines outside the box or area of the 9 dots for the four lines to connect without breaking or having to lift their pens from the paper. Through this process, the objective will be accomplished.
Thinking outside or beyond the box may seem hard for some, especially for me. Sometimes, this concept keeps me pressured and thinking limitedly especially that I am a goal-oriented person. Then I realized that I was just overthinking of the possible mistakes that I might commit without even thinking of the wonderful ideas that I could think of.
“Thinking outside the box means that you cast off the atmosphere that envelops you, step out of the box, leave all your experiences, mindsets and attitudes behind…” – How to think outside the Box uploaded in planetofsuccess by Steve Mueller, March 31, 2017.
The concrete attitude and fixed mindset must be removed for a while and just let one’s mind think freely; think weirdly.
Steve Mueller also said in his article that sometimes, what is keeping people reserved from thinking outside the box is the fear that they might fight. However, mistakes should rather be seen as an opportunity for learning. Mistakes make a person view things from another point of view and acknowledging it makes a person learn and elude from doing the same error again. “The next time you make a mistake, approach it positively…” – Steve added.
Start of the Journey
From what I know, the class also discussed the class syllabus for the subject. I could only imagine their faces and thoughts of fear and doubts about the subject. They told me that they had also discussed technopreneurship per se and technopreneurs in Davao.
For me, the syllabus represents the start of a journey. A map and an outline to success. It illustrates the trails the class is going to walk on and the challenges they are going to pass through. My classmates and I have already acknowledged the fact that this journey will be one of the toughest we are going to take. But, we will face it.
I have already reflected the challenges to myself and accepted whatever results it may give. I, nevertheless, still aim for what’s best and do not hope to keep myself drowned in the raging waters of the trials. But, I have already traveled far and I came prepared to face whatever this journey has to offer. Local, national, and international competitions may be intimidating but for the sake of technopreneurial experience and skills that we could acquire and we will benefit, we will thrive in these competitions.
Technopreneurship – a local scope
Since I only have a few knowledge of the past discussion, I did some research about SEED curriculum, Technopreneurship, and the technopreneurs in Davao.
It has been a long time now since the concept of Technopreneurship has grabbed the minds of young aspiring technopreneurs and so has my attention. Ideas of innovations in technology have never failed to amaze me especially those who are inspired by simple problems that are overlooked but experienced in a daily life scene.
Innovations such the heat stress analyzer, GraBasura, and Gimme Spot are some the apps that make me say, “Why haven’t I thought about it?” These ingenious ideas not only make solve problems but they make life way easier which meets the purpose of technology.
I could barely imagine myself in their position of generating extraordinary ideas but I’m up for the challenge even if I have just learned that I have to deal with a lot of fields in Technopreneurship.
Technopreneuship encompasses a lot of areas: income generation, innovations, creativity, and technical skills.Furthermore, I was also told that they discussed SEED curriculum and that was based on 4 areas: Self Mastery, Environment Mastery, Enterprise Mastery, and the Development mastery.
Self-mastery is the knowledge of a person to himself but not to his surroundings. Self-mastered people know their personal capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses. These types of people are those who are competitive and often loves to take charge. I could relate them to CEOs, leaders, and the bossy type of people
The environment mastery, on the other hand, is the mastery of oneself about his/her environment and generates opportunities for them. People who are environmentally-mastered are good at taking advantage of the situation. For me, they are those who are calm and experienced people who are rarely frightened by pressure or intense situations.
Meanwhile, the enterprise mastery is the ability of a person to strategize in generating income and marketing products. Through this mastery, the management of a business in most aspects – financial, operational, etc. – will be properly handled. Lastly, the development mastery, from what I was told, is the knowledge of a person to create, present, and defend a business plan.
These are just some of the vital information that we should know in passing the subject. For a first formal discussion, it was honestly challenging. I still have my hopes up and I am still battling with the doubts and fear of having an unsatisfactory grade.
It is unlikely for most of us to disregard this subject and we cannot just be too complacent. Similar to what I stated above, the class should prepare; prepare for the trials that we will encounter such as various competitions that will train us and enhance our technopreneurial skills. Expect for the unexpected; there will be obstacles that we are not aware ahead of time and it would much better if we equip ourselves with knowledge outside the four corners of the room. Lastly, to think outside the box; we have to forget for a while the usual attitude and mindset that we have in mind and think beyond of what is in front us because, in Technopreneurship, I have learned that the ordinary is not even bothered unless it comes with something unique; something extraordinary. This only means that I have to go and explore outside my comfort zone and travel the unknown but this also means I should come prepared.
Null and Void 