How to make $ 650 in 2 hours: lessons from a Stanford teacher

The $ 650 Riddle

So what do you think students are using to make good use of those 2 hours?

Tina Seelig PhD, neurologist, Stanford School of Medicine

The options are always different. One team bought a pump for $ 5 and started pumping up the wheels of other students' bicycles for $ 1. Not a bad decision, agree? Another group began to book tables in popular restaurants, and then - closer to rush hour - sell them to those eager to get there immediately. But those teams that win this competition look at this problem from a different angle. In order to see a heap of new opportunities, you just need to take off the blinders, and then a new world will open up in front of you.

Wondering how you could have made $ 650? It's simple. On Monday, each team speaks to other Stanford students with a three-minute presentation on what they accomplished in 2 hours. So, once the winners sold these 3 minutes of "airtime" to a company that wanted to hire students. An ingenious move, isn't it? Company representatives paid $ 650 for the opportunity to talk to potential employees.

Course per million

Tina Seelig's course at Stanford is considered one of the most popular because during it students learn to look at the world and problems from a different angle. Tina is sure: no matter what alignment you have in life or business, with the right approach to the situation, you can get the most out of it!

It doesn't matter how many “problems” you have, all of them can be turned into new opportunities. Tina proves that coming up with new ideas is easy! Problem solving is easy! Starting a business is easy! Turning a bad idea into a good one is easy! There is no need to complicate anything. Just change your angle of view a little.

Tina says that such a definition of the word "entrepreneur" was entrenched in her environment:

An entrepreneur is a person who is concerned with identifying problems and turning them into outstanding opportunities.

This means that there are always creative solutions to any problem, even if you have few resources. This means that very often we drive ourselves into a rigid framework and it seems to us that we are at a dead end. All you need to do is take a step back and study the problem.

Do Bands idea

Here's a problem for you. Imagine that you have a regular elastic band that you put on your hand, or a bracelet. Your task is to get the most out of this subject. Think for a couple of minutes before reading further.

Here's one great use case for a rubber band. It was proposed by students during the second Innovation Tournament. The team came up with the idea of Do Bands - bracelets that you need to put on your wrist and not take off until you fulfill some promise. For example, you need to finish a big project. You put on this bracelet and do not take it off until the project is completed.

After you successfully deliver on your promise, you remove the accessory and give it to someone else. This is how you can make a useful thing out of a simple rubber band.

What ideas are like

During classes, Tina devotes a lot of time to making the person even more creative. And further. And a little more. For example, one exercise is to describe familiar things and ideas using metaphors. Let's say we need to continue with this statement:

It might look like this:

Ideas are like water because there are so many of them on the planet, and therefore, we, too, are 80% ideas.

Ideas are like a sofa because some of them also make you fall asleep, and therefore, not all ideas are sparkling.

Or even like this:

Ideas are like spider webs because they are tougher than they might seem and therefore should not be underestimated.

Come up with your options and only then read on.

Take risks

Of course, both life and business are not without risks. No one can guarantee that an idea will turn out to be good and will help you become famous, make money, or break a dead end. But, as you know, whoever does not risk is … (you know what).

A risk map is a tool that helps you understand what your risks are if you fail. There are five types of risks: physical, social, emotional, financial and intellectual. For example, social risks do not bother you at all, but physical risks you simply cannot bear. Let's say you are ready to easily change one job for another, but at the same time you will never agree to jump with a parachute. Before making a decision, draw up your risk map. You will find that there is little risk even if you fail.

Tina Seelig PhD, neurologist, Stanford School of Medicine

I dedicated a book, "Why Didn't Nobody Tell Me This At 20?" to my son, because this is exactly what I would like to know when I was 20 and 30 and 40. And I constantly remind myself of this even now, when I am already over 50! This entire book is about learning to allow yourself. Allow yourself to fail, take off and fall, have fun, push the boundaries of thinking and possibilities. Allow yourself!

Based on the materials “Why didn't anyone tell me this at 20? Intensive to find yourself in this world."