Written by Jason Goodman, Founder of You X Ventures.
When you start down the existential path of “who am I and why am I”, you never quite know where that path will lead.
I chose to start a business in Design in an attempt to create a reality for myself – one that was literally of my design and in theory: should be exactly what I’ve always dreamed of. When you go through some hard times and doubt creeps in – it really tricky to reflect on how and why you’ve gotten off course.
A few months back, I was struggling to find meaning and purpose again and in this particular case, I stumbled into the world of Cosmology and Theoretical Physics. How do they tackle the great unknowns? How do they find meaning and answers?
You know when you discover a band/artist that many people have loved and heard of, but for whatever reason you never listened to them until much later in life and all of sudden feel like you’ve discovered gold. That’s how I felt this particular evening as I jumped into the world of Physics & Cosmology.
Since that evening in April of 2019, not a day has gone by where I haven’t spent at least a bit of my free time learning more about the field. Quantum Mechanics, General Relativity, Black Holes, Quantum Entanglement, Particle Colliders, The Cosmic Microwave Background: there is no topic that doesn’t fascinate me and I think it’s fair to say that based on how much we still don’t know about just about all these topics – it’s a field that will be able to satisfy my curiosity for the rest of my life.
So – how did Cosmology help me solve my existential question around why I’m continuing to build a Design driven business?
Well – it didn’t exactly. Not directly anyways. What it did offer and continues to provide me every day is an alternative perspective as well as some interesting, guiding principles of the universe that can be applied to our everyday life.
I realized that there were a few heavy topics that drew me to the orbit experience design in particular. Firstly, I love solving mysteries and diving into the unknown. Anything that feels cemented, well-established and evolved is a giant u-turn sign for me. I studied Psychology because I wanted to unravel mental illness and help the helpless. I studied Education because I wanted to solve the riddle of learning and apply my knowledge to help children learn.
Ultimately: I love domains that are rich in uncertainty – but whom offer great promise to help humankind.
I turned to design and technology when those industries were evolving rapidly, when it felt like they’d absolutely hold some keys to support our human quest. The more I learned about the relationship between technology and people, the more I realized that my scattered experiences and perspectives from my training and work in psychology, education and business were applicable and needed here.
It’s been about a dozen years now that I’ve called the field of Design my home and although I still suffer from imposter syndrome, I now have a better understanding of where my energy comes from, why I orbit the topics and people I do and now that I have a stronger sense of my “why”, as well as some unique perspectives to ground me when some of life’s black holes begin to tug at me. I hope these perspectives help you find clarity and purpose if you’re looking for it and if nothing else: reminded you of just how magical this world and our existence truly is.
I’d love to share some of those insights with you in this post. I hope you enjoy them and that they help serve you as your very own Cosmological Guide to Your Galaxy.
Topic: E=MC2
Personal Insight
The positive energy that you invest into life, business and others will manifest into the people and things that matter to you. Spending time with those people and things will give you energy.
I gravitated to Design because I was interested in Designing my ideal work/life experience, however – I can’t do that alone. I’ve created a business that’s grounded in positivity and that has translated into an entity that provides energy to myself and our team.
Topic: Mass & Orbits
Personal Insight:
The words that we use in life, love, and business carry weight that influence how our conversations orbit. If you want to change the quality of the conversations you’re having for the better, you need to choose your words wisely and place emphasis in all the right places to cause the gravitational effect you’re looking for.
Topic: Atoms & Quarks
Personal Insight:
We have to resist the temptation you let your eyes dictate your thoughts, feelings and opinions. Let’s challenge ourselves to look beyond the surface of things and appreciate the depth that everything and everyone has.
