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Significant Career Lesson From A Founder At WellSpace

Maria's significant career lesson is that "if you think you can do it, you can do it," a belief solidified by producing and hosting a podcast straight out of college despite lacking initial skills. This experience taught the importance of questioning limiting beliefs, digging into the root causes of self-doubt ("some place of fear or...feeling inadequate"), and recognizing that while not everything is achievable, potential is often underestimated.

Overcoming Challenges, Resilience, Confidence, Motivation, Achieving Goals

Advizer Information

Name

Job Title

Company

Undergrad

Grad Programs

Majors

Industries

Job Functions

Traits

Maria Ko (Kiejnich)

Founder

WellSpace

UCLA Class of 2020

Harvard Graduate School of Education, Ed.M. in Learning Design, Innovation and Technology

Economics

Healthcare, Medical & Wellness, Technology

Entrepreneurship and Business Owner

International Student, First Generation College Student

Video Highlights

1. Maria's career path highlights a key lesson: if you believe you can achieve something, you likely can. This is exemplified by her podcasting experience, where she took on producing and hosting despite lacking initial skills.

2. She emphasizes questioning self-limiting beliefs and digging into the root causes of those beliefs (often fear or inadequacy). By addressing these underlying issues, she's found she can overcome perceived limitations.

3. Maria suggests focusing on opportunities aligned with your passions and capabilities, rather than forcing yourself into areas where you lack genuine interest or aptitude.

Transcript

What is one lesson that you have learned that has proven significant in your career?

If you think you can do it, you can do it. If you think you can't, think twice. This has definitely been something I've learned throughout my different experiences.

I had the opportunity to be a producer and host of a podcast early on, straight from college. I didn't know anything about podcasts or have the skills to produce and host one. I was hired to design the podcast and then, because of my passion, was asked to do it all.

What has helped me is believing that anything can be learned. I always get to the underlying reasons why I think something can't be done. It's usually rooted in fear or feeling inadequate due to past experiences.

It's always good to question yourself whenever you feel you cannot do something. Keep asking yourself why, to get to the root cause. You'll soon discover that you can do anything, or at least everything you are being called for.

For example, I wouldn't become a skydiver tomorrow; I don't think I'm called for that. My thinking I can't do it isn't something I have to force myself into. I'm referring to those situations where we want to do something, but we think we can't. In that gray area, questioning why we think we can't goes a long way.

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