When I was leaving my last job to do a startup, my family asked me to reconsider because ‘doing business is not in our genes.’
Do genes predispose us toward some professions? At first blush, this hypothesis seems fairly tenable.
In the US, I saw that a lot of motels were owned by Gujaratis. Even back home, they take to business like fish to water. Does it mean they have a ‘business gene’ or a ‘motel gene’?
Dry-cleaning shops in the US are often owned by Asians (Chinese/Koreans etc.). So do they have ‘dry-cleaning genes’?
In my mind, the answer is a clear ‘no.’
People choose professions because they have seen their parents and elders do the same. Our potential is determined not by our genes but by our values and belief systems, which are shaped by our environment.
Our environment is a very powerful force.
While we can’t change how we grew up, we can choose the environment in which we live and work. The simplest hack to grow in life is to surround yourself with people whom you want to be like.
Do that and you are already halfway there.
– Rajan