Find your villain, learn your mission.
This article reflects on the impact of external influences, culminating in a realization that our resilience and values shape who we are.
Everyone has a villain. I got acquainted with mine five years ago in a meeting room.
It was a hot summer day, and I was presenting a quarter update about a company we recently acquired. We couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I was showing a PowerPoint filled with data and insights. Suddenly, Mr. Bowser started giving his own vision of the world, not caring about the information I provided. It was like all the job I did with my team was not real, while it was succumbing under a machine gun that fires repeated shots full of convictions taken from who knows what life experience.
Well, this is normal. I mean, critics are the fertilizer for growth. But, believe me, I don’t know if it was for the meeting room hotter than a jalapeño in a taqueria de chiles, but I felt completely blown up. Like a complete idiot, I started ranting about the motivations that made me reach certain conclusions.
I can’t recall too much about the reaction at the table, and I remember people looking at me like you look at a touchy person ranting absurd words to justify his beliefs.
