The ground is constantly shifting beneath us. Between covid, inflation, the rapid rate of change and general global chaos we are constantly battling to optimise ourselves. To be better, achieve more, earn more. To be the perfect parent, leader, geek, friend, son, teammate. To meditate more peacefully, run faster, bench press more, look younger, be smarter, more, more, more. It's exhausting. But it isn't the only way.
How do you create a meaningful legacy in a world where you are never enough? How do you leave the perfection behind and focus on the areas that bring you joy, inspire you and tick your boxes?
Scott had the pleasure of diving into all of this and more at the annual Something Digital innovation festival in Brisbane in 2022 to share his experiences and thoughts on the topic as he joined a panel moderated by Laura Campbell at Deloitte and spoke alongside panellists such as Llew Jury from Sprint Ventures, Pauline Fetaui from River City Labs and Sarah Pearson the previous Chief Innovation Officer & Chief Scientist for the Department of Foreign Affairs And Trade.
Starting his company, BOP Industries, at age 14, Scott has spent the majority of his teen years and all of his adult life immersed in the startup and innovation ecosystem. At times attending networking events four out of five nights of the week and spending some years travelling more than home, Scott has grown up with the mentality of needing to 'hustle harder', 'work faster' and 'push further' as he has built his business.
In this panel discussion, Scott shared some of his insights on this journey as he recounted his battles with burnout, attempts to strike better work/life balance, the imposter syndrome that comes with being a young person in business, and the feeling of not being enough when talking to other innovators and startup founders.
Some of the top tips Scott shared in the panel include:
- Turn Off Your Notifications: We've all had those moments where we've seen an email or a slack message pop up on our phone outside of hours that rips us right back into work mode and away from relaxing or spending time with friends and family. Where possible, turn off your work notifications outside of work hours, that way when you do check them, it's on your terms.
- Bottle Your Confidence Boosters: For Scott, the best way to battle imposter syndrome is to go back to heartwarming emails, reviews and feedback he has received from past clients or students. He keeps a rotating selection of these 'confidence boosters' in a notes page of his phone to give him the boost he needs when the imposter syndrome sets in. Find out what those confidence boosters are for you and find a way to bottle them.
- Reflect On Your Wins: Each year the BOP team publishes a 'BOP Wrapped'. Taking inspiration from the Spotify Wrapped, they calculate key metrics for how they performed as a team, recounting how many students they worked with, how many hours of workshops they delivered, and how many cities they visited. Make sure to take time to reflect on your wins every so often.
- Embrace Your Guilty Pleasures: One thing about Scott is that he hates listening to podcasts or reading books in his spare time about topics on startups, innovation, education and entrepreneurship. As he spends his time having these conversations all day every day at work, when he goes home he likes to detach as much as possible. Because of this, he's (accidentally) developed a love for LGBT romance novels. Referring to these as his 'guilty pleasure', Scott finds they are a great way to totally detach from work and immerse in something totally unrelated that's good for his soul. Find your guilty pleasures and embrace them!
Scott had an absolutely brilliant time on this panel discussion and loved chatting with the audience after about how they work to leave a lasting legacy in a world where they feel they are never enough. He also dived into some extensive conversations about LGBT romance novels as well!
To book Scott as a panellist or speaker for an event you've got coming up, make sure to browse his speaking topics and submit an enquiry by following this link: www.iamscottmillar.com/speaking