Biomedical engineer. Professor. MIT faculty member. What on Earth could this guy have to say that’s relevant to creators? A surprising amount, actually. Jeff Karp, PhD, is a member of the National Academy of Inventors who has been dually interested in science and entrepreneurship his whole life. He satisfies both passions by leading a team dedicated to bringing innovative technologies, needles, drug delivery systems, implantable devices, and diagnostics systems to market, where they ultimately save lives.
In this episode of the podcast, we meet up to have a candid conversation about the trialed journey that comes with being an ambitious creator in the twenty-first century. Dr. Karp shares his personal experiences turning difficult problems into world-changing solutions along with some powerful advice we can all take home and apply to our daily lives.
Failure as a Testbed for Innovation
A main piece of advice Jeff wants every aspiring creator who’s listening to know? You’re going to fail. But he means that in the most encouraging, empowering way possible.
There’s a big misconceived notion in entrepreneurship that success plays out like a Hollywood movie – it’s just a matter of waiting for your eureka moment to strike. But the reality is very different. Most, if not all creators, will fail multiple times before fully realizing their potential. Anyone with a story of one-shot success is either lying or extremely lucky.
From Thomas Edison’s lightbulb to Steve Jobs’ iPhone, every revolutionary product was born out of numerous trial and error attempts. They didn’t just happen overnight. And they definitely didn’t come without their fair share of failures.
The key is to not let failure discourage you. Instead, use it as a learning experience and keep pushing forward. Every time you fail, you’re one step closer to success because you now know what doesn’t work.
“I don’t know if the students in the lab know how high the probability is that we are going to fail the first time, but I know that our best ideas, the most patentable things that we’re going to find are in the journey, not at the beginning.” He says.
Building an Environment for Exploration, Curiosity, and Adaptability
It should go without saying that it’s easier to succeed in some places than others. The circumstances we find ourselves in at a young age have a large influence on how we view the world, what we’re interested in, who we associate with, and ultimately who we become. Jeff’s path might have been very different if he fully embraced the environment he was first given.
“School was just invasive to me. I felt like I was just kind of free-flowing. There was a ravine behind my house where I lived and I’d just go down there and hang out and do whatever… and so I started to be called lazy, troublemaker, a lost cause. I would get to go to the principal’s office all the time. I think that maybe throughout my life, I’ve kind of taken on different identities and discovered what I’m not.”
The Power of Asking Questions
Jeff’s mind was built for what he does. Problem-solving, critical thinking, and curiosity are all part of his DNA. But academic success didn’t always come so easily. In fact, this Ivey League scientist was almost required to retake the second grade. His teachers noted slow progress and a disconnect from the other students in the class. It wasn’t until a summer school instructor asked him a seemingly simple question that everything finally clicked.
How do you think?
“No one had ever asked that question to me before, and I was kind of shocked at first because I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t even know it was really possible to have a thought about something that I just said.” Jeff recalls.
Spoiler alert: it was Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
That realization led Jeff’s mother to go up against the local board and demand the accommodations that would ultimately help him thrive.
With an understanding of how he thought, Jeff was also empowered to use tools that would help him learn and succeed. He began to see the value of asking questions as a way for him to absorb information and understand concepts better. They now form the basis of what he does as a researcher.
Rewiring Your Brain with Practice
No one’s going to sit here and say that managing conditions like ADHD is as easy as flipping a switch. Like in any good hero’s origin story, harnessing this given power takes some practice. Or in scientific terms, it requires reshaping your brain’s neuroplasticity.
“As I think about what happened to me in the second grade… I really think that was the first time in my life that I was consciously tapping into my neuroplasticity.” Jeff says. “Having this awareness of metacognition, thinking about thinking and studying other patterns and then testing out patterns, I was in the process of rewiring my own brain in a conscious way.”
Sound too abstract?
Let’s break this down into simpler terms. Imagine your brain is a forest, with different paths representing different neural connections and pathways. When we repeatedly engage in certain thoughts and behaviors, these pathways become stronger and more well-worn, making it easier for us to continue down that same path. This is why it can be challenging to break out of unhealthy or unhelpful patterns because our brains have become accustomed to going down those paths.
On the other hand, when we actively work on changing our thoughts and behaviors, it’s like clearing out overgrown paths in the forest. It may be difficult at first, as we have to push through dense vegetation and obstacles, but with continued effort and practice, these new pathways become more established and easier to traverse.
All that’s missing is a will to change and the tools to do so. Jeff’s remarkable story is proof that both of those things are within reach for all of us.
Jeff Karp’s unique perspective on the innovator’s mind is inspiring, to say the least. Your learning journey with him doesn’t have to stop at the end of this podcast – he’s recently released a new book, ‘LIT: Life Ignition Tools: Use Nature’s Playbook to Energize Your Brain, Spark Ideas, and Ignite Action‘ which expands upon his ideas and offers practical tools for igniting creativity and innovation. I highly recommend reading it for more well-qualified insights into the workings of the mind.
Enjoy!
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