Uncertain About Your Career? This US CEO's "Genie Question" Might Help

Graham Weaver, the founder and CEO of private equity firm Alpine Investors, has revealed a crucial question students should ask themselves before choosing their career path. In a recent episode of 'Lenny's Podcast', Mr Weaver, who is also a lecturer at Standford University, said that he often prescribes a series of exercises to his students that previously helped give him clarity on his own goals. Chief among them is asking yourself the "genie question," he said, as per Business Insider. 

Mr Weaver described a common scenario where students present him with two potential career paths. He said that students typically pick option A as it appears more practical and stable, and try and talk themselves out of option B, something that they have their hearts set on. 

"First, I try to let them realise that their real energy is for B. Just let them feel that, and understand that. And then secondly, I try to figure out - what are the limiting beliefs they have? What are the fears? What are the obstacles?" Mr Weaver said, per the outlet. 

He noted that external pressures, such as societal expectations or fear of failure, often push individuals towards what they think they should do rather than what they truly desire. Getting locked into a career for which you have no enthusiasm leads to a life lived on autopilot, the CEO said. Rushing through a familiar daily routine, with no time to consider what you're doing or whether you even want to be doing it, can lead to an increased degree of anxiety and friction, he added. 

"But then once I kind of got into the path of the thing that I was excited about, that's when I really felt my energy change dramatically," Mr Weaver said, adding, "And I developed almost like a superpower in that thing, because, you know, I had more energy. I was willing to work longer, I was willing to do it."

Mr Weaver said that to help students confront their fear, he instructs them to imagine a scenario in which a genie guarantees their success in any chosen career. "If that were true, and you had that genie blessing you with that wish, what would you wish for?" he asked. "The students come up with an answer that's really close to their heart. And it's the thing they would do, absent the fear of failure. And then the second part of the exercise is - that's what you should do," he said. 

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The CEO acknowledged that financial and practical constraints are real concerns. To address these, he recommends writing problems down instead of actively ruminating on any limitations, thereby reducing hurdles to a series of manageable steps.

"When you get it down on paper, it will almost immediately strip that limiting belief of a lot of its power, and a lot of its scariness," Mr Weaver said. "Because now it's just something like, for example, 'How would I fund this?' So, the second thing is that a lot of that scariness becomes just a to-do item," he explained. 

However, the CEO also stated that success isn't just overcoming fear. He also stressed that success is rarely immediate and unrealistic expectations for quick results often lead to failure. "The missing ingredient in most of the people that fail is time," he said. "You have to go in with the mindset and the structural ability to stay at it for a long period," he added. 

Reflecting on his own journey, Mr Weaver noted that patience and perseverance were critical to his achievements. Without these, his career might have been "a museum of failures."

He further urged people to take time to define their vision of an extraordinary life. "Take the time to really figure out and answer the question, 'What does a wonderful, amazing, incredible life look like?'. And just get as clear as you possibly can on that," Mr Weaver said.