Imagine you’re the 4-year-old you.
You can’t really write yet, but for the sake of the story, let’s imagine you can.
You’re writing a letter to your Future Self. About your hopes and dreams and aspirations.
It might feature lots of ice cream, building forts, staying up past bedtime, making mud pies…
What simple joys did you wish for as a kid?
And would this “younger you” be proud of the “grown-up you”?
Meet Rachel Ding, alumna of SYP6, who just started a job that her 4-year old self would approve of.
“Like so many kids, I really liked playing with LEGOs. My brothers and I didn’t necessarily have that many blocks, but we were happy using the same ones over and over, remixing them to build whatever we could: zoos, houses, neighborhoods, vehicles, toy guns…”
But fast-forward to January 2021, Rachel’s days didn’t feel so playful. She felt stuck in a cycle of overworking herself, yet feeling under-productive and dissatisfied.
“Finding Khe’s YouTube channel and Supercharge Your Productivity was my inflection point. After taking the course, I told myself that I would do more things that the little me would approve of.
“I had no idea that by the end of the year, I’d be working for a company whose mission revolves around building blocks.”
After doing a no-code builder’s fellowship at On Deck, Rachel landed her dream job at Coda, a company that’s creating the building blocks for anyone to build software, alongside other all-in-one doc startups like Notion.
But the path to Coda wasn’t so straight.
“The job search can really challenge your spirit. The companies to wade through, job descriptions to parse out, and people to impress – it’s easy to feel overwhelmed or lost in the process.”
But through several rounds of interviews, Rachel used SYP concepts and $10K questions to find direction, and make the most of every opportunity, especially under tight timelines.
She remembers having one night to prepare for a day of interviews and a presentation, whereas others may have had a week or so.
“The pressure was there. But fortunately, Supercharge Your Productivity taught me about Parkinson’s Law, leverage and prioritization. I asked myself:
What can I do with the time I’ve been given?
What are the $10K elements to involve in this presentation?
Then I focused my time and energy on those things.”
(The $10K Framework is our unique approach to help you make the most out of your time – and a cornerstone of Supercharge Your Productivity.)
“At the start of 2021, mid-pandemic, I wrestled with a scarcity mindset around my career prospects. With a background in education and nonprofits, it took me a while to see myself working for a tech startup. Maybe the pandemic has done that to a lot of us, keeping us from dreaming up new possibilities for our lives.”
So how did Rachel go from feeling overworked and discontent, to winning real satisfaction and a spot on her dream team, in less than a year?
“At first, I was taking the course to buckle down on productivity hacks and eliminate distractions. But I’ve stuck around because I realize, it’s much easier and way more fun when I have a village around me to do this.
During the pandemic, I’m thankful that I’ve had a safe, intergenerational space like Supercharge Your Productivity. It’s a place where I can ask for help and give back at the same time.
But the biggest surprise to early 2021 Rachel if she would meet 2022 Rachel today?
“That my favorite hashtag today would be #WAGMI, which stands for ‘We’re All Gonna Make It’,” Rachel laughs.
“Or, that I could be this at peace with myself and the way I’m living.”
Ready to make your 4-year-old self proud? Join our waitlist now and we’ll let you know once enrollment opens for the next cohort.