I recently heard Brian Chesky say, “The best people in your life are the ones who see potential in you that you didn’t see in yourself.” I let that quote simmer in my mind for a while, and I think it’s one of the most beautiful principles to guide a life.
Reflecting on my journey over the past few years, I realize how a handful of people believed in me more than I believed in myself. They were my first investors in my earliest ventures, the ones who pushed me to make the bold—even “dangerous”—decisions. They helped me unlock a better version of myself, one I didn’t know existed. Sometimes it was easier for them to spot this potential because they had been in similar shoes or worked with founders and creatives like me. In that sense, they became prediction machines, seeing what I was capable of before I saw it myself. They gave me confidence and self-belief.
I aspire to live in a similar way. I’m still young and still figuring things out, but I see potential in many of the people around me. Whenever I can connect deeply in a genuine, authentic conversation, I try to offer a spark of inspiration—encouraging them to make that bold move, take that risk, and bet on themselves. In doing so, I pay forward the guidance I once received. That, to me, is what the best people in our lives do: they see a possibility in us that we haven’t yet noticed ourselves. Or haven't developed the confidence in what we are capable of doing.