Mentality

Is it possible to fully escape the mentality that was handed to you from birth? Or do we all, in some way, carry traces of our environment with us, like shadows that follow even in the light?

I grew up from a less tech-exposed state and environment to become a computer hardware engineer at 18, got my hands into software at 19, and started my first startup at 22. The odds weren't exactly in my favor. I came from a place where innovation wasn't celebrated, where dreams that deviated from the traditional path were met with skepticism, and where survival often trumped creativity. Yet, I pushed through. I believed, however naively, that knowledge could be a ticket out. What I didn't realize at the time was that it wasn't just knowledge I needed—it was a complete overhaul of my mentality.

You see, poverty is not just a state of being; it’s a state of mind. "Like poverty, like mentality"—the two go hand in hand, feeding off each other. Poverty, both in its physical and mental forms, has a way of trapping you in a cycle of limitation. It builds invisible walls around what you think is possible, walls that you may not even see until you begin to challenge them.

When I began my journey into tech, I had no real role models in my environment to look up to. No one to tell me what was possible, no mentors to guide me through the complexities of coding or business. I had to reprogram my mind before I could ever hope to reprogram a computer. I had to unlearn the scarcity mindset, the belief that opportunities were finite, and that failure was something to be feared. But what does it mean to escape that mindset? Can you ever truly break free of it when you've been steeped in it for so long?

Poverty mentality is sneaky—it hides in your decisions, in your hesitations, in the way you view risk. It whispers, "Stay safe," when you know you should leap. It convinces you to shrink when you're meant to expand. How many dreams are lost, not because they weren't good ideas, but because the dreamer didn’t believe they were worthy of success?

Photo by Alice Triquet on Unsplash

When I was starting my first startup, I faced not just financial challenges but mental ones. Every time I was on the brink of taking a big step, I had to confront the internal dialogue: "Who do you think you are?" "What makes you think you'll succeed where others have failed?" "Do you really think someone from your background can build something that matters?" These voices weren’t just echoes from my environment—they were the remnants of a mentality shaped by limitation.

So, how do you break the cycle? How do you stop poverty from dictating your mentality, and ultimately, your life? The answer is uncomfortable—it requires a level of introspection most people avoid. It’s about recognizing that poverty isn’t just about a lack of resources, but about the choices we make with the resources we do have. And here’s the catch: mentality isn't easily changed. It requires a conscious, daily effort to reject the beliefs that have been ingrained in you.

Is it possible to fully escape the mentality that was handed to you from birth? Or do we all, in some way, carry traces of our environment with us, like shadows that follow even in the light?

The reality is, we cannot entirely erase where we come from, but we can transcend it. We can decide, moment by moment, to think differently. To embrace abundance where we were taught to expect scarcity. To take risks where we were taught to play it safe. To dream audaciously, even when those around us have given up on dreaming.

And perhaps the most important question of all: Can you build something truly transformative, something lasting, without first transforming yourself?