Success, Luck, and Opportunity
Reflecting on my MIT Journey
By Sayjel Patel
Success, luck, and opportunity shape our lives in many ways. Sometimes, these forces feel beyond our control. Other times, we try to control them through hard work, preparation, and strategic decisions. When reflecting on my background, the first thing that comes to mind is how these forces influence my journey as a designer, global citizen, and business owner.
Growing up as a suburban kid in Canada, I had limited opportunities to travel and a narrowly defined view of success. However, I was lucky that my family valued education, and I was fortunate to have transformative experiences. One such experience was working with Canadian Artist Phillip Beesley, who was the first person to tell me about the MIT Media Lab. He also showed me that it was possible to be based out of a small Canadian town and be a globally recognized force of nature.
Through hard work, luck, and opportunity, I was able to attend MIT to pursue my passions for architecture, coding, and travel. However, this was not without its challenges. Like many of my classmates, I faced imposter syndrome and other pressures. At times, I felt like luck and opportunity had brought me to MIT, but success was something I had to earn through true grit and determination.
Even 10 years later, I have experienced firsthand how luck, success, and opportunity can influence the trajectory or even the existence of a company. For example, meeting my co-founder, Camiel , was a complete fluke. We connected through a mutual acquaintance in Singapore whom I had met years earlier in a nightclub in Shanghai. Another example is the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit a few months after registering our business. We had no choice but to look globally and remotely when hiring our team, which today is our greatest strength.
One valuable lesson I learned from my journey was that success is not just about achieving personal goals, but also about creating value for others. As a student, my classmates and I had the opportunity to work with architect Jose Selgas to design, and build a vaccination clinic with the Turkana community in Kenya. Using design as a way to connect with this community was a powerful and humbling experience. It taught me that being a successful designer is about being a good global citizen and finding meaningful connections to the world around us.
My journey taught me that we can take steps to influence success, luck, and opportunity through hard work, adaptability, and a global mindset. Additionally, creating value for others is an essential aspect of success that goes beyond achieving personal goals. Ultimately, while external factors and unforeseeable events may impact our careers, we have the power to choose how we respond to them and create our own luck. Finally, as we navigate challenges and opportunities, it is important to remember that success is not just about personal achievement but also about making a positive impact on the world around us.
First Published in the April 2023 MITARCHA Newsletter
About the Author:
Sayjel is a Technology Leader, Teacher, and Coder passionate about innovation and design. Currently, he serves as the CTO and Co-founder of DBF — a enterprise SaaS company specializing in developing spatial intelligence products to reduce the carbon impacts of cities and buildings.
