Why You Need a “Why”
Adam Tank is a entrepreneur who has found a passion for helping change the world in more ways than you can imagine. Finding his “why” helps him continue to change the world through water robotics, business coaching in prisons, and being a parent in the foster care system. Adam gives us advice on why you need a “why” and how to help you see people for who they truly are, challenge expectations, and become an entrepreneur.
If you liked this episode, check out Season 1 Ep. 26: Be the Change David Marquis and The River Always Wins
The Water Challenge
The Big Problem
Adam was inclined towards technology solving challenging problems, especially in the water industry. He tries to bring products and services to the masses that are going to make a meaningful difference in people lives. When is the last time you thought about what it takes to get clean water to your house? No one thinks about that especially in developed economies. The infrastructure that brings us clean water and takes dirty water away is extremely complex. In the process, over 30% of the water that is treated for our consumption is lost in between the treatment plants and our homes. It either leaks underground because of buried pipes, or it is stolen or inaccurately measured. That is a big problem.
Infrastructure
Our infrastructure is struggling. The things that were designed 50 years ago that made our lives incredible were never designed for the populations that we have now.
Most of the pipes that were put underground were put in place in the 40s and 50s. They had about a 40-50 year lifespan. Now we are 70-80 years into that lifespan, and everything is breaking and cracking. This leads to more water loss. So, anything we can do to help the utilities, the ones in charge of delivering clean water to homes and businesses, is a win for everyone involved. Especially us as taxpayers.
Enabling the World
How do we enable the world to have more clean water? The way Adam is working towards that is working with a software company that designs this water infrastructure instantly using artificial intelligence. Previously, it would take hundreds, if not thousands of hours to design these unbelievably complex assets. However, with software you can do it in hours. It enables engineers, utilities, and people responsible for building this stuff to do it in a better, faster and more sustainable way. This brings water to the masses.
Business Coaching in Prisons
A Safe Space
We have all made mistakes in our life, we have all made bad decisions. We will continue to make mistakes and wrong decisions. We have all been hurt by other’s mistakes or decisions. However,, it is important to remember that the person is not their behavior. Being and creating a psychological safe space for people enables you to seperate the person from their behvior. You will realize that although the person is creating the behvior, the person and the behavior are not the same thing. We have the choice. We can choose to be whatever we want to to be. We have to allow a safe space for others to have that choice too.
Intimidation Factor
When Adam is in a prison, the first question the facilitator typically asks is “Who here is nervous?”. What you find is that in many cases the inmates are just as nervous, if not more nervous, to meet with you than you are with them. There is this sort of dialouge that is created in this environement that it is not a safe space to share your thoughts. There is no emotional connectoin.
If you shared that stuff, you got beat up physically or metaphorically. However, when you walk in you realize we are all on the same page. We want to help each other. As much as you can help them think about the world in a different way, the inmate can help you see the world in a different way too.
Challenging Expectations
Expectations can put us into boxes that we may not want to be in, or at least stay in. Challenging them can be one of the hardest things to do. This comes through changing our mindset and realizing it is okay to live the life you want to live. You don’t need permission from anyone to just go do it.
Foster Care
In This Together
If you are in a position where you can be someone who gives of themselves, of their time, their talents, energy finances, etc, then you should. You have one life to live, other people may not have it as easy as you. Why noth help others out? We are all in this together. It doesn’t matter where you are. Humanity, at the end of the day all wants the same things. We want to be happy, healthy, someone to love, people to take care of. That’s what go Adam into foster care.
Having Kids
When Adam and his wife got married, they new they wanted to have kids, and start a family. However family could mean anything. There is a wide range of what a family truly is. They decided they had the resource to be able to help where they can so they decided to put adoption on the table. The more they got into adoption the more they foudn that the foster system is broken, and there is an unbelieveable need. They decided they had the space, the time, and the resources, so they decided to go for it. It turned out to be an amazing journey for them.
Becoming Childlike
One of the biggest lessons Adam learned was to become childlike. In working in an orphanage in Mexico, he realized that you don’t need a lot to be happy. These kids don’t have a parent aroudn and are being taken care of by another entity. They had nothing, everything stripped from them. However, they were the happiest kids on the planet. That goes for the kids in foster care. These kids of have come from the most hellish situations and they are just the happiest kids in the world. That just goes to show that no matter how bad it is, it’s going to be okay. There is always a silver lining. It is just all about perspective. In the entreprenuer world, there is not enough of that. You have to go back to “why are you doing this in the first place?”. So you had to miss a meeting. It’s not the end of the world. things are going to be okay. Regardless of how bad things may seen there is always something beneifical. There is always something you can move past, get over, and get through.
Photo credits: Photo by Daniel Sinoca on Unsplash, Photo by Medienstürmer on Unsplash, Photo by Liane Metzler on Unsplash
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If you are curious to know more about how I can help you achieve your business or life goals, please contact me: Miriam@leavebetter.com
As someone who has been a therapist for over a decade and has been coaching people for over three decades, I am uniquely qualified to join you on your quest for seeking the best version of you possible.