Empathy is one of the most magical emotions of the world. Unconsciously, people put themselves into others’ shoes and feel what others feel.

Reading the book, I was shocked by the example given by Pink in order to illustrate empathy’s powerful force in medicine. Never before had I realize that empathy can result in a difference between life and death. Two postmen working in the same post office which was exposed to anthrax went to different doctors complaining about similar symptoms.  One doctor consulted a relevant public department which told him it was not a risk, so he followed the rules and didn’t prescribe antibiotics. A few days later, the patient died. On the contrary, although the other doctor examined the patient and found nothing wrong, she still gave the patient a prescription for Cipro because her intuition just didn’t feel alright.  Her empathy saved the man’s life. This example illustrates that we’d better not downplay the importance of empathy and relying solely on science can prove to be an illusion.

To self-assess my performance in this high-concept and high-touch amplitude required in the Conceptual Age, I did two empathy tests recommended by Daniel Pink.

My first firs test is the BBC’s test Spot the Fake Smile – 20 questions on telling fake smiles from genuine ones. Daniel Pink asserted in his book A Whole New Mind, Empathy is “something we do pretty much spontaneously, an act of instinct rather than the product of deliberation.” Before dong the test, I did two preliminary tests of my overall outlook of life and my confidence rating my skill at discriminating between fake and real smiles. The results as is shown in the following screenshot reveal that I am relatively an optimistic person and my confidence scores average. Next, I relaxed and did the BBC’s test, letting my feelings drag me around. Through the whole test, I just picked up the answers which seem to be right without making any judgment deliberately. Surprisingly, I did an amazingly good job in this test – I got 18 right out of 20. My BBC’s test perfectly exemplified Daniel Pink statement.

Result of my preliminary tests on my overall look of life and my confidence rating my skill at discriminating between fake and real smiles. Result of my BBC’s test Spot the Fake Smile

My second test is to test on my Empathy Quotient (EQ) and my Systemizing Quotient (SQ). I agree with Daniel Pink that that although to some extent empathy depends on the distinctions between men and women, a whole mind should still perform both masculine and feminine modes of thinking. Following is the test result.

Result of my Empathy Quotient

 Result of my Systemizing Quotient

The results show that both my EQ and SQ score average, with my EQ 50 and my SQ 29. My EQ ranks higher in the average range while my SQ ranks perfectly average. In terms of the fact that I am a female engineer-to-be, this result totally makes sense. My gender enables me to do well in empathy because dozens of studies have shown that women are better at empathetic activities such as reading facial expressions and detecting lies. As a freshman majoring in engineering, my professional knowledge is relatively limited but I have always been educated to be science-oriented, so my SQ is higher than most women but lower than most men.

I have been deeply impressed by Daniel Pink opinion and learned the importance of empathy.  In the Industrial Age, what people are attempting to do is mechanizing the world, but in the upcoming Conceptual Age defined by Pink, people should seek their ways directing from science back to humans, or in other words, humanize the world.

Listen | StoryCorps.

You can listen to a short story from StoryCorps by clicking on the above link. The title of the story is “What’s your life like now, Dad?” and it is recorded in New York, NY.

After reading Dan Pink’s Chapter Story, I visited the website www.storycorps.net recommended in the exercises. I just randomly chose this story from the category of staff picks and began to listen.

The story tell about Priya Morganstern and Bhavani Jaroff’s interview of their father, Ken Morganstern, who has Alzheimer’s disease. Even if the father is already 81, he acts like a little child due to his disease, speaking slowly and trying to memorize some basic facts such as how old he is and what his children’s names are. When I listened to the story for the first time, I was occasionally amused by the old man’s answers and the way he spoke. For example, when the daughter asked, “What’s your life like now, dad?” Ken answered, “Oh, it’s a wonderful life. I get up in the morning, go sleep at night, and in the between…three meals.” Obviously, his world became much simpler after he got the Alzheimer’s disease. Memories are fading in his mind.

However, when I listened to the story for the second time, the third time, I came to be deeply touched by this short interview of the father by his two daughters. Although Ken cannot remember how and when he met his wife in New York, he still remembered dating her, his life-long love. Despite his hazy memory about his child David, (actually he even cannot remember his son’s name clearly) he still knows that David is the best of the four children. What’s more touching is when the daughters asked, “Was there anything you wish you’d got in your life that you didn’t get?” he answered, “I’m sitting here thinking, I have no regrets on anything. The important thing is I have a family that I love, and they are loving people. That’s the biggest thing you leave as a legacy.” I can’t believe these words were uttered by an old man with Alzheimer’s disease. The only answer is that his true love for his family originates deep from his heart.

This story about family has exerted a profound empathetic impact on me. Having been here for more than two months, away from my families in China, I have been frequently stricken by the overwhelming homesickness, especially when I confronted with troubles and setbacks.

One and a half months ago, I lost my brand-new cell phone purchased soon after I came to the States. I went to all the lost-and-founds that I know and asked whether anyone had turned in a cell phone, but all I got is sorry. On the same day, when I was trying to touch the Caldwell cat, she bit me on my hand and scratched me on my wrist. I felt like that’s the gloomiest day in my life. That night, when I talked to my mom and dad on Skype, all I expect were complaints about my carelessness, but it’s turned out that all I got is warm comfort. They said, “Honey, life would be hard for you to study alone in a totally unfamiliar country at such a young age. You have managed so well and done a great job. Don’t blame yourself. Just be careful next time and get another phone as soon as possible.”

All the stories related to family are warm and sweet. The empathy from StoryCorps to my own experience helps me understand how the stories can heal us. No matter what happens and where we are, family will always provides us with love and care.

I am actually not crazy about Apple products because of their outrageous price, even if I know that their innovative products are somewhat worth it. However, Apple is an absolutely adorable company that gives me most inspiration on my pursuit of innovation. When I was struggling to come up with a theme that is meaningful and creative to blog on, again Apple became my first choice

Today I downloaded the Stickies App on my PC because one of my classmates recommended in her blog that this App helps manage time in college. When I turned on my iPad, one notification popped out, giving direction that I could install this App directly on my iPad because I have already purchased it in App Store. Then I realized that this seems to be one of the new features of iOS 5 which I upgraded yesterday.

Although I have used this brand-new iOS system for just one day, I still would like to elaborate on the new features and flaws of this system, based on my own experience and some information that I collected from the Internet.

–>New Features

Watch this video introducing the new features.

http://www.apple.com/ios/gallery.html#video-ios

The more than 200 new features are undoubtedly enchanting. I will focus on 4 new features that attracts me most.

#1 Newsstand

iOS 5 can organize all the magazine and newspaper app subscriptions in Newsstand: a folder that provides access to our favorite publications quickly and easily. New purchases go directly to Newsstand. Furthermore, Newsstand automatically updates the issues in the background when they are available. It’s just like having the paper delivered to our front door.

I tried this new feature immediately after I upgraded my system. This works well. I downloaded the New York Times App so that I can get the most up to date news. I also downloaded the Total Film magazine App and get a free back issue in celebration of the launch of Newsstand. Newsstand provides users with a convenient and economical way to read magazines and newspapers.

#2 Reminders

Sometimes I found my life quite messed up because college keeps me busy all the time. Sometimes I have plenty of things to handle at the same time, which almost drive me crazy. For example, now I have an English blog to finish, a MATH test on Monday, an ECON test in one week, some essays to write for my Application for a summer program, and a CS Lab on creating a web page. I’d say it is completely difficult to handle tasks due at different times at the same time!

The new Reminders will certainly help to make me a better organized person. Making a list of everything can help me manage my time. For example, by setting the priority, I will know what my most urgent task is and make sure the most important things are finished as soon as possible. Reminders also enable me to make a shopping list so that I won’t miss anything in Target or waste my time hanging around. The even more fascinating feature is the Location Reminders which helps me to choose to get alerts when I am arriving at or leaving for a place. Reminders will definitely help keep me always on track.

#3 iCloud

iCloud works with just about everything you do on just about every device you use — including your Mac or PC. iCloud also gives independence to all iOS devices. With iOS 5, you no longer need a computer to own an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. Users can simply activate and set up their device wirelessly, right out of the box; download free iOS software updates directly on their device; and backup and restore their device automatically using iCloud.

iCloud seems to be the most mysterious feature for me. Even now, after I got much information of its performance from the Internet, I cannot say I completely understand how it works. I am still setting up my PC so that I can make full use of this new technology.

#4 Wi-Fi Sync

Wirelessly sync your iOS device to your Mac or PC over a shared Wi-Fi connection. Every time you connect your iOS device to a power source (say, overnight for charging), it automatically syncs and backs up any new content to iTunes. So you always have your movies, TV shows, home videos, and photo albums everywhere you want them.

This is undoubtedly my favorite feature! Just imagine, if my PC and my iPad are both in the GTwpa network, then I can leave them alone without wasting plenty of time on my iTunes on the PC. I can easily carry my music, movies and some other documents everywhere with my iPad!

–>Flaws

Although Apple has demonstrated its ability of incessant innovation, there still remains much for iOS 5 to be improved.

#1 Doubts on Apple’s creativity

iOS 5 shares an extreme similarity with Android — new notifications appear briefly at the top of the screen, and users can find details by swiping down the screen — for which many users cast doubts on Apple’s originality. Some Apple fans expressed their disappointment in forums because they think Apple no longer sticks to its rule of realizing original great ideas. I somewhat agree with those people because what defines Apple is its endless perfection in creativity. If Apple loses its belief in thinking different, people won’t buy what it does because they no longer believe in what it believes.

#2 Problems with Compatibility

The following paragraph is cited from http://pinoytutorial.com/techtorial/ios-5-list-of-supported-models-death-of-iphone-3g-and-ipod-touch-2g/

“You see, iOS 5 will only be available for iPhone 3GS / 4G and iPod Touch 3G / 4G, leaving those older versions including the iPod Touch 2G and iPhone 3G of year 2009 to be cut out from the group. Likewise, this would also mean that any features for the iCloud is something that you won’t be experiencing at all as the service requires at least an iOS 5 platform for it to work. Then again, for those who are used to on this transition, it’s simply a matter of buying a new iDevice again. Interestingly, if you’ll follow Apple, it takes more than two years before the company leaves and forgets its previous models. So do you think 2 years is more than enough time to buy and upgrade for another Apple product?”

Additionally, some of the new features are only available to specific devices. For example, the Multitasking Gestures is only available to iPad 2 which makes me unhappy because I am an iPad user. Why should I be deprived of the new feature just because I am a first generation user? What’s the difference? Also, the Voice-to-text feature is exclusive to iPhone 4S. Is Apple persuading people to buy the latest iPhone?

I hope the problems in compatibility can be fixed as soon as possible so that any Apple user — no matter he is using iPhone 2G or iPhone 4S — will have the same right to take advantage of the latest technology by Apple.

#3 Some minor problems

There exist some minor problems which many users complain about. For example, every iOS 5 user only has 15M capacity for messages, no matter the device is iPad 16G or iPhone 64G. This capacity is undoubtedly too limited for those who send pictures or videos through iMessage. Some users also complain that their Photo Stream doesn’t work at all. Hopefully, these little problems can be solved soon.

To wrap up, iOS 5 is undoubtedly another great inspiring wonder made possible by Apple. I am expecting more performance improvements for iOS 5.

Images and some descriptions of the new features are retrieved from http://www.apple.com/ios/features.html

Electrical engineering seems to be one of the most popular majors in engineering due to its wide application in almost any field. Of electrical engineers, the most famous include Thomas Edison, the American inventor who patented more than 1,000 inventions in his life; Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer, Inc.; and Nikola Tesla, an electrical engineer who contributed in establishing the alternating current (AC) electric power system. Also, I’d like to profile two great leaders in realizing the combination of arts and technology — Leonardo da Vinci, the well-known Florentine artist, scientist and engineer; and Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, a visionary and creative genius.

#1 Thomas Edison

Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an American inventor, scientist, and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial research laboratory. Dubbed “The Wizard of Menlo Park” (now Edison, New Jersey) by a newspaper reporter, he was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of mass production and large teamwork to the process of invention, and therefore is often credited with the creation of the first industrial research laboratory.

Edison is the fourth most prolific inventor in history, holding 1,093 US patents in his name, as well as many patents in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. He is credited with numerous inventions that contributed to mass communication and, in particular, telecommunications. These included a stock ticker, a mechanical vote recorder, and a battery for an electric car, electrical power, recorded music and motion pictures. His advanced work in these fields was an outgrowth of his early career as a telegraph operator. Edison originated the concept and implementation of electric-power generation and distribution to homes, businesses, and factories — a crucial development in the modern industrialized world. His first power station was on Manhattan Island, New York.

Thomas Edison. (n.d.). Retrieved Oct 14, 2011 from the Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Edison

#2 Steve Wozniak

Stephen Gary “Woz” Wozniak (born August 11, 1950) is an electrical engineer and computer inventor. The son of an engineer at Lockheed who worked on satellites, Stephen Wozniak enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley in 1971, the same year he began to collaborate with Steve Jobs in building “blue boxes” that allowed people to make free long-distance calls.

The pair then began to make computers out of borrowed “chips” and, working out of a family garage, he and Jobs designed a more “user-friendly” alternative to the new computers being introduced by International Business Machines (IBM). Wozniak was now working for Hewlett-Packard, and when that company refused to back the new computer, he and Jobs founded Apple Computer Inc. in 1976 to make their Apple I. The next year he introduced the Apple II personal computer which featured a central processing unit, a keyboard, color graphics, and a floppy disk drive. It can be said that this launched the personal computer industry.

In the following years, Wozniak played a major role in designing later Apple models such as Lisa and Macintosh. He took several years leave from Apple after being injured in a plane crash in 1981. He returned to Apple in 1983 but left the company in 1985 after a series of disagreements with Jobs.

In 1985 he started a new company, MBF, to explore new possibilities for electronics. That same year, Stephen Wozniak was awarded the National Medal of Technology by the President of the United States in 1985 for his achievements at Apple. He also became involved in other projects, including UNUSON (‘unite us in song’), with its goal of eliminating international enmities by using new communication devices. In 1990 he also joined Mitchell Kapor in establishing the Electronic Frontier Foundation to provide legal aid for computer hackers facing criminal prosecution, and to research the legal aspects of computer communication.

2011 A&E Television Networks. Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/people/stephen-wozniak-9537334

#3 Nikola Tesla

Nikola Tesla (10 July 1856 – 7 January 1943) was a Serbian-American inventor, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer. He was an important contributor to the birth of commercial electricity, and is best known for his many revolutionary developments in the field of electromagnetism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tesla’s patents and theoretical work formed the basis of modern alternating current (AC) electric power systems, including the polyphase system of electrical distribution and the AC motor. This work helped usher in the Second Industrial Revolution.

Because of his 1894 demonstration of wireless communication through radio and as the eventual victor in the “War of Currents”, Tesla was widely respected as one of the greatest electrical engineers who worked in America. He pioneered modern electrical engineering and many of his discoveries were of groundbreaking importance. In the United States during this time, Tesla’s fame rivaled that of any other inventor or scientist in history or popular culture. Tesla demonstrated wireless energy transfer to power electronic devices as early as 1893, and aspired to intercontinental wireless transmission of industrial power in his unfinished Wardenclyffe Tower project.

Nikola Tesla. (n.d.). Retrieved Oct 14, 2011 from the Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla

#4 Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519, Old Style) was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal. Leonardo has often been described as the archetype of the Renaissance Man, a man of “unquenchable curiosity” and “feverishly inventive imagination”. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have lived. According to art historian Helen Gardner, the scope and depth of his interests were without precedent and “his mind and personality seem to us superhuman, the man himself mysterious and remote”.

Leonardo was and is renowned primarily as a painter. Among his works, the Mona Lisa is the most famous and most parodied portrait and The Last Supper the most reproduced religious painting of all time, with their fame approached only by Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam. Perhaps fifteen of his paintings together with his notebooks, which contain drawings, scientific diagrams, and his thoughts on the nature of painting, compose a contribution to later generations of artists only rivaled by that of his contemporary, Michelangelo.

Leonardo is revered for his technological ingenuity. He conceptualized a helicopter, a tank, concentrated solar power, a calculator, the double hull and outlined a rudimentary theory of plate tectonics. Relatively few of his designs were constructed or were even feasible during his lifetime, but some of his smaller inventions, such as an automated bobbin winder and a machine for testing the tensile strength of wire, entered the world of manufacturing unheralded. He made important discoveries in anatomy, civil engineering, optics, and hydrodynamics, but he did not publish his findings and they had no direct influence on later science.

Leonardo da Vinci. (n.d.). Text and image are both retrieved Oct 14, 2011 from the Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci

#5 Steve Jobs

Steven Paul “Steve” Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American business magnate and inventor. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc. Jobs was co-founder and previously served as chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios; he became a member of the board of directors of the Walt Disney Company in 2006, following the acquisition of Pixar by Disney.

In the late 1970s, Jobs – along with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Mike Markkula and others – designed, developed, and marketed one of the first commercially successful lines of personal computers, the Apple II series. In the early 1980s, Jobs was among the first to see the commercial potential of Xerox PARC’s mouse-driven graphical user interface, which led to the creation of the Apple Lisa and, one year later, the Macintosh. After losing a power struggle with the board of directors in 1985, Jobs left Apple and founded NeXT, a computer platform development company specializing in the higher-education and business markets.

In 1986, he acquired the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm Ltd, which was spun off as Pixar Animation Studios. He was credited in Toy Story (1995) as an executive producer. He remained CEO and majority shareholder at 50.1 percent until its acquisition by The Walt Disney Company in 2006, making Jobs Disney’s largest individual shareholder at seven percent and a member of Disney’s Board of Directors. Apple’s 1996 buyout of NeXT brought Jobs back to the company he co-founded, and he served as its interim CEO from 1997, then becoming permanent CEO from 2000 onwards, spearheading the advent of the iPod, iPhone and iPad. From 2003, he fought an eight-year battle with cancer, and eventually resigned as CEO in August 2011, while on his third medical leave. He was then elected chairman of Apple’s board of directors.

On October 5, 2011, around 3:00 p.m., Jobs died at his home in Palo Alto, California, aged 56, six weeks after resigning as CEO of Apple. A copy of his death certificate indicated respiratory arrest as the immediate cause of death, with “metastatic pancreas neuroendocrine tumor” as the underlying cause. His occupation was listed as “entrepreneur” in the “high tech” business.

Steve Jobs. (n.d.). Retrieved Oct 14, 2011 from the Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_jobs.

Image retrieved from http://www.apple.com/stevejobs/

Isaac Newton famously remarked in a letter that “If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.” With so many great models to follow, I believe I can achieve the career goal that I aspire. Leonardo da Vinci is primarily known as a great artist, but his great talent in both arts and science shapes his leading role in Renaissance. Steve Jobs is primarily known as an engineer, but he also served as chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios, which I believe inspires him in producing both beautifully designed and user-friendly products. The last two cases that I profile prove that being versatile in both arts and engineering is challenging, but is achievable.

Majoring in Electrical Engineering is actually out of my plan. My first dream is to be an architect, not an engineer. I have been learning drawing and painting ever since I was four and I really enjoy drawing random thoughts on papers because I think arts can always bring inspiration, delight and beauty. This early year experience formed my first professional aspiration of being an architect since designing my building is so cool and fascinating.

Engineering seems to be one of the last choices for me as an academic specialty, although I grew up in a community of scientific research. My father is a research professor of Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Ever since I was born, I have been growing up in this community. I admire my father and my neighbors since they work out wonders through engineering. Although I think engineer is a really cool job, I’d never thought stepping into this field because of the stereotypes on women in engineering — even extremely well-prepared women cannot easily survive in the demanding academic scenarios. It was so hard to imagine that I would be someone among those who break this rule at that time.

However, my academic experience in high school nurtured and fortified my interest in engineering. My high school is generally science-oriented and provides students with plenty of opportunities to study science and technology. In tenth grade, I passed a rigorous test for the elective courses offered by Robotics Laboratory and began some basic research in computer science and electrical engineering. It is the Robotics Lab where I found engineering so hard and challenging, but also absolutely interesting and inspiring. I came to realize that I found another field for me to create useful products and realize crazy ideas. Thus, I decided to choose Electrical Engineering as my major and began to apply for some highly-reputed universities and institutions of the United States which provide excellent engineering programs. Now I am a yellow jacket here at Georgia Tech to strive for my career goal.

I wish I would combine Electrical Engineering with arts in my future career so that I can be an architect and engineer at the same time. My career goal is to be engaged in some work creating both, well-structured and user-friendly products. Actually, I got my inspiration from the Apple Company. I still remember the moment when I got my first Apple product — an iPod nano — from my parents as a birthday gift. I’ve never seen such a brilliant combination of a beautifully-designed look and hi-tech features. Even if it is just a 1st generation product, the iPod nano is perfect enough to be a never-seen-before wonder. However, it is later turned out that it’s just a start of the endless further perfection of Apple products. Apple has a comprehensive variety of products — Mac, iPod, iPhone, iPad — and each not only has a unique and fashionable look, but also has a series of humanized and powerful features.

Image retrieved from http://macosworld.ru/apple-obyazalis-zamenit-vse-ipod-nano-1-gen-v-yaponii/

I am so lucky to study in Georgia Tech as the perfect institute to realize my crazy dream both as an architect and as an engineer. I’d say although I did switch from Architecture to Electrical Engineering, I have never changed my dream of innovating some fabulous and enchanting products.

Image retrieved from http://openlibrary.org/books/OL10319515M/Architect_and_Engineer

“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” This sentence has been spinning around in my mind since I watched the TED Talk by Simon Sinek. I’ve never seen such a simple but brilliant, meaningful, and inspiring speech before. His talk is successful due to the way he talked, the organization of the talk and the vivid examples in the speech.

The way in which the speech was delivered is super simple but the idea is clear. All the tools Simon used to explain his idea are just one water-color pen and two papers — no PowerPoint, no pictures, and no videos. However, the message is very clear: people don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. People won’t believe his idea more if his idea doesn’t make sense, even if he has used a bunch of pictures or videos to bombard his audience. All Simon did during his talk is drawing two simple but clear graphs, citing a lot of vivid figures and historic events, and repeating his thesis over and over again. But that’s enough. I am sure all his audience is absolutely impressed by his brilliant and innovative idea, regardless of what he did to sell his idea.

Simon’s talk is well-structured so that his audience understands his idea and anecdotes better. First, he directly proposed a problem that may be confusing but is definitely enchanting to us, and then listed three examples which are turned out to be cited later during his talk. Then he found the pattern and introduced his golden circle theory. Afterwards he talked about the contrast between Apple and Gateway/Dell. To make us understand “why”, he then explained the origin of his idea, and it completely makes sense in biology. After that is the example of Wright brothers and Langley.  Followed is the law of diffusion of innovation illustrated by a graph and plenty of data based on scientific facts. The last examples are TiVo and Martin Luther King. Finally is the conclusion — those who lead can inspire us. Throughout the whole presentation of his idea, we can see that all the combination of idea and proof totally makes sense. Thus, we believe what Simon believes.

Simon presents vivid examples in his speech. I love his “Wright brothers and Samuel Pierpont Langley” example most because the contrast perfectly answered the question he raised at the beginning: How do you explain when things don’t go as we assume? Samuel Pierpont Langley had, what we assume, to be the recipe for success — enough fund, big minds and good market, while on the contrary, the Wright brothers have nothing that is supposed to be the catalyst for success. Why did Langley fail and the Wright brothers succeed? The difference is the Wright brothers were driven by a cause, by a purpose, by a belief. They believed that if they could figure out this flying machine, it’ll change the course of the world. However, all Langley wanted was wealth and fame. People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. That’s why people who believed in the Wright brothers’ dream, worked with them with blood, sweat and tears while the big minds hired by Langley just worked for the paycheck.

I believe what we can learn from Simon Sinek is more than the inspiring idea he conveyed to us. If we take a look into his speech, we will definitely appreciate his arts of speaking more. An amazing and inspiring talk is equal to the sum of a brilliant idea and an impressive way to talk.