When I first read the book “The Boy Who Could Fly, or The Path to Freedom”, I had no idea how profoundly it would change my life. This book made me realize a deeply rooted limiting belief: that talent is something innate, available only to a chosen few. This belief was so ingrained in me that I didn’t even notice how it influenced my thoughts and actions.
Based on my experience, I came to understand how incredibly difficult it is to recognize limiting beliefs on your own. Our mind works in a special way—it rarely questions its own beliefs. And this makes sense: if certain beliefs help us survive and function in the world, why would we question them? Everything we know seems right to us because it has helped us survive until now.
When we are young, our mind creates beliefs about everything—about talent, creativity, personal capabilities, about what is possible or impossible for us. For example, when I was 24, I had strong beliefs like "I'm not a creative person" or "I can't be a businessman." Take, for example, the belief that talent is something we're born with. This belief was shaped by the survival experiences of previous generations when there wasn't much knowledge about developing human potential. However, science and education keep moving forward, and today we know that human potential can be developed.
This book opened my eyes to something incredible: talent isn't just a gift you're born with - it's a state of mind that anyone can achieve. To reach this amazing state of mind, you just need to develop your mind. This idea lit a fire in me. At the time, I was stuck in a mindset filled with doubt, envy, fears, and uncertainty. So I decided to pursue what the authors called the "talent state" - a state where you're excited to grow, find joy in life, and work on interesting projects.
I've always loved playing computer games, so I imagined myself as a game character who gradually levels up through experience and achievements. I realized that my own "character" was seriously under-leveled. I clearly visualized my current development stats: mental energy at 10 out of 100, skills at 15 out of 100, and experience/critical thinking at 25 out of 100. This realization helped me stop comparing myself to others and feeling disappointed in my achievements. Instead, I accepted my current level and set a goal to "level up," improving each of these areas step by step.
I continued working as a waiter, but my life now had a completely different meaning. I became happy because I had gained clarity and understanding of how to move forward. My new motto became: “Use projects to develop your character and fill life with positive emotions.”
The most significant change in my life was that I began to see ideas for projects in the world around me. One day, I noticed a rock on the street that looked like a skull. In the past, I would have walked past it without paying any attention, but this time, an idea popped into my head: “What if I painted this rock to make it look like an alien skull? That would be interesting and unique. Why not make it my first creative project?” And so, my journey toward a new state of mind began.
I bought paints, brushes, and got to work. Every evening, after my waiter shifts, I spent a little time painting the rock. When the project was complete (Projects #1), I was overwhelmed with a sense of joy and pride. I realized that creating something new brought an extraordinary sense of fulfillment.
After that, I continued experimenting. My next projects included making videos about traveling across the United States (Projects #2 and #3) and creating videos for my brother and father (Projects #4 and #5). With each new project, I tried to raise the bar: one video focused on editing, while another incorporated special effects. Learning new things wasn’t easy, and I faced internal doubts.
“This will take too much time! Why bother?” my inner voice would say.
But I was driven by the idea of a “new state of mind,” and I kept moving forward. I started exploring new software like After Effects and figuring out how to make each project more challenging. I worked intuitively, without rigid deadlines or external pressure. I set my own timelines and acted as my own manager and mentor.
Next, I decided to pursue web development as a potential source of income and a great way to develop my skills while working on meaningful projects.
But I quickly realized something important: one motivation is never enough to sustain long-term effort. Web development is a labor-intensive process that takes a lot of time. If I were motivated solely by the idea of making money, I would have likely lost interest quickly.
In the past, I had tried to learn web development, but my thoughts were always:
"Oh, this will take too long to master. Becoming good at it will take forever!"