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Assessment – Melchior ten Velden 563517 – PSD1 – IBIS passport appraisal – 2814BI114A – chance 1

Masterplan:

• Passion: Climbing, traveling, helping people
• Talent: Present in front of people, climbing, manage people
• Business dream: Create a successful business that helps people
• Definition of success: Having enough money while helping people, free time, enjoying life and having friends and family.
• Long term goal: Travel abroad, study abroad, create my own business
• Short term goal: Finish this semester, driver licence
• Actions: Work hard
• Commitment: The commitment to myself is to be a millionaire before I turn 40

Passion

If somebody would ask me “what is your passion?”, I would need a moment to think about it. What really tiks me is rock climbing, the longer the route and the more difficult it is the more I enjoy doing it. I could do it for hours and completely lose track of time. Another great passion is traveling. I’ve been all over the world started when I couldn’t even walk. I have been in every continent, have seen many different cultures and met amazing people. That’s why I want to work later with international companies. I wish I had more money to see places I haven’t seen. I’m not sure if helping people is really a passion, I think that if it is your passion you’re doing it more for yourself than for the other. Having said that, I enjoy helping someone, especially if I can put all my energy in it. In the spring of this year I went to Kirgizstan to do charity with an American organisation called Habitat for Humanity. We worked every day in the burning sun, I only stopped working when we had lunch. We build a house for a family in need. This was an eye-opener that I really want to have a business that helps people. I liked the hard work and doing everything with my hands. Seeing the end result and the emotions of the neighbourhood was very inspiring.

Talent

Some of my talents are harder to describe than the other. Climbing is something I do with ease, I started climbing when I was 6 years old and I had to climb the same route as my parents, brother and sister did. I couldn’t stay behind so I had to step-up. Perhaps that has to do with persistence, give me a wall or assignment and I will climb it till the end. For me presenting in front a crowd is something I like to do and comes naturally for me. I like to inform people, make them laugh and make them feel at ease. For my previous education the IVA I had to give tons of presentations. Some of the presentations were recorded, I learned a lot from seeing myself giving presentations. I found out that I sometimes use my hands too much. The next talent is a lot harder to describe. Managing people, it is not the words I’m looking for but it is the closest I get. I find it easy to ‘manage’ people and help them if they are in trouble. I always start with stating what there is to do in general, I listen what other people say, I divide the work and ask what everybody wants to do. If I think that somebody is better suited to do another part I ask the person what he/she think about it. When working in a group, I know what my strengths are, and can easily find out what the strengths of the rest of the group is. If I would describe myself it would be a facilitator, I make sure that everybody can work on their project, help them if necessary and provide that all tools are there. I believe that people should do what they like most and are good in it. So let them do their part and everything will be better.

Business dream

I have a dream(!) that helps people. A company that has the ability to come up with products and or services that makes the life of the costumers and the rest of the world so much easier. Also do I want that my jobs consist of having to travel allot.  I want to realize this before I’m 30 years old, and I want to be millionaire or billionaire before I turn 40 years old.

My definition of success

For me success is when you do something that you like and get paid handsomely. So for me success is too have my own (successful) company that sells products or provides a services that really help the costumers and the rest of the world. Owning a company is one thing but I also want to have allot of time to do what I want, like traveling and climbing, to do things with friends and family and share whatever I have with them. That’s my definition of success which seems like a pretty good one if you ask me.

Long term goals

Easy as pie! Achieving my definition of success. But for this year I want to get the amount of points necessary to study abroad and especially to go to the USA. When I finish the IBIS program as I planned to do, I’m going to work my ass of some more and have my own company.

Short term goals

My short term goals are: get all the points for the first semester, get my driver license and get an apartment with me and my girlfriend. And in general be happy, enjoy the weekends, work hard during the week.

Actions

What am I going to do to realize this? Work hard! When I’m driven to do something I go with 100%, I give everything. I really enjoy this and do it with great passion. Also I think it is really important to relax at the right moment and reset yourself. Another important part of reaching my definition of success is to socialize with people because on my own I will not make it, nobody can. As my mother always says to me; If you do it with heart and passion you can achieve anything you want! Just do it!

Commitment

I made a commitment to myself that I want to be a millionaire before my 35^th birthday, that gives me 13 years to achieve this goal.

Reflection essays

Connecting the dots

In the lesson “What is in my backpack” we were disguising what talent is, does everybody has it, has everybody the same, what makes talent a talent? I discussed this with my girlfriend, and with help from her I found out that my talents are; climbing, giving presentation and managing people.  I find it much easier to find the talents of my friends and family.

We disgust connecting the dots with a video of Steve Jobs. What events in the past made you to the person you are now, or in the situation we are now. I want to share you my dots. When I was much younger I wanted to be a soldier (para troopers to be exact). After finishing VMBO-TL I wanted to do MBO study: safety and enforcement, this is a preparation study for the army because I was too young to join. During that summer or whenever I broke my knee and couldn’t follow the study. So that was the end of my very short army career. I choose to do HAVO too bad It didn’t work out, I didn’t like the same routine over and over and the subjects were boring. So I had to find a new direction in my life. I had no idea what so ever! I couldn’t join the army what was my lifelong dream. Then on the internet I found the study for Export employee, It sounded awesome but in fact It wasn’t what I imagined it would be. I found this out after the joining the open day and speaking with a student who does the program, it was basically to simple for me. Later my mother told me about a friend of hers, how helps you find you suitable job, study etc. I visited her and she told me about all these different studies, but then she told me about the IVA. The moment I heard about it I was sold! Luckily my parents felt the same and wanted to pay for it. Without them I wasn’t able to do it. Thanks mom and dad (k).

The IVA! Going there was one of the best decision I’ve ever made! I knew that during the study but especially after the IVA when I connected the dots that I realised how good it was. The IVA made me who I am today and will be tomorrow. Basically the IVA and IBIS has the same idea. IVA: If you can’t manage yourself how will you ever be able to manage somebody else? IBIS: You need to know what your strengths and weakness is, what is your talent and what not, this will make it easier to make decisions. I learned that I’m surrounded with people who have amazing talents and skills, if I can’t figure something out I should ask them. I’m creative in my mind but I’m not skilled at design, I asked a fellow student to help me at the introduction week and the results were amazing, combing both our strengths.

As a Dutch hero said: Every disadvantage has its advantage, or the other way around (doesn’t really matter which way). Why do I say that? If I didn’t broke my knee I wouldn’t go to the IVA and therefor go to IBIS. Or if I made it to the next year HBO at the IVA I wouldn’t be at InHolland right now. So don’t be afraid when something bad will happen, because it will!! It’s how you deal with it. If you work hard, relax at the right moment, have the will to do it and a little bit of luck then everything is possible.

So remember: Every disadvantage has it advantage, also when the right moment accurse, siege it with all you have.

Reflection Explorer/campaigner

In the previous lesson What is in my backpack we had to do a personality test. I did one before, my aunt did is a psychologist. She asked me to do a similar test and the results were quiet the same. But in this reflection I’m going to talk about the 16personality test from the internet.

The test itself was easy to do, there were 40 questions I had to answer with “agree”, “neutral” or “disagree” and everything between it. Having done the question list there were 4 possible groups that suits your personality. There is the “explorer, diplomats, analyst and sentinels”. In every group there are 4 sub-categories. I’m in the group “explorer” and the sub-category: “campaigner”. The class was separated in to the 4 main groups. The biggest group was definitely “explorer” with more than half of the class. We even had to split up because there were also another sub-category in the group. During the presentation about the group we are in, you could easily see the main differences between the groups. Mine was very communicative, extravert and we couldn’t sit still. I think it is logical that the class was mainly divided into 2 groups. Everyone applying for a certain study has probably personalities that are similar. This is because the study has to fit you and visa versa.

The results for my personality is: 66% Extraverted, this means  that they prefer group activities and get energized by social interaction. Also they also tend to be more enthusiastic and more easily excited than introverts. 36% Observant, this means we are highly practical, pragmatic, and down-to-earth. They tend to have strong habits and focus on what is happening or has already happened. 31% Feeling they are sensitive and emotionally expressive. They are more empathic and less competitive than Thinking types, and focus on social harmony and cooperation. 25% Prospecting this means that they are very good at improvising and spotting opportunities. They tend to be more flexible, relaxed, nonconformities who prefer keeping their options open. 17% Assertive individuals are self-assured, even tempered and resistant to stress. They refuse to worry too much and do not push themselves too hard when it comes to achieving goals.

ENFPs are fiercely independent, and much more than stability and security, they crave creativity and freedom.

The strengths of campaigners are: excellent communicators, observant, curious, know how to relax and are very popular and friendly. But of course there are weaknesses, poor practical skills, find it difficult to focus, overthink things and independent to fault. I don’t really agree with the part, get stressed easily, because I don’t and when I do I start with it and want to finish it as soon as possible. But I’m rarely stressed, perhaps I learned it at the IVA. Every year at the IVA I had 18 courses, almost every week seemed like exam week, it learned me to cope with stress and have discipline what I still use today.

I’m not surprised that I’m in the category explorer. Because I have been travelling all over the world. I have been in every continent. First to Peru, Nepal, Tanzania, Kenia, Argentina, United States, New-Zealand and Kyrgyzstan . Also I did a lot of touring in Europe with friends. With my roommate we always wanted to find new interesting places, if it is in Driebergen or Oberhausen, it doesn’t matter where. I really want to explore every country if I could. I like to meet new people from different countries, personalities and backgrounds. I have a lot of friends all over the world and it keeps spreading because all the friends I made in the IBIS program.

Having done this test I’m really surprised how well it fits my personality. I like these kinds of tests and the interaction with the others and their personalities. I asked some of my best friends to do the same personality test, everybody could relate with the results as we discussed them. What was also interesting is that the people I immediately began friends with were also campaigners or have similar personalities.

The golden circle pitch

In What is my backpack we discussed the golden circle from Simon Sinek. I have seen the video many times. He completely changed the way we do marketing. In the old fashion way every company used the golden circle from the outside in. What to how to why. The new way is the other way around. Why to how to what. Sinek stated that people don’t buy your products because what you sell but because why you sell it. I believe in this! I like Tesla not only what they do, producing an electronic car, but most of all why they do it, they really want to change the game of the automotive industry and get rid of the use of fossil fuel. I believe that it is achievable that we all drive on electricity in the future. I want to buy a Tesla when I have the money just to help the environment.

The golden circle can be used for making a speech. During the lesson we had to write a pitch about our self. At the beginning I had some struggles with it. I overthink too much so the first pitch wasn’t good enough. Now I have a pitch that really states me:

I believe that synergy will make the world a better place. Working together with people I believe in, combining our strengths to achieve the same goal. My dream is to have a company that is known worldwide for its  products or services that improves the quality of life. I aim at achieving this by motivating the right people, help and manage them where necessary. I’m curious, driven, observant with a lot of discipline. Traveling gave me a broad view on the world. The IVA learned me much about marketing, sales, giving presentations and management but most of all not to quit. The International Business and Innovation Studies learns me to be creative, future-orientated and international business.

This version is better than the old one because I used the fast brain, just write down the first thing that came up in me. Pitching about yourself asks a lot of self-knowledge. But to write it in the right way is more difficult. Knowing yourself is more in the fast brain, but to write it down is a job for the slow brain. In the previous pitch I used the slow brain too much. As a campaigner this is an obstacle I have on a daily basis, often at night in bed, I think about everything and nothing. I tend to overthink too much, but I have to rely more on my fast brain during the writing of pitches and reflections. Because I overthink things, it takes longer to come up with an answer that is probably not as good as the answer from the fast brain. This doesn’t mean that every answer from the slow brain is wrong. Because we need the slow brain for harder and more difficult questions. But making a pitch you need to listen to your intuition.

Pitching is so important as a future businessman, you need to be able to present yourself in fast way so that will people trust or believe in you. This can be used when applying for a job or hiring new employees. Everybody should at least try to make an pitch about him or herself. This will result in more understanding about yourself. I heard a pitch from a student who normally barley talks and when he/she talks it is really quiet but during the pitch the person talked proud and loud. I asked the student after the class what his/her opinion was of the class. The student said that she learned so much about herself. This gave me a real motivation boost.

My life story, again.

Although I told my life story in the previous reflection "connecting the dots". This one is basically the same, a little bit shorter but with questions. Enjoy!

My life story I was born, 6 weeks earlier than planned, in Haarlem and raised in Overveen. I was eager to go in the world. I’m the youngest of 3, I have a brother who lives in new-zealand and a sister who lives in Amsterdam and studies to became an technical nurse. Me and my family have been in every continent in the world. I started traveling and climbing when I was 6 years old. My first mountain was the Machu Picchu, after that I climbed the mount Everest (not to the top) at age 7 and many more. After elementary school, which was an amazing time, I started high school with VMBO/Havo advice but after a year I had to go to VMBO TL. I got my TL degree and tried Havo, here I met the most beautiful and funny girl who is now my girlfriend . Havo didn’t work out, so I wanted to join the army. This wasn’t able because of my age and now because of my snapped ligaments in my knee. But every disadvantage has an advantage. I was allowed to follow the IVA B program. My parents were so nice that they paid for the IVA. The IVA is 5 years in row one of the best educations of the Netherlands. The program I followed was very heavy with 2 school years in one and that for 2 years (so 4 years) and 1 year HBO. I got my diploma with perfect grades. Here I learned a lot about business and myself and was so far the best time of my life. After the IVA I wanted immediately start at IBIS, but because I was too young for the 21+ test and my degree wasn’t allowed. This meant that I had to work for a year till my enrolment was finished. Now I’m a student at the IBIS program which I really enjoy.