Know Thyself › The Value of You › Lesson 11 of 11
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WHO NEEDS IT?
Module 10 · 7 min
Value is created when what you have meets what someone needs.
The habit: The four questions
You've met these before. Now focus on the third one.
- What do I have? · Your resources, including the invisible ones.
- What can I do with it? · Use it well.
- Who needs it? · Look around you: family, school, village.
- How can I do it better? · Improve it, and create more value.
Try this: Go on a problem hunt
Look around your home, school or village. Find one small problem you could improve for someone.
Something slow, annoying, wasteful, or hard for someone.
Examples: Problems near you
- A shop without digital payments · Help them set up UPI
- Younger students stuck on tables · Make them a song or game
- Water wasted at the school tap · Put up a simple reminder
- Elders who can't use video calls · Teach them, step by step
Your turn: Small enough to start?
The best first problems are small and close to you.
- Fix pollution in India (Too big: Start with your street or school.)
- Remind classmates to switch off fans (Good start: Small, close, and you can begin today.)
- End poverty (Too big: Ask: what is one small part of this near me?)
- Help my grandmother use video calls (Good start: One person, one clear need.)
Five steps: How to hunt
- Notice · Something annoying, slow or wasteful.
- Ask · Talk to the person it affects. What do they need?
- Match · Which of your resources can help?
- Try · Make a small first version.
- Improve · Ask what worked. Make it better.
Remember: Steer your own boat
“You can't control the tides of life. You can only learn to steer your own boat.”
Your turn: Pause & ponder
What problem around you could you improve? Which of your resources would you use?
Apply: Your next useful step
This week, take the next useful step: talk to one person affected by the problem you chose.
Small steps, repeated, create more value over time.
You've completed The Value of You
Thank you for learning with me. Keep asking: what do I have, and who needs it?