Ilana

I'm alive, everything is cool, I have two kids, things are cool. But something was wrong. I could not dream. A decade ago, I lost the ability to dream. And I'm laughing because even my dog has a dream, either the bones or chasing the cat. But he has a dream, and I didn't because I was in survival.

I'm alive, everything is cool, I have two kids, things are cool. But something was wrong. I could not dream. A decade ago, I lost the ability to dream. And I'm laughing because even my dog has a dream, either the bones or chasing the cat. But he has a dream, and I didn't because I was in survival.

I was trying to figure out where on earth the next fake check, why am I losing relevance at a speed that I can't understand, why do I feel like such a freaking failure? And it drove me nuts. And the reason this was so important, and I want to kind of share a little bit of the journey of LEAP. Steve Jobs said, you can't connect the dots forward, but you can connect them back.

I was trying to figure out where on earth the next fake check, why am I losing relevance at a speed that I can't understand, why do I feel like such a freaking failure? And it drove me nuts. And the reason this was so important, and I want to kind of share a little bit of the journey of LEAP. Steve Jobs said, you can't connect the dots forward, but you can connect them back.

And I want to kind of reflect a little bit of that journey. And I want to also remind you, success leaves clues. Go look for yours. They're there. So when I was a kid, I was a pretty shy kid. I stepped into my confidence towards age 16, 17, a little more. And then I think the Air Force would change my life.

And I want to kind of reflect a little bit of that journey. And I want to also remind you, success leaves clues. Go look for yours. They're there. So when I was a kid, I was a pretty shy kid. I stepped into my confidence towards age 16, 17, a little more. And then I think the Air Force would change my life.

I became an F-16 flight instructor and the first woman to ever become a commander in my squad. So that created like a pretty big boost of confidence. In a classic hidden market way, and usually, I think maybe next event I should tell you some stories about some fuck-ups in the Air Force. I think that's going to lighten your day. Because it sounds all glamorous, and it was mostly scraping my knees.

I became an F-16 flight instructor and the first woman to ever become a commander in my squad. So that created like a pretty big boost of confidence. In a classic hidden market way, and usually, I think maybe next event I should tell you some stories about some fuck-ups in the Air Force. I think that's going to lighten your day. Because it sounds all glamorous, and it was mostly scraping my knees.

But fast forward, in a classic hidden market way, I was the youngest student they ever hired in Intel. The only reason they probably hired me is that their competition will not hire me. But that's okay, because I got my claim for fame there. But after four years of writing code, I realized this is not my zone of genius. Am I trapped? Is this the only thing I know how to do? And it was 1999.

But fast forward, in a classic hidden market way, I was the youngest student they ever hired in Intel. The only reason they probably hired me is that their competition will not hire me. But that's okay, because I got my claim for fame there. But after four years of writing code, I realized this is not my zone of genius. Am I trapped? Is this the only thing I know how to do? And it was 1999.

Don't do so much math. And it was 1999, and if you had any kind of resume with anything around computers, you would get a job. But here I was looking for a job and looking for my first client-facing role, and nobody wanted me. It was devastating. It was like, did I lose my relevance? Am I done? Do I have to code all my life? And it's amazing how fast you get trapped.

Don't do so much math. And it was 1999, and if you had any kind of resume with anything around computers, you would get a job. But here I was looking for a job and looking for my first client-facing role, and nobody wanted me. It was devastating. It was like, did I lose my relevance? Am I done? Do I have to code all my life? And it's amazing how fast you get trapped.

Think about it for yourself as well, right? And at that point, eventually, I realized what I've done wrong. My story, and by the way, some of you are already in Foundation or Millionaire's Club or President's Club, so you understand how these dots connect. Guests, you'll see it in a second. But at some point, I realized, wait.

Think about it for yourself as well, right? And at that point, eventually, I realized what I've done wrong. My story, and by the way, some of you are already in Foundation or Millionaire's Club or President's Club, so you understand how these dots connect. Guests, you'll see it in a second. But at some point, I realized, wait.

My story, I'm talking about all these cool algorithms that I'm running, but if I want a client-facing role, I need to emphasize different points in my story. So this is where I started to emphasize different points. I found a job pretty quick, negotiated the worst salary in the history of Silicon Valley. Good job, Ilana. But again, I got a chance at field engineering.

My story, I'm talking about all these cool algorithms that I'm running, but if I want a client-facing role, I need to emphasize different points in my story. So this is where I started to emphasize different points. I found a job pretty quick, negotiated the worst salary in the history of Silicon Valley. Good job, Ilana. But again, I got a chance at field engineering.

It was the first client-facing role. It was like getting in the arena, a lot of issues, a lot of the company wanted one thing, the client wanted one thing, you know, you're like, but when you get good, guess what happens? You get stuck again, right? So there's like this stuckness.

It was the first client-facing role. It was like getting in the arena, a lot of issues, a lot of the company wanted one thing, the client wanted one thing, you know, you're like, but when you get good, guess what happens? You get stuck again, right? So there's like this stuckness.

So I moved from engineering to technical sales to product, but what I realized is every time I get good at something, I get stuck. And the reason why I get stuck is because I get to be known as the problem solver. but not according to what I want to be known. How many, does that resonate? Like, how many of you are getting stuck because you become the person that you don't want to become, right?

So I moved from engineering to technical sales to product, but what I realized is every time I get good at something, I get stuck. And the reason why I get stuck is because I get to be known as the problem solver. but not according to what I want to be known. How many, does that resonate? Like, how many of you are getting stuck because you become the person that you don't want to become, right?