Eek. I’ve been asked to do an interview with a South Sydney youth project on Confidence and Identity. Here are my notes.

I’ve now written this up on the train into work.

Please give me your feedback!

“How did I become Kahne Raja? Who do I now want to become?”

  1. My travels have been about “knowing what I want”. When I know what I want out of a given situation I begin to feel confidence. Knowing when to start. Knowing when to end. Knowing my own gauge on success.

  2. I’m a mixed races kid from Marrickville who tends to steer clear of tribes and dogma. I grew up in a crazy working class family with a chip on my shoulder about wealth, race and religion.

  3. I spend my professional life doing 3 things. I’m an tech consultant / software developer who currently works for various financial and government clients. I perform as a classical violinist in chamber music ensembles and orchestra in Sydney. I paint and sell original artworks that celebrate the marvellous human form.

  4. Starting things. Being an initiator. Anyone who can drop kick a new idea is confident in my book.

  5. Hard work and earning respect. People are more often than not happy to follow my lead if they can see I am willing to do the unsexy work.

  6. Not being a perfectionist. Allowing myself to fail. Blushing. Being vulnerable. Accepting that I can’t please everyone and that most likely someone will actively dislike my approach.

  7. Knowing my strengths and weaknesses has had a huge affect on what I choose to focus on in my work. Knowing that I am skilled at “appreciating excellent and beauty”, “creativity” and “keen to learn” positions me in a certain way. I’m good at some things. I’m bad at others. My light has scope.

  8. Feedback. Criticism. Incremental improvement. If I’m not getting some form of positive or negative response on what I’m doing every step of the way then I’m most likely not progressing. Keeping my thinking to short iterations with active feedback is really important. Feedback is realism.

  9. Passion and Love. If my heart is not in it then it’s best for me to go home, call in sick, and put my mind to direction. This is linked to “knowing what I want” in everything that I do. Being mindful.

  10. Compassion. People. At the end of the day we are all just people who are trying to do our best. In any situation including a high pressure work environment our personal lives play a massive role in the choices we make.