I'm the Person who Knows the Person

There are few people in this world that I want to be more successful than Matt Oppenheimer.  He just gives off that energy of humility and purpose and you just root for him all day long.  I was rooting for Matt when we were in TechStars together in 2011 and I’m rooting for him today as his company, Remitly, is now valued in the multiples of billions.  But he started somewhere.

And where Matt started was an awareness of where his unique abilities could be applied to a big idea to make something happen.  Matt’s a hard worker like many of us.  He’s a smart cookie but there are a lot of smart cookies out there.  What Matt understands is his genius zone.  He knows where he plays and he’s astute about finding people to surround himself with that can help him achieve his vision.

In One Life to Lead, Matt is one of our life designers who shared his experience of tapping into his genius zone, that unique ability that he has that is just effortless and immensely satisfying.  Here is what he shared in the book:

I realized that I’m just not the smartest person in the room. I feel lucky that I got into Dartmouth and went to Harvard Business School, but I’m by no means the cream of the crop when it comes to solving hard problems. Give me the mission to lead a team, inspire a group, raise capital, or communicate a vision, and I’ll do that all day. The challenge I have always had is ‘How do I articulate that capability?’ It’s a little soft. How do you really articulate that superpower? 

Society puts a lot of value on high intellect, entrance exam scores, and grades. I didn’t really have those, so in high school I was actually pretty insecure. But the one thing I was uniquely good at was getting a group to follow me, to believe in me. That’s my genius zone. It is why, when I started Remitly, I found someone to work with who is off-the-charts IQ smart and one of the best problem solvers I know. My genius zone requires that I surround myself with people in areas where I am weaker, and I am good at recognizing talent.

Matt’s genius zone is getting people to follow him and he does it with high integrity.  He doesn’t pretend that he knows more than he knows.  He is willing to let go of being right in order to be open to others filling the gaps of what it will take to build a company that can successfully impact the lives of millions of people.  Today, Remitly is helping millions around the world move money to loved ones without charging them exorbitant fees.  

I’m so excited that Matt contributed his experiences in One Life to Lead.  His journey is a journey of possibility for you.  It is also an awareness that when you get and stay in your zone of genius, the universe gets very large and the opportunities in front of you abound.

You can learn more about Matt and his genius zone discovery as well as the journey of other designers in One Life to Lead.  

To learn more, check out One Life to Lead today.

Russell Benaroya is an entrepreneur, coach, speaker and author of One Life to Lead and Free Yourself to Work on Your Business.  To learn more, visit www.russellbenaroya.com.