Innovation vs. Happiness: Can ambition get in the way of creating a happy life?

Finding the perfect balance between work and personal life is a universal challenge. Innovation vs. Happiness podcast tells you the stories of three professionals who moved to Espoo, Finland and learned how to thrive in both their career and personal life.

In this episode we will hear insights from our guest Vinay Kumar, Research Team Leader, VTT. He will share his perspective on achieving professional success without sacrificing joy with the podcast host Harri Paananen, Director, Economic Development, City of Espoo.

Did the podcast episode spark thoughts or questions? Join the conversation on social media with #InnovationVsHappiness.

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Vinay Kumar: Impactful work and meaningful work can actually contribute to your happiness and not take away.

Intro

Harri Paananen: Welcome to Innovation vs Happiness. My name is Harri Paananen and in this podcast I will be asking the question, is combining innovation and happiness possible? The world is full of people in an either or situation. Either you climb the career ladder and have an impact but don't have time for anything else, or you choose well-being and happiness, but sacrifice ambition. Seems there's either #Grindset or #VanLife, but nothing in between. However, what if you want both? I wanted to interview people who have done the seemingly impossible.

Today I have with me Vinay Kumar, a researcher and expert in bio based materials at the Technical Research Center of Finland, VTT. He works on some really interesting topics, like processing nanocellulose into sustainable packaging materials. Vinay moved to Finland from India and has lived here for 13 years. Before inviting Vinay to the studio, we get to visit a place that's really important to his work in innovation.

So let's follow Vinay and our reporter Mari to somewhere super interesting.

Mari Suonto: OK, so Vinay, we have come to Espoo Bioruukki- pilot facility and we are actually in a pilot hall that your team works in. So can you tell me a little bit about the place?

Vinay Kumar: Yes, we are in the cellulose films and coatings pilot hall at the moment. As you can see, there are two pilot lines here. These are used for processing of bio-materials, specifically cellulosic materials into films and coatings for different applications. As you can see, there are some packaging examples here, so…

Mari: Yes, we're actually looking at some of the innovations that you work on, right, so…

Vinay: So packaging is let's say one of the main focus areas for these bio-materials because as you know there is a plastic problem around the world right now. We are, we are struggling with the littering in the oceans and in the nature.

So we want to replace these plastic materials with the more sustainable alternatives that come from bio based resources that are recyclable, that are biodegradable if they end up in nature by chance.

Mari: Exactly.

Vinay: So here you can see an example of a… of a package which we have made for a paper straw. So you… you… you might have seen these paper straws, they… they appeared about a year ago everywhere and now we don't have plastic straws anymore and…

Mari: But that's only a part of the problem.

Vinay: Exactly. So you can… you… you can see that the package might still be plastic which might not even be needed for paper straw. You can actually make a paper based package. So here we have created micro fibrillated cellulose film which is as you can see transparent.

You can see through the film, but it is completely recyclable in paper stream. It is also biodegradable, so this is…

Mari: So, It looks quite a lot like a plastic packaging, but it's not plastic, but it's actually made of cellulose that comes from trees, is it?

Vinay: From trees, yes.

Mari: So could all plastics in packaging be replaced with cellulose?

Vinay: I think that's a… that's a long way because if you need to replace all the… the plastic then you would need to basically have as much cellulose available…

Mari: Right.

Vinay: Right.

Mari: Right.

Vinay: And the other thing is that… or the way we are trying to do it is that we are trying to replace it in products where there is highest chance of littering, where it is most difficult to recycle at this point so that we can simplify the recycling, we can avoid the littering. So we are trying to…

Mari: So you’re shooting for the biggest impact.

Vinay: Exactly. We are trying to do impactful part first, and of course in the long run if we are able to replace as much plastic as possible, that would be the, let's say ideal, ideal solution.

Mari: So the same material innovations that you're doing here they go for packaging, electronics, healthcare, Med tech. So it's quite a wide…

Vinay: It’s wide set of…

Mari: ...range of applications of the innovations that you work on. It's pretty cool.

Vinay: Yeah, yeah.

And we… we are… we… let's say we are very excited about these because we know that these are meaningful and impactful. Where we are promoting a sustainable use of our materials, we are promoting the recycling, we are promoting reduced carbon footprint. And at the same time because innovations require a lot of effort both at small scale and large scale.

And with our pilot infrastructure we are able to create that magic that when somebody comes with an old material or if we are developing an old material, it might be you know, just half a liter of that sample available and you… then you might think what can we actually create with this.

But this… this pilot infrastructure is actually capable of handling very small amounts and demonstrating that yes, you can make this kind of membrane or film and you can demonstrate the use.

Mari: So the sort of path toward a bigger impact can be demonstrated here.

Vinay: Exactly.

Interlude

Harri: From Bioruukki to the podcast studio, I'm here with Vinay Kumar and we are discussing innovation and happiness. Thank you, Vinay, for taking us to a real life innovation environment with you and welcome to the show.

Vinay: Thank you, Harri. It's a pleasure to be here.

Harri: Likewise. Your job is literally to innovate new technologies for a more sustainable world and lead a team of researchers in doing that as well. A career like that must require a bright mind, a lot of ambition and a desire to have an impact.

But in your experience, does having an ambitious and high

impact career in innovation eat away at one's chance of creating a happy and balanced life?

Vinay: Thank you for starting off with the… with the great question. I was actually thinking about this one when I was coming for this… this podcast and one thing I could say is that a high impact career and happiness do not have to be mutually exclusive.

They can go hand in hand. In order to achieve impactful career and ambitious career, you don't have to expand happiness for that. And I have seen it in my own personal life and I have seen it with many of my friends who are from abroad and who are also from here in Finland.

And they are… They seem to be doing both of these things in a very balanced way.

Harri: When you were starting out, did you have this kind of dichotomy in… in your mind? It… was this the thing you were considering? Would... had you… had you set some goals in terms of balance for yourself?

Vinay: Not really, to be… to be honest. Coming to Finland was one of the… one of the things or the Finnish way of life was the one which changed my attitude towards how you could have impact in your life while still be happy.

Probably before coming to Finland, I would not have that kind of mindset.

Harri: It's really interesting. When it comes to a career in innovation, what does impact and success then look like to you?

Vinay: For me personally, impact is when you can contribute to society's advancement through innovations.

You can help the society grow into a better one with the… with the work you are doing. I consider that truly successful. And at the same time, keeping a mindset where you… you feel a meaning in your work. When… when whatever you are working on, you love that and you feel that this is very meaningful for myself and for the society around me. So that in my opinion is… is a successful career.

Harri: I love hearing that because that's something that resonates personally for my… myself, but also it's something I keep hearing from people who work at VTT and and people who work at the Otaniemi campus. It's, of course, a profession where you can make lots of money too, but the people who work on these topics here seem to be attracted to more of the meaningfulness side and the impact side.

Vinay: Yes.

Harri: Would I be correct in that?

Vinay: Yes, exactly, exactly. And this is so true for my colleagues at VTT. I have been in… in technology and science for… for all these thirteen years since I came to Finland and whomever I have met in the Otaniemi area or in the universities in general, they seem to have this attitude. How meaningful our work is, how are our innovations contributing to the society, how are we helping climate change, how are we helping solve the biggest challenges of… of our world, of this time.

So there is this mindset among all… all the people that I meet here, in… in either through work or… or even sometimes in… in personal life.

Harri: So common guiding star in that sense. Well, it can't be easy always. So you've built a pretty impressive career and got to work with very interesting innovations.

My next question would be, have there been times in your life where you feel ambition and innovation has gotten in the way of your personal happiness, or these two have been pulling in opposite directions? Have you had to make some hard choices at some point?

Vinay: Yes, yes. So when… when you are trying to solve the biggest challenges of our time, the ride is not always smooth, you… you'll of course face difficulties in the work that you are doing. There might be hurdles that you really need to solve. They might require more of your time in order to… to really come up with innovative solutions. And at that time, one might actually end up feeling that OK, I mean is this the life I want?

But as I said in the beginning, when it is meaningful and when you know that it is going to help the society, it is going to help our future generations, I think that becomes the guiding light for it and that gives you energy.

The second point I would like to highlight is the family. So when you have support of your family and your

loved ones, then you can actually go through these slightly challenging times more easily. And that's why I… I always think that… don't think of the challenging times as the only times, but think of the good times that… that you spend with your family, the good times that… that you spend with your friends and let their… let those be in your mind on the back when you are struggling.

It should not be just that “Oh, now I'm struggling and that… this means that I cannot be happy”, because the struggle generally leads to something good in the end.

Harri: And especially since… since the themes you're working with are kind of for the greater good.

Vinay: Exactly.

Harri: You're kind of working for your family, for your friends at the same time. Must make it easier to deal with the crunch time. 

Vinay: Indeed.

Harri: Very good. Well, let's take a couple of steps back and see where it started. So you came to Finland as a student, first living in Turku and then moving to Otaniemi for work. You've experienced both the Finnish higher education system and a career here. How do you think this has shaped your journey and growth?

And would things have been different had you stayed home in India?

Vinay: Definitely. I … I think studying here and then starting my professional life here has certainly changed my… my way of thinking, my way of life. I would say that my way of life resembles the Finnish way of life, so to say.

If I were back in India, probably I would be looking at life in a… in a slightly different manner. Probably I would be even thinking that innovation or impactful career and happiness may not coincide that easily. But now that I'm in Finland, I'm… I’m able to actually see that it is possible. And I could also highlight that when you start your… your life in Finland as a student, I think you are able to... to adapt to the Finnish way rather easily. Because students are usually more open minded and they… they want to be the part of the culture that they come to.

So I think for me this was a beneficial thing, since I came as a student, it was easier for me to adapt to the… the Finnish way.

Harri: I have a very good friend who has a similar background to you and a similar… similar path for studying in Finland from India and then… then working here, and he said that his student times and especially the sauna culture was… was something that… that kind of rooted him here and he's one of the biggest sauna enthusiasts I know nowadays.

Vinay: Yes, yes, exactly, exactly. I think this student life, it gives you a very open perspective of the… of the society because you are still in the formidable years of your life where you are learning your way through different things and you are also meeting young people from that particular culture who carry the same vibe and energy. So it allows you to exchange the culture more easily.

Harri: For sure.

Vinay: … There is less resistance so to say.

Harri: For sure. Let me ask us about something you just said. You said the way of life that you prefer resembles the… the Finnish way of life. Is that something you knew before or did you kind of discover that within yourself when you came to Turku first?

Vinay: I think I… I mentioned this before as well. This is something I discovered after coming to Finland because the… the place where I come from, India, is a very competitive place. We… we really need to work hard and because we are a developing country, so it needs contribution at a much higher level from each individual to… to grow. Whereas Finland, I think, I… I look at Finland in in a way that Finland is a society which is already developed and now they are able to think in this way that OK, can we maintain our growth and innovation capabilities while also leading a happy life? So that's where I think Finland and India are different.

Harri: To follow up on that, I think a lot of people kind of conflate… kind of competitiveness or competition with quality or ambition. Do you think you can have quality or… or competitive results without a competitive mindset?

Vinay: I would say competitive mindset is really critical because without the competitive mindset the… the desire to do more might not be there.

But having said that, I would also highlight that, let's say an honest effort where you are not being competitive just for the sake of it, but where you really love what you're doing. Then this things, this… this feeling becomes natural to you. Then maybe you are in a competition with yourself that I want to do really well at it and I think that's how the Finnish working life is guided. That each individual is honest in their effort and they want to do the best they can in that particular set of work that they are doing.

Harri: I would argue that if one tries to truly do the best … best they can, they might… might end up with a better result as the person who tries to do better than the person next to them. 

Vinay: Yes. So that… that is exactly what I wanted to point out, that when there is an honest effort and you are competing with yourself in doing the best you can, it overall leads to a good result.

Harri: Well, your work aims to develop… to develop innovations in the field of the forest products industry.

To those who are not familiar with… with Finland before, what kind of an environment is Finland and Otaniemi, for this context and why?

Vinay: I consider Finland, I… I also say this to to my friends every now and then,  that Finland is the melting pot of innovation. And especially if you visit the the Otaniemi area where we have VTT and Aalto University facilities combined with the ecosystem for startups, many multinationals having their… their offices there. So you can kind of get this vibe of Silicon Valley there in that area where you see students who are… who are, you know, trying to do innovative stuff in the university.

Then you come to VTT or the startups and they are also trying to, you know, push the boundaries. And then you have many Finnish companies and multinationals in the same area where you can also see the impact of your innovations kind of translating into the industrial sector right away.

So in that sense, I think that Finland has been able to bridge this gap between university life and industrial life in such a good way that you don't sometimes even feel.

For example, when I was at the university, I… I did my, let's say master's thesis work as well as some of my doctoral thesis projects were directly with the industry. And all the research work that we were doing, it was basically directly applicable to solve some of the challenges that the industry was facing. So in that sense this can be undermined by some. But this is… this is truly a big thing on its own, when the students are directly working with the industry and trying to solve the challenge.

Harri: For sure the academia to industry boundary is pretty low…

Vinay: Yes.

Harri: … And I guess I would say the boundaries and thresholds in general are fairly low. People are interacting and organizations are interacting quite freely. And you know when we entered the studio today at the… at the door I I joked that because we had to sign an NDA. I… I joked that I had haven't signed an NDA for a long time and… and there's meaning behind that because even though I speak to quite high up people in different organizations and previously I did a… do a doctorate on the campus as well, I would interview all kinds of people.

I never had to sign any papers and this is quite rare globally speaking. Mostly, you can't enter anywhere without signing those papers.

Vinay: Yeah, yeah, that's true, that's true.

Harri: Well, can you recall a career moment from your years here in Finland that you really feel like you had

an impact in your field?

Vinay: Yes, I… this has been really special question for me because when… when you pointed this out to me, I was just… the… the first thing that came to my mind was how… how can I define the real impactful moment like just one moment.

Because in research what happens is that every single time you are solving a challenge, that is a big moment for you because then you know that now this will lead to something meaningful in the long term. And that has happened to me several times.

One particular example that I could give you is that some of the cellulosic materials we are working with, they are used in different industrial sectors. Packaging is one of the focus areas where we want to replace plastics with cellulosic materials and we have been able to really come up with exciting packaging solutions where where you can… you can see that this is completely bio based package, it can be recycled in the paper stream. 

As a consumer you don't have to worry about presence of micro plastics and stuff like that. So we have transitioned the traditional fossil based package packaging to completely bio based sustainable recyclable materials. Another thing we recently did was in the electronics area, where we had replaced some of these plastic substrates that are used for printed electronics, and there we were able to create a printed electronic structure where you can completely recover the inks that are used for printing, completely recover the substrate and all the electronic components back, which in my opinion is… is highly impactful because the day we are able to recover our electronics, especially the ones which are single use, I think we'll be able to reduce the carbon footprint of our products quite significantly.

Harri: That's really impressive and… and something that's quite rare in this business is you can explain this to your… to your elder relatives and they… they will understand what's the impact of that.

Vinay: Exactly.

Harri: It's very meaningful, thank you.

Well, we've talked in this first segment a lot about combining purpose, ambition, career progress, family. But now, since we've been keeping talking about innovation, where's the happiness part we've been talking about?

Well, now it's time to visit a place that's impactful for Vinay in terms of happiness and personal life. The somewhere special that represents well-being and balance for him. Let's follow Vinay and our reporter Mari to Vinay's happy place.

Vinay: Yes, we are now on Otaranta. This is the seaside of Otaniemi, basically. And this is a very special place for me because when I moved to Espoo, this was the area where I was living. So I used to come around walking especially on this, this part that just follows the… the sea and this was my go-to place for… for relaxing, you know.

When you come back from work and you feel that OK let's just go into the nature and try to revive your energy, so to say. So this was my place for that. With my wife, we used to actually come here almost every day.

Mari: Right. And it's actually quite close to where you work, also  n Otaniemi, where you have your office days, that's…

Vinay: Exactly. It's very close and in fact I love this place so much that we are even organizing our one-on-one discussions with the team members just walking in this area and you know talking about work and life in general. So it's also special in… in that sense that it's not far away from work and you can get to this area quite quickly even after-lunch stroll here is not bad.

So it's… it's good in that sense. I… I like this.

Mari: Do you think it helps in working in innovation, that you have somewhere to come and sort of have this quiet?

Vinay: Yes, I... I… I consider it very important having this, you know, peaceful environment to go into where you can be close to the nature and you know be by yourselves. I would say most of the great ideas I have had were actually during my walks in this area. You know, you are just thinking like what could we do.

Usually when you organize, you know brainstorming session with… with the project team or… or the team members in general, then you are kind of hard pressed to look for solutions and most of the great ideas might not come at that time.

But when you are in your own zone and you are you know, just being by yourselves, you are not hard pressed to think. That's when you can actually get one of… some of the the greatest ideas. So at at VTT, many of the things that… that I have done, they were originated from my walks in nature.

Mari: In this area right here?

Vinay: Yes, yes…

Mari: That’s very nice.

Vinay: Exactly.

Interlude

Harri: Welcome back. You're listening to Innovation vs Happiness, a podcast where we set out to find an answer to the question, can happiness and an innovative career coexist? With me in the studio, I have Vinay Kumar, who has managed to build an impactful career of innovation without compromising his happiness. We just visited Vinay's happy place, a bird tower and walking path in Otaniemi, where he has great memories both in terms of innovation and personal life.

Thank you for sharing that special place of yours with us, Vinay.

Vinay: Thank you, yes.

This… this particular place holds a special value for me. When I moved to Espoo, it was… I… I was actually living in those… in that particular area. And The funny thing is that sometimes even from work I used to just take a walk there and, you know, get really great ideas. You... you just have your lunch, then you go for a walk near the forest.

And this is actually the beauty of Finland, that the nature is so close to you that you could get away from the so-called hustle-bustle of your… your work life and be in the middle of nature, right, let's say 100 footsteps. And then you are in your own zone and you can, you know, start thinking about new ideas. So that's… that's why this place is particularly special for me.

Harri: I think a lot of people in Espoo, and in Finland in general, share that connection with nature and use that also in a professional way sometimes, you know, to… to reflect. And I think it's hilarious, we just on the break here while recording, we… we just know that… that we have both been doing the same thing to that same specific bird tower, in the same time, without ever encountering each other. So that… that's quite funny.

Well, let's dig deeper on the topic of happiness. You've said that happiness is a result of many things in life. What are the things that happiness consists of for you?

Vinay: For me personally, I would say meaningful work, friends and family. These are the major pillars for… for happiness. By meaningful work I mean that if you can… you can choose a career where you are able to create impact for… for environment, for the society and where you are also able to feel yourselves more, let's say satisfied, with what you're doing. And friends and family is… is critical component for that.

As I said there are… there might be times at work where you will be in situations where you need to work hard, where… where you need to spend even long, long hours. But when you have the right support from your family and your friends then you can go through those easily. And for me, my wife has been a great support throughout all… all these professional years here and that is my happy place. When I can, you know, I… I might have a challenging day, but when I go and talk to my wife I instantly feel that; OK, now we are, we are good, we'll deal with it tomorrow, so.

Harri: I get that and and I guess the support has to go both ways, right? So…

Vinay: Exactly, exactly.

Harri: Yeah, a rule I have set for myself is that it doesn't matter, like I have to have a job where it doesn't matter what kind of day I had, I can come home and give all of myself to to my family and to my girls. That's the rule.

And if… if I… if I feel like in the wrong way, drained by the work that I don't have energy for my family, then I'm probably in the wrong job.

Vinay: Yeah.

Harri: Haven't had that experience so far, so I guess I'm doing OK. You talk a lot about the value of the individual as a component for happiness. What do you mean by this?

Vinay: So I think this is very specifically related to the Finnish way of life. As… as I have mentioned before. I think in Finnish circumstances all the individuals are treated with respect. Everybody has value, everybody's opinion is valued. They… we… we trust each other and we also are honest in our communications. And this is something which I consider paramount for a… for a happy society.

We… we all love nature here in Finland and we respect nature. We… we care for the environment. So that… that kind of reflects the value of individuals both… both coming from other people and then you as an individual caring for the environment. That's… that in my opinion is a… is a very good combination.

And the… the other stuff is that, for example, when when we look at work situations or… or your day-to-day life situations. I have been here for 13 years and there has never been a moment where I felt that as an individual my… my right or my opinion was not valued. So, and that gives that makes you very powerful in a way where you feel that OK, you can contribute to anything you need to anything you want to, you can achieve anything you want. There is equal opportunity for everyone.

So that gives the sense of empowerment and that's… that's what I mean by this individual value.

Harri: Sort of “One for all, All for one.”, I guess, if you quote the Musketeers.

Vinay: Yeah.

Harri: Well… So that we wouldn't end up with the embarrassing commercial of a podcast, I… I wanted to ask you also what have… have been some challenges, because I mean adapting to a totally new country and… and culture cannot have been easy or simple? What have been some challenges you faced and how did you overcome those?

Vinay: Yes. So, of course, when… when you come to a new country which is, let's say pulls apart culturally from your own birthplace, then it is not so easy. I mean it takes… it takes time to get… get adjusted with the environment, with the way of life. As I said in the beginning, if you come as a student it's much easier because you are more open minded and you are more adaptable. Some of the challenges I would say are the weather. That has been, that has been one of the things that has, let's say, bothered me somewhat every now and then.

Harri: In that year probably not any different from all the Finns out there.

Vinay: I guess so. And I would say that cold is not a problem for me. I can manage with the cold, not a problem at all. Usually it's the darkness during November for instance.

Harri: Oh, for sure.

Vinay: That's... that's use… that usually takes toll on me or on…on my energy, you could say. Other than that, Finnish is a difficult language. So, for example, I have been here for very long. Now I am learning Finnish, but it seems that I'm never getting to the level where I would feel comfortable, you know, talking in… in general to everyone in Finnish.

And then another thing I observed, especially in the beginning, was that in the beginning it might appear, when you come here, that Finnish society is not very open, meaning that you don't easily get to be friends with people. But once you have crossed that boundary, which I personally also felt and especially for me it was maybe a bit easier because I was a student I… I became friends with many, many Finnish people.

So for that, I would say that it can seem that it's difficult. But if you are willing to… to put the effort and you are honest in your approach, I think then you will also feel that once you are in to the society then you will never feel that you are alone. So in the beginning you might feel that when you come to Finland.

Harri: Well put. A Southeast Asian investor I know who had emigrated here used to say often to me there's no heaven on earth. And I guess he means like there's drawbacks to every… everything.

And I can relate. Our… our family is also international, I've lived in four different countries aside from Finland, and my wife has lived in five different countries. Yet we chose to build our life, we constantly chose to build our life here and... and something we keep saying to each other is choose your hard, so everything will be hard in some way.

Vinay: Yeah.

Harri: You have to pick the hard you can deal with, with the positives that are important to you.

Vinay: Exactly.

Harri: And I think I think you've it sounds like you've managed to do this.

Vinay: Yeah.

Harri: Something else you said about living here is that life is hassle-free and this in turn gives you room

for more important things. Can you expand on that thought?

Vinay: Yes, I mean by… by this I meant your day-to-day life. For example, coming here for the podcast, taking the public transport, it's so simple. Everything just works. And a person who has been living in Finland all their life, they might undermine it, but this is so damn good when everything just works.

Harri: They don't know how good they got it, I would say.

Vinay: Exactly. So in… in my opinion that that frees your mind up for more important stuff.

Harri: For innovation, for example.

Vinay: Exactly, exactly.

Harri: Well, can you recall a moment when you realized that you really have managed to build a life here that combines innovation and happiness? And did that moment have something to do with the place?

Vinay: Yes. This is something that I have actually been thinking, especially lately when when I consider my life here in Finland, because I… I was just calculating, before coming to this podcast, that I have now more than 30% of my life spent here in Finland. And especially those formidable years where I learned a lot about the ways of life.

And in that sense, I think Finland has contributed quite significantly to… to the life I have built here. And it has happened through all these different factors where the… the innovation angle was right from the studies. Even when I was at university, I was also working with the industry directly. So that kind of got me excited about what I was doing. I fell in love with my work because of Finland. Or… or the approach how Finnish universities are teaching, how Finnish companies are working, the… the absence of hierarchy, so to say, where everybody has… everybody's opinion is important and it is valued and everybody's trusted.

So when I look at all these factors, I would say that they… they are the ones that made me… or that helped me make this life that I have. 

Harri: I think we've concluded with Vinay that happiness and innovation can indeed coexist, at least here in Finland and more specifically in the innovation-inducing greater Otaniemi region. If you want to find out more about the possibilities available for international talent in Otaniemi, head to espoo.fi/en/espootalenthub. But that's it for promotional content.

We want to hear more from our guests, so let's conclude today's episode with some wise words from Vinay.

Vinay: To summarize, I would say that impactful work and meaningful work can actually contribute to your happiness and not take away from that. If you are in Finland, it is rather easy to focus on some of your hobbies, so that is a good way to kind of take your mind off every now and then and focus on something else.

And as I pointed out in the beginning, friends and family are… are critical parts of this equation, so you you should not forget that.

Outro