Money. Connections. Access. All things people in top circles often possess. But what if you’re not born into such privileged circumstances? What if there’s not a straightforward path to navigate? Closed doors. Barriers to overcome.
This was the situation for Ian Bremmer, now the world’s most prominent political scientist.
Having lost his father at age four, Bremmer was raised by his mother in housing projects outside of Boston. He didn’t grow up with lots of money or connections, only a deep desire to pursue a career that would make a difference to the world. Now he advises heads of state and CEOs as the founder of Eurasia Group, the world’s leading political risk research and consulting firm.
“I want to make a difference. I want to matter. I want to feel like I've had purpose. How can I do that?”
Bremmer found inspiration and support from the strong women in his family, particularly his mother, and at age just 15, having worked incredibly hard, his academic excellence earned him a scholarship to Tulane University. From here he pushed his professors to use their own connections to help him later get an offer from Stanford to study further. If he hadn’t continued to push, to utilise the mentors he had, he may not have had the offer.
Having completed his studies, Bremmer was determined to work as a political scientist. The only problem, this role simply didn’t exist in the private sector. He had to create his own.
Through his work and his own personal journey Bremmer has learnt countless lessons which he shares. He emphasises the importance of acknowledging skills and developing them. The importance of finding people to learn from, to use their expertise. The value of time, effort, and authenticity.
Today Bremmer uses his platform to inspire young people to engage with global issues and encourages them to pursue their own passions.
“It's an honour. It's a responsibility. It's a vocation. It feels more important to me than anything else I do.”
Ian Bremmer – video transcript
The intention was never how do I make myself a billionaire, which is the metric of success for so many people. The intention was I really want to be a political scientist, and I want a job I really love. I want to make a difference. I want to matter. I want to feel like I've had purpose. How can I do that?
It's interesting to grow up without a male role model. That's perhaps the most significant thing, is the people that were powerful in my life were strong women in the family, and my mother, in particular. It wasn't an unsafe environment. It was poor, but what I had was a family. And when you have that, you believe in yourself. You can keep working at things.
I do know that in the rarefied echelons, in environments where people are very successful, they typically came with a lot of network, with money, or with connections, or the rest. The challenge for me was in figuring out how to break into, how to have access, to what shouldn't be closed groups but are by their very nature. So I went to Tulane on a scholarship. I was 15 years old. And even though academically I excelled there, you just couldn't break in. And I got into Stanford on the back of some professors using every connection they had. If I had been a little bit less insufferable, if I had been a little bit less pushy, like 5% less, I don't think I'd get in.
There are massive pockets of brilliance all over the world, but they don't have the ability to prove it. They don't have the ability to show themselves because they don't have the network. That is not their fault. And this idea that we're somehow better or more capable by an accident of birth. I mean, I grew up white, male with an incredibly loving and supportive mother in the United States of America. Even with all those benefits, the top circles are still closed off.
So I intended with my undergraduate, Masters, PhD, okay, let's go get a job. So I moved to New York. I had no intention of setting up a company. I didn't know anyone that had done that. Right? I literally did not know a single person that had set up a company in my life. No one had ever done that. I just want a job. I want a real job where I could be a political scientist. And once I finished my PhD, I realised that that didn't exist in the private sector. So after a year of figuring out it didn't exist, I kind of backed into having to create my own. And kind of the rest, as they say, is history.
I don't think you can go into a room with a prime minister, a president, a foreign minister, and say, "Hey, I've got some great stuff to tell you." These are people whose schedules are among the most challenging of anyone in the world. Their time is an incredibly limited asset in a way that most people cannot fathom. And so if you're in front of them, the first thing you have to be aware of is the fact that they are giving you their time, their single most precious resource. So it's critical that they are getting something of value every single time you're in front of them. Never ever waste a person's time. It's the worst thing you can do.
In order to achieve anything in this world, you have to focus on your own capabilities and your skill sets, you have to develop them. And you also have to focus on how it works in society: the substance and the network. You have to put the work in. You have to have the expertise. And that takes time. It takes real effort. So you have to have people that can give you advice and expertise. Those people don't need to be connected, but they need to know enough about how things work that they can tell you how you could be connected.
People can tell when you are passionate and authentic about what you believe. And so I think the fact that I legitimately don't think I have all the answers about the world, I'm studying this just like everybody else is, I think feels authentic to other people. And I think that's what creates connection. So I feel comfortable going out there and being a political scientist. And you can put me on a stage with almost anyone, and I don't get scared. I can handle that. And I don't feel like I'm faking it. I think what's changed is I'm more aware that if I say something or I write something that people will actually read it or listen to it. I mean, more than anything else, if I've been given anything by the 20 years, I've suddenly been given a platform where I can inspire young people to learn more about the world, to understand more, not to be disgruntled or put off because they hate their politicians and everything else. Not tune out and say, "Hey, this is something that you can really engage in, and I, at least, want to be a little there for you." I feel the responsibility for that. And that's something I'm aware of now, that if you'd asked me 20 years ago, do I think I'll be doing this, I wouldn't have known that. And I'm very grateful for it. I think it's an incredible...It's an honour. It's a responsibility. It's a vocation. It feels more important to me than anything else I do.
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Ian Bremmer became the world's most prominent political scientist.
His father died when he was four and he was raised by his mother in housing projects outside Boston.
He went to University at just 15 years old and was the youngest-ever national fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
He now advises heads of state and CEOs as the founder of Eurasia Group, the world's leading political risk research and consulting firm.
