Cosmin is the Co-Founder and CEO of MIRA Rehab, a software company using video-games to make physical therapy much more effective.
Cosmin has a passion for technology and how it can be creatively used to improve day-to-day activities. He enjoys playing video-games, which some may say is a trivial hobby, but it taught him to think about how to use what is fun, engaging and addictive in new ways. He is also passionate about improving health and well-being. As a developing economy, his home country Romania is a place where more has to be done with less, especially within the health sector. Combining his fascination with the video-game industry, personal experience and interest in health, as well as being part of a great team led to the creation of MIRA Rehab.
My Definition Of Success | Success for me would mean seeing the business I co-founded with 3 friends spreading across the world to deliver more engaging therapy. Our mission is to motivate people to get better in a faster, easy and fun way. We believe patients should find therapy more convenient and fun, which would encourage uptake to treatment and improve outcomes. We want to deliver a solution that would empower any patient to access affordable and engaging therapy. That would mean success for me.
I Am Driven By | What drives me is the mission to make therapy more convenient. A few years ago, we had our first small trial at a Pediatric institution with children with neurological conditions. We spent two days there with children who tested our application for us to gather feedback on how to improve. It was the first time we saw patients accessing our application. It was a great feeling seeing children playing and having fun with the video-games we built for their rehabilitation. And it was an even greater feeling when we saw how happy their parents were for their children. This is what drives me: building entertaining therapy for people in need of rehabilitation.
The Difference Between Good And Great | People doing good work would be the ones interested in their goals, having the experience to deliver good outcomes. They have the know-how and are passionate about their work. People who are great at what they do have all the characteristics of the people doing good work, with the advantage that they love what they are doing and are striving to learn to do it even better. A good friend of mine said that “People who love their work, don’t consider it as ‘work’ at all”. I think that’s the difference between good and great work.
A Key Talent | I like to think one strength I have is perseverance. I think the entire MIRA Rehab founding team got to this stage through persevering, not giving up and finding ways to successful collaborations. I believe the easiest path to failure is to surrender to all the obstacles faced while trying to achieve your dream. However, I am not suggesting at all to push over the limits. Physical and even mental health are more important. But, before thinking of quitting, my suggestion would be to take a break for a few days, speak to the closest friends or mentors, and then decide what the best steps forward would be.
Dealing With Doubt | I think these feelings come with the line of work. I’ve heard it is quite common for people starting their own companies to feel self-doubt or scared. I’ve certainly gone through my share of these feelings because of the uncertainty of what is to come, if it’s going to be successful or not. But through perseverance, the company will grow, reach new collaborations and clients, which will bring calm feelings back in the mix.
Performing At My Peak | A balanced life would be a necessity for work to be as good as possible. Work, sleep and personal time are quite important, but difficult to balance. In the weekends, I try to disconnect myself from work, do anything else to ensure the next week will be productive. This could mean going for long walks, short weekend trips or playing a video-game once in a while. However, there are some Sunday afternoons I spend working for our business
The Meaning Of Life | Improving the world around to us to ensure our children and grandchildren enjoy the world in better ways.
The Best Advice I’ve Received | The best advice I ever received was to take a break every now and then. I used to work quite a lot and it took me a while to understand the importance of personal time to recharge. After 8 months of pushing myself, I got the advice to take it easy, at least a few days per week. I soon realized it is better to work 24 hours in 3 days at 100% efficiency, instead of 24 hours in 2 days at 50% productivity.
Advice On Building Wealth | To grow rich and build wealth could have different meaning to people. Some may want the financial wealth and in-dependency, while others consider themselves rich by being healthy and having a loving family they can provide for. The most important aspect for a person to achieve success is to love what they do, just as I pointed above, to strive to be among the best in their field and not give up.
