same with code
Planning can be helpful when it comes to writing code
Start before you think you’re ready
41–50 of 80 posts
Re: Start before you think you’re ready
#42> Dude, sucking at something is the first step towards being sorta good at something. --- Jake the Dog [1] Maybe not exactly on-topic, but ever since I heard this quote it's been my mantra whenever I'm learning something new. For example I took a beginner's hip hop dancing class last night. A younger me would have been very embarrassed at how uncoordinated I was. That embarrassment probably would have kept me from go…
Congrats on taking the first class! I forced myself to do something similar after a nasty breakup, and the first 4-6 classes were brutal. Then I finally got the hang of it! Glad you aspire to be more like Jake the Dog.
> the first 4-6 classes were brutal
I’ve also been thinking about this a lot lately as I play piano more consistently. When I first learn a song it’s agony. I’m straining my brain so hard to figure out a reasonable fingering. The first week or two (assuming practice every day) is likewise quite tough or draining. And then muscle memory kicks in and I’m amazed that I’m able to play the song faster than expected. I feel like this process is way more applicable to learning in general than I used to give it credit. For some reason piano just makes the entire process crystal clear.
Re: Start before you think you’re ready
#43Encourage others to take impossible risks. Theire failure and corpses build a bridge to your success. Try to see obnoxious "You-can-do-it-talks" not as ego-pumping, but as leveraging of stupid people into free R&D. Do not be first, find others who are stupid enough to develop and research for you- invest just enough, to become a goto adress once they are desperat- skin the carcasses. Be the general in the fifth row o…
Some people have bad motivations, but that is not true for everyone saying these things. I had no choice, I couldn't do anything but start a business, I was a failure as an employee because of how I looked at life and the process of building/creating. I was always at odds with my employers to make things work better. (I was told to work slower and less hard because I made others look bad sigh ) So what do you say to…
> So what do you say to someone like me?
Welcome to the club! You are an entrepreneur. It is really hard. Depressingly so sometimes. You are on your own because you can do it!
Learn to sell. Learn what selling is. Find a problem you have. Solve it in a repeatable way. Sell the solution.
Talk to people. What are their problems?
Repeat. Build up multiple cash flows. Software. Real estate. Consulting. Find entrepreneurs near you. Team up.
You can do it. Many people way less capable than you are already have.
Find an existing solution. Solve it better. You don't have to be first. Just be better. You already are.
You can do it. I know you can. Be relentless in the face of overwhelming odds.
You can do it! I did. We did. Everyone you know will think you are crazy. You. Are. Not.
You are wonderful. You make the world a better place. Keep at it!
Re: Start before you think you’re ready
#44I think the message of this article is a good one, perhaps not always applicable depending (of course) on the individual scenario and circumstances, but a worthwhile message nonetheless. I think a large part of whether or not it applies is the risk assessment. If the risk is extremely great should failure occur and there are not major time constraints, preparation should be careful and considered. As the idiom goes,…
I'm also preparing for the RHCSA! It's grueling but now that I'm getting close I feel way more confident in Linux. I'd always heard it was the "entry level" cert (which is technically true) but at least in my eyes it really means something. It's not something you can cram for and wing and still pass.
Re: Start before you think you’re ready
#45It's perhaps worth keeping in mind that Kleon is giving this advice about writing books, and that in context, this isn't "you can do it" pithy advice of the sort that DayDollar's comment is mocking. The quote from David McCullough seems to be at the heart of his point:
"When I began, I thought that the way one should work was to do all the research and then write the book. In time I began to understand that it’s when you start writing that you really find out what you don’t know and need to know."
You do have to do some research; you don't charge into your project with no plan. But not only does trying to make the Most Bestest Completest Plan Ever end up being a form of procrastination (see all those folks who've spent years doing worldbuilding for their great epic fantasy novel but still can't tell you what the protagonist's character arc is, or possibly even who the protagonist is, period), it turns out that once you start actually working on the project you get a much, much better sense of what the plan needs to be. You figure out what to write in that part of your outline that says "subplot about Gail's past starts here". You start figuring out more about what the Thing your [Insert Thing] as a Service startup actually needs to insert and so on.
Re: Start before you think you’re ready
#46Encourage others to take impossible risks. Theire failure and corpses build a bridge to your success. Try to see obnoxious "You-can-do-it-talks" not as ego-pumping, but as leveraging of stupid people into free R&D. Do not be first, find others who are stupid enough to develop and research for you- invest just enough, to become a goto adress once they are desperat- skin the carcasses. Be the general in the fifth row o…
> Do not be first, find others who are stupid enough to develop and research for you- invest just enough, to become a goto adress once they are desperat- skin the carcasses.
This strategy has an actual MBA term--it's called the "fast follower".
Basically, the first guy proves the market and takes all the arrows. The second guy reaps the vast majority of the profit in the space.
It's why semiconductor companies are so stagnant, for example, and simply buy each other rather than generate genuinely new, interesting products.
Re: Start before you think you’re ready
#47Encourage others to take impossible risks. Theire failure and corpses build a bridge to your success. Try to see obnoxious "You-can-do-it-talks" not as ego-pumping, but as leveraging of stupid people into free R&D. Do not be first, find others who are stupid enough to develop and research for you- invest just enough, to become a goto adress once they are desperat- skin the carcasses. Be the general in the fifth row o…
Shh shh shh you're giving away the game.
Re: Start before you think you’re ready
#48Encourage others to take impossible risks. Theire failure and corpses build a bridge to your success. Try to see obnoxious "You-can-do-it-talks" not as ego-pumping, but as leveraging of stupid people into free R&D. Do not be first, find others who are stupid enough to develop and research for you- invest just enough, to become a goto adress once they are desperat- skin the carcasses. Be the general in the fifth row o…
> Do not be first, find others who are stupid enough to develop and research for you- invest just enough, to become a goto adress once they are desperat- skin the carcasses. This strategy has an actual MBA term--it's called the "fast follower". Basically, the first guy proves the market and takes all the arrows. The second guy reaps the vast majority of the profit in the space. It's why semiconductor companies are so…
I thought it was called “second mover advantage”.
Re: Start before you think you’re ready
#49Perfectionism and analysis paralysis are common obstacles to progress. Also fear of failure. In June of this year I decided to learn music theory and to play piano, almost on a whim, and write a blog post daily about what I learned that day[1]. I've named this year-long project "Poseur to Composer".
I'm almost halfway through and realise I have no innate abilities in music. Fortunately the application of music is very broad and there are many kinds of composers, so I can still achieve my goal. Also taking a lot of personal analytics with DailyDiary.com that I can learn from once the project is over.
Re: Start before you think you’re ready
#50This can potentially fatal for the career of a junior engineer. For personal projects it’s fine, but taking too much risk or too big a task on without clear boundaries can make you look like you can’t deliver or learn too slowly.
Unless I really trusted my boss I wouldn’t try this :(