You Are the Average of Your Five Closest Friends

#1

Post by buf » Sun, Oct 30, 2011, 7:13 PM UTC

You Are the Average of Your Five Closest Friends
bufr.tumblr.com

Re: You Are the Average of Your Five Closest Friends

#2

Post by mrleinad » Sun, Oct 30, 2011, 7:31 PM UTC

Is this really a true story? Can you tell us a bit more about it? I'm not asking for details that would identify her, but for more details on how she got there.

Re: You Are the Average of Your Five Closest Friends

#3

Post by jasminaata » Sun, Oct 30, 2011, 7:42 PM UTC

mrleinad wrote: post #2

Is this really a true story? Can you tell us a bit more about it? I'm not asking for details that would identify her, but for more details on how she got there.

Hi, yeah this is a true story and it is about me. Ask me anything.

Re: You Are the Average of Your Five Closest Friends

#4

Post by mrleinad » Sun, Oct 30, 2011, 7:55 PM UTC

jasminaata wrote: post #3

mrleinad wrote: post #2

Is this really a true story? Can you tell us a bit more about it? I'm not asking for details that would identify her, but for more details on how she got there.

Hi, yeah this is a true story and it is about me. Ask me anything.

Great!

1) Maybe "having a mission" would be the best approach at throwing yourself against the wall over and over again, but I'd like to know if that was the thing that motivated you not to stop learning. Never did the thought "ok, maybe I'm not cut for this" cross your mind?

2) You learned chinese during that time? How proficient are you in that language? Did you do it on your own or did you take classes?

3) Any time management technique you'd like to share with us?

I probably will have more questions later.. :)

Re: You Are the Average of Your Five Closest Friends

#5

Post by fvlr » Sun, Oct 30, 2011, 8:46 PM UTC

I would love to know more about this story. I think too many people out there feels in the same situation.

Randy Pausch said: "The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough. They are there to stop the other people!"

My congratulations for her. She is another living example for inspiration.

Re: You Are the Average of Your Five Closest Friends

#6

Post by paulofisch » Sun, Oct 30, 2011, 8:54 PM UTC

jasminaata wrote: post #3

mrleinad wrote: post #2

Is this really a true story? Can you tell us a bit more about it? I'm not asking for details that would identify her, but for more details on how she got there.

Hi, yeah this is a true story and it is about me. Ask me anything.

Great to hear you've found happiness in geekery.

Do you have your next level-up planned?

Re: You Are the Average of Your Five Closest Friends

#7

Post by paganel » Sun, Oct 30, 2011, 9:15 PM UTC

I don't have "five closest friends". Who am I, then? :)

Re: You Are the Average of Your Five Closest Friends

#8

Post by georgieporgie » Sun, Oct 30, 2011, 9:16 PM UTC

What? What was with the Eventbrite 'brogrammer' paragraph? You seem to say that 'marrying' social life and technology is a bad thing, but it's the segue into her (apparent) use of user groups and networking to further her career. Also:

Bottom line: If the main topic of conversation you have with your friends is not how you can better yourself, you need to get new friends.

Uh. No. If you drop universal statements like that, you're probably... Well, I won't go into it. At any rate, there are a wide variety of reasons to have friends.

Re: You Are the Average of Your Five Closest Friends

#9

Post by porter » Sun, Oct 30, 2011, 9:21 PM UTC

I studied finance and economics in college and spent 5 years in banking. Last year I quit my job and taught myself python/django, HTML, CSS, and Jquery. Last week I did a demo of my financial software for my old boss and he loved it. It's going to allow his analysts to do their analysis in a few minutes instead of a few hours.

My wife and I moved to a new city while I went through this process, and it was mostly a lonely road. Friends matter, but don't let a trite saying deter you from making things happen. If you want to do something, just go do it. Your friends will soon follow.

Re: You Are the Average of Your Five Closest Friends

#10

Post by ppog » Sun, Oct 30, 2011, 9:28 PM UTC

"Bottom line: If the main topic of conversation you have with your friends is not how you can better yourself, you need to get new friends."

Thanks, but I'm happy with the friends I have and with the kind of conversations we have. If your friends love talking about "how you can better yourself," then fair enough -- whatever works for you. On the other hand, if your friends love talking about the things they do, interesting things they've learned, neat ideas, activities, etc. then don't ditch them just because they're not talking about "how you can better yourself." You'll "better yourself" by being immersed in a social environment of new ideas and options and acting on the things you learn, not by dumping your friends and finding people who want to talk about self-improvement.