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There's no speed limit (2009)

sivers.org

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Re: There's no speed limit (2009)

#91

Post by karterk »

krmmalik wrote: post #37

I think there are a whole load of kids out there that could benefit from a "no speed limit" policy. I think the larger problem is that there aren't enough teachers that can set the pace. I remember, as a kid, reading an article in the paper about how two 10 year old kids had completed a computing A level course (i'm from the UK). I was 11 myself at the time and so much wanted to do that course. My parents looked in m…

Have you tried hanging out in the node.js IRC channel? Help is just a step away! The node mailing lists are also pretty helpful.

You can also feel free to email me (email in profile) - I have been working on node for more than a year now on a decent sized project.

Re: There's no speed limit (2009)

#92

Post by leilasworld »

sivers wrote: post #45
aclark wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Surely there must be more "cool stuff" to do? Also, how satisfying is helping others achieve their goals, and how much does it motivate you? Trying to "top" yourself doesn't sound right, but trying to find the things that match #1, 2, 3 sounds more like it.

Yeah, honestly I'm learning Rails, Sinatra, Sequel, Nginx, JavaScript, jQuery, and Backbone, all back-to-back from books and test projects, quite intensely, and not really matching those 1,2,3 steps, because I'm often in too deep over my head without a clear vision of what I need to do next. It's discouraging. But I am quite driven to turn my next app/business ideas into reality : http://50pop.com/code Definitely not…

Derek in a strange twist I find myself here for the first time. I don't even know what "hacker news is" but in my "go with the flow" state of mind I thought I'd click through a link. I've read the comments below and in reference to your not wanting to "top cdbaby" I would say that you exude such carefree joy, such an "anything is possible" vibe that I'm sure any business venture you embark on will succeed! I remember meeting you years ago at a music conference in New York. You had such a likeable, warm magnetism, it was YOU that I bought into and not CDBABY per se, because I instantly felt that you were an honest, trustworthy "positive energy". So I thank you deeply! I have a challenge I would love your perspective on. In the area of financial flow, I've come to believe I somehow have a block that is impeding it. I have read insane amount of books on the subject and through alot of intropection, believe this may be the case. HOWEVER...when I see someone who has been successful in this area such as yourself, I wonder, did you always feel finanically abundant, or worthy of it or somehow knew that it would all fall into place? Can you offer any thoughts on getting oneself to a place where you believe it is possible for yourself as you ARE creating something worthy and beautiful? Continued blessings, Leila

Re: There's no speed limit (2009)

#93

Post by sivers »

daspanters wrote: post #83

Hi Derek, Loved your book, two quick questions, (1) Up to today, how far did you get in using RoR for your new projects and (2) what is your "Kimo's advise" on speed learning it ? (coming from the Microsoft world).

(1) I'm torn on Rails. It's so so so SO much ecosystem to learn just to make a basic web app. I find that I'm much more attracted to Sinatra. Also I prefer Sequel to ActiveRecord. Also, I really want to try playing with the architecture of a JSON REST API back-end and a JavaScript front-end (like Backbone.js). So for that, it seems Sinatra + Sequel suits me better. I'm trying this way for now, and if it doesn't work out, I'll commit a few hundred hours to learning Rails whole ecosystem. (Then I guess keeping up with it constantly.)

(2) Oooh. Good question. It wasn't advice that made the difference. It was a style of teaching. Standing above me, pushing me further than I knew, but somehow still on the edge of my abilities. Making me figure things out for myself instead of giving me the answer.

The closest I've seen someone come to systemizing it is Code School : http://www.codeschool.com/

I love that style of "here's a little info, now figure out this problem."

Re: There's no speed limit (2009)

#95

Post by dropshopsa »

zumda wrote: post #62
Aushin wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it possible to be a semi-donkey? I have, if I were to try to count, 4 major 'things' going on in my life right now. One is keeping fit, one is keeping up with free online learning resources like Udacity, one is my job, and one is learning to play guitar. Are you suggesting that if I don't drop three of those, I won't succeed in any of them? That worries me a bit, because the job part takes up LOTS and LOTS of time…

I think this comes down to timeboxing everything. 1. Goal: Keeping fit. Invest 30 minutes each morning to that goal, which leaves 3. 2. Goal: Your job. Again, this is timeboxed until 5 pm, so do whatever it takes. Which leaves 2. 3. Goal: Play guitar. Not it gets tricky, because you could do both. But I think, again, timebox them. Monday through Friday you concentrate on your guitar, which leaves only 1. 4. Goal: Uda…

Here is a good site for guitar try do a lesson a day.. justinguitar.com

Re: There's no speed limit (2009)

#96

Post by EvilTerran »

sivers wrote: post #27
komeng wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you handle stress and burnout? Even playing video games leads me to burnout. Thanks in advance. :)

Power through it. Bitch and scream, but then do what needs to be done. Read “The Power of Full Engagement” : http://sivers.org/book/PowerOfFullEngagement The authors worked with the best athletes and executives for years, and found that the best ones knew how to push themselves, then recuperate, push, recuperate. Take this same approach to your emotional, mental, physical, and even spiritual life, and it's a powerful…

That book looks... reasonably promising, I guess; however...

"How do you handle stress and burnout?" "Power through it."

I'm sorry, but that's terrible advice. You might as well tell someone with depression to "just get over it already".

Re: There's no speed limit (2009)

#97

Post by sivers »

S_A_P wrote: post #88

Derek, One thing I have noticed about many of your blogs/talks is that you have an innate sense of optimism. Is this a learned trait of yours or was this something you picked up as you made your way through life and found success? While I dont feel that I am a pessimist, I do wish I could improve my sense of optimism/anything is possible with work/focus. Any tips? Thanks and I always enjoy your posts.

My optimism is a little bit innate, but mostly learned.

It was something I got from Tony Robbins : that you can choose how you want to feel about anything. (We usually act like we can't help the way we feel. But we can consciously choose and change how we feel.)

No matter what happens, you can choose to ask, "What's great about this?" Even if you're not in the mood. Even if cranky or pissed-off, you can still force yourself to ask that, out of habit. Then the pessimism slowly dissolves, and you start to get optimistic again.

Then it feeds off itself. Somehow when you're optimistic, things go your way more often. Then that encourages you further, etc.

Actually these days I'm SO optimistic that it can work against me! I optimistically over-estimate my ability to do things. I optimistically think I'll just get fit and healthy through good intentions. Etc.

Sometimes a dose of painful pessimism can achieve more. (Though I guess if you realize that's the attitude that would be more helpful for you, you can choose to be pessimistic, too. As long as you know it's an intentional choice.)

Re: There's no speed limit (2009)

#98

Post by mds101 »

villagefool wrote: post #85
edw519 wrote: post #80

Wow, what a great thread! Just another thing that makes Hacker News so good: read something written by an expert and then engage in a discussion with that expert. Derek, please go to www.askolo.com and register today. This is a brand new Hacker News inspired site built specifically for this purpose. These guys are trying to build and reach critical mass and your presence there would be greatly appreciated by me and m…

This is the second time today that I hear about Askolo, seems more then a quincidence (heavy PR going on?). How are they different from Quora?

I believe the difference is you ask a question to a specific person. And all these questions and answers are laid out on a single page in a nice interview style. And considering that most of the guys being asked and those doing the asking are all pretty smart guys, it makes for super interesting reading. Not that you would get any of that from their landing page though. Read the page for Patio11 to get an idea of how great it is.

Re: There's no speed limit (2009)

#99

Post by jedc »

villagefool wrote: post #85
edw519 wrote: post #80

Wow, what a great thread! Just another thing that makes Hacker News so good: read something written by an expert and then engage in a discussion with that expert. Derek, please go to www.askolo.com and register today. This is a brand new Hacker News inspired site built specifically for this purpose. These guys are trying to build and reach critical mass and your presence there would be greatly appreciated by me and m…

This is the second time today that I hear about Askolo, seems more then a quincidence (heavy PR going on?). How are they different from Quora?

I can only imagine they're a YC startup, based on the people I see active there after I registered. (PG, JL, other YC partners) With Demo Day today, things are picking up PR-wise. :)

Re: There's no speed limit (2009)

#100

Post by sivers »

kamaal wrote: post #90
sivers wrote: post #7

Surprised to see a post of mine here on Hacker News. (First time in a long time. Thanks!) Feel free to ask me absolutely anything here.

How do you manage your time and track your productivity. If its not too personal can you give us a framework of your daily time table.

I was wondering that myself!

So I wrote my first Android app, to track every minute of every day. See https://github.com/50pop/NowNowNow if interested.

Most of my time these days is spent studying some new programming languages and techniques (Ruby, Rails, Sinatra, Sequel, JavaScript, jQuery, Backbone). Less time spent turning that learning into real creation. Soon... soon....

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