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There's no speed limit (2009)
111–120 of 214 posts
Re: There's no speed limit (2009)
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
Good to find this article again. I'm very autodidactic, and found universities so far disappointing for the lack of speed. After you where taught everything, fast, why did you still go to Berklee? How was your time there?
College hardly taught me anything. There were only a few good teachers. Most were half-assing it. But once I realized that they weren't going to teach me anything, I got inspired. I realized that I was in an amazing place that held all the knowledge I want. I just had to go get it! I treated it like a library. I pulled information out of people, recordings, books. More than anything, it was a great environment for le…
> I realized that I was in an amazing place that held all the knowledge I want. I just had to go get it!
> I treated it like a library. I pulled information out of people, recordings, books.
As a note, this is the way to get the most out of University. Put a vacuum up against the U and turn it on... get everything you can. University should not just happen to you: you need to create the happening.
Re: There's no speed limit (2009)
#113Wow, 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…
When I go on to hacker news, I really don't expect the top comment to be a blatant advertisement for some site for the most part irrelevant to the article. Why are people upvoting this?
Re: There's no speed limit (2009)
#114Earlier quoted context omitted.
(1) : I'm spending most of my time learning Rails, Sinatra, Sequel, Nginx, JavaScript, jQuery, and Backbone, all back-to-back from books and test projects, quite intensely. ... because ... (2) : If I die before turning these projects into reality, I'm going to be pissed-off! http://50pop.com/code It's really my main drive these days, to finally launch these ideas I've had spec'd out for a long time. I know I could ju…
I know I could just hire someone else to make them, but the joy (to me) is in the process, not the goal. I want to learn these programming techniques so well that I can quickly create all my future ideas, too. Very interesting for me to read this now. My wife is pushing me to outsource the development of an idea that I've been talking about raising from a demo to a real site, because I'm taking my sweet time (learnin…
Well... there is a "best of both worlds" approach that I'm considering, and might be right for you:
Hire someone to do it for you, but on the condition that you can watch over their shoulder and ask questions as they go.
That way, you can get it done and get it launched, while at the same time you get to watch an expert, learn enough to maintain and improve this project - and learn how to do it yourself next time.
I did this for my first Android app - https://github.com/50pop/NowNowNow
I started slogging through some Android books and realized it'd take me forever. So I learned just enough to understand the context, then hired a guy that let me watch. I learned more by watching and talking with him than if I would have just continued slogging through the books. And it got done in 2 days!
Re: There's no speed limit (2009)
#115[deleted]
Re: There's no speed limit (2009)
#116Earlier quoted context omitted.
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".
I wasn't saying "stop being stressed and burned-out".
I mean that any time any of us get to that point, there are a few approaches we could take.
(1) - Go take a long vacation.
(2) - Quit and change your approach.
(3) - Don't change a thing. Sleep tonight, but tomorrow just keep pushing the same direction as you've been doing. It'll be painful, you'll scream and complain, but just keep working anyway.
I've tried all three. When I do (1) or (2), it throws me so far off course that I never come back.
But powering through it is also the advice that ultra-marathon runners advise. They say you feel the pain, but just ignore it and go anyway. You don't take a break. You just keep running.
When I've taken this approach to the work I'm doing, I tend to find joy and an easier road ahead, past the painful burnt-out feeling I felt the day/week before. I'm glad I didn't take a vacation or change course.
Re: There's no speed limit (2009)
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
(1) : I'm spending most of my time learning Rails, Sinatra, Sequel, Nginx, JavaScript, jQuery, and Backbone, all back-to-back from books and test projects, quite intensely. ... because ... (2) : If I die before turning these projects into reality, I'm going to be pissed-off! http://50pop.com/code It's really my main drive these days, to finally launch these ideas I've had spec'd out for a long time. I know I could ju…
Thanks for answering, looks like you have some interesting projects on the go. My favourite was http://50pop.com/karmalist if only because someone needs to kill Yelp ! An open source, non company-controlled business review service is a killer proposition. The challenges will be how to incentivise users to submit reviews to the service (what's their motivation ?) and how to successfully moderate extreme or unhelpful r…
Interesting. I took karmalist as a response to closed-off data sources like 'celebrity access [.com]' where you have to pay just to read it. It is a collection of venue managers, promoters, talent agents, and musicians. At least Yelp let's you lurk for free.
Re: There's no speed limit (2009)
#118Earlier quoted context omitted.
6 hours has always been enough for me. Yep, that's at least one genetic advantage you have on most of us.
> Yep, that's at least one genetic advantage you have on most of us. I think I kind of have the same problem as you do: not enough/too much sleep that messes up my day. But is this "genetic" like you saying? I don't think so. Can you point to any directions where to read about this, or at least, how to get better on sleeping enough hours? Thnx.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/03/12/short.sleepers.daylight...
I am not sure how you can get better at something which is most likely genetic.
I work full time and have a not terrible commute, and if I want to eat healthy and get a bit of exercise and spend just a tiny amount of time with friends and family... well, it's hard to get the hours of sleep I genetically need to function 100%.
Now, I can go for a very long time sleeping no more than 6 hours a night, but I can feel it slowly killing me.
Re: There's no speed limit (2009)
#119I teach English Honors composition, and on the last day of each semester I send this as part of my "Last E-mail:"
Now for the small message that's really big. This is the post that could but probably won't change your life: "There’s no speed limit. (The lessons that changed my life)": http://sivers.org/kimo . I say "could," because most of you probably won't click the link; of those of you who do, most of you won't read the whole thing; of those of you who do, most of you won't get it; of those of you who do, most of you won't implement it. On the off chance that one out of 50 of you let this change your life, however, I'm sending it. The writer of "There's no speed limit" also wrote a book called Anything You Want, and reading it is probably one of the best ways you can spend an hour.
(This is after I tell them about the not clicking the link, not reading it, etc.) in class.
Re: There's no speed limit (2009)
#120Earlier quoted context omitted.
See my other comment here about the drive to "be the next Zuckerberg". Then look into the conditions of "flow" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_%28psychology%29 1. A clear set of goals : you know exactly what needs to be done next. 2. The task is not too easy, but not too hard. It's just at the edge of your ability. 3. The task gives you immediate feedback. When you're engaged in that kind of work, you FOCUS! That…
> Then look into the conditions of "flow" Since I was a kid, I would have these rare moments of intense calmness. Certain things would set it off: the sound of paper brushing together when someone is reading a book. I've also had this happen when listening to certain people talk; their voice or mannerisms trigger it. Other strange things also trigger it, like the sound of secadas in the summer. The older I get the mo…
Are you talking about strange tingling sensations at the back of your head. If you are check out: http://anti-valentine.hubpages.com/hub/ASMR.
I used to get it a lot when I was younger, normally when people were doing me a favour I wasn't expecting or they were going out of their way to help me. I've also had it when getting my hair cut.
Throwaway account, as I have also had the crazy look.