A Space Odyssey
27 May, 2019
3 minute read
What am I working on?
Now that I’m back to working full time for the summer, I’m primarily working on work-related things. At least for now, it’s hard to find time between commuting and the work day to work on projects of my own. I hope to work time in for developing and designing PlayRight in the evenings. Although the commute might be long, I’m extremely grateful to be able to work where I do and with the people that I do. If someone had told me two years ago that I would be completing my second internship for an awesome company, I wouldn’t have really believed that to even be possible. Being new in any field, let alone in tech, can really make you doubt what you’re capable of. Watching everyone around you that seems to know exactly what they’re doing at every moment, can make you feel like you know nothing. The truth is, sometimes you really don’t know it all and that’s cool too. At one point, they didn’t know so much either. It’s all a part of the process - a slow but sure progression to being that bit better one day at a time. Robert Greene writes about building skills in Mastery:
“First, it is essential that you begin with one skill that you can master and that serves as the foundation for acquiring others. You must avoid at all cost the idea that you can manage learning several skills at a time. You need to develop your powers of concentration, and understand that trying to multitask will be the death of the process.”
It’s also important to still your ego and look at your work objectively. Find ways to improve and be honest with yourself and others if you don’t know something outright. Demonstrate you can work through something despite not knowing absolutely everything about it. Be resilient. Keep up with what is going on in your field by following people that do what you want to. Greene continues:
“As you gain in skill and confidence, you must make the move to a more active mode of experimentation. This could mean taking on more responsibility, initiating a project of some sort, doing work that exposes you to the criticisms of your peers or even the public. The point of this is to gauge your progress and whether there are still gaps in your knowledge. You are observing yourself in action and seeing how you respond to the judgments of others. Can you take criticism and use it constructively?”
What am I reading?
Mastery is something I’ve obviously been reading😜 I seem to have gotten back around to jumping between books depending on what I’m feeling and I’ve enjoyed it. For instance, I’ve made connections from things in Mastery to James Clear’s Atomic Habits, and in A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy to How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie. That said - I seriously need some new audiobooks for my commute, any suggestions? Feel free to tweet at/DM or email me!
Quote I’m digging…
“There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.” ~ Aldous Huxley
What am I listening to?
“You Say I’m In Love” by Bane’s World