Quite often I bump up into cool projects that give me the feeling “didn’t I think about something like this a while back?” Perhaps I did think about something similar. However, almost always I stopped to the thinking phase. Mere thinking does not really provide that much value – one has to act on those ideas.
Fortunately other people have taken more initiative with their ideas than I have. The Art of Non-Conformity shows one project that is very close to something I thought of during the past year. I just didn’t have the venue, and I must admit that my idea was not this cool.
To put it short, the campaign requests people to send postcards (yes, the good and proven old thing) to him. In addition, he asks the sender to answer two big questions on the back of the card: what does one want from life and what is the unique thing that one can offer the world. The cards will then be posted on The Art of Non-Conformity blog.
I just wanted to collect postcards from all over the world. This is much more – it’s collection ideas and attitudes from all over the world. I think I will have to take some time tomorrow to find a postcard that suits the theme of my answer.
Go and participate!
Software development these days is all about increments. Same methodology can be applied quite easily to other aspects of life as well.
For example, my long term dream has been to run a one man business that would allow me extreme freedom in way, time and location of working (need an example, check out Colin Wright). I was very close to starting my one man empire in 2008. I took a course in start-ups, had all the plans done and was basically ready to go. The only thing I was missing was confidence. The whole idea was on a bit of shaky ground, and even though I could convince other people that this would work for me, I had my own doubts nagging at the back of my head.
There are two ways of looking at my decision to not to start the business but take a dive into the cubicle ocean instead. On one hand, I’m a chicken. Perhaps I could have made it just fine, and would have had a great year of self employment behind me now. On the other hand, I have learned many important lessons from the true software business (as opposed to fiddling with custom apps for in house use that I have worked with previously).
The guidance I got was that you have to jump in with all your heart or not at all. I just wasn’t ready to make the leap back then. I can see that much more clearly now.
My new approach is an incremental one. I will continue doing my day job to my best capability. However, I will try to do something creative on the side. Something to went of the steam from 8-4 routines. If they turn out as something that creates financial income, good. If not, so what? If some of them ever show the potential to provide enough income to allow me to focus solely on them and forget about the day job, then I’m one step closer to my original dream.
Ever had the feeling that you have it all figured out? You know what to do, where to go and why. Everything seems perfectly clear.
Then suddenly something fundamental changes. You can still follow the same path you had just laid out in front you, but it just isn’t as perfect as it used to be. It is a plan that does not fulfill the expectations it was created for. What to do?
I decided to adapt the plan. Long term goals are a good thing, they provide you with something to reach for. However, there must be some leeway on the road to those goals. The best scenery is on the small side tracks.
Evident, but never said too often.
Bashing