Why the Decision to Journal My Entrepreneurial Journey on Medium?
Entrepreneurship Journal Day2: The art of starting something totally scary
Why indeed
The key reason is behavioural.
Yesterday, I posted an article about my decision to start Journaling My Way to Becoming a Tech Founder, on Medium.
This article tells a bit more about why.
I don’t have any traditional background in computer science or technology or design. So if you think this seems crazy, yeah, so do I.
There is a popular book in the entrepreneurship literature, The Art of the Start, by Silicon Valley venture capitalist, Guy Kawasaki. It’s a book full of action ideas to “start”. And they are great ideas.
The science of the start
Scientifically, in my head, I have done my research logically.
- I know I have always loved data, apps, and devices. And I love creating.
- I have done my Simon Sinek “Why”.
- I have talked to founders who shared their views with me on tech skills.
- I have found lots of inspirations in classes on MasterClass.com, about how to design and create products and services.
- I have tried on the Designing Your Life prototype conversations, and discovered the role of a Design Technologist, which I want to become.
- So the path seems clear, I know I want to be a Tech founder. I want to know the materials, techniques, and ingredients I get to create with. And I know what I “should” do.
The trouble is, since the last time I told someone I wanted to make apps, I had not published any yet. I guess, it is called the “art”, and not the “science”, of the start, for a reason.
The art of the start
Whenever I have come across the phrase — the “art and science” of something, the “art” has generally been to do with behaviour, emotions, feelings, psychology, like a certain human condition.
Art-wise, in my heart, I guess I had not started. I had been hesitating. How does one believe? How do I believe I can, do this? It wasn’t something particularly addressed in Guy’s book. It seems not a problem for him. Not sure if it’s because he is a, guy. Hehehe… well, no pun intended.
- Speaking of guys, I am reminded of stories of boys becoming men. One that has always stayed with me is from a former boyfriend. He said, the first time he believed in himself as a man was when he was strong enough to defend himself against the force of two other men.
- I have achieved things in life. I have reasonable self confidence by now. But I have also had things I felt were failures that sometimes made me doubt things and myself. And of course, I am not a machine, I experience fear, especially going into a new area. I had wanted to reinvent myself in technology. But I had always done it in secret, because I thought, well if I failed, no one needed to know.
- The interesting thing about the “art” of fear was, the more I was not sharing, the more I was not progressing, until 8 weeks ago when I ran up against a self imposed deadline to take on a challenge.
- I had for sometime wanted to update my data skills and find out more about machine learning. The day before yesterday, I posted the result and lessons I got from taking on the challenge of the MIT xPro Data Science and Big Data Analytics course. It was a project about taking on technology, which is the direction I want to go. But I was so nervous about doing it, I delayed starting for 2 years since first heard about it. As it turned out, I went surprisingly well.
- The most memorable experience was completing two assignments that had to be shared for review by my course peers. The expectation of putting my work out there created some absolute personal bests. I was amazed. I got 99/100.
- And that was an experience and a feeling to believe in.
I find directly relevant challenges are important, useful, and meaningful, regardless of the short term outcome. The art seems to live in the feeling.
After the start
> 80/20
Deciding to start this blog after that was then not difficult. The lessons were clear. They say an important mental model in life is the Pareto 80/20 rule. I realise the “art” of the “start”, and of progress, is simply two behaviours, a habit and an accountability.
I fell into them with the MIT course. And I ended up owning the intrinsic rewards of my own initiative. They are the rewards truly beyond measure.
> Habit
So to continue the habit, I thought what better way than to journal.
As they say, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
Machine learning is inspired by how humans learn. When we consistently practice and fire particular neural pathways, they become connected and connect more widely into bigger things — knowledge, skills, insights, and wisdom.
Ironically, I have learned more about how I learn from learning from machines learning from me. Hehehe… let’s not get too circular here.
Journaling purposefully keeps a certain focus consistently firing.
> Accountability
Accountability, is having someone or something sufficiently significant for us to show up. That means, you. That means, each other. That means, recognising, affirming, coming into, showing up for, and being part of something greater.
I love these reminders.
“When I go up to people, if someone happens to be a little depressed, or their life isn’t going as they want it, I remind them that, atoms of your body are traceable to the stars that have exploded across the galaxy. … ingredients that make planets … make human life … It’s not that we are here and the universe is there. It’s not that we are humans and everything else isn’t. It’s that we are a participant in the great unfolding of cosmic events. And for me, that gives a sense of belonging. … That’s a gift… that awareness, that sense of participation. You’re not separate and distinct from the universe. … You are in the universe. The universe is in you.” — Neil deGrasse Tyson, Lesson 1 of his MasterClass on Scientific Thinking and Communication
Or “Evolving is life’s greatest accomplishment and its greatest reward. … Reality is optimizing for the whole — not for you. … Realize that you are simultaneously everything and nothing — and decide what you want to be.” — Ray Dalio, Life Principles 1.5
And part and parcel of accountability is story sharing. It has been a powerful way for humans to learn since time immemorial.
I hope writing and journaling perspectives and reflections, will, as they have done for generations of humankind before us, benefit not just the writer, but also the reader, and the exchange of ideas and life’s energy. Language and communication are perhaps the greatest achievements of evolution for us to continue appreciating and applying.
> Hence
Journalling + Accountability with sharing = Medium.
If you think this is crazy, hehehe, sure, except in Guy’s book, it is said,
“Entrepreneurship is about doing, not learning to do. … Learning by anecdote is risky, but waiting for scientific proof is too. … Few things are right or wrong in entrepreneurship — there’s only what works and what doesn’t work.”
And this, is working so far.
