startups and code

Career Growth and Life Growth

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Life Growth and Career Growth are not simple topics to cover.

I know I haven't written much recently due to several things, work, travel, etc... However, I keep trying to stay on track with writing and maintaining my hobby of writing and WordPress development.  I also write a bunch of JavaScript code and have recently played with matter.js, react.js, and finally spent some time on angular.js (yes, it is worth it, I see the reason for the buzz).  However, I have a new role at work and it presents new challenges, but I always love to code.  All of that being said, I truly enjoy working with people.  Not just anyone, but really intelligent amazing people.  I will refrain from listing names, but I am grateful for the people I work with on a daily basis.  I have been a Senior Software Engineer, Senior Developer, Web Application Developer, Software Engineer III, Sql Developer, Development Manager, Director of Engineering, Senior Consultant, Technical Lead, and Instructor.  That is only the titles I have had in my technology career.  I have left out the military titles, the college titles, and many more occupations.  However, I have realized that growth comes from several things.  There is a saying I have heard a lot recently is this:

Good decisions come from experience and experience comes from bad decisions

I never realized that the journey that I have had makes me qualified to make good decisions.  For those who have known me, I have made many bad decisions.  Luckily, the consequences were not terrible, but they were enough to allow me to remember them and never make those decisions again.  In addition to gaining that experience (through bad decisions), I have been given the opportunity to help new (or even some not-so-new) developers learn from my experience.  I always loved listening to people I respected talk.  Not always because what they were saying was amazing but because of how they delivered the message.  We grow all the time through daily decisions.  I never realized until recently how much a simple 10 minute hallway conversation can change the course of someone's career and how they view the world (both good and bad).

Today I am rambling, I do not plan on dropping knowledge like a philosopher, or Kanye (really, just ask him, he'll tell you).  Today my goal is to simply write... write like I used to write.  Border-line stream of consciousness I suppose.  I started my journey in yoga yesterday and I'm excited about that.  I am not sure what it will lead to, but I know that if I pursue anything with consistency, it has always led me to a new place.  I also am involved in a new church group.  That will definitely lead me in a path as it always has.

So my words today are simply this:  What do you want to pursue?  And then the follow-up question is, why are you not pursuing it?  What roadblocks have you created?  Takes too long, costs too much, I'm too busy, that is too early, I'm too tired, etc...  I have realized that we all have the same problems, we just all hate admitting we have them.  We all stress over work, money, family, school, health, diet, exercise, etc...  It is crazy if we simply find someone who we trust to share that with how they have some of the same issues.  The challenge is finding the right person to share that.  Of course, I was lucky (yet again) that I found her in 4th grade.  It took me about 30 years to realize that, and man was that an interesting journey to get back, but I trust her and she always has great insight, so much so I decided to marry her.  :-)

So what is it that I want to pursue?  Apparently yoga, writing, and my technology career.   Let's see how the next part of my life goes... Remember, if you are having a bad day, you can always choose to start it over right now.  (That's not mine either, but I really like it).  I really wonder if all these clever quotes I have heard are original or have already been said.

Thank you for stopping by and I'm excited to hear about what you are going to pursue starting today!  (That means now, not when you wake up tomorrow).  :-)