For many years my closest friends inspired and humbled me by demonstrating how true determination and hard work can alter the perception one calls life. Luckily this power - I really do consider it an ability to be mastered or unlocked - is not bound to a selected few. That comes to say that each of us is capable of dreaming something - big or small - and pursuing it.

So how do you go about it? What do you do once you have the goal - be that money, fame, glory, popularity or - like me - true mastery of a given craft? In this essay I will share my observations on the matter.

The Path

The first thing one needs to realize is that there’s no such thing as an end goal. Why? Because the only constant1 in life is change. Health worsens, wealth diminishes, popularity fades, death takes away our loved ones. Thus, it is important to reframe our pursuits into something more in tune with reality. I’m talking about The Path. Once you settle on something you want to become good at, you have effectively stepped onto The Path.

This is a very important step that may or may not be done consciously. Sometimes there is a predisposition e.g. family business, natural affiliation or misunderstanding. No matter the case setting The Path is one of the hardest steps as it requires courage. The courage to face yourself as you truly are - with all your weaknesses and shortcomings. That same courage will drive your past these hurdles and onto the next steps on your journey.

Sometimes people cannot find their path. They know something is amiss. They want to do something about it but cannot. That’s a symptom which demonstrates that further exploration of the self is necessary. It manifests either in procrastination - eternally delaying the time to take action in favor of small amounts of pleasure - or as “paralysis by analysis” - forever dwelling on the endless possibilities that are available without making a definite choice. Both are quite common in this day and age. The cure to these types of problems is to be content with being wrong. What do I mean by that? As mentioned earlier things are always in influx, forever changing. Hence, doing something is always better than doing nothing. Furthermore, doing something wrong - as contradictory as it may seem - is not necessarily worse than doing the correct thing. The reason is that making mistakes gives us a lot more information2 as to where the boundaries of our mental models about reality are. That is key! To be able to discard old information that was or wasn’t previously true and replace it with something that better describes life is the mark of a lifelong student.

The n00b

The next step on our journey is to accept the role of the apprentice. The modern day term for that is newbie or noob - the latter of which is popularized with the gaming culture and styled as n00b. This is an interesting situation to be in as it has a strong duality about it. On one hand it is the first true roadblock that everyone faces. Generally people dislike it when told they are incapable, incompetent or the least knowledgeable. That is just how we humans operate. When our ancestors were hunter-gatherers being a newbie meant that you had less chance for survival. If you don’t know how to hunt or where the food is you are less likely to continue living and have offspring. Nowadays, it is about ego. You have to be Senior, Principal , Director, Chief and whatnot. Otherwise - according to popular belief - your opinion will not be taken into consideration, and you will not make tangible decisions that will make the difference.

The funny thing that many forget is that there is one way to go when you are at the bottom. When you realize the potential of this position you know that everything you do is a step in the right direction. Life is easy - back to being a kid. You blush when you make a mistake. Everyone around you is chilled. You are free to fail without damaging your or their perception of how things are supposed to be. Even better - you don’t have any previous experiences which can cause biases that predispose you in doing one thing or another. You simply treat the information that comes your way with fresh eyes having only life experiences to guide you. Amazing!

The Grind

Now comes my favorite part - which through personal observations seems to be the hardest to execute as well. I’m talking of the fading art of getting things done. Yup, you heard me. This step is all about doing and not talking about doing. Yet there are so many managers, evangelists, philosophers, and people with artificially inflated egos and fancy titles that skip it - effectively ending up with little to no mastery over the field they operate in. It is simple - after knowing what you want to achieve(The Path) and getting comfortable being uncomfortable3 (The n00b) you have nothing else but to work. Work like there is no tomorrow. Rinse and repeat. Forget emotions. You are not there to develop feelings about your craft. Empty your mind and get sh*t done. Focus!

The Reflection

Nothing you’ve done so far is even remotely useful if you don’t reflect on it. You have to internalize the experience that you gained. Remember what was said earlier about negative outcomes giving more learning than positive ones? Here is where you use that. When you evaluate a previous problem in the light of new evidence you will update your mental model of how the world around you works. That way next time you face a similar problem you will effectively start form where you left off.

It is important to say that this process happens automatically all the time in humans. I’m talking about the limbic mind (monkey brain). Unfortunately it is only conscious of vital things like self-preservation, food and sleep. Skills like coding, skateboarding and climbing require continuous and dedicated effort.

Closing the loop

In the process of attaining mastery one comes back to the four steps described above again and again. From time to time you feel the need for self-actualization in order to get back on The Path. Equally, you may start to think you are proficient and no longer a noob. The truth is that the process of learning never stops. If you are serious about mastering a craft you will always try to find new things about it that excite you and better ways to attack a problem. At the same time we don’t work in isolation. There are roughly 8 billion of us on planet Earth. There is always someone pushing the envelope. And with the increasing speed with which we communicate, the ability to send and receive data from every corner of the globe, one simple and powerful idea emerges - being a noob is a state we should embrace rather than push away4.

Lastly there are probably about 10000 hours in front of you. Some will be a breeze and some will feel agonizingly slow/painful/boring. Set yourself for success and enjoy all of it!

Conclusion

In a world where we are bombarded with fast solutions to complex problems, and automated systems and apps that do all the work for us, we become complacent. We take advantage to the point where we no longer dare to dream and challenge the status quo. We just flow on the stream of thoughts, suggestions and recommendations that everything and everyone gives us. We veer off from a life full of purpose and become pleasure seekers and “attention whores”. To remedy this I suggest going back to the basics. Forget shortcuts to success. Be honest with yourself. Be courageous in the face of adversity. Embrace the healthy hardship that comes along with exposing yourself to new experiences.

I am not the first to come up with these ideas - I am sure of it. However, internalizing and synthesizing them in writing felt so damn great.


  1. Constant until the Heat death of the universe, a change at a cosmic scale or another scientific reality bending discovery at least. For the purposes of this writing the current understanding of constant will suffice. ↩︎

  2. I’m talking about black swans ↩︎

  3. I heard that one first from Mr. Ross Edgley ↩︎

  4. Paul Graham recently wrote ↩︎