Repetition => Pattern Recognition
A friend, who is studying to be a dermato-pathologist related the following story to me. Paraphrasing:
"As a skin/cell doctor, you basically look at cells under a microscope all day. And they all look the same (it is frustrating day in and day out). Then, six/seven months in, something happens. You begin to see the differences with confidence. You can tell apart a sick cell from a healthy one, one cancerous type from another ..."
So it goes. It reminded me of learning English as a second language when I was 10. At first, everything sounded like the gibberish in a Charlie Brown cartoon. Wawawa - wawa. Then, one day (or phase of days), it falls into place. "And there was light. And it was good."
I wonder what happens if the resident gets discouraged and gives up at month five. Or what if it takes longer than six months to begin to have the patterns fall into place? What if it takes longer than a year to learn a foreign language, and you still find yourself among foreigners?
(On a side note, there is a fascinating history with a 1977 Architecture book called A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander. Some of the patterns we needn't learn from scratch - they have been documented!)
Dream vs. Reality
Of course, one could always give up on a dream - startup dream or dream to sing or whatever. For a new entrepreneur, there are challenges galore. Why bother? Why not re-apply for a comfortable six figure job with a big name company? Don't you want that nice apartment? Don't you want that new car? C'mon, it's not giving up - you're just taking the smarter way to success. So it goes.
Success, however you measure it, is about persistence. And it is about learning to be resourceful (and resourcefulness can help you sell your first "lemonade"). You start somewhere, and being resourceful, you persist and make it (make what?) better every day. Then, one day, there was light. And it was good.
As with learning a new language, it seems that sticking around and persisting really leads to result. And just to be clear, persisting doesn't mean inflexibility. Truth is, you will be changing your ideas and approaches all the time. Rather, persistence is about making progress. And the question may become more about how to optimize progress, rather than whether there will be one. So, when you become discouraged or become tempted to take the easy way out, consider stepping forward rather than stepping back.
"Never give in. Never! Never! Never!"
I admit, I don't speak entirely out of experience. Much of it is out of faith. After all, I am still learning and growing - including how to code. And I am exploring a new venture (calling it Talent Tap for now), after failing with a previous one.
I am comforted by the words of those who had faith before me. At the risk of being overly dramatic, I find it fun to record Churchill's words from his 1941 speech at the Harrow School:
Churchill exhorting a nation to hang in there.
Doing vs. Thinking
And hitting that tipping point, where patterns come together, where momentum builds is not just about thinking and planning. Instead, it's more about iterating by doing. Sometimes it takes a bit of an attitude shift. And with that, I'm going to try 12 days of building.
A friend, who is studying to be a dermato-pathologist related the following story to me. Paraphrasing:
"As a skin/cell doctor, you basically look at cells under a microscope all day. And they all look the same (it is frustrating day in and day out). Then, six/seven months in, something happens. You begin to see the differences with confidence. You can tell apart a sick cell from a healthy one, one cancerous type from another ..."
So it goes. It reminded me of learning English as a second language when I was 10. At first, everything sounded like the gibberish in a Charlie Brown cartoon. Wawawa - wawa. Then, one day (or phase of days), it falls into place. "And there was light. And it was good."
I wonder what happens if the resident gets discouraged and gives up at month five. Or what if it takes longer than six months to begin to have the patterns fall into place? What if it takes longer than a year to learn a foreign language, and you still find yourself among foreigners?
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| Most patterns in life don't stand out quite so easily |
Dream vs. Reality
Of course, one could always give up on a dream - startup dream or dream to sing or whatever. For a new entrepreneur, there are challenges galore. Why bother? Why not re-apply for a comfortable six figure job with a big name company? Don't you want that nice apartment? Don't you want that new car? C'mon, it's not giving up - you're just taking the smarter way to success. So it goes.
Success, however you measure it, is about persistence. And it is about learning to be resourceful (and resourcefulness can help you sell your first "lemonade"). You start somewhere, and being resourceful, you persist and make it (make what?) better every day. Then, one day, there was light. And it was good.
As with learning a new language, it seems that sticking around and persisting really leads to result. And just to be clear, persisting doesn't mean inflexibility. Truth is, you will be changing your ideas and approaches all the time. Rather, persistence is about making progress. And the question may become more about how to optimize progress, rather than whether there will be one. So, when you become discouraged or become tempted to take the easy way out, consider stepping forward rather than stepping back.
"Never give in. Never! Never! Never!"
I admit, I don't speak entirely out of experience. Much of it is out of faith. After all, I am still learning and growing - including how to code. And I am exploring a new venture (calling it Talent Tap for now), after failing with a previous one.
I am comforted by the words of those who had faith before me. At the risk of being overly dramatic, I find it fun to record Churchill's words from his 1941 speech at the Harrow School:
Churchill exhorting a nation to hang in there.
Doing vs. Thinking
And hitting that tipping point, where patterns come together, where momentum builds is not just about thinking and planning. Instead, it's more about iterating by doing. Sometimes it takes a bit of an attitude shift. And with that, I'm going to try 12 days of building.
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