There's a lot of good advice, but I can't recommend this enough:
> Stretch.
Programming and using computers is both sedentary and physically taxing. You accumulate stress in muscles. Office culture often ignores the needs of body.
Shrug your shoulders as high as they'll go, then slowly lower them for 15 seconds. Release your neck. Feel your back extend, and the energy move through your arms. Don't let the constrained use of a keyboard dominate these neuromuscular pathways. Take breaks, and find gentle stretches that feel good. Stress in the body can be just as detrimental to thought as a preconceived notion in your mind.
Hey, cool. I was 19 when that song hit the charts and I understand a lot of those things a lot better now. It all seemed quite sensible, but I remember that time recent enough to know there's just no way a healthy young adult can use that advice--at all.
And I always wondered about the sunscreen. I bet it depends on your geographic location a lot. Sure, if you get powerful direct sunlight on your skin it's important, but here (NL) that's just a few weeks per year, if we're lucky :-) -- And yes, that's when I wear sunscreen, it's just that considering scientifically proven benefits, I don't understand why "wear sunscreen" is stressed so much vs "eat many fresh vegetables" or "do something that really raises your heart frequency once per day, even just shortly" sound so much more universal (including boosting your immune system and thereby preventing cancer and wrinkly skin!)
Ah, now I understand. You're saying that it's fallacious to believe that an upswing will necessarily have a downswing, and vice versa, is that correct?
What I understood (due to hastily coming to conclusions) was it is dangerous to believe that life has lows and highs.
That's right, but it's also important to realize that, in fact, there is no grand narrative[1].
Humans are compulsive pattern-recognizers and can turn any arbitrary independent sequence of events into a story.
That doesn't mean the story is wrong, per se, but it does mean you cannot presume to know where a story "is leading up to". Because the only "complete" story is the one that is told afterwards.
The author, as it seemed to me, opened the topic of three semi-related issues -
people who've done an incredible amount,
social media and how he reacted to growth,
and how life is after you've reached (what seems to be) your highest point
- all of which are fascinating, yet did not wrap any one of them up.
The internet is filled with bad advice walking around as anecdotal just so story's. If you are looking for more than entertainment, I suggest you avoid anything that shows up in 'story' format.
That's true. I was hoping to stir thought in the reader rather than provide an answer.
If I had to wrap it up, I think it would be that we have to strive anyway even if it's "futile" in some sense of the word. Because of course it isn't. We do what we do, and that's enough. Perhaps there doesn't need to be a reason, a goal, or an end.
> "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's there are few."
As someone who likes to read quotes and examine the wisdom within (or at least I tell myself that), I see no wisdom here.
The only possible interpretation which I find makes sense, is that the priorities of the expert are much clearer then the beginners. The expert (through experience and intelligence) knows what matters, and what details are not critical. The beginner however, places great importance on things which are near-worthless.
If that is the more correct interpretation, then I find the wording clumsy. If this isn't then please enlighten me.
I first heard this quote in the context of learning the game of Go. If you're not familiar, Go has very very few rules, and the game starts off with a 19x19 grid. Two players alternate placing stones on the grid.
A beginner sees 361 positions to chose from at the start, 360 to choose from after the first move, 359 after the second and so on. An expert has a much, much narrower view of the board.
To reword the quote, tear it apart a bit more (ruin some of its beauty even): A beginner sees all possibilities because the beginner does not see past the first step; an expert sees a path even though the field is wide open because the expert knows where to step 100 steps from now.
Edit: I should add, if you find the style of the quote a bit obtuse, it is in keeping with much of how Zen is taught. A key point in Zen is the idea that the universe of knowledge can be split 3 ways: that which you know, that which you don't know, and that which you don't know that you don't know. The goal is to decrease the size of that third portion, but you cannot simply "show" someone this knowledge. Each person must discover it on their own.
That's the OPPOSITE of the beginner's mind. And the beginner's mind is the zen way.
Jobs didn't see his choice just because was the only one: it is that the other people had already discarded that option because they were "expert player"
And by the way, zen is not about knowledge is about leaving the words to the dogs to eat and being in touch with the present time.
The second interpretation of that quote is that beginners can also see/find things that experts would miss. Not surprisingly, that quote is from Suzuki's book "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind"[1]. I view both interpretations as valid.
And beautifully, both interpretations are applicable to Steve. His early success with Apple could be attributed to a beginner's mind. Later, his ability to come back and rescue the company could only be the work of an expert.
IMO, That is a narrow view. What is the goal here, start-up or business? If the goal is startup you may find that it never stops trying to start.
There are great established companies to work for and great startups to work for.
There are also terrible established companies to work for and terrible startups to work for.
I would also like to note that at good, established corporations there are two kinds of technical staff. The passionate kind with a decent mix of technical skills, business acumen and communication skills who work hard,are presented with interesting opportunities and are rewarded for their hard work, and the other kind who seam to always be complaining about the corporate environment and how it is holding them back. Often the "other kind" possesses adequate technical skills but has not taken the time to develop the business acumen and communication skills necessary to be proficient in a high-stakes business.
The first type will strive at any business whether established or start-up. The second type will likewise exhibit similar performance no matter the established date stamped on the business's letterhead.
This is quite harsh sarcasm, but if it isn't true for the GP, it's true for so many people. Well said.