My Most Important Mistake

I want to say something to the young ones today who are trying to change the world. Maybe this experience of mine would help them. I'm not that old. Maybe we are just separated by a decade or a half. But those 10 years I managed my time wrongly could spell a better future for you. I'm not living a miserable life and I'm thankful with all that I am today but somehow I could have done better if someone older told me this thing before.


I see a lot of people who spend their youth looking for inspiration. They would try to meet and get in touch with those men and women they look up to. Well, it's not bad at all. Listening and reading from their success stories would help. They might give you a thing or two about fighting obstacles. Maybe a word from them that would light the fire up. 


What's wrong is when these things occupy your time more than it should be. Inspiration is like a drug of the mind. You should not overdose yourself with it or else, it puts you in a dangerous position to think that you can do everything. It sounds good, right? No. You can't do anything if you aren't learning and training yourself with the basics, the techniques and the details. Without these things, you'll be like pumping a balloon up with too much hot air in it without actually knowing where to go. Sure, you might end up in a good place. But the point is, you don't have control of the destination if you lack the skills.


There are not a few managers who think that inspiration is what mostly needed by their men for engagement. It is, but only with the right amount. The innovators and successes of today spent their lives training, learning and practicing. Maybe they read quotes, self help books or heard advice from others. But if you check on their stories, they burned 99% of their time making themselves better than 99% of the people that also tried to do the things they do. They coded thousands of programs, wrote hundreds of stories and researched more different ways to improve many things. That is how they arrived into where they are now. And to the not so young, it is never too late as many of the successful people in history only started doing what they do in their 40s and 50s. 


Inspiration is a good thing. But I see it coming naturally when you find that thing you are interested doing with many years of your life. Inspiration would only push you an inch in doing things you don't like at all. But finding that one you love doing, most especially in something you are naturally good at, or if not, it is where you are willing to spend thousand of hours practicing and training, add the inspiration to it and you will reach thousands of miles.