The Crossroads Between Should and Must

I want to start off by saying I believe that this article was beautifully written. Anyone reading from outside of expos comp can find it here.

"what am I so afraid of"
1. failure
2. loneliness
3. uncertainty
4. not living up to my potential
5. regretting things later in life
6. death of loved ones
7.
8.
9.
10.

I have reached the crossroads and am ready to make the choice between should and must. I do not want to do what others are telling me to do anymore, I want to do what I want to do. Not only do I want to do what I want to do, but I'd like to succeed in doing it. When we read part of this article in class I was not very into it. I read it last night and again this morning before writing this and find it absolutely inspiring. It honestly felt like I was listening to a motivational speaker having a one on one conversation with me as I read. She opened my eyes and helped me realize that you do not have to do something if you don't want to do it. This doesn't apply to everything. I still have to pay taxes and do some schoolwork, but if I find myself unhappy with a situation, I can and must fix it. I don't believe anyone has ever quit doing something they hated to follow their dream and then regretted it. The author really has her life figured out, she knows what she wants and how to obtain it. I think everyone must figure out what she has been able to, where they want to go and how to get there. There may be obstacles in the way but if you truly want something, these obstacles will be easy to overcome. We all have dreams and aspirations, but what is stopping us from going out and acquiring them? Uncertainty. This is something I have always struggled with, but I am learning to not fear. I used to not do anything unless I was first certain of the outcome, now I am trying to become more spontaneous. It has led me on some adventures that I would never think I would be on. I am ready to choose must instead of should. Who's with me?

Look At My Brain

I will be using this post primarily to explain my change of heart over the past couple of days. Being called out in class was something I took constructively. It made me realize that I REALLY have no motivation anymore. This realization, however, was positive. It pushed me in the direction to change what my masterpiece is, from programming/gaming interests to finding out how/why people are motivated. I am actually very interested in what keeps people going day in and day out. I plan to document my research and have a final project that may be able to help other people find motivation who are lacking. Preston and I had a long talk and we came to an idea that I could also research why people are so motivated by video games, as they do not present real life accomplishments and pretty much take people out of the real world for their preferred virtual one.

My new found masterpiece is something I created, and is therefore creative! My research and documentation will be primarily centered around collaboration, so I will need the help from others. I'm not sure if anyone is doing something similar to me or could somehow fit in with my project, but I am definitely going to check it out and see if that would be possible. I am actually starting to get excited about this project, HAVE I FOUND MOTIVATION????

This is just a test

I am sitting here at my computer without a clue in the world about what I should write for my "test" relating to my masterpiece. Since I am having trouble with finding motivation to even type out one blog post, I have a few questions that aren't really related to my masterpiece but I would like answered:
1.What does motivation mean to you?
2.What gives you motivation to wake up in the morning, go to school, do extra curricular activities, or do homework?
3. How do you transfer this motivation into progress/success?
4. Is this progress seen and commented on by others, ultimately giving you more motivation and pushing you to do more, or do you do it simply for yourself?
5. If you do it for yourself solely, how is it that you keep going?
It is only recently that I have lost reason to do schoolwork. Prior to this semester, I did my work for me, to prove to myself that I could be successful and get good grades. For some reason, maybe "Senioritis", I have lost all motivation to continue this trend. If anyone would take the time to answer the questions posted above it would be much obliged, and might help me get some ideas on how to get back on track. Thanks.

Entrepreneurial Writing

I do see my work differently when I think of my self as an entrepreneur. Instead of just looking at it as something that I want and like to do, I now see it as something that may bring value to other people. I am (hopefully) going to create something that has value to the world. I think this a goal that would be great to be met. I don't care if it is even just bringing value to a sole person's life, it will be worth it in the end. I think we as humans have an innate want to make other human's lives better. I would spend all those hours working on my masterpiece if I could see the smile of one person using what I have created. Think of our class as a whole and how much we could collectively do for this world, all it takes is an idea and some support.

Entrepreneur

Bill Gates is definitely and entrepreneur. He created something with extreme value by exploring a brand new idea. His idea, at the time, seemed insane. However, he pushed on and created one of the most successful companies in the world.

I am also an entrepreneur, or hope to be. At the moment, I have created nothing with real value. I plan to explore my options and hopefully be able to create something that has value to me and to everyone who would take the time to view what I have done.

I think our culture does associate expertise with entrepreneurship. We consider people that are entrepreneurs to be "experts" in the field of their choice. However, you can be extremely successful in an area or with an idea without being an expert in it, it will just take ample amounts of hard work. I think this idea should be changed, we need to remind people that you do not have to be good at something to have success in it. Once people understand this, they may have the will to pursue the thing that they have always wanted to pursue. Being an entrepreneur also means being someone who is willing to take risks, to put  life as they know it on the line to further their future. It is truly inspiring when you hear a success story from someone who (as was mentioned in class today) was living in the back of a van. Wouldn't you like to be one of these success stories? To be known as the person who "made it"?

10 Questions

Bill Gates
1. At what point in your life did you know that you wanted to code for a living?
2. At what point did you know you had "made it"?
3. What are some necessary attributes needed to make it in this field?
4. Do you still code?
5. What does success mean to you?
6. What is the one piece of advice that you would give to someone who is interested in this field of study?
7. Is there anything you wished you had done in your youth that you did not?
8. How do you see the next 10-15 years of technology panning out?
9. Would you suggest this field of study to someone who loves math, being at a computer, creating things, and solving issues?
10. Where do I start?

Me Extremely Late Launch

Soooo... I have been slacking off so much in this course. I have reached my breaking point and decided that now is the time to stop acting like a jackass and get my act together. Here it is: my launch. If the question is what I want to do with my life and my career, the answer would be to open up a business where I could work from home coding. I would do private coding contracts for businesses and anyone else who was in need. If the question is how I can relate this and further my skills using this course and blog as my paint and easel, I'd say the first thing that comes to mind would be learning java script. I have looked into and signed up for an online course that supposedly will teach me the basics of java script in a short period of time. I plan to document my adventure through the online course here on my blog and hopefully code something worth viewing by the end of the school year.