If I could go back to 9th grade
This is what I'd do
#1 - I wish I would have gotten really good grades and kept on caring about school like I did at GVCA. After 8th grade, I didn't care about school whatsoever. I did the minimum possible to still get A's and B's on the report card. I've learned very little in school since 8th grade. Seriously.
#2 - I wish I had read soo many more books. And not just technical books; books on philosophy, books on analyzing people, books on sales, novels, etc...
#3 - I wish I could be a really good Christian; its soo hard for me. I have everything I want and most of the time I feel like I have no need for God
#4 - I wish I had never listened to Eminem. I haven't listened to him for a few months, but I used to play his stuff religiously.
#5 - I wish that I would have focused on Flash. I could probably be one of the best Flash developers in the world right now. Instead, I wasted my time with friends.
There's a ton of things that I wouldn't take back though. I've learned a lot since 9th grade, and I have so much more to learn. They say "the more you know, the less you know", and I totally agree.
Right now, the only thing I want to learn in school is Spanish. It's a reality that there are millions of Mexicans coming into California; anyone with half a brain and a 5th grade education could just imagine the economic opportunities possible if they could harness the power of this new population.
October – February = Heaven
It's the moooost wonderful tiiiiime of the yeeear.... Ok but seriously, let me list why the next 5 months are straight up heaven to me.
October - Finally, I can walk outside without breaking a sweat. Wake up in the morning and it's in the low 40's outside, with the wind blowing through the trees across the street. It makes a nice sound.
But the best thing about October: The Playoffs. I'm sitting on the couch watching the first Yankees/Tigers game right now. I have so many memories from past Octobers that I will never forget; Luis Gonzalez' clutch hit in the 9th to beat the Yankees, the Angels beating the Giants in the World Series, and most of all, The Red Sox coming back from 0-3 to do the impossible and break the curse. Hopefully this year will bring more unforgettable memories...
Another thing that I love about October is college football on Saturdays. Go Big Blue!
November - Ok well let me just say this about November: if Alpine Meadows opens in November, you can bet your bottom dollar I'm going to shred that mountain before Christmas. November is amazing; it's getting real cold now, so I finally get to put my North Face jacket on. November is the month that I sit in class and fantasize about skiing at Alpine Meadows. That's all I think about. Skiing. I live to ski.
December - Christmas. Oh... Need I say more ? Christmas. I could go on and on and on and on and on and on about how Christmas time is the best 2 week span known to mankind. But I have to get back to do some more Flash/AMFPHP developing. I'll just skip the whole Christmas section, and go to January.
January - Skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing
February - Skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing, skiing
And THOSE are my reasons why October - February are heaven.
Being well rounded is a bad excuse
For mediocrity.
I don't believe in being well rounded anymore. I don't believe in knowing a little bit about everything. I used to try to know a little bit about everything that was going on; what was happening in sports, technology, business, the blogosphere, etc... I don't want to be like that anymore. It's all a waste of my life. The only thing I should be doing is becoming great at what I love to do; flash developing. After reading The Fountainhead I came to this conclusion. And I'm not talking about trying to become good at something you suck at; find something that you're naturally good at and become the best.
There is a long list of reasons why I have come to this belief; I will begin to list a few.
#1 - Love work, love life - How many people do you know that are miserable simply because they work jobs that they hate ? Last time I checked, nearly 87% of people don't like the jobs that they work at. Sucks for you buddy, that's 1/3 of your day that you get to spend trapped in a cage, realizing that you should be doing what you love. Oh the pain and agony!
#2 - The experts make all the money - True in nearly every industry (I have yet to find an industry that this is not true). Here are a few examples: professional sports - the best players get paid the most; freelancing - the best charge the most; colleges - the best educations cost the most (a bunch of bs - the best educations are free; from real life experiences... but whatever)
#3 - The more you charge, the less you have to work - I'm going to make up this next statistic, but you will understand I think: for every one polo shirt that Abercrombie sells, Old Navy has to sell 10 polo shirts to make the same profits. This is terrible for Old Navy; they have to be selling like crazy to stay in business. Rahul Sood said it best --"Growing market share by slashing prices is ultimately a losing proposition."
#4 - Mediocrity is the bane of human existence - What an unfulfilling life. Great, you're above average at everything you do. You're going to get an above average paying job, an above average car, an above average house. How depressing! You're in between greatness and average! I'd rather suck at everything else and just be the greatest flash developer in the world than being mediocre at everything my hands touch. I must admit, I have tried to be like this for the last few years and it has been completely unfulfilling
#5 - The greatest make all the money - I said it in number 2 and I'll say it again. The world revolves around money; my blog revolves around money; everything in the universe revolves around money. However, I don't want to come across as greedy; let me crush that impression right now. I am very ambitious, and want to be the world's greatest at whatever I decide to do with my life. And money will come with it.
In a world of rapidly evolving technology and competition, becoming the best has never been so easy, and staying the best has never been so hard. Look at Terrel Owens; he was the best wide receiver in the NFL until Chad Johnson came. He couldn't step it up to the next level though, which (my speculation) has led him to an attempted suicide. Life must suck if you can't stay the greatest.
Once you get to the top, stay there.. And stay there for a long time... Do whatever it takes to stay the best, and never follow. Remember: second always tries harder.
Anyways. Don't be well rounded. Be great. At one thing. And you will own the whole world.
The three things you can live off of
Food, gas, and books.
I just looked over my statement for the last month, and those three make up for nearly $500 of my expenses. Well, books made up for about $350 of it; the rest is just gas and food... And you know what ? I felt like I've spent my money wisely for the first time in my life. Usually I would blow $500 on clothes (well, I'm about to blow $1k on new ski equipment and clothes :p, but that's justifiable...), but I think that buying books is almost as good an investment as buying food for yourself. I don't know why, but it just gives me that feeling.
Read to achieve. Seriously.
You’re pushing my buttons… By not pushing yours
All it is is a tiny little green button with an icon of a phone on it. Yes, I'm talking about the "answer" button on your cell phone. You own a "mobile" phone so that you can answer it when you are mobile, or not in the vicinity of your land connection. And when I call you on that mobile phone, I expect you to answer it every time.
One of my biggest pet peeves is people that never answer their cell phones... As in the people you can count on to not answer them. Um... What's the point of you having a cell phone if you're not going to answer it? It's so easy, even if you're busy, just click the answer button and let the person know you'll call them back later. But voicemail, everytime ? That isn't going to land you a job for a new client, now is it ? That's not going to instill any sense of responsibility you have to your parents, will it ? The answer is only two letters long -- NO.
I am willing to make exceptions though, here is a list of a few:
#1 - If you're in a meeting with an important person. People that aren't important, tell them to hold on for a sec and take the call
#2 - If you are drunk or at a party. Self explanatory I think...
#3 - You're skiing
#4 - You're with your girlfriend... Haha JUST KIDDING. Tell your girlfriend to shutup and answer your phone.
#5 - If you're making a bunch of money doing something, and don't want to be interrupted. Money is more important. Period.
#6 - If you're in church... Every time there is an altar call, without exception, somebody's phone goes off. Turn off your stupid phone while you're in church, come on, have some respect for God...
Yeah so those are just a few good reasons.
I'll be down in Mountain View again this weekend, another meeting. Like always, call me if you'd like to say hi or something. My cell phone is always posted online :)
How to win every argument
I think arguing is stupid and a waste of time, at least if you're going to try to argue with me. This is how I deal with arguments:
You tell the person they're right, even when you know they're wrong. When you walk away, not only do you laugh it off, but you are so much more relaxed. If you really care a lot about what you're arguing about, shove it in the person's face and tell him/her to "Google it". And if you're wrong, then admit you're wrong. Wait, you already admitted it in the beginning.
The only thing that matters is what you think, because nobody can change that. People can try to impose their beliefs and convictions on you, but at the end of the day, you, and only you, can make up your own mind.
Stay true to yourself and don't worry about what anybody else thinks. Seriously.