Thoughts and Stories

Well I’m going to have my first post up by the weekend and I thought I’d lead into it by giving an overview of how this section of the site will work.

There are many things that people go through life wishing they could do (dance like Michael Jackson, paint like Titian, run parkour like that guy in James Bond, play chess like Mikhail Tal etc.) but most people either don’t have the drive to do what is necessary to get there or they don’t know how.

There is a general assumption in the world that we are gifted to do certain things while others we might as well not even try. Under this illusion people have put their dreams on hold until they just fill their life with regret. I believe that anything is possible to learn through hard work, perseverance, and because I’m a Christian I attribute all end success (and middle success and success in general) to the blessing of God. However, if you’re not a Christian don’t worry non-Christians do amazing things all the time so clearly if I’m right and God grants success than he doesn’t do it along religious lines .

The first thing about teaching yourself anything is that you need to be patient and develop necessary skills before you do anything big. I asked my sister how she learned to draw so well and she told me that she had spent hours drawing hands or eyes. When you endeavour to learn something you must start with the basics. Learn the openings in chess before you mimic a style, learn the motions and basic movements for crossfit and parkour before you actually try leaping to buildings.  Most people end up quitting at this stage, because they want the end result of what they’re learning immediately. So don’t be afraid to spend months or even years learning the basics or fundamental skills. Learn to love practice, you’ll be doing a lot of it unless you don’t want anything.

Next, don’t be afraid to learn by reading or watching videos. Everyone learn differently and at almost all phases of a new project someone knows how to do something better. Look online for resources or use my two favorite places of learning: the oracle (wikipedia), and the library. The important thing is to make sure you’re learning somehow.

Finally, a note on talent. Everyone has different gifts and it is possible that there are people a lot more talented than you are in your new project. Ask them for help, they are one of the best ways of learning. Whatever you do, don’t let their talent discourage you. When Bruce Pandolfini met Josh Waitzkin I’m sure Pandolfini could have trounced him at chess. So respect talent and be thankful you have it, but don’t get discouraged as you don’t.

I come from a long line of teachers and if you can teach other people you can teach yourself. As you read along with my adventures I’ll try to put down different teaching methods I use. That is one of my talents: I have a good head for creating systems of learning and I’ll be exercising that talent to the utmost in the coming months. So now, sit back enjoy the ride and let’s start doing some obscure crap.