Book Report:
Keys to Success by Napoleon Hill is a self help book designed to help the reader succeed at whatever task they have before them. The chapters are broken down into individual steps each with a self contained piece of advice that is relatively self contained but all advice in all chapters have a synergistic effect with one another. For example, defining purpose and making a plan is good even if the reader does not take care of their body and health.
Worth noting about this book is that Hill is not afraid to talk about or even embrace the darker side of human nature. Even in the first chapter, he states that all rewards are related to or derivations of
Self Preservation
Love
Fear
Sex
Desire for life after death
Freedom for mind and body
Anger
Hate
Desire for recognition and self expression
Wealth
This is particularly noteworthy because several self help books tend to read like they were written by a person who overindulged in drugs in the 60s. Talking about how the most important thing is love and to come together. This book is actually focused on results and is more than happy to say that often times in a situation like a start up, wealth is the primary motivator and that as a leader, you should be generous with that wealth not because it is the right thing to do but because it will inspire your team to make you more money. Even the chapter "Use Cosmic Habitforce" which definitely sounds like a Pink Floyd song written under the effects of powerful psychedelic drugs is just a chapter about how to use the fact that things are influenced by their environment to your advantage.
Another worthwhile thing to point out is that this book focuses on actually making a change to the personality of the reader. Many self help books are not actually meant to help anybody, they are meant to make the reader feel better about themselves and not actually improve anything. It is the classic 90's movie delusion of "Just be yourself and everything will turn out fine." Well I was an antisocial chain smoker who drank too much and was really mean to people for no reason other than mean spirited cheap laughs. My life turned around when I decided to actually make a positive step towards being a better person. Adapting my personality to the world instead of expecting the world to adapt to my personality and true to the promises made in Hill's book; it worked.
Many chapters of the book are like exactly what one would expect from a self help book as many characteristics of successful people are simple ideas but difficult execution. Chapters like going the extra mile are obvious but worth reminding the reader that working hard is a major component of success. Something difficult like running a marathon is not a difficult concept. Run until you cant run anymore for a few months and then on the day of the race, run 26.2 miles without stopping. Very simple concept but actually enduring the pain and agony of running every morning is brutal when Netflix and a soft bed are just a stones throw away
Overall, this book is the standard recipe for success with a health dose of honesty. It is focused on driving results and living a healthy lifestyle without pandering to the target audience of self help books. It reads almost like an academic study rather than something passed off to the run of the mill Barnes and Noble bottom feeder. Definitely a worthwhile read.
Critique:
When I first got the assignment to read a self help book, I was definitely not looking forward to it. Due to my narcissism I felt like it was going to be a stupid waste of time I do for the extra credit. I fully expected to read a bunch of things I know to be false about loving every part of yourself and how love conquers everything. However, I was pleasantly surprised as Hill's book was much more honest than any self help book has any right to be.
Hill is not interested in catering to anybody's feelings and gives people a no nonsense approach to achieving whatever the readers goal might be. He embraces the dark side of human nature without judgement and recognizes things like the fact that some people just want sex and money, not some high minded ideal about changing the world for the better.
Also the section that I really like was the one about taking care of your body. It is important to understand the relationship between one's body and one's mind. If you work hard and exercise to take care of yourself physically, you have a tendency to do better in all areas of your life. Having been in great shape as a collegiate tennis player and in terrible shape as am obese chain smoker, I understand this concept better than most and found Hill's thoughts to be spot on.
Friday, February 26, 2016
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Week 7 - Long Few Days
Part One
So our video planning this week was relatively uneventful since we accidentally did it last week. But like most things with this group, we decided quickly and efficiently. Our topic of choice is Cloud Computing and it's business implications. We figured this would be an interesting topic not just for those with an extensive technical background, but also a person with a more limited understanding of programming and technology in general
Part Two
Watching the presenters on those TED talks is an invaluable asset to anybody who wishes to improve their ability to give a presentation. I personally consider myself to be pretty good at this. I generally do not get all that nervous unless my jokes start to bomb so I already have a leg up on most people. One thing in particular I noticed and enjoy when watching a presentation is when the speaker is slightly less formal. I like to watch presentations that are more like conversations rather an information transferring from a detached authority figure to the rest of us rubes. It helps keep the presentation interesting and overall audience engagement.
So our video planning this week was relatively uneventful since we accidentally did it last week. But like most things with this group, we decided quickly and efficiently. Our topic of choice is Cloud Computing and it's business implications. We figured this would be an interesting topic not just for those with an extensive technical background, but also a person with a more limited understanding of programming and technology in general
Part Two
Watching the presenters on those TED talks is an invaluable asset to anybody who wishes to improve their ability to give a presentation. I personally consider myself to be pretty good at this. I generally do not get all that nervous unless my jokes start to bomb so I already have a leg up on most people. One thing in particular I noticed and enjoy when watching a presentation is when the speaker is slightly less formal. I like to watch presentations that are more like conversations rather an information transferring from a detached authority figure to the rest of us rubes. It helps keep the presentation interesting and overall audience engagement.
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Week 6 - Team Effort
Step 1 - Capstone Ideas
Our team briefly discussed our capstone ideas and it seems like we have a few common elements. One is that we want to help people or solve a problem. Many of our ideas focused on the consumer side of development and we had a lot of ideas focused around teaching people a useful skill or trying to make a person's life easier.
One idea that stood out to me was some kind of interactive learning program that teaches kids how to program. Nobody would doubt that the ability to code is a useful skill and the earlier a child learns these skills, the better off they will be if they decide to go into the tech field. Even if they choose a different profession, the problem solving and critical thinking skills they develop will be invaluable regardless of their chosen vocation.
Step 2 - Update
This week was the first time I was able to meet with my team. I honestly couldn't be happier. Everybody seems capable, driven, and most importantly, easy to work with. Like any new kid I was a little worried that I would not fit in because either I did not like them or they did not like me but I do not see us having that problem. We are pretty much in sync on a lot of ideas and when we disagree, it is all in the interest of producing the best result.
As for capstone ideas, we went over the possibilities of what we want to do but we have not started working too much on that. This is not something I am worried about as we still have a fair amount of time to work on it and I am extremely confident that we will not have any difficulty tackling any challenges sent our way.
Our team briefly discussed our capstone ideas and it seems like we have a few common elements. One is that we want to help people or solve a problem. Many of our ideas focused on the consumer side of development and we had a lot of ideas focused around teaching people a useful skill or trying to make a person's life easier.
One idea that stood out to me was some kind of interactive learning program that teaches kids how to program. Nobody would doubt that the ability to code is a useful skill and the earlier a child learns these skills, the better off they will be if they decide to go into the tech field. Even if they choose a different profession, the problem solving and critical thinking skills they develop will be invaluable regardless of their chosen vocation.
Step 2 - Update
This week was the first time I was able to meet with my team. I honestly couldn't be happier. Everybody seems capable, driven, and most importantly, easy to work with. Like any new kid I was a little worried that I would not fit in because either I did not like them or they did not like me but I do not see us having that problem. We are pretty much in sync on a lot of ideas and when we disagree, it is all in the interest of producing the best result.
As for capstone ideas, we went over the possibilities of what we want to do but we have not started working too much on that. This is not something I am worried about as we still have a fair amount of time to work on it and I am extremely confident that we will not have any difficulty tackling any challenges sent our way.
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Week 5 - Recovery
Part 1 - Teammate Coaching
Lawrence - Lawrence has a solid career path and goals very similar to my own. I have found that there are two types of successful computer scientists. There are those who wish to build something completely new and their dream is to start their own startup. And there are those like Lawrence and I who would rather negate the risk and lend our talents to a more established shop. As for coaching, I would say that Lawrence that he has a good goal and should check into trying to find an internship ideally where he wishes to work. If that is not possible, try to find a place that is a direct competitor to where you wish to work. You will get relevant training and I'm sure a recruiter would love to stick it to a rival and steal you away.
Huy - Huy's plan is basically exactly the same as mine and we are in about the exact same spot. Sounds like he landed an internship and will be working in industry sooner rather than later. My only coaching to Huy would be to absolutely kill it on the job since hiring from within is generally easier than going outside. Of course, I know he will but it is important enough to be worth repeating.
Part 2 - Capstone Ideas
Lawrence - Lawrence has a solid career path and goals very similar to my own. I have found that there are two types of successful computer scientists. There are those who wish to build something completely new and their dream is to start their own startup. And there are those like Lawrence and I who would rather negate the risk and lend our talents to a more established shop. As for coaching, I would say that Lawrence that he has a good goal and should check into trying to find an internship ideally where he wishes to work. If that is not possible, try to find a place that is a direct competitor to where you wish to work. You will get relevant training and I'm sure a recruiter would love to stick it to a rival and steal you away.
Huy - Huy's plan is basically exactly the same as mine and we are in about the exact same spot. Sounds like he landed an internship and will be working in industry sooner rather than later. My only coaching to Huy would be to absolutely kill it on the job since hiring from within is generally easier than going outside. Of course, I know he will but it is important enough to be worth repeating.
Part 2 - Capstone Ideas
- Game in which programming or at least that kind of thought process is the primary gameplay mechanic. Get kids started early.
- Yelp focusing on value. Basically, I'm flat broke and I care significantly more about value than quality. So instead of just generic quality, I'd prefer a metric of happiness/dollar.
- Speed reading trainer/app - Hugely valuable skill that nobody seems to have.
Part 3 - Review
As for this weeks assignments, it was relatively slow which I was extremely thankful for. Work was pretty busy and I was basically camped out in my room attempting to recover from the flu. On the bright side, I quit smoking and set a date for my wedding. So I guess you could say that everything was coming up Kev, including any solid food. As for my future, I can not see myself applying to grad school. It would be cool to get a masters so I could rub my higher education right in my considerably more successful brother's face but with getting married two months after graduation and all of the fun time adult expenses like a mortgage or kids on my horizon, I just don't see it happening. If anything, I may go for an MBA since I'm looking at sales anyway and based on the homework I helped my business major friends with, shouldn't be very hard compared to CS.
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Week 4- Back in Business
Part 1: Educational Goals
Like many 26 year old college students, I just want desperately want to graduate. It seems that I have succeeded in other areas in life that others tend to struggle with. I am engaged to a wonderful woman, I have a great group of friends, and I am pretty happy pretty much all of the time. I can even strike up a conversation with a complete stranger and not feel awkward about it in the slightest. However, what is holding me back professionally is a college degree. I already have several soft offers from various co workers and I cannot wait to accept one. I am so close but it is important for me to not get too worked up and lose focus so close to the finish line.
Part 2: Career Goals
This may sound bad but I am very much not ambitious in regards to my career. In my opinion, work facilitates life and not the other way around. My fiance grew up below the poverty line so I am well aware of what is at stake with my career. I need to make enough money so that my family never has to worry about the basics in life like if there will be a roof over our heads or if we get to eat that night. However, aside from that I have no aspirations of making my own start up that gets bought by Google for millions of dollars and then I buy a Yacht.
Part 3: Team Members Time Management
No surprise here, my team members are all much better than me in the time management department. I feel that I have the most difficulty starting early enough and then sticking to a schedule. That being said, as a result of that I am very good at thriving under pressure. If I had to give advice to any of my team mates it would be to make sure to relax and never panic because once a person panics, the battle is lost. Of course, none of my teammates have shown any sign of panic since they have never been so foolish as to put themselves into a situation that warrants it.
Part 4: Update
This week I learned two things. One, outlines are hard. Two, scouting wedding venues takes a lot longer than I thought it would. I have always been more of a free form writing. Just sitting at a computer and kind of letting my papers organically evolve. So whenever I encounter an outline, it's almost like I'm a monkey trying to do a math problem. My brain just kind of doesn't naturally work that way. But because of that I am grateful for the assignment. The only way to get better at something I suck at is to do it a bunch of times until I don't suck at it anymore.
Like many 26 year old college students, I just want desperately want to graduate. It seems that I have succeeded in other areas in life that others tend to struggle with. I am engaged to a wonderful woman, I have a great group of friends, and I am pretty happy pretty much all of the time. I can even strike up a conversation with a complete stranger and not feel awkward about it in the slightest. However, what is holding me back professionally is a college degree. I already have several soft offers from various co workers and I cannot wait to accept one. I am so close but it is important for me to not get too worked up and lose focus so close to the finish line.
Part 2: Career Goals
This may sound bad but I am very much not ambitious in regards to my career. In my opinion, work facilitates life and not the other way around. My fiance grew up below the poverty line so I am well aware of what is at stake with my career. I need to make enough money so that my family never has to worry about the basics in life like if there will be a roof over our heads or if we get to eat that night. However, aside from that I have no aspirations of making my own start up that gets bought by Google for millions of dollars and then I buy a Yacht.
Part 3: Team Members Time Management
No surprise here, my team members are all much better than me in the time management department. I feel that I have the most difficulty starting early enough and then sticking to a schedule. That being said, as a result of that I am very good at thriving under pressure. If I had to give advice to any of my team mates it would be to make sure to relax and never panic because once a person panics, the battle is lost. Of course, none of my teammates have shown any sign of panic since they have never been so foolish as to put themselves into a situation that warrants it.
Part 4: Update
This week I learned two things. One, outlines are hard. Two, scouting wedding venues takes a lot longer than I thought it would. I have always been more of a free form writing. Just sitting at a computer and kind of letting my papers organically evolve. So whenever I encounter an outline, it's almost like I'm a monkey trying to do a math problem. My brain just kind of doesn't naturally work that way. But because of that I am grateful for the assignment. The only way to get better at something I suck at is to do it a bunch of times until I don't suck at it anymore.
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