Going deep

Going deep

I didn’t go into much detail about what I’d like to do over the next two years in yesterday’s post. I think I’ll save that for tomorrow’s post. Today, I’d like to focus on something related to my goals. It applies to becoming a better software engineer and entrepreneur.

Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but nobody wants to lift no heavy-ass weights
— Ronnie Coleman

This was the top comment on a primagen video 1. I highly recommend checking it out, but the very very short version is you should actually try when you get stuck. That’s how you get better.

I have to admit. It’s been a very long time since I’ve tried. I took a course about UX design. It was okay. I got some certificate 2. However, whenever I think about redesigning my app (which it is very much in need of), I start thinking about finding someone else to do it. There are valid reasons for this:

  1. A more experienced person would likely do a better job
  2. A more experienced person would likely finish it sooner

However, I have a few issues with this:

  1. It’s very expensive.
  2. When working with designers in the past, there was a communication issue where it was difficult to get my vision out of my head in a way that they could understand.
  3. They have no skin in the game. No long-term commitment to the project 3.

Most importantly, I think the biggest reason I’ve yet to take this on is fear. I doubt whether or not I can do it. It could be a weakness that I simply need to ignore and outsource 4, but I don’t actually know that for sure. When I was younger, I was often told I was creative. I’d like to at least explore this route.

On a similar note, I have done almost not marketing for my app. I found one channel that had some success and I’ve stuck with it. I’ve yet to try anything outside of that one channel. Again, it comes from fear and doubt. “Maybe I’m not the type of person who’s good at marketing.” How do I know???

Lastly, this also applies to my engineering skills. I’ve had imposter syndrome for sometime now. It’s compounded as I’ve been in isolation for the last decade. Prior to that, I could kinda rank myself against my coworkers 5.

I’ve held back on some projects:

  1. If it didn’t move the business forward, I didn’t prioritize it.
  2. If it might move the business forward, but felt difficult, I didn’t prioritize it.

While these are both valid reasons, they also feel like excuses. I might need to get a job in the next year, and if so, I’d like to be able to talk about deep technical problems I’ve solved. This is the only way to do that 6.

You don’t become confident by shouting affirmations in the mirror, but by having a stack of undeniable proof that you are who you say you are. Outwork your self-doubt
— Alex Hormozi

Alex said it better than I could. This is the year I build undeniable proof of my abilities as an engineer, designer and entrepreneur.

Footnotes

  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh5ut_T6A4c ↩

  2. I don’t think this is a good way to learn. I also don’t think these certificates are a reasonable indicator of whether or no someone is a “UX designer”. If they also went on to create projects and/or work somewhere where they had to actually apply what they’ve learned, then I would. But that also shows the certificate means nothing in that case. ↩

  3. There may be contracts or agreements that solve for this. Admittedly, I have not searched for them, but I also did not have any of the designers I spoke to recommend this either. ↩

  4. I’m a big fan of Ben Thompson (creator of Stratechery). He’s spoken about this in his Sharp Tech podcast. I don’t know if I agree. He is also much more successful than I am so he’s probably right, but I’d still like to try. ↩

  5. Not saying it’s healthy, but it’s something I that at least gave me a sense of progress. ↩

  6. I will almost certainly prioritize technical projects that have business outcomes given that also aligns with my goal of improving my wealth. ↩