Thoughts about learning

Note: This article was originally written on Medium. If you don't know what is Medium, read this piece. 

Every time I hear someone says “Learning is a lifelong process”, I think to myself, isn't that obvious? Then I realized it depends on what you define as learning.

To many, learning happens when you go to school, college, university or anywhere you are taught. The common route is that you spend 2 decades of your life learning from these institutions and if you do well, you graduate and earn a piece of paper that proves it.

Learning is NOT what you do at a particular place

The first problem with this model is as if learning can only happen at a certain venue. So what happens when you leave those places? Do you stop learning?

Of course, the environment is important to encourage learning but you can learn anywhere at anytime. The environment only affects how well you learn, not whether you learn or not.

Learning is NOT being taught

I don’t believe that in order to learn something, you have to be taught. A teacher can teach very well but that doesn't mean the students are learning.

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear - Buddhist Proverb

You can learn from anyone, from anything, at anytime and in anyway you like.The decision to learn does not rely on the availability of someone or something to teach you. It is simply whether or not you want to learn.

Learning is NOT a means to an end

You learn to gain understanding and knowledge. And with these new insights, you can then use it to learn things that are more advanced.

Everything that you have learned serves as a foundation for future learning. That’s why we go from primary school to high school then to college, university and beyond. The goal of learning is to be able to learn more.

Learning is a choice

It is your choice to learn from the experience you went through or from the mistakes you did. The opportunity to learn is always there. It is up to you to choose if you want to take up the challenge or ignore it.

With the Internet, you can learn about anything at your own pace. You even get to decide on your own syllabus. Get on Khan Academy to learn about differential equations or how to code in Ruby at Codecademy. Learning is an option available to everyone.

Learning is living

To live is to learn. We begin our lives by first learning how to breathe on our own. Then we learn to walk, to read, to count, to love and to stand up after a fall.

Learning is so entwined with our lives that it is part of being alive. To stop learning is like saying you want to stop breathing.Learning can happen anywhere as long as you allow it. You can learn from anyone or anything and everything you learn leads you to a path of more learning.

Learning isn't just a lifelong process. It is the process of life itself. Life becomes far more meaningful and fulfilling when you never stop learning.

Getting it done

​As the saying goes, if you want something done, do it yourself. This is true especially when you are working solo. Who else is going to do it? The best person to rely on is yourself.

But this also applies in a team setting where it is always better to do it yourself first. Everyone in the team has their own responsibility and you should hold up your end of the bargain.

​Of course, it is okay to seek assistance. That is why we work in teams. We need the strength of others to overcome ever greater challenges. We should never be afraid to ask for help. It is not a sign of weakness but a sign of humility.

​It might seem paradoxical to be self-reliance and seek assistance of others at the same time. The first lesson is to realize that you need to do your very best if you want something done well. The other is to admit that you can't do everything yourself and it's okay to get some help in achieving your goals.

From passion to action

Every month, we organize Webcamp KK where a group of web professionals, designers, developers, photographers, film-makers, animators, entrepreneurs and people who are passionate about web get together to share and learn from each other.

Over the past 15 months, we have a small but passionate core group of members who would meet up despite their busy schedules. We are very grateful to have people who share their knowledge and insights, who volunteer to help organize events and those who show up to give their support.

When asked what is Webcamp KK all about, some would say it's a gathering where people share and learn from one another. Some would see it as a networking platform where you get to meet passionate people from different industry. At times, it might look like a techie meetup or when the stars aligned, a session filled with creative passion and entrepreneurial spirit.

I would instead like to think that Webcamp KK is where people who have passion in their craft come together to share, learn and ultimately collaborate to create awesome work together. A place to nurture raw passion into effective action that impacts everyone.

This isn't a change in vision or direction for Webcamp KK but rather a confirmation that we are heading towards the right goal. In our last gathering, Team Sprocket and Asgardian School of Art showed us what is possible when your work is driven by passion.

So for the final Webcamp of the year, we will be getting action-takers to showcase their work to inspire us to also act on our passion and work on something great.

Chasing Success

It is natural for everyone to want to be successful. Success can be about making a lot of money, climbing the corporate ladder, buying your dream house or marrying your high school sweetheart. 

Even though our definition of success may vary, it seems like we are all learning from the same source. Others' success stories and traits of successful people are the usual suspects. 

Since everyone's aspiration is different shouldn't we all seek our own way? There are definitely lessons to be learned from successful people but unless your life is absolutely identical to theirs, those can only serve as a guide for us. There's no silver bullet.  

And what about happiness? Most people think that success equal happiness. Earning lots of money would make them happy. Getting that promotion would make them happy. 

I personally think there's more to life than being successful. It's about living the life you truly want. Yes, money and career might be part of it but they can't be all of it. 

If you have been chasing success all this while, maybe it's time to chase happiness instead. In fact, figuring what actually makes you happy is worth the effort. 

Busy busy busy

In this age of constant connectivit, everyone is busy with something. It is probably the most common excuse you use when you forgot about an appointment or don't want to deal with something at the moment.

It is an excuse we all give and accept not just because most of us are really busy but also one that we can understand and grants at least some benefit of doubt.

When someone tell you that he/she can't make it because they are busy, we get it. Maybe something important came up or there's a deadline they got to meet.

But there are some of us (including myself) who like to keep ourselves busy in order to not do something else. We tell ourselves that we don't have the time for it now and we'll get to it later. The scary thing is sometimes we actually make up stuff to do to keep ourselves busy.

I'm not talking about people who look busy to get away with doing less. I'm talking about people who are genuinely busy but they are busy with the wrong things.

This happens when we mistakenly think that being busy means we are having progress. You tell yourself that, all these things I'm doing got to mean something right? Well yes and no. 

If what you are doing is moving you toward your intended goal then that's great. But too often, a lot of stuff that we do ​are just distractions. We conjure up tasks to fit into our schedules. We hold meetings to decide if we should decide on something.

​So the next time you tell yourself or someone else that you are busy, think about it for a moment. Are you really busy or you just needed an excuse? And if you are busy, are you busy with the right things?

I really really love building on the web

You probably have heard this a million times. Follow your passion. You should find out what you are passionate about and do that. I myself blogged about passion quite often.

But Mark Cuban have a different view on all this fuss about passion. He believes instead of following your passion (which you can have many), you should follow your effort, things that you spend most of your time on because time is a resource that you don't own.

by Hugh Macleod

This makes sense because if you are putting in a lot of time and effort into something, you are definitely passionate about it and most likely you are quite good at it too.  

I took a trip down memory lane and realized that besides sleeping, eating, being lazy and gaming, I've spent quite a significant amount of my life building stuff on the web.

​Here's a short summary on some of the fun, failed, lame and stupid stuff that I've built.

​Highschool years

• ​A browser plugin review site. Back then, browser plugin was the craze.
• Phrozz.com - Attempted to start a hardware review site with my classmates back then (John & Ed)​ hoping to get some free hardware.
• Website for my school (KKHS). Also did a Flash intro (yuck) and interactive flash tutorials. Manage to win 1st for design, 2nd for content in the SabahNet Homepage Competition. ​First sign?

​At college/university

• ​dx's playground - Personal site to mess around with PHP. 
• ​Website for the college's student government so that I can stay in the hostel.
• Mamak.phrozz.com - A site for my Warcraft 3 Guild (Mamak). Scraped Blizzard's site for guild members' rank to display on the site. I think it was on Postnuke.​
• ​My thesis in university was basically building a 'better' CMS (Content Management System)

​Entering the workforce

• ​My first job introduced me to Coldfusion. Built some HR system and CMS with it. I made a simple framework to make it more bearable.​
• Managed to convince my boss to let me use PHP. Build CMS for clients.​
• Also did some Visual Basic, C# and ASP.net. Decided to go freelance and quit my job.​

Flexnode

• Eventnode - Web app to organize events/outings. My first app built with Ruby on Rails.​
• Reservation system for a resort. My first paid gig for Flexnode.
• Biznode - Failed attempt to build a project management app like Basecamp.​​
• Ravejoint - Managed to convince John to join me and ​build a food/restaurant review site. Plan was to sell ads from restaurants. Didn't work out.
• ​Switched to consulting and built yet another CMS for Freeform. (KLue, Junkonline & Tongue in Chic)
• Showtimes.my - Our take on how movie showtimes site should be like. ​Probably our most popular site.
• ​Zoecity - Joined a US start-up that is based mostly in Kuala Lumpur. Built a few products ranging from social network to news aggregator to social sharing service.
• Startnow.com.my - Attempted to build a site for entrepreneurs and action-takers. Another failed attempt. No traction at all. 
• ​2 months contract with Says.my. Awesome company and culture.

I left out a few projects here and there but I think it is safe to say that I'm following my effort and it's definitely my passion too.

I'm not a rockstar web developer by any standards but knowing that this is what I love to do and I'm good enough to make a living out of it, is all that I need to keep going. ​

​I really really love building stuff on the web. What about you? Is your effort inline with your passion?

What's your evil plan?

Finally got to read Hugh Macleod second book, Evil Plans. It is about why you should be doing things that you really love and care about. Hugh's Evil Plan is similar to a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG). He also shares some interesting marketing strategies he used. Must read for anybody he wants more from their work.

"It has never been easier to make a great living doing what you love. But to make it happen, first you need an EVIL PLAN. Everybody needs to get away from lousy bosses, from boring, dead-end jobs that they hate, and ACTUALLY start doing something they love, something that matters. Life is short." -Hugh MacLeod  

Coming up with an EVIL PLAN is definitely fun and exciting but remember it is still only a plan until you do something about it.

Larry Smith: Why you will fail to have a great career

It's been a while since I last posted anything but this TED talk is just so inspiring that I had to share it with everyone

Are you going to chase after your passion? You will most likely fail unless....

Keeping it lean

In recent months, I've been reading a couple of really interesting books. They range from Steve Jobs' biography, a book on how to generate your business model, Michael Lewis's Boomerang on the European Sovereign Debt Crisis and the grand design of universe by Stephen Hawking. The book that I've found to be the most insightful and a must-read for entrepreneurs out there is The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. It's so good that I've put in at the No. 1 spot on my books page.

The great insight that Eric had about startup was the goal to learn as much as you can in the shortest amount of time possible. You do this by conducting experiments to tests your hypothesis. He called this validated learning.

In the spirit of Lean Startup, we are conducting a simple market survey to gather some information and validate certain assumptions we have for our mobile budgeting app. If you got a few minutes to spare, help us out by completing Budgetarian's survey. Thanks!

Crafting a memorable pitch

Recently, we (John and I) joined Sabah Got Ideas (a pitching competition organized by SATA) and we unexpectedly ended up in the top 6. That was awesome! Something else was awesome too. We realized that our pitch was one of the more memorable ones. Some refer to us as the guys who are building the second wife. Another one even ask if it could replace his real wife.

We pitched what we dubbed a 'Wife in your pocket'. It's a mobile budgeting application that's a little different than the rest. We want you to consult it before purchasing anything similar to asking your wife for permission to buy the latest gadget.

Of course, I wouldn't say we are an expert at pitching as this is only our second time trying to present our ideas to the world. But I do want to share what I think were important factors that made our pitch memorable.

1.  Tell a story - One of the best way to start a speech is to tell a story. I think it works well in presentation too. John started with a story about buying coffee at Starbucks.
2. Relate to them - The reason why a story works so well is that the audience can easily relate to it. It also makes it easier for them to follow and understand what you are trying to tell them.
3. The elevator pitch - Our 'Wife in your pocket' tag line actually came up when we were trying to shorten our pitch to just 60 seconds. Known as the elevator pitch, (time you have before the person gets off the lift) this is useful in helping to compress your message.
4. Make an impact - Try to get a reaction from the audience. Laughter is a good reaction. If you got a reaction from the audience, it means they are paying attention and that's what you want. Tell a joke, show a funny picture or call your app a 'Wife in your pocket'.
5. Practice, practice, practice - Both of us probably rehearsed 20-30 times by ourselves and another 10-15 times together. Because you have limited time, (5 minutes in our case) you need to make sure everything goes smoothly. Remember, even Steve Jobs practice and rehearse before he goes on stage.
6. Slides should complement your presentation - It is also very important to remember that the audience is there to listen to YOU, not read from your slides. (obviously you shouldn't too) The slides are there to help you deliver your message better. They are not the messenger, that's your job.

These are just some of the points you should keep in mind when preparing your next pitch. Pitching isn't science so there are many ways to deliver a memorable one. Happy pitching!