"Mum, you're crazy" exclaimed my oldest daughter with a smile playing around her lips while we circled our campsite. Hair flying around our face, the wind today blowing strong. A constant splitter and splatter of raindrops taking care of the background music. It never rains more than a minute. Except for today.
I took it as a compliment. Not following the well beaten, broad way but choosing the narrow path winding up and down imaginary mountains, circling obstacles and - at times - turning back and retracing steps, seems to be my calling.
"You like to make your life complicated?" my sister asked when I announced in 20218 that we're moving again. Not closer to family or to a country where I know the language and ways, but to a tropical island within Europe. Just because I could. It felt right, so we did it.
Two articles crossed my path recently that solidified my confidence in this crazy path I'm on, and - forcefully - taking my girls along for the ride.
I’ve recently talked to a several people I haven’t talked to in more than 2 years.
The one thing that stood out for me was that basically everyone is still playing the exact same game on the exact same level.
Many that were indie hacking 2 years ago - building little projects…
The one thing that stood out for me was that basically everyone is still playing the exact same game on the exact same level.
Many that were indie hacking 2 years ago - building little projects…
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Jakob Greenfeld talks about how progress doesn't happen when you are on auto-pilot. By staying in your comfort zone and repeating and fine-tuning what you have done in the past, you will achieve more or less what you have achieved in the past. Progress, the type that makes you jump into different worlds or fields and suddenly be surrounded by others, demands that you change.
More of same will not unlock the next level - Jakob
It's similar to what Paul Millerd means with the Pathless Path. If you follow the path everyone else is taking, you will achieve what everyone else achieves. The benefit is security. You know what you have to do the next day. You know what you need to do to get promoted. Your retirement is secured.
Fuck that.
And there is good reason for it. If you want to reach a place you have to go faster than others. This means working smarter, not harder. In a way, you have to outrun your environment. And that you can't do if you stay in the same lane than everyone else.
Surviving another day means we have to co-evolve with the systems we interact with. - Shane
If someone questions your life choices, rest assured that there are other crazy people roaming the world, forging new paths. I hope our paths cross once and we can do stupid stuff together!
Embarking on an unconventional path, @kbc shares personal experiences of choosing the road less traveled. Encouraging progress through change, the author refers to Jakob Greenfeld's philosophy against autopilot comfort zones and Paul Millerd's concept of the Pathless Path. Here’s to the 'crazy' ones!