Don't Learn to Code

Last week I fired up my editor and was ready to write this post. Instead I ended up writing about choice and inaction, because that's what my muse wanted me to do.

While going through my news feeds this week I came across this wonderfull post by Jeff Atwood titled "Please Don't Learn to Code". If you have a couple of minutes, read Jeff's article and then come back and read the rest of this post.

You're back. Cool. If you've taken part in any online or offline discussion about founding a tech startup then the first advice you will get is to LEARN TO CODE. For some reason people think that knowing to code will solve all your startup problems, because you will be able to build a prototype that will be poorly written, misuse resources and not function properly. To me this advice is the same like advising a founder to learn accounting, law, marketing, branding, pr, journalism (we all need a well written blog), creative writing, management and everything else that you can think of and might be needed in running a company.

Don't get me wrong, I started programming when I was 10 and even did a Computer Engineering degree which taught me how to program in Assembly. I'm not saying that programming is not useful, it's just not the most important thing in building a company. If you have the time, invest in learning the fundamentals of programming so you have an understanding. In the same way that you will learn the fundamentals of accounting, the law etc. so you can lead your people and have constructive arguments. Your focus though needs to be in building your business, your product and your brand. If you want to take some time off to learn something, then learn how to manage a team and inspire people. Then learn to delegate and get the right team around you.

Stop using this canned response and focus on your business. We want you to solve our problems and hold your promise, not find out that you actually wrote all the code.

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

Never Stop Getting Better

Perfecting your craft is an impossible goal. There will always be opportunitty to learn new things, expand your knowledge and get better.

Reaching completion shouldn't be your goal. Learning is a neverending journey that lets you explore new ways of thinking and doing things.

Never stop learning and never stop getting better.

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

This image came to inspire and remind us today about out comfort zone. If you ever want to be exceptional and achieve great things then you need to get out it.

How do you know when you have stepped out of your comfort zone? The first indication is in your gut. You will fill strange, stressed and filled with fear. That's the whole point, you are doing something that you are not used to and that's where opportunity lies.

To take things further make this into a daily practice. Do something every day that scares you and step out of your comfort zone. Are you afraid of public speaking? Host a workshop or do a free lecture. Do you like hot baths? Take a cold shower. Are you a tech geek/founder? Take on sales and business development. It will be painful but completely rewarding.

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

Practice Every Day

Practice is something that deserves it's own post. I've mentioned time and time again that in order to achieve what I talk about, you need to practice. It's not just a matter of doing it whenever you need it or whenever it comes to your mind. You need to practice on what you want to achieve on a daily basis.

This is the only way to become good at something. You can't wake up one day and know how to simplify, you need to practice over and over. The same principles, the same ideas. Learn, fail and grow.

Once you've done your 10,000 hours, you can start calling yourself a guru, an expert or anything else you like. Until then, you need to practice daily and as often as possible during the day.

Posted by Harry Mylonadis