1. WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE FLAVOR OF SHIT SANDWICH AND DOES IT COME WITH AN OLIVE?
This is an interesting question. What struggle or sacrifice am I willing to tolerate to do what I want to do? I'm definitely willing to give up free time to get what I want done, done. I'm not willing to give up my health to do it though. If I'm not healthy - i.e. - eating well, getting my exercise in, getting enough sleep, then I can can't perform at my peak. These are things that I'm not willing to sacrifice to get where I want to be. I also won't sacrifice my relationship with my wife. Sara helps keep me happy and grounded, without her I wouldn't have the ability to push through and get things done. What about putting in those grinding hours where it doesn't feel like you're getting anywhere just to move forward one more inch? Yeah, definitely not fun, but doable.
2. WHAT IS TRUE ABOUT YOU TODAY THAT WOULD MAKE YOUR 8-YEAR-OLD SELF CRY?
When I was 8 I loved writing, I had so many fantastical stories in my head I had to get out on paper. Can't remember if, when I was 8, I had my computer yet? I don't think so. I do remember that I had a lincoln log cabin and an erector set. 8 may not be a good age for me on this, 12 or 13 might be better. Did I love playing the violin? To be honest I can't remember. What I did love was the practice, the drive to become better at it. I loved writing my stories and sharing them with others. My biggest fear with doing that now is that I'll be told they suck in one way shape or form, I want the stories to be successful, to make money, to be well-received and that scares me. It scares me that they wouldn't be.
3. WHAT MAKES YOU FORGET TO EAT AND POOP?
Like the author, I loved to play video games, I would get lost in them, would get lost in the story, get lost in trying to get past that "one more thing" to unlock more of the mystery. What would enthrall me about it was the story, the characters, the mystery. Other games I could certainly play for fun, trying to beat that level or my time, but the ones where I completely lost myself were the ones that were story-driven where I was doing something to save myself or others and unlock the story.
Now, I can also feel this way when I get into the zone programming. When I get into a problem I'm trying to solve that is personal I can crank and crank. Getting a program to do something for me is like unlocking a story, I can see it, I can see where it might be heading and then I can unlock it. Sometimes, it'll lead me to a place I didn't expect, an epiphany.
Designing Scavenger Hunts or fun things for my friends to do also gets me into the zone, or coming up with an interesting ARG storyline. Back to story-telling again, and games.
4. HOW CAN YOU BETTER EMBARRASS YOURSELF?
Release early, release often. You can't get stuff out into the world completely perfect. By just cranking on something that seems interesting and releasing it you can definitely embarrass yourself, but you could also find out something really interesting. I think this is something that I tend to forget when it comes to my personal projects. I don't want to share something until it's fully baked. When I do, I tend to forget about it and let it slide off to the back-burner while I do something else fun.
5. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO SAVE THE WORLD?
There are a few things that I'm passionate about, that can help save little corners of the world. Maybe that's all I can do. Not sure. I care about animal adoption. Not enough people adopt and too many potential pets are put to sleep unnecessarily. Another issue I care about is women/girls in tech. There are not enough of them, and too many are treated very poorly publicly and privately. This is, in a sense, a bigger issue that dovetails into how women are treated in general. This one is a tough one for me. I don't like conflict, I don't like "getting involved", but when it reflects poorly on my gender I may have to learn to get over this.
6. GUN TO YOUR HEAD, IF YOU HAD TO LEAVE THE HOUSE ALL DAY, EVERY DAY, WHERE WOULD YOU GO AND WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
I would go to a coffee shop and write.
I would go visit a foreign country.
I would explore my city. Learn about it's history. Share that with others.
I would walk up to a perfect stranger and hear their story.
Take lots and lots of photos. Learn. Share. Get better. Share my story through pictures. Share other's stories through pictures.
7. IF YOU KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO DIE ONE YEAR FROM TODAY, WHAT WOULD YOU DO AND HOW WOULD YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED?
"What is your legacy going to be? What are the stories people are going to tell when you’re gone? What is your obituary going to say? Is there anything to say at all? If not, what would you like it to say? How can you start working towards that today?"
Good grief, yep, this is the big question. What would I want to be remembered for? That I listened to others, that I cared enough about other people to hear their stories, their problems, share in the pain and the struggle and help in any way that I could. That I made fun products that people loved to use and made a difference in their life - made it easier for them to achieve their goals, made their job easier to do, made their job more fun to do. That I helped others connect with their community, that I made a safe and welcoming environment for all genders and sexual orientations.
How can I start working towards this today? In a lot of ways I am already. Not a cop-out or anything. I'm just not following all the way through on things. So, I have the ideas in place, I just need to get better on executing on them, and let go of some of my fear surrounding them. Fear of rejection, fear of failure, and to some degree, fear of success.
So, what are you waiting for? Would love to hear other's responses to these 7 questions.
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