My journey into tech is 30 years in the making. It started with my fascination with electronic devices like: TVs, VCRs, stereos, computers, DVD players and mobile phones; I was obsessed! I wanted to know everything about the functionality of each device I came into contact with.
Like most kids, I was into video games. I was first exposed to them at the local milk bar (corner store) and arcades. Later, I would play them with friends who had computers or game consoles like: the Commodore 64, Amiga 500, Nintendo, Super Nintendo or the Sega Master System.
At about age 10 or 11, my parents bought me a Commodore 64. It came with a tape cassette drive and a port for cartridges that you could put in the back of it.
I remember playing games on it for hours and entering commands into the BASIC interpreter. It took a long time to load a game using the tape drive. You had to play the tape on both sides to load the entire game and a multi-colored screen was displayed while the game loaded.
Later on, my sister and I got a Sega Master System II. It had the game Alex Kid in Miracle World pre-installed and we would play it all the time.
My obsession with tech continued into highschool and adulthood. I always wanted to know about the latest and greatest devices. I would spend lots of time analysing specifications to understand what each device did and assess whether it would meet my needs. I also loved customising things to make them my own.
My tech journey began at an early age, and I always kept my finger on the pulse of technology. However, my commitment to learning how to create things or how things worked at a deeper level was short-lived.
I was always interested in coding or knowing how to build a device, but I never had the patience or commitment needed to stay with it. But now, much later in life, I have learned that all journeys start with one small step.
With this new outlook, I find myself back on the road of learning. But this time, I’m staying the course.
There have been some false starts over the last twenty years, especially in the last three, but they have taught me many things. Most importantly, principles that have helped change my outlook.
In my opinion, these principles can help you learn, grow and lead a happy life. I think that these principles are good to learn and understand:
- Failure is good - You learn alot from failure, it makes you stronger.
- Embrace errors - When you code, expect errors. Investigate their causes, be patient and persistent when you try to find a solution.
- Enjoy the process.
- Start small - Something is always better than nothing.
- Be curious.
- Be patient.
- Be consistent.
- Be persistent.
- Take breaks - I cannot emphasize this enough. Do not overwork yourself. Set a time to finish everyday and enjoy your weekends. It's about balance and letting your brain recharge. Solutions and ideas often come to you when you’re not working.
- Look after yourself - Get enough sleep, drink lots of water, eat right, exercise and do other things.
Starting and stopping is not a bad thing. It’s all part of the process and it’s a way to gain insight and learn different things, including more about yourself.
You can always try different ways to do things and it's never too late to start again. Everytime you start again, you bring more knowledge and experience to it compared to the first time you tried.
I hope you find this helpful. Happy coding and keep going.
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