Initiative: A Step into the Unknown | Newsletter #22
Luke Simmons's Twenty Second Personal Newsletter
Introduction
Initiative. The most uncomfortable first step.
It’s something we all have to deal with. Though, we’re not struggling with initiative. What we’re struggling with is something called cowardice.
Cowardice to fail and look stupid. Which is rooted in pride.
I struggle with this a lot in my life, especially at this time since almost every decision I make is the first and requires initiative.
Let’s begin with some specifics about my life right now, then I’ll expand on this point more broadly.
Update
There’s a lot to update you on this week. I’ll split it up into two major sections below.
Portfolio Website
I have officially built my own website!
You can check it out at lukesimmons.me
It took a lot of work. But, I’m super happy with the result.
I’m now going to be using this website as the central hub for my portfolio, links to all of my socials, and any other projects in the future.
The process of creating it was a real eye-opener. It reminded me of how much I love this sort of creative work.
I would work on the website for over six hours straight and not even notice.
This gets me very excited to continue pursuing this as my full-time job. It does make me increasingly impatient about how long that might take though.
I’m looking forward to whatever projects may come next!
Phase 3 Planning
Since phase 3 begins on Monday, much of my time has been spent prepping for it.
Praxis is splitting up the various goals like this.
Career goal
Professional development goals
Personal development goals
I will work on each of these for the next 12 weeks until the program is finished.
Starting with the career goal. This is something as simple as “Get a job” or “Start a business”. For me, this one is very obvious. I want a job in programming within 12 weeks. How this practically works out starts with the job hunt module coming up next week, then into applying to a few jobs every week.
Next is the professional development goals. This may sound like a repeat of the last one, but it’s not. This is more along the lines of “Learn X” or “Start Y project”.
I’ve chosen two goals for this 12 weeks.
The first is finishing the Codecademy career path. I’ve already been hard at work trying to make as much progress as I can, and I think that completing it by this time is a feasible challenge.
The second is something big that I haven’t shared with you all yet. I’m starting a podcast.
The show will be all about interviewing people in the tech world. Not only hearing their story and journey but being able to learn from them and their experiences as well. I’ve already got a few people lined up to begin interviewing, and the first episode should come out sometime next week.
I’m both excited and nervous about this project. I’ve never done something like it before, which produces both effects I just mentioned. I’m hoping that it’ll be helpful not only to me but also to any other aspiring programmers out there.
Finally is my personal development goal. This one is pretty simple. I want to work out at least three times a week. I’m starting very small with what these workouts look like to be able to keep up consistency. My goal in doing this is to not only get in better shape but to have enough energy to get the rest of my projects done. I’ll keep you all updated on how I’m feeling as I progress.
Overall, I’m very excited for phase 3. I have a lot of really fun stuff planned and I can’t wait to get moving with them.
Now for some final thoughts.
Thoughts
I already hinted at many of my thoughts regarding initiative in the introduction. But let’s dive deeper.
Initiative is that first step into the unknown. That jump off the diving board. That first “How are you doing?”.
It’s terrifying. But why?
We as humans like to pretend that we have control over what happens. We love to play God.
But we aren’t God. This makes us very mad and scared. Why?
Because we don’t believe God. We don’t believe what He tells us. We don’t believe that he’ll care for us like the sparrows. We think that we would do a better job. Which only shows our ignorance of who we truly are.
Just think for a minute.
Do you really want to be in control of your own destiny?
Do you really want that responsibility?
If your answer is yes, well, I’m afraid that you’re kidding yourself.
Man is limited. We are creatures, not the Creator. Deep down you know this, and you know that you can’t handle it all.
Now, what does this have to do with initiative?
I hope that you see by now, but let me lay it all out anyway.
We get a sense of control in doing things that we already know the outcome of. If I brush my teeth, my mouth will feel clean. If I put on a jacket, I will be warmer.
We lose this sense of control in doing things that we don’t know the outcome of. If I start a YouTube channel, I don’t know if people will like it. If I try to talk with a girl I like, I don’t know if she wants to talk with me.
Naturally, we don’t like to lose that sense of control. So, we avoid the instances where we must.
That’s called laziness and cowardice.
What we don’t realize is all of the amazing outcomes that could come from us taking that step into the dark.
What if that YouTube channel blows up and you’re able to do that full-time?
What if that girl had been waiting for you to come up and talk, and you talk for three hours?
What if all of your dreams are just one step in the darkness away?
I plead with you. Trust God. Take that step.
Conclusion
Hope you enjoyed this edition of my weekly word dump.
Lots of exciting stuff coming up this week. So, keep your eye out for the next one!
As always, I will write to you again next week.
God bless, -Luke