Five Bullet Friday #16

“Five Bullet Friday” is a weekly series of what I’m enjoying or pondering inspired by Tim Ferriss. I want to stay consistent with this log, so I decided that for every extra day that I put things off, I will add an extra bullet. This seems to be working, because I did 7 bullets last week and 6 the week before that, and this week, I'm finally on time!

1. Book I am reading

Not Afraid: On Fear, Heartbreak, Raising a Baby Girl, and Cage Fighting by Daniele Bolelli
This is the most entertaining and most enlightening book I have read all year, and I've read A LOT of books this year. It will make you laugh and make you cry. It will make you feel and make you think. It is probably the most unconventional and informal yet philosophical and emotional autobiography I've ever read. I highlighted nearly every page of the book. I'd write a detailed review of it if I even know where to begin. The review wouldn't do it justice.

2. Podcast I am listening to

Joe Rogan Experience 865: Wim Hof

This episode was POWERFUL! I listened to it while doing 3.7 miles of ~35lbs rucking the morning after an all nighter. Before I started, I didn't think that I would be able to do it or might get sick from doing this, but Wim really inspires me and I focused on practicing the breathing and perfect posture the whole way. I felt healthy, very high energy, and focused after doing this. I have been practicing the Wim Hof Method since last summer, but after listening to this, I realized that recently I haven't been practicing with full focus or taking deep enough breaths.

3. Online Course I finished

Automate the Boring Stuff with Python Programming on Udemy
Udemy is an massive open online course (MOOC) platform. Anyone can create a course on Udemy and share it with the world.
In this course, Al Sweigart teaches the basics of Python, then web scraping, working with docx/xlsx/pdf files, sending emails, and GUI automation.
I already knew the basics of python, but it was good to learn about libraries that make things a lot simpler. All the course material is actually available for free at https://automatetheboringstuff.com/

4. What I am watching

MIT OCW 6.006: Introduction to Algorithms

I have actually taken this course when I attended MIT, but due to my fear of coding, I forgot much of what I had learned. Back then, I was a complete idiot and very unfocused in life. I was halfassing everything and skipped lectures frequently. Somehow I passed the course, but it was mainly due to cramming and I hadn't internalized any of the concepts.

This time, I seek to completely internalize the concepts. I will develop an algorithmic thinking mindset in everyday life. This is necessary for building what I am trying to build right now and it will exponentially increase the rate at which I will become sufficiently comfortable at coding. Previously, I was learning programming at a rate complexity of O(N^2), now it's at O(log(N)). I watched the first 2 lectures and first 2 recitations at 2.2x speed. Now I'm working through the week 1 Psets.

5. Another podcast I am listening to

Tim Ferriss Show 195: David Heinemeier Hansson (DHH)
DHH is the creator of Ruby on Rails and the founder/CTO of Basecamp. This episode is very important for a recent shift in my mindset. I had always tried to follow a growth mindset, but I realized that I had a mental obstacle when it comes to coding. I always knew that coding was important and I've taken quite a few computer science courses, but I've always hated coding and avoided it whenever possible. As a result, I had not fully internalized the knowledge I have learned and forgot much of it after taking the courses.

DHH had a similar story. He knew programmers while growing up and at age 14, he decided that programming simply isn't for him. However, a few years later, he wanted to build some programs and had to bother his programming friends to help him make what he wanted. He hated feeling helpless and dependent on others. He had a mentality of self sufficiency, so he simply decided to learn whatever he needed to build what he wanted.

When you are putting together a desk from IKEA and realize that you need a screwdriver, you aren't trying to become a carpenter. Similarly, you can learn whatever tools you need to use to build what you want without trying to become a programmer. I am now motivated to learn whatever I need to build what I want without defining my identity into that of a programmer. This is also part of the process to take Extreme Ownership in life and practice stoicism.