Friday, January 31, 2014

Jobs and Jeans

Jobs are a lot like jeans.

Some people are content with any job, as long as it is putting money in their pocket. Some people are content with any jeans, as long as is covering up their legs.

Some people just want to wear name brand jeans. Some people just want to have fancy sounding positions at famous companies.

The most difficult and courageous though, is when someone wants to find those jeans that fit just right(potentially more on that later on), when someone needs to find that job so perfect that it doesn't even feel like a job. It isn't likely that the first pair of jeans will fit perfectly, nor will the first job.

Hell, what is perfect now might not be perfect in the future, people change weight just like people change life situations; an I-Banker might be the perfect fit right out of college, but it would be impossible to raise a family in that position. Sometimes a tailor can make the little adjustments or an internal move within a company might be the perfect fit, but more often not.

I guess you can say the motivation for this stems both from my difficulty with finding jeans, as well as recently turning in my resignation at my first "real" job.

It wasn't easy.

Actually, in retrospect, it went seamlessly; the only not-easy part was the period of time between realizing it wasn't a fit, and letting the appropriate people know. Just like retail employees can tell when jeans don't fit, coworkers, mentors and managers can tell when a position isn't a fit; alerting them of the lack of fit is actually a relief on both ends, because it ends their guessing.

It dawned on me that I was a blueberry trying to make his way on a battleship, and as such wasn't a mutually beneficial situation.

Do I know where I will end up next?

No fucking clue. Just time to try on another.

Don't be afraid to find those perfect jeans... even if it means walking around naked for a bit.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Tim Tebow vs Hines Ward

Tim Tebow and Hines Ward were both stellar quarterbacks earlier on in their football careers, but neither had substantial success at quarterback in the NFL, albeit for very different reasons.

Hines Ward began transitioning to the wide receiver position while attending the University of Georgia, while still getting some snaps in at quarterback. He isn't a very tall guy, so the linemen would tower over him by about a half a foot in the pros. When he got to the NFL, his receiver duties became full-time... and he went on to become the Steeler's all time leading receiver.

On the other hand, Tim Tebow played quarterback throughout his high school and college career, winning 2 Nation Championships and a Heisman Trophy while at the University of Florida. He is definitely a taller guy than Hines Ward, but many critics pointed out that his awkward throwing motion wouldn't allow him enough time to consistently get passes to receivers before the defense would reach him... and the critics were proved right. His awkward throwing motion manifested itself in him moving around to 3 teams in his first 3 years, being cut by each, and now being a free agent.

Many thought that due to his awkward throwing motion, Tebow should attempt to make the switch to receiver or tight end, and although he loved football, you could tell his passion was specifically around playing quarterback. On the other hand, it was easy to see that Hines Ward's true passion was with football itself, not any particular position... one would almost get the sense that he would line up at center if that is what he was needed to do.

Sometimes continuing along a path in the face of immense adversity will yield magical things: some of the great works of art weren't considered so great at the time, the revenue model for sites like Facebook are completely backwards relative to more traditional models, and Drew Brees is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL right now despite being one of the shortest.

For every one of those stories, their are a significantly larger number of failed startups and perpetually free agent quarterbacks... sometimes it's best to stick it through, and sometimes it's best to switch positions.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

To Get Better, Compete

I grew up as an athlete... if you consider bowling a sport(which I do), and transitioned to bodybuilding and powerlifting early on in college, while still bowling collegiately.

With any sport, or pretty much anything for that matter, you will have some periods of new high series, personal records and muscle gain, but there will also be periods of seemingly endless stagnation.

From experience, I feel like there is one way to to tip the scale in favor of continued growth... competition. The fear of making yourself look like a fool in front of others always seems to be enough to take the intensity from working out to training, from bowling to practicing, from looking at a text book to actually studying, or from writing a little code and checking a little email to building some of the most awesome shit in the world.

Monday, January 27, 2014

Readings of 2013, Part 4

What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell:

This is a hodge-podge of stories of everything ranging on everything from the dire fate of fancy ketchup to makeup wars to birth control. The short stories don't really have much in common, but they all left me feeling slightly more knowledgable in an "I'm not really sure how I will use this in everyday life" sort of way, but none the less I don't think I will ever look at ketchup the same(not for the worse of better) way.

David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell:

This book definitely had a much more profound statement to make than the above book: things that appear to be weaknesses, aren't always so. The title of the book is a reference to the biblical story of David and Goliath, where the behemoth of a man, Goliath, was bested in a fight to the death by the diminutive David... who used just a sling and some stones.

Contrary to the obvious, David wasn't quite the underdog that he originally appeared to be... Goliath was armed with heavy armor and swords, perfectly suited for close combat, but a sitting duck for David and his high velocity stones. This was the common theme throughout the book... people can be very successful with apparent disadvantages, simply by playing a slightly different game.

Friday, January 24, 2014

Open the Damn Editor

We all have days when it is pretty hard to get stuff done.... email, meetings, phone calls, more email, some im'ing, and some more email just for good taste and the next thing you know it's time to go home. In short, it's a whole lot easier to be busy than productive.

When I notice this happening, I do one simple thing... I open up my damn editor. I am a software engineer, so the text editor is my medium for creation. A poet's "editor" would be some pen and paper, an artist's a canvas and some paint, and a sculptor's a lump of raw clay. 

Opening up the editor isn't the entire battle, but if you don't open it, you will never get shit done.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

The Weakest Link Lie

"A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link.".. or one of the many variations on the popular aphorism.

Everybody says it, but I don't really believe it.

Do you really feel any worse off by your inability to write with your opposite hand? Are legendary basketball teams that way because of their starting 5 or there 12th man? Will my tiny biceps hinder my squat?

We all have weaknesses, and we are made to think that we need to always bring up those weaknesses. Sometimes our weak links really do hinder us, and then we definitely should strive to brink them up; but most of the time the return on investment of nourishing our strengths will be much greater.

The weak link only matters if it is in the part of the chain that is being used.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

The First 1000 Pound Squat

Prior to 1984, nobody had ever squatted 1000 pounds, but Lee Moran changed all of that on his third attempt at the USPF Senior Nationals.

That's what the record books remember, however those same record books won't show you what happened on his first 2 attempts. On his first attempt, he let his chest fall a tad bit and rolled the bar over his neck and head... knocking himself out cold. On his second attempt, it became apparent that nobody had ever squatted 1000 pounds before, so barbells weren't really made to accommodate 1000 pounds. The plates and the clips could barely fit on the sleeves, one of the clips slipped off and off went all the plates on that side, sending the barbell and other half of the plates flying off in the other direction... almost knocking everybody else out cold.

We are all guilty of looking at the Pandoras, Dropboxes and 1000-pound squatters of this world, and seeing the end result, while completely missing the sleepless nights, lawsuits, and knockouts. If you want to change the world or squat 1000(well now 1400) pounds, be aware that you may encounter short barbells or be seeing stars along the way.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Watching the Clock

I distinctly remember one of my college professors stating that the single common trait that he sees in successful entrepreneurs is that they are utterly horrible with time... ask them what time it is and they will tell you now.

If you are fully immersed in you current endeavor, in a state where nothing else matters, it's impossible to look at the clock. I watch the clock when I am at the dmv or doing mind-numbing work, not when I am doing some thing truly meaningful. So stop watching the clock and go build some awesome shit.

Monday, January 20, 2014

Readings of 2013, Part 3

The Behavior Gap by Carl Richards:

This is another book that my step-dad gave me to read shortly after I graduated from college. It is a very easy read, that centers around the many differences between how people think about money and how the act with their money. The best example of this is that everybody knows to buy low and sell high when it comes to stocks, however, in practice, many people buy when the see a stock price is getting high and then sell it as soon as it starts dropping in price.

All-in-all, I would say it was a rather solid read. My parents have always talked money with me, but if you are slightly clueless about your money I would say this would be a good place to start.

Friday, January 17, 2014

Nothing Else Matters

No, not the Metallica song. Although, that is a rather great piece of music.

I am talking about the feeling where you become consumed by the present, when indeed nothing else matters. Many people have their own word for it; Dave Tate calls it The Void in a powerlifting context and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi calls it Flow from a psychology standpoint. However, Vin Diesel's soliloquy from the original Fast and the Furious states it most elegantly:

"I live my life a quarter mile at a time. Nothing else matters: not the mortgage, not the store, not my team and all their bullshit. For those ten seconds or less, I'm free."

If other stuff matters(most of the time) while you are in your current endeavor, whether it be in the pursuit of a major, job or a relationship, then it is a sign that that isn't where you need to be. Don't be afraid to quit, and try something else, until, indeed, Nothing Else Matters.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Batman's jump

Token philosophical old guy: "You do not fear death. You think it makes you strong. It makes you weak."
Batman: "Why?"
Token philosophical old guy: "How can you move faster than possible, fight longer than possible without the most powerful impulse of the spirit: the fear of death."
Batman: "I do fear death. I fear dying in here, while my city burns, and there's no one there to save it."
Token philosophical old guy: "Then make the climb."
Batman: "How?"
Token philosophical old guy: "As the child did. Without the rope. Then fear will find you again."

I started Fitsby in college, while having an internship(and later full-time position) at Qualcomm to lean back on. My main priority was definitely Fitsby, but I knew I had backup plans, so I probably didn't work as hard as I could have to get through some of the setbacks we had as a team; I wasn't afraid of Fitsby dieing.

I know there are many people out there who recommend bootstrapping a company off of your current job, but I beg to differ. If you want to "move faster than possible, fight longer than possible"(which is essential if you plan on making awesome shit) you have to tie yourself to your project; if it dies, you die.

So next time you start something, do it without the rope.

(One of my Fitsby co-founders and friend, Kevin Yun, is doing just that with his current endeavor, The Designation... and the results speak for themselves)

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Touch the hot iron

When I was a kid, my mom told me not to touch the hot iron. I touched it. I didn't touch it again.
(I know, such a touching, heartwarming story)

I like to think of that situation as metaphor for how I learn things in life.... I have to royally mess shit up for a while(doesn't necessarily have to be a short instance of time), before I start doing things right...most of the time

Go ahead and touch the hot iron, just don't use your face.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Simple vs Trivial

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler" - commonly credited to Albert Einstein.

Simple has the power to bring change to the masses, create or revolutionize an entire industry.

Trivial has the power to bring confused looks.

Simple is the change from punch card based computers to terminals, the change from terminals to GUIs, the original iPod in sea or archaic MP3 players, or the perfect chef's knive among an army(pun intended) of swiss-army knives.

Trivial is a "Hello, World" program.

Simple is doing nothing more than absolutely needed, but doing that flawlessly.

Trivial is doing nothing.

Simple is not easy.

Trivial is easy.

For more writings on the art of simplicity, checkout some of Jason Fried's posts over at 37signals.

Monday, January 13, 2014

Readings of 2013, Part 2

Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus Series(the 3 that were out) by Rick Riordan:

I do really like to mix up my business/philosophical reading with a good dose of easy-reading fiction, and I have to say I feel like Rick Riordan really knocked it out of the park with these series; it is probably the best young adult fiction I have read since Harry Potter.

Granted, I am not a major in Greek or Roman mythology, but Rick Riordan definitely appeared to due his due diligence when it came to ensure accuracy with the myths, as well as some playful twists on them.

The Percy Jackson series centers around Percy Jackson(obviously) and his trials and tribulations with fellow Greek demi-gods. While the Heroes of Olympus Series throws Roman demi-gods into the mix, as well as tells the story from many vantage points.... I would really like to tell more, but I don't think I can say much without spoiling the series.


Rework by Jason Fried:

Probably the most influential book that I have ever read on being successful in the working world or creating a company. It is presented in a blog like format, so those readers like me with ADHD should actually be able to read it. Not going to be able to do it justice by trying to explain, so I won't even attempt, so go read it. Now.


Friday, January 10, 2014

Jason Fried Rants about Modern Web Design

Jason Fried Rants about Modern Web Design

The Juice

No, not the kind that is apparently running rampant in professional sports today. Also not the kind that Robert Plant sings about. The kind that represents a physical goal.

Seeing as it is just slightly more than a week after New Years, everyone is talking about how much Juice, as well as the flavors, they hope to have drank by the end of the Year; some may have even started squeezing... but we all know how likely it is that everyone will get their fill. Why is that?

There isn't any shortcut, just have to start squeezing.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Chip Kelly, world's greatest manager.

For those of you unaware, Chip Kelly is the rookie coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, who was known for his unique, high-powered, offensive scheme while at Oregon.

There was a large amount of doubt as to whether or not Kelly's system would transfer well to the NFL, and the critics appeared to be correct towards the beginning of the season, as the Eagles began the season at 3-5.

Then something clicked, and the Eagles won 6 out of their next 7 games to make it to the playoffs... while posting the second largest number of yards, turning a backup quarterback into a quarterback with the 3rd highest quarterback rating of all time, generating the first rushing leader to come out of Philadelphia since 1979, and scoring the most points against DAAAA BEAAAARS(I'm from Northern Illinois, so I actually kind of talk like that) in my lifetime.

So what happened? 

“[The offense] was put together by a bunch of guys on our staff who are really smart, and [it] played to our players’ strengths,” Kelly said. “If we have a different set of players, then the offense would look different. This offense didn’t look like it looked when I was at Oregon.”

It takes time to get to know your players, once he got to know their strengths and weaknesses he was able to properly mold his system around them, and the results speak for themselves.

What does this have to do with being a manager?

Everybody has their natural strengths and weaknesses... Let's take me for instance: I am great at sprinting to build things, without a clear sense of what the next step is and am completely comfortable experimenting, yet I am absolutely atrocious at multi-tasking, organization, and things that feel like walking on a treadmill or putting out a fire.

If Chip Kelly was a manager he would mold a system to highlight his managees' strengths and mask their weaknesses. Granted, everybody will have to do stuff they aren't the most skilled at, but that should be the exception, not the rule; even quarterbacks have to hold kicks every now and then(but we all know how that one worked out for Romo a few years ago).

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

The Suck

Motivation for this post comes from this post by Chris Shugart over at T-Nation.

Essentially, The Suck is a Marine Term used to describe going into an undesirable location. In the above post, Chris generalizes The Suck to any situation where someone is putting their nose to the grind, but are yet to see results from that.

Almost anything worth achieving is going to have require going through The Suck:

  • Getting to the gym or starting a new diet.
  • Starting a new career.
  • Getting through college.
  • Getting married/starting a family(Can't speak first hand on this one, just see some of the hell I put my parents through.
The suck is that period of time when you question yourself why you are doing it:
  • Am I going through this lifestyle change because I want to do it for me or for the ladies?
  • Am I putting in these crazy hours because I am driven by my companies mission statement or by the paycheck at the end of the week?
  • Am I studying my ass of to get the degree that will lead to my dream job or so I can get plastered on 1 dollar wells daily?
  • Do I truly want to get married/start a family or am I doing it because that is what I feel society expects of me?
If it is the latter, The Suck will eat you alive.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Readings of 2013, part 1.

Felt like posting thoughts on some of the books I read throughout 2013, because, why not.

The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach:

My step-dad gave me this book shortly before moving out to Boulder early last year. I had graduated from college shortly before that, so a book on personal finance was a pretty good choice on his part; contrary to what the title may suggest, this is a personal finance book and not a get rich quick book. The "Automatic" in the title pertains to the automating your savings, via direct deposit into a 401k or IRA.

The book can essentially be distilled to the following points:
  • Automate your savings, shooting for at least 20% of your paycheck.
  • The only loan one should have is a home loan. Buy things like cars, tvs, etc in cash; if you can't afford it don't buy it.
  • Aggressively pay off higher interest rate debt, should you happen to have any.
  • Purchase a home as soon as possible, and pay half of the payment every 2 weeks, which will lead to essentially an extra month of house payment directly towards the principal of the loan.
  • Don't get bit by the "Latte Factor"; that daily latte may only be a couple of bucks, but over the course of a year or more that really adds up.
I don't yet have a house, so I cannot comment on home related points, but the rest of the points I could attest to being rather valuable(got my student loans paid off in 6 months, oh yeah)... all besides the "Latte Factor". I feel like it is analogous to the anecdotal evidence of Diet Coke making people fat; if you feel like you are saving calories there, you will more than likely allocate them elsewhere... that money that you are saving by not buying the latte will most likely just be spent on something else.

All-in-all, I would say it is worth a read, definitely an easy read. David does repeatedly hammer the above points in different ways, so it does feel like the metaphorical dead horse was beaten and kicked, so I wouldn't sweat it if you just want to take my word on the above points or read the cliff notes.

Monday, January 6, 2014

YOLO of Thoreau

YOLO is the mantra of my generation, an excuse to do any number of dumb things, "because YOLO." However, I view it as essentially the opposite of the "Deferred-Life Plan", as used by Tim Ferris("4 Hour Work Week") and Randy Komisar("The Monk and the Riddle"). Essentially, the deferred-life plan means that someone does what they feel obligated to do now, in hopes that they will eventually be able to find their calling later in life.

Thoreau eloquently defines YOLO over 150 years ago in "Walden"(still trying to get through that damn book): "This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of it, reminds me of the Englishman who went to India to make a fortune first, in order that he might return to England and live the life of a poet."

Friday, January 3, 2014

Productive or just busy?


Somedays I just can't get anything done.

Needed to clear the air with that, but it's true. We all have days where we feel like we can't get anything done. I'm not talking about answering emails, running papers and water cooler talk. That's not getting shit done, that is just being busy.

We all have shitty, unproductive days, it's part of being human, but if I find myself making artificial work too often, it is typically because I just don't want it as much as I thought. If I could step in the mind of Steve Jobs and present his infamous Stanford graduation speech, here is how I would do it:
"I have looked in the mirror every night and asked myself: "Was I productive or just busy today?" And whenever the answer has been 'Just busy' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something."


Title inspired by this awesome poster at StartupVitamins.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Majoring in the minor, a dumb idea

Majoring in the minor is a term coined by Jim Wendler, author of "5/3/1". He is drawing an analogy to a college student allocating their limited resources for their minor, as opposed to their major. Jim has his roots in powerlifting, so in that context he means that someone should not focus on things like biceps curls and calf raises while leaving the big money exercises, like squat, deadlift and bench, out to dry.

"I was watching <insert Dr. Phil/Dr. Oz/Oprah here> and they said if I take <some vitamin/antioxidant here> I will lose all my cellulite." I hear my mom say that frequently... and that is a prime example of majoring in the minor. You have to get to the gym consistently and getting your diet in check(future post on that) before the minutiae matters.

They same analogies can be drawn to building/doing cool shit... you have to figure out what the core is and work like crazy to get that going, then all of the other stuff can fall into place. Build the core functionality of an application, before polishing up the interface, and then can come the marketing.

Get you major, and then get you your minor.

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Introduction, this is one

So please bear with me, this is my first attempt at this, so I really probably mess some shit up.... again and again.

I am not a professional writer of the English Language(calling out the elephant in the room from the onset), and as such, I have no qualms tipping my cap to Thoreau's "Walden"(still working on getting through that one) and being completely unapologetic to my potentially-frequent use of I.

Well I guess now would be a great time to clarify who I am, as well as clear up the slight white lie above... My name is Brent Hronik(which you would hopefully guess if you have made it here) and I am a Computer Engineer by trade, so I guess you could say that indeed I am a professional writer of the English Language, albeit a rather small subset of it. I graduated from the University of Illinois in December of 2012, where I started the (now zombified) Fitsby, and I now work for the substantially-larger-than-Fitsby company, Qualcomm.

My heart is in building cool shit(if you haven't read Miki Agrawal's "Do Cool Sh*t", stop reading this and go read that now, since it is definitely going to be more beneficial than some random introduction post by a relative nobody), training(powerlifting and bodybuilding are my training mediums), cooking and reading... and I may be going through my beginning stages of my quarter-life crisis with an acute case of wanderlust. Android is my building-cool-shit tool of choice, so I plan on having an occasional tutorial here and there... if that's not your thing, don't read it(I may be getting ahead of myself here with the assumption that I may actually have somebody read this).

So the above sounds like quite the mix-up of traits, and seeing as I don't have any formal English schooling(outside of the 1 writing class I took in college), my writing style will be rather informal. I have been reading a lot of stuff by Tim Ferriss, Miki Agrawal(drawn to them due to the health/fitness aspects they incorporate into their entrepreneurial writing) and Seth Godin(the title is a nod to him), so the writing maybe similar voicing.

Alas, all good things must come to an end... but seeing as this is not yet a good thing I will continue on and list out what the random rants you can expect will consist of:

  • (Hopefully) inspiring random thoughts from a first time failed entrepreneur
  • Reposts or expansions upon snippets from books or other blog posts
  • Training, and diet related rants
  • Android and other software related rants
Well, I'd like to thank whoever(or is it whomever? always been horrible with that one) made it this far, let me know what you think, and hopefully you will continue along with this unknown journey with me(and laugh at the inevitable fuck-ups).