7 things sarahkathleenpeck likes Explore more popular stuff on Tumblr →

  1. 19
    zackshapiro
    Being honest with myself: my journey to learning how to code

    For the past eight years I’ve been building things in one way or another. It started with blogs and podcasts and moved to things that were essentially ideas for the web and went nowhere. I didn’t know how to stick with an idea and I didn’t know that people built things for a living. In college, I met an early mentor who taught me about startups and told me that Boulder was chock full of them. Suddenly my web ideas started to feel less like impulses and more like ideas and even businesses worth pursuing.

    In my first semester of college, I built and released my first iPhone app as a final project for a CS 101 class. The app was a bus schedule for Denver and Boulder that I built for myself, a dead-simple PDF viewer that exceeded my expectations after going on to sell about 1,200 copies.

    It’s been a consistent theme though to find other people to build stuff for me. Three of the four iOS apps I released in college I worked with others to build. The two web apps I worked on, I didn’t write a line of code. After eight years of doing all of the non-technical stuff, I had to be really honest with myself.

    My happiest moments were the ones where something had come out of my head and had been coded into some physical form. Not being able to build something - or at least make headway on realizing an idea through code - was really irking me and frankly, it was holding me back.

    So I made a change.

    Last October, I bought The Rails 3 Tutorial as a Kindle book and went through it on my iPad. Here’s the strategy I used and it worked magnificently: Since it’s an ebook, I could only focus on one page at a time. No leafing through the book to get to the parts I wanted. Patience. Learn each tiny piece and follow along. One page at a time.

    Fast-forward five months. I had the opportunity to attend the First Round Capital BBQ at SXSW. There I met Brian Leonard, VP of Engineering at TaskRabbit. We chatted briefly about my background a possible engineering internship at TaskRabbit. After realizing the direction I needed to take - learning how to build - Brian was the first and only person I emailed. I wanted to get serious about building things in a professional capacity, not messing around with code behind closed doors.

    In the middle of June, I started at TaskRabbit as a combination business development and engineering intern. I started by building internal tools, ways to visualize the referrals paths of users who came to TaskRabbit.com. After writing more code than I ever have in my life and coming home every day feeling like my brain had been wrung out, I stopped for a moment.

    I realized that building software myself, crafting it day in and day out, made me the happiest that I’d ever been. I’d been completely honest with myself, in a scary sense, and started learning something intimidating but incredibly rewarding. In three months, I’ve made massive strides in my abilities to build things. I know I have a very long way to go and that I’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg; it’s humbling.

    There are a lot of opinions out there about whether you should learn to code or not. I’m not sure what’s right for you, only you know that. What I can tell you is that the thing in the back - or maybe it’s in the front - of your mind, that thing that terrifies you, that looks like Everest when you look at the whole picture, go all in and do that. Because the rewards of being honest with yourself are well worth the fear.

    Any thoughts on learning how to code? I’d love your to hear them over on the Hacker News discussion!

    I’d be humbled if you followed me on Twitter, too

      Loading...
    1. 8
      lanewood
      How charity: water Is Changing, And Why The World Needs Them To Keep It Up

      image

      Every year around this time, charity: water launches their epic “September” campaign (I was working there for three of them). It’s a season where a ton of extra effort is put forth by their team to travel, film, document and market a story that will inspire the masses to give up their birthdays and raise money for clean water. If you’re reading this, I doubt I just told you anything new.

      Widely celebrated for their eye for design, thoughtful copy and beautiful videos, it’s hard to find a non-profit or fundraising/crowdsourcing website that doesn’t in some way emulate the innovation charity: water has brought to the table. But thinking back on the early campaigns, charity: water has come a long way.

      image

      The first September campaign was actually just a birthday party in 2006. Scott Harrison, just barely on this side of his nightclub promoting days, hosted his 31st birthday party at a swanky club in the Meatpacking District of Manhattan. Given his success as a promoter, it was little effort to get 700 people to show up and shell out $20 at the door. I was actually there, a pretty naive young dude from Oklahoma at the time, gawking at models and celebs and wondering how on earth this was a charity event. $15k and a trip to Uganda later, charity: water’s first six wells were built. And off they went.

      image

      In 2007, the team was barely beginning to understand the potential fundraising engine behind birthdays. A comparatively crude website (sorry Vik) went up and allowed 92 people to give up their birthdays. There was no automation behind it… just someone manually putting together profile pages one by one for each person. That year they funded one water project at a health clinic in Kenya. For the time, it was a big success.

      Each new September showed measurable growth for the organization. Better design. Better storytelling. More birthdays and more donations and more dollars. And maybe most importantly, smarter investments.

      During last year’s campaign, charity: water raised over $1.5Million… 100 times more than their initial party. Recognizing that they needed to help their best partners scale, they invested the money raised in their first drill rig. It’s now in service and tweets out its location. This was actually a pretty big departure, talking about hardware and capacity in the field. But they went for it, and the story resonated.

      This year, they’re headed to Rwanda with their partner Water for People. But they’re not digging wells. Rather, they’re investing in “large-scale systems that protect water at the source” and pipe it in to taps where people need it most. Ned Breslin’s Water for People is best known for their commitment to monitoring and evaluation, bringing new tech and innovative ideas to the water sector to better ensure that projects not only get built, but stay working. Everyone Forever, as their website says. This is a smart partnership.

      No doubt, charity: water has learned more than a few lessons the hard way. But if I look at each September campaign, it’s evident that they’re growing up just as much as they’re growing big. Their trajectory is taking them from a startup design-y fundraising NGO toward a more efficient re-imagining of what big charity could be in our lifetime. Scale, capacity, sustainability… not exactly conversation topics for a birthday party. But this is the kind of dialogue that gives them the right to continue to talk about actually solving the massive, complex water crisis.

      You can check out their new campaign here or laugh at the old one here.

      #charity: water #charity #social innovation #scott harrison #water for people
        Loading...
      1. 5
        slobotski
        Keep Moving Forward...Or Take a Moment?

        So I’ve been giving some thought lately to something that I’ll term “founder fatigue” for the lack of another term.

        We all want to be strong. We want to appear to have it all together. We have to continue juggling the commitments in order to maintain forward momentum.

        But…what happens when when the juggling act sometimes feels more like you’re the ball in the middle of the parachute being tossed around in the air (remember the game we used to play in elementary school?)

        What are we supposed to do when we start to feel the pain, pressure, and demands it starts to impart not only on ourselves, but our those closest to us?

        It seems, and I’m as guilty of it as anyone else, that we need to sustain this unreal forward momentum - only looking towards the future, and focus on the vision of what it takes to build something amazing.

        Maybe, just maybe, one more positive thought, a word of encouragement or catchy slogan we can share will keep us going? 

        I’m not suggesting that there’s a magic pedestal that people are raised upon, or that we are more important than others because of our roles and responsibilities.

        I like to use the phrase “Keep Moving Forward” quite often. And I still believe wholeheartedly in what those words mean. But sometimes moving forward is the freaking hardest thing to do when there seems to be countless road signs ahead of us. 

        Yes, there is a bit of internal dialog here, but I’m starting to wonder if it’s also something that we as leaders within the community should start to talk about more openly, and have an honest discussion around. I think there is a lot to be learned from  one another, and the ability to not only listen, but provide direction and help for the long journey we have in front of us.

        I love the game and am not thinking of trading it in, but it’s becoming more and more clear to me that sometimes an opportunity for a moment for ourselves, versus moving forward, is what we need so deeply more than anything else.

        Thoughts?

          Loading...
        1. 74
          heyamberrae
          The people you'll meet, the places you'll go

          image

          “I miss you!” I texted my dear friend and old San Francisco roommate Gino this morning. 

          “I have a confession for you,” he said. “Whenever I get a text from you out of the blue like this, it makes my day. It makes me realize how lucky I am to have you in my life.”

          My heart smiled.

          Our conversation reminded me of a Simon Sinek talk I watched this morning about generosity, confidence, and fulfillment. 

          In the talk, Simon explains how we’ll never forget the people who teach us confidence. We’ll carry their names around with us forever. Gino was one of those people. 

          Since arriving in San Francisco to visit a week ago, I’ve walked around with a deep feeling of nostalgia, gratitude, and warmth. Everywhere I walk, I’m reminded of all the incredible people who touched my life, believed in me, and taught me how to come into my own while I lived here in 2009 and 2010. San Francisco—and the people here—transformed me. They taught me confidence in my ideas, beliefs, and dreams. 

          As I wander the city, catching up with old friends and stopping by my old favorite places, just to breathe in the profound impact the place had on my life, I’m able to feel how connected everything really is. I’m able to see how the many small conversations, realizations, and acts of kindness in 2009 have manifested into big life choices, cross-country moves, and business decisions up until today. My journey toward deep fulfillment began actualizing here, in San Francisco. It began here because of the incredible people and their profound ability to teach me how to live and realize my truth, and be confident in my pursuit. 

          Back when I was here in 2009, I was unclear on what fulfilled me and how I wanted to spend my time. This lack of clarity took me to New York, Barcelona, and Boulder. Each place—and the people there—helped me gain clarity on the world I imagine.

          Paul Graham said in his essay about cities that unless you’re sure what you want to do and where the leading city for it is, your best bet is to live in several places when you’re young. You can never tell what message a city sends until you live there. You won’t know whether its message will resonate with you until you hear it. And you’ll probably have to find the city where you feel at home to know what sort of ambition you have.

          The benefit of moving around, of trying new cities, of meeting new groups of people, is that you expose yourself to seeing, feeling, and experiencing the answers. We cannot think our way to understanding the work we’re meant to do—we must experience it. We cannot analyze ourselves to the point of clarity—we must reflect and share with people who care. We cannot talk our way into feeling confident—we must learn through trial and error. 

          Through the discovery and realization process, a little time and a little energy goes a long way. Whether you’re texting someone you miss them, talking a challenge out with a friend, committing to 750words.com each day, or helping a stranger collect his loose papers on the street, our little actions lead to bigger impact, collectively and over time. When you touch the heart of one, they touch the heart of another. When you help someone gain clarity on a challenge, they gain insights they’ll use moving forward. It’s all connected. We’re all connected. And we’ll never forget the people and places that help us connect our dots forward.

          —

          Heart this post? Tweet it!

          Thanks to Gino (and San Francisco) for inspiring this post and Vivek for reading the draft. Thanks to Julian for the image. 

          #journal
            Loading...
          1. 22
            mrgn
            How to Ask a Girl on a Date

            You’re probably doing it wrong. Here, let me help you.

            Avoid questions like “what are you doing Friday?” or “would you like to go out sometime?” or worse, assertions like “let me know what you’re doing this weekend” or “we should hang out sometime.” She may not know if you are asking her on a date at all, and it’s hard to agree to this anyway. You will flatter her and make it easy for her to say yes by being clear and specific.

            Ask her to a predetermined event (like a concert, opening night show, or invite-only party) that, unlike a movie or a meal, she couldn’t just as easily attend casually with friends. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just interesting and cool (i.e. memorable).
            Try to have an ‘in’ with this event (great seats, expertise on the subject, have seen it before, know the host) instead of just being a regular attendee. This will make you more confident and comfortable, improve the experience, and make it clear to her that she’s your guest… otherwise you may drift back into the friend zone.

            Try this:

            1. Make sure the girl is single, knows who you are, and is receptive to you, even if you’re not sure if she likes you yet.
            2. Learn about her interests and style.
            3. Find an apropos event that you are absolutely certain she would like.
            4. If she says she’s not going, tell her you have a +1/extra ticket, then—without pausing—ask her if she wants to join you.

            If she’s already going, you can’t use this for your date, but you can say either:
            A) ”Nice, do you want to grab dinner or a drink first?” then repeat Step 3 in a few days. (note: this is ‘meeting up’ and not a date)
            or
            B) ”Nice, I’ll probably see you there!” then repeat Step 3 next week.

            If you try this again and she says she’s going to the next cool event, then she is probably awesome and you should step up your game.

              Loading...
            1. 1
              shitmongsays
              Fly
              • Jake: Yo, you going out tonight? You're looking fly.
              • Mong: I'm always looking fly, man.
                Loading...
              1. 2
                messagesfrommybrother

                Advice from Robert.

                  Loading...