Strong Enough to Feed Others

"Before you take your first bite, offer some to everyone else at the table". It was such a simple rule, constantly drilled into me from a young age by my parents. Now, it's funny to see how it's become a part of who I am. Not just at the dinner table; I've learned to love sharing that which I have. It gives me an inexplicable feeling of warmth that I can only describe as "meaning".

I want to continue sharing what I have, not just food but my technical abilities and time. This (and my generally restless intellectual nature) is why my dream job looks something like an open-source version of Google X's Rapid Evaluator role. The short version is that I want to build and share proof-of-concepts to solve the world's hardest problems.

To do this however, I have to be free. I believe that freedom itself is not a right, the ability to pursue freedom is. Freedom is earned through ability and merit. I can only reach my dream role if I have built the financial and technical base from which to be free.

Where to Start?

I like frameworks. They're interesting to analyze and, when applied correctly, can be a powerful tool in alleviating the analysis paralysis that I often struggle with. One framework I've come to rely on is something I've coined the "hedonistic hunt".

Hedonism gets a bad rep from the "pleasure junkies" of the past, those who would be gladly swallowed by gluttony. Instead, I like to reframe hedonism from "what do I want" to "what do I want to see more of in the world". One "happy accident" with this paradigm shift is that what you want to see as valuable to the world often intersects with what others are willing to pay for, meaning you can productize the things you want to work on.

One example is that I believe the future of agriculture should be inherently democratized where vertical farms (or whatever manifestation of horticulture is yet to be invented) exist around the world and minimize the time from "farm" to table. So, I reached out to a company nearby my undergrad and worked there for the better part of a semester. While the problem isn't solved yet, I gained indispensible insight into new markets, made some amazing friends, and did work I could be proud of.

Similarly, I think by working on projects you think matter, you become someone that you think matters. I know it sounds convoluted but I think the core logic is simple: working on things you find "cool" opens opportunities to meet people and have experiences that you find "cool". And, it's not just about the things you've worked on, it's the laughs you share with the people you meet, the memories you will remember fondly, and the internal narrative you build about yourself.

As for the "hunt" aspect, that helps explain two other successful attributes of this framework. Hunting means that at some point you'll get hungry again. Because you are working on problems you think matter, there will always be another one around the corner. It's kind of like the most satisfying version of whack-a-mole but in this case, you get to keep all of the rewards from whacking a mole before another one pops up.

Hunting also forces you to catch one thing at a time. you can't get distracted hunting multiple things, because if they are worth hunting, they will require everything that you have. This also helps someone like me who often gets distracted by the next shiny thing to work on so this is a skill / paradigm that I am actively honing.

"Live a Little"

No, I want to "Live a Lot".

It reminds me of a quote I heard from Matthew Mchonoghay where he was told that he was full of himself and adeptly responded: "Well, who else am I supposed to be full of?". I want to be full of myself, I want to get as much out of this life as I can while I have the chance to get it; and if possible, I want to share as much of that liberation with others as I can.

But this isn't me saying that I expect others to do the same. On the contrary, most of my closest friends cannot fathom ever doing work to help others but I love them anyway. Because they are full of themselves. I just want everyone to be full of life. And, I've found meaning in building towards a world where more people can do so.

I want to give everything, literally everythihng. I want to give my soul to my life and be proud of the things I've built. This doesn't mean only doing work, it means investing in your health, giving quality time to the relationships you care about, taking care of yourself so you can be there for others, and so much more. It means giving everything you have to the promise of everything you can give.