Derek Edwards
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- Oct 22, 2014
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I had this professor back in my college years. He was very smart, but his classes were boring. One day, I decided to pick his brain, see what he knew in life he might of done differently or offer just some good general knowledge. At the time, I was studying software engineering. I had done a presentation on version control software and we sat down afterwards wanting to discuss some stuff he noticed I could of done better.
Of course, one thing lead to another and we came to talking about careers. After talking for an hour about his life. He mentioned things that stuck out.
He told me, "Derek, if you want to be successful, work your a$$ off learning and solving problems." "Never allow to give up your stones and let them be thrown at you." "If you have deadlines, finish them, I don't care how long you spend on it, because it's your a$$ on the line if something goes wrong" "You're alone in this world, no one is going to guide you in life, there is no step-by-step process, it's a learning curve." "If you are serious about software engineering, well I would recommend going and applying to bigger companies, you have more room to extend and move up."
"And never EVER settle for mediocracy, be the best you can be."
I was expecting some BS convo on how I should find a good job and make descent money that I can live on, but this stuff to come out of his mouth, man, and here I thought he was a boring person. He was like, if you ever need advice or anything else, come find me, I'm always up to sharing my experiences with students.
And you know, that day I set out to learn shit on my own. I went onto learning C++ by myself and studied it to death and wrote it. I made many errors, but never gave up. There were days I just wanted to give up and just hire someone to do it for me, but what would that teach me? I needed to be bull. I needed a target and I needed to focus on it with precision.
The ones who talk too much never go far in their goals, but the ones who keep silent are the ones who take the necessary steps in achieving success.
If you are an entrepreneur, be good at what you do, and then set out to solve problems. If you are working in the corporate world like me, learn everything you can in your company, doesn't matter what it is, absorb the knowledge, it won't hurt. In this way, you know how things work. Knowledge is power ladies and gentlemen, utilize it.
Of course, one thing lead to another and we came to talking about careers. After talking for an hour about his life. He mentioned things that stuck out.
He told me, "Derek, if you want to be successful, work your a$$ off learning and solving problems." "Never allow to give up your stones and let them be thrown at you." "If you have deadlines, finish them, I don't care how long you spend on it, because it's your a$$ on the line if something goes wrong" "You're alone in this world, no one is going to guide you in life, there is no step-by-step process, it's a learning curve." "If you are serious about software engineering, well I would recommend going and applying to bigger companies, you have more room to extend and move up."
"And never EVER settle for mediocracy, be the best you can be."
I was expecting some BS convo on how I should find a good job and make descent money that I can live on, but this stuff to come out of his mouth, man, and here I thought he was a boring person. He was like, if you ever need advice or anything else, come find me, I'm always up to sharing my experiences with students.
And you know, that day I set out to learn shit on my own. I went onto learning C++ by myself and studied it to death and wrote it. I made many errors, but never gave up. There were days I just wanted to give up and just hire someone to do it for me, but what would that teach me? I needed to be bull. I needed a target and I needed to focus on it with precision.
The ones who talk too much never go far in their goals, but the ones who keep silent are the ones who take the necessary steps in achieving success.
If you are an entrepreneur, be good at what you do, and then set out to solve problems. If you are working in the corporate world like me, learn everything you can in your company, doesn't matter what it is, absorb the knowledge, it won't hurt. In this way, you know how things work. Knowledge is power ladies and gentlemen, utilize it.
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