Is "playing to your strengths" myth or reality?

[RealDreams]

While I was coding for my uni class test, I asked myself this simple question: "am I playing to my strengths?". I realized I'm the kind of dude who prefers learning 5 different things and getting good results instead of focusing on one single topic and getting excellent results. I noticed my uni coding tests have been just about average (if not slightly below average) and there are 2 reasons why. The first one is because I admittedly study just enough to pass. In my free time, I study things completely unrelated to CS.

The second reason I think is the core problem, hence I sometimes wonder whether I should be in uni. The only reason I'm studying in university is that I wanted to acquire skills to build web apps or fastlane projects, but the more the time passes and the more I wonder whether I've done the dumbest decision ever, aka getting into university instead of working at menial jobs, saving and hiring experienced developers to develop the web apps I planned to develop...years ago. I got the latter idea by realizing that learning a skill takes years, and if the goal is the fastlane, hiring someone else should be a no-brainer. But as a 21y/o kid with no money and no job, I thought getting in uni instead was the only way for me.

I realized time is passing and I feel like I'm going nowhere. Timing in business is incredibly important and I feel like my business ideas are now worth shit because there is a lot of new offer in the same niche I was planning to build my app. While some people brought their business to the market, I was in uni studying textbooks.

Also, I might be getting a little biased because when I see people in my uni course, they are the proverbial "nerd slowlaners" who have no ambitions and only care about videogames, so for some reason, my brain starts making the same association on my own self, making me doubt whether I should be in uni in the first place. I try to detach from those people as much as possible (not in an a**hole sense, but in the sense that I force myself to realize I don't need to be like them and that the only purpose of university is to acquire a skill I can then use however I like).

After this wall of text someone may say "what stopped you from starting a business?". It's the fact that my country isn't ideal at all for business so I was "waiting" to graduate and move abroad. That's also why I feel bad about myself...because I feel like I'm stagnating. Making university and grades the main purpose of my life is the most depressing thing for me.

In conclusion, I can say coding isn't my main strength (because I chose so). My main strength is probably the ambition and vision I have in business. Apple's Macintosh wasn't created by Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs was just the visionary, the leader, while Wozniak was the one who actually did the technical work. Hence, both Jobs and Wozniak actually played to their own strengths. In this regard, I see myself more like Steve Jobs. I can code, but I'm in no way the best coder in the world and I have no interest in becoming one. I see coding just as a tool to build something, not as my main craft. I see coding as ONE of the many skills I'll require to build a business that is more sophisticated than the average, but not as the main skill.

That said I'm looking for opinions and general thoughts. Thanks.

 

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[Primeperiwinkle]

I think there’s a natural split between generalists and specialists, between sales people and technical people. That said, if you’re in school to learn a technical skill it would be best to use your time diligently.

You’re at the crappy in-between part, the slogging through mud part of the story. Every hero has a great vision then a great quest and a great battle. But every hero has the boring, mundane, day-after-day trek and struggle between those big events. If you give up in the muddy boring annoying part, you’re not gonna be the hero of coding. You’re saying “but but but, I DON’T want to be the hero of coding!”

But to be the hero at.. anything, you NEED to prove yourself capable of self-discipline, leadership, caring, and precision. This time you have at uni can be used however you want but I guarantee - I GUARANTEE - that if you put effort into it you will be able to use the experience in every other area of your life, for the rest of your life!

Someday you won’t have time for learning 5 other things while you also get to “just pass” in coding. But hopefully, you’ll be able to say “I worked my a$$ off to understand all these nuances and the deep why behind coding and now that I grasp that and even went further at uni by helping others grasp it.. I’m prepared to be a leader doing ____.”

If you’re a generalist or a leader you WILL need to be able to connect ideas with brilliant technical people.. technical people who have spent thousands of hours fixing one tiny bug in systems, technical people who may not communicate as well as you but understand why grit is THE most powerful virtue.

You have an opportunity right now to learn grit, to learn real determination and get through these years - not by half-assing it- but by going above and beyond everybody else in a desire to help.

You signed up to do this thing. You committed. Finish it strong! And if you never code again you’ll still be able to say “I put my sweat, blood, and tears into that time. I now have proof that I can accomplish a task if I put my mind to it.”

This guy is one of the greatest designers and leaders in design, in the world. He started “not knowing what I wanted to do” at MIT. 2020 - MAEDASTUDIO

 

[Deleted78083]

University is a tool, it's your choice to shape it how you want it, then use it how you want it.

Now, I am going to shamelessly promote my own thread: The definite answer to whether you should study at university

 

[sparechange]

The most beautiful thing about entrepreneurship is you can hire people to do the hard work for you.

We work on the business, not in it. Remember that young man

 

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[Empires]

You do what you have to do in business to get things done. Sometimes you need to do the things you don't like for awhile because you can't afford to hire it out.

Avoiding something because it isn't a strength is just an excuse. Business can be a grind in the beginning, you are going to struggle sometimes but that is okay. You don't need to be the best coder in the world to create a successful business.

Your business can start out average and grow into something great, the most important thing is that you START. Make some progress. It will compound and eventually grow into something bigger.