Mistake #5 Stop Learning

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to learn forever.”

- Mahatma Gandhi

It was 10:00pm. I was still in the office, standing in the huge conference room before the glass walls enjoying the seaview. The view was amazing. The company was amazing. The colleagues were amazing. I walked out of the room, getting close to my teammates.

They were still working. All of their eyes were burning with fire. Some of them became another Goku like me. Some of them were in the regular state. Some of them were in the Super Saiyan form that were even more powerful than I was.

I was grateful I got into a company that nurtured talents. Everyone was growing. I felt empty, however. Except the passion burning from the inside out, I had no knowledge or valuable experience to share with my precious teammates anymore. I didn’t want to leave. I loved the company. I loved the culture. I loved the people. But I hit a plateau in terms of personal development.

I had no more to share; Any teammate could take up my role anytime. If I stayed, I would be the obstacle that stood in their way. Their personal development would stop. Just like me.

I felt the emptiness to become a beginner again. I asked my hero Derek Sivers to give me the roadmap for learning again. So here I am. “I am coming to you - programming!”

Looking in the rear view mirror, I certainly would not choose to learn programming. Without stepping into the digital world, nothing would fall into place like the way it is now. I would stay as a sporty financial geek.

Typing on my favourite Macbook, I heard Steve Jobs whispering to my ear again. “You cannot connect the dots looking forward.”

“You can only connect them looking backwards.”

“So you have to trust the dots will somehow connect in your future.”

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Read the next chapter: Mistake #6 Think Short-Term

Or table of contents: The Game