A few years ago I downloaded a browser extension to stop showing me recommended videos, both on the homepage and on the side of videos. I can only watch what I'm subscribed to and what I search for - you'd think its a big sacrifice because you can't discover as many videos, but in reality I've gained so much more of my time back and control over what I actually want to watch.
I got super lucky being in the right place/right time. I started a company when COVID hit with the intention of just selling computers. The market sort of pushed me into selling computers for AI/ML which i knew nothing about but had a good background in Linux, so I could offer a lot of added services in terms of DevOps/MLOps, setting things up for customers as added value which my (much larger and more established) competition didn’t. This led to some enterprise connections, started selling servers, more things happened and 3 years later I have a full engineering team and we’re morphing into an OEM. There’s a lot I’m leaving out but if there’s one takeaway I can give, it’s that:
Never underestimate what you’re capable of learning by just putting in the time and work
Don’t de-value random things you’ve put time and effort into learning. Even something you were obsessed with as a teenager and seemed like a complete waste of time may eventually become critically important in your adult life.
"Uncle Tom's Cabin". So far very powerful writing. Just finished reading "Tuesday's with Morrie" which is fantastic.