What I learned at LessConf

1.) Just Fucking Do It

There’s a quote from Chris McCandless I carry around with me, that says, “So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism … nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future.”

Many of us will go through our lives with something inside of us burning to be set free, but we’re too scared to embrace it. This is no way to live a life. I know from experience.

That’s why from here on out I’m just going to fucking do it. I’m going to embrace the things inside of myself that I should have embraced a long time ago. I think you should too.

2.) Friends are invaluable

I love my friends. I can’t even begin to thank everyone that helped me make this possible. This event was everything I had hoped it would be and without their help, I wouldn’t have gotten to experience it. You guys are to best. (You know who you are.)

3.) I’ve got a lot to learn

I’ve procrastinated long enough. It’s time to learn a programming language, other that HTML. I spoke with Evan Light, owner of We Are Titans, a Ruby on Rails shop, and he was super helpful in helping me find the right reading materials to start learning Ruby.

4.) Passion is great, but without talent it doesn’t mean jack

Sure, with enough passion you can find a way to get anything done – for the most part. But in web design and development if you don’t have the chops, your likelihood of succeeding is seriously diminished.

In closing…

I came away from last years LessConf with a high that lasted for months. And then life got in the way – bills, family, responsibilities, ext. I remember now why the event had such a powerful effect on me. Being around super talented individuals who were doing amazing things challenged me to do amazing things myself. This year was no different.