Bricolage

I have a way that I really like to run a linter against my code. I knew Twitter would hate it. Do I care? No. Should I care? No. Find things that work for you and do them. Unless there's a good reason not to do it "your way", then don't worry about anyone else.

I just submitted a talk at Laracon and I hope I get picked as a speaker. I want to pull together all the best advice and ideas from people in the Laravel community and weave it into one talk. I'm pumped about it!

Most things in life are hard. When we have to make a decision, it's rarely between one easy thing and one hard thing. So if both things are hard, then choose the hard one that benefits you in other ways.

I had a situation at the beginning of the year that helped me put my life into perspective and focus on what really matters. Making updates on this podcast is one of those things.

As we get to the season of "New Year's Resolutions", I have found that a personal assertion that I learned from author Gary John Bishop is very helpful in convincing yourself to make real changes in your life.

I have changed my mindset recently to think about doing things in "seasons". Instead of trying something new and thinking, "I will do this forever" and then feeling like a failure when I stop doing that thing, I consider most things in my life seasons. They have a starting point and they will almost certainly have an ending point, and that's okay. It's not a failure to stop doing something, it's just time to move on.

I am relaunching this podcast with a new name, Work in Progress. Here's why I didn't like the old name, and some other bad naming decisions I've made for businesses and podcasts in the past.

I talk about how important it is to me to create something amazing. Even if it's just a 30 minute online talk, it needs to be incredible. All the details matter. From my webcam and mic to the content of the talk to my delivery.

I had a pretty great 2020, despite the pandemic. I got a new, amazing job and I got a series published on Laracasts. In 2021, I hope to do more podcasting and grow my new company. I am also rewriting my SaaS product and hoping to grow that business as well.

A while back I finished my Laracasts series "Multitenancy in Practice" and getting that checked off my to-do list was essential to maximizing my happiness in my down time. Here's my story and my recommendation to you that you knock that big thing off your list asap.

A lot of users on Twitter didn't understand why someone would create a Laravel group for women. I think we should celebrate what makes people similar and encourage people to get together with other similar people. We should also recognize and celebrate differences and try to learn from people who have different experiences. The only thing is don't like is pretending we are all the same. We aren't. Let's recognize that fact and move forward with the understanding that both similarities and differences can and should be celebrated.

When trying to find motivation for doing something where you are inclined to procrastinate, I find it to be very helpful to figure out why that thing is important in the first place. Keep asking yourself "why" until you get deep enough into your thoughts / feelings / emotions. If you can get there, things become much more clear.

My plan to build my personal brand in the Laravel community is starting to work. I've published a Guest Spotlight on Laracasts, and now I have a full 8-12 episode series coming out later this summer. I'm also on the Livewire core team. None of this would have been possible if I hadn't put myself out there. If you really think you can do something, then don't tell yourself you aren't qualified. Ask for the thing and let someone else tell you no.

I actually shut down my consulting company and took a full time job, but that doesn't mean I'm not still a creator. I'm still in the business of myself, making sure I can create, learn, and help this amazing company grow.

Over the next few weeks, I am going to build a training course that teaches people how to contribute to Laravel open source projects. I don't think this is going to earn me a lot of money (if any), but I do think it will help me build my personal brand in the Laravel community.

When I learn something new, I find the best way for me to remember it well is to immediately teach someone else. I can write a blog post, record a video, or just tell what I've learned to someone else. In doing this, I'm not only remembering what I learned even more, but I'm also potentially providing helpful content that someone else may find very valuable.

When I find myself feeling socially anxious, it is generally because I approaching a social interaction with self-interested motivations. I have found that if I reframe my approach to, "How can I help?" instead of "What can I get out of this?", I am much more comfortable.

Bricolage as Webster online defines it is: construction (as of a sculpture or a structure of ideas) achieved by using whatever comes to hand. I took the Predictive Index assessment recently and my profile suggests that I am creative. I don't find myself to be very creative in the sense that most people think (artistic, imaginitive, etc.) but I do know that I have a passion for creating things. I've come to realize that my passion for creating things is one of the key reasons why I am successful in both of my businesses and I'm going to embrace this aspect of myself.

Definition of bricolage : construction achieved by using whatever comes to hand