Laying the Ground Work

Background

I am a 24 year old college graduate from Jacksonville, Florida. Since I was 15 years old I have held a job. Through college at the University of North Florida I supported myself bar-tending at a wing restaurant on nights and weekends. After graduation I decided to take some time away from the rat race and moved to Jacksonville beach with two close friends. During this time I spent much of my time in the public library "finding myself" as I knew I was not satisfied with working in a restaurant for the rest of my life. I soon landed as an entry level sales position (the thought being anyone who bar-tends and works in the service industry will naturally do well in sales). Although I found myself highly capable in my new position I was also unhappy; I did not enjoy the work.

After more searching and logging more library hours I soon discovered computer programming. Two things jumped out at me right away. First, anyone can learn it no matter what your educational background is, and two, coding and literature (or reading and writing) have many similar characteristics. I started thinking that not only could I do this, but I could excel at it.

Fast forward to today and I have completed one course on codeacademy (Ruby), two courses on lynda.com, and have finished Chris Pine's book Learn to Program along with much research. I know I have a long way to go but my excitement level has only grown the more I learn--a good sign I believe.

I recently moved home with my mom and dad to Middleburg, Fl which is great because it removes me from distractions that I would be surrounded by if I lived near downtown Jacksonville or Jax Beach. I also have an open invitation to live with my older brother in Orlando, which I will certainly take advantage of for networking events like meet ups and conventions (there is zero tech presence in Middleburg, just woods).

Goals:
(clock starts 8/21/15)
· Secure a computer programming job in SIX months. Important because it will help me become financially independent and prove that I have what it takes to set a challenging goal and reach it. I will fulfill this goal by working 60 hours a week (10 hours a day) learning to code, going to networking events, and building my portfolio.

· Read a book a week. I'm a complete nerd when it comes to education; I think it's pretty neat. And I also believe that it is important to be well rounded so that I can create value in myself. I will read one book not related to coding a week. These books will be diverse in subject (philosophy, economics, self improvement, writing, etc.). I will accomplish this by reading two hours before bed each night.

· Get in great shape. This is important because the body and mind work in concert together and if one is out of tune it will influence the other. I will jog every morning starting with a mile a day and do strength exercises for 20 mins in the evening. I am keeping this very simple as I am more concerned with building a habit of exercising than following a strict regiment. I fully expect the distance and time of exercise to increase over time.

Simple Rules
(Influenced from the Stanford Entrepreneurial Podcast. There is an article here.)

· Wake up at 6 am every day

· Plan tomorrows schedule the night before

· Reach out to one new person in the tech industry daily. (twitter, email, linkedin, etc.)


Let the Games begin!

-John