#68 | Child. Man. Child?
I was a curious child. Curious in that I was interested in things. And, also, in that I was pretty weird.
When I was eight, Harry and I spent days drawing maps of imagined worlds: sketched mountain ranges linked their way from peak to peak, across continental centres to the whirlpooled waters of fantastic oceans. Trade routes led from city to city, port to port, island to island. The poles were rarely north and south (as we are accustomed to). For hours, over these maps, we invented nations and languages. The people were constantly warring, of course. “Aktarple din min” was one phrase of a language I can’t remember—it was my password for years, which is why it remains in my head. With lands, peoples, and cultures formed, we went further, recording radio shows on a beat-up tape recorder that I’d inherited from somewhere or other. This was all done, sitting on the thread-bare carpet floor in my bedroom, and I was enthralled.
As I grew up, I continued to flick between obsessions. Never all that much interested in the PlayStation or team sports, documentary filmmaking became a theme. At 13, with friends and family as stars, I created a series of underground documentaries on life in Worcestershire. They were glib, cute, and will never be broadcast.
As a man, especially from 18-24, and even a little on each side, it became “uncool” to do certain things. It was “uncool” to spend days reading, “uncool” to follow a dream, hobby, or obsession. “Uncool” to be abnormal and odd.
I was uncool! I’ve now discovered that being uncool is very cool, especially in the last couple of years. Doing what we want—or what the universe tells us to do—constantly delights. If there is a calling to cancel all meetings, sit under a tree, and paint stick-men, then adhere to the calling. If there is a calling to move country or job, then follow what the eight-year-old might do in the same position again. He would probably approach it curiously.
When people ask—what will you be like in a decade, I often say “quite a lot like today”. But actually, perhaps I’ll be more like my eight-year-old self. It’s a time and a mindset I’d happily return to.
My week in books
Inspired by Marty Cagan — BIG shock! I’m a product manager. And Yokeru is a product-led organisation (it’s quite literally all we have). In light of this, I’ve decided to read more about what this entails—Steve Blank, my long-time hero, is referenced an awful lot, so we’re on the right track, even if we’re on different trains. More reading is needed. LINK
Family Happiness by Tolstoy — I’ve been meaning to read some of the great Russian novelists, and this was a fantastic entry point: much easier to read than I expected and also not unbearably long. I align:
“A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one’s neighbor — such is my idea of happiness.” LINK
Live well,
-Hector