The Heretic

On November 11th, 1994, around the same time, the first passengers traveled through the Channel Tunnel, and the chemical element Darmstadtium was discovered, the Santa Clara Valley Historical Association (also known as the Silicon Valley Historical Association) interviewed Steve Jobs.

It is one of the most remarkable reflections of an undoubtedly remarkable person:

Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact, and that is: Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it. You can influence it. You can build your own things that other people can use. And the minute that you understand that you can poke life, and actually something will, you know, if you push in, something will pop out the other side, that you can change it. You can mold it.

Let this sink in for a moment.

Look around you – everything (EVERYTHING) around you, from the chair you might be sitting on to the digital device (and all its components it is made of) you read or listen to this, was made by someone. Not some singular uber-genius but a normal person doing normal things. That person can easily be you.

Poke life. And never stop poking.

https://theheretic.org/2023/perfection-sucks

You love what you are doing, are good at it, and take great pride in your work. Awesome. But are you a perfectionist?

It’s funny how we strive (rightfully so) for greatness. We spend countless hours honing our craft. We aim to remove even the slightest flaws – to deliver the perfect product (whatever that might be in your world). And then we become bores.

See, in our effort, we delivered a beautifully polished product – one which ticks all the boxes, but also one which, due to its lack of faults and quirks, is just… boring.

The most iconic products, services, and people have mastered the incredible transition from being perfect at what they do to the extent that they allow tiny imperfections to shine through. It’s the difference between a synthetic and natural diamond: The former is flawless, and the latter is priceless – despite (actually: because of) its tiny imperfections.

Imperfection creates personality. Personality, not perfection, is what we love.

So go ahead be imperfect. We love you for it.

https://theheretic.org/2023/stick-with-it/

https://theheretic.org/2023/kpis/