Comments on: There Was a Time When I Was The Youngest

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:13:00 +0000

Great article, congratulations!

By: micah

micah — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 02:50:03 +0000

no one knows where their path will lead, just sometimes it seems that everything is running in the same direction… :) Sorry I missed you.

By: micah

micah — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 02:34:09 +0000

Read Amber Rae's post: http://amber-rae.com/post/384206121/embrace-ins... she kinda answered it for me.

By: David Spinks

David Spinks — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:30:35 +0000

Micah,

wow...how I can relate to this post. I face the same feelings as you and Jessica all the time. I too was in NYC for pretty much all of last week with SMW and other things (sorry i missed you). Surrounded by successful entrepreneurs and people doing big things, I get overwhelmed with envy and the competitive drive. I've always been extremely competitive and when I see someone else succeeding, the first thing I think is, I can do better. And I hate feeling envious...I much prefer feeling accomplished.

For what it's worth, I envy people like you and Jessica a great deal...I'm still young and I don't know where my path will lead. I guess we can only do our best right?

David
Community Manager, Scribnia.com

By: Aviraj Saluja

Aviraj Saluja — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:22:24 +0000

Micah, you have me a little confused about the concept of inspiration. What you said in a previous post (http://learntoduck.com/micah/screw-inspiration) somehow conflicts with what you've said here. To be honest, I sort of agree with both but I'm convinced I'm missing something. How do these two ideas go together?

By: John F Croston III

John F Croston III — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 10:10:20 +0000

Not being the youngest by far anymore, I have being thinking a lot this year about upping my game. That would be in learning new skills, finally working on my different web applications (picking just one) and the new coding languages that go with all that. Programming and the logic is not the problem it's the syntax and security stuff I need help on.

First problem is I need to spend sometime finding younger, smarter, and faster mentors, along with other people to learn from. Thinking some of them are going to have to be a few close friends to keep me going locally and then others that I have met over the years at conferences to help from a far to help keep me focused.

The other thing is to be able to run a few ideas and possibilities by a a few people to see what they think might work best or at least confirm what I'm thinking is good.

Don't worry about being older, since I will always be about 8 to 10 years older than you, since I turn 47 later this month.

By: JessicaRandazza

JessicaRandazza — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 07:41:06 +0000

You know I back this. I absolutely hang out with people who challenge me (including you), people who get me thinking and motivated to move into the next phase of my career. People I can “compete” with.

Know that in my experience that you're good at a tremendous amount, great at a lot, and absolutely exceptional at a few things. I think that's something you can be proud of.

By: Brianne E Villano

Brianne E Villano — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 06:33:21 +0000

Great post. When I graduated from college, a friend of mine who I'd had many a late night philosophical conversation with gave me a small plaque that had a little non-rhymy (it's a word cuz I say it is) poem on it. I'll be damned if I can remember it exactly, but it basically said that everyone is just as scared as you are and there is no point in comparing yourself to others – focus on yourself and your internal gauge and never be jealous of others, simply motivated by them.

By: micah

micah — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 05:56:03 +0000

The trick, I think, is finding people that are the right amount better than
you, right?

By: micah

micah — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 05:55:29 +0000

Humor only gets you so far missy! ;) I think people can challenge you in
many ways, not always professional. I have people that inspire me to be a
better and others that inspire me to be healthier, etc…

By: Niel Robertson

Niel Robertson — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 05:49:16 +0000

My old tennis coach told me “Always play Tennis with someone better than yourself.” Its that easy.

By: Erica

Erica — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 04:42:55 +0000

Enjoyable post, Micah. I have some friends that don't necessarily challenge me, but that have a really awesome sense of humor…I think that's just as valuable as someone that challenges me. Life is hard, it's important to laugh :) But I know you know this already….:)