My Family…
Over the years as I’ve followed different technology “people” I started to notice a trend.
A lot of them, when talking about how they got to where they are today, mentioned one thing that I am finding to be true. That thing is that it takes a lot of work to stay connected to family and friends.
Most of these guys moved from wherever they had grown up to California. I’ve not done that, and its only been a few weeks, but I have felt how easily the “distance” can grow.
In particular I remember Kevin Rose, soon after his dad had passed away, talking about how much he wished he had just taken a few more weekends off to go fishing with his dad. Instead of letting work or his personal projects get in the way…
I also recall Tim Ferriss talking about trying to stay connected to his family on the East Coast. He talked about how he tried to set aside Saturdays to call his family and stay active in what was going on in their lives.
::Please note, Tim and Kevin are examples… I remember hearing them talk about this, but I know I’ve heard others talking about it too.::
And so… I’m about 7 hours or so from my family and friends. It isn’t that far and I’ll probably go back for a weekend here before too long. But I’m finding two things to be true.
Thing One – It Takes Work
Staying connected takes work.
It is pretty easy for me to get wrapped up in “my little world.” I pretty much eat, sleep and breathe what I’m doing here at the Iron Yard. It’s seriously like a full time job. Depending who you ask it may be more than a full time job.
At this pace, unless I consciously set aside time to make those connections happen, they simply don’t happen.
For me that means Saturdays and Sundays, I try to make it a point to call, text, email or somehow talk to at least number of folks from home.
Thing Two – It’s For My Sake Too
I need the connection too.
Although it may seem, at first glance, that staying connected is more for “the ones at home” than it is for me… the truth is that I need that connection. They are my family. They are my friends. Those connections are important.
It’s also super encouraging to know that they are pulling for me, supporting me and walking through this time of growth with me.
Wrapping it Up
So what am I trying to say…?
I guess it comes down to this. Family is super important. Friends are super important.
Technology is great. Learning is great. Ruby on Rails is great. HTML is great.
But these things can only go so far.
We, as humans, need to stay connected. Even if its inconvenient some times.
P.S. If you would like to see how I processed this image you can find a video of it here…