Don't take yourself so seriously

People that know me often describe me as "serious." I would agree with this, to some extent. Taking yourself seriously is good. I know a lot of people who are way too relaxed. Maybe it’s because I’m impatient and I like to execute, ship, and make shit happen.

But sometimes I feel like I'd be better off if I dialed back a bit and took myself less seriously. When you're chill, you don't overthink stuff.  When you don't overthink stuff, you put your ego aside and ship your work even if it's not perfect.

I re-listened to Obama's podcast with Marc Maron the other day - Obama said there's a certain element of "chill" in him, probably as a result of being from Hawaii.

This got me thinking - most people aren’t successful in spite of their being laid back, they’re successful because of it.  

On leaving Apple, Steve Jobs said,  “I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.” 

Stay curious and experimental. Stay chill. ​