Find the fun in the work
Many people try to keep their entire life free, trying to find a way to be less and less busy, assuming it will make them happier and happier, but often for many, the inverse is true.
January was spent exploring my options. I like philosophy and personal growth, but I think that I needed to spend more time doing and less time thinking in February
- Neeor in January
February was actually spent doing. Having that hangout with a friend, joining that competition, reaching out to that interesting scientist. I stopped waiting for the world to give me a reason to keep busy and gave myself a reason.
So for those that don’t know me, here’s an introduction. I'm Neeor. I'm an innovator, currently doing research on biological computing, who does some cool programs on the side to network and make friends with people cooler than me. My dream is to either live in high-tech society or completely off grid with no Wi-Fi and lots of cows.
Any mundane statement has the potential to be profound
- Ernest A. Watt (My physics teacher)
This is essentially just saying your words have power. A statement you said and forgot right after might have the chance to change someone’s entire perspective. This is why I’ve been trying to develop my communication skills over the last bit. Sure, my vocabulary hasn’t improved much yet, but I’ve gotten better at slowing down and enunciating my words more. And while words and being able to form sentences is important, body language and how you convey your tone is just as, if not more, important. There are 3 big things that have helped me with this:
Slowing down both my speech and mind & Thinking before speaking
Recording myself speak and reflecting on what was good and bad
watching other communicators to ‘adopt’ their techniques to find what works
Essentially, it is practice. Treating my voice more like an instrument, and something I can control, has helped me change my perspective on speaking. I’ve never hated my voice, and it hasn’t been something that others have commented on (other than talking too fast), but speaking stronger makes you seem stronger as well. Both as a leader and as an expert. As Vinh Giang says, you can be a 10/10 with technical skill, but if you communicate at a 2/10, people will think you’re a 2/10 or 3/10, not a 10/10.
I’ve had the chance to be a video host for a newsletter, which is where I realized that I needed to be a better communicator. This, along with my knack for helping people through YouTube, pretty much screams “You need to be a good communicator.”
Finally, a project update…
So I called myself an innovator, so what am I actually looking into? I’ve been researching Biological Computing. It’s a pretty sci-fi but interesting topic. We always compute with hard materials, but biological computing is essentially computing and understanding biological systems and materials. For example, understanding how a certain protein affects a cell, and potentially using it to program the cell for something specific. It has connections with personalized medicine and gene therapy, but the unique computing part is that recently we’ve discovered how to train brains, kind of like how neural networks work in AI. However, what I’m specifically going to be exploring next is biomarkers. But here’s what I did for my first project.
The article link is here. (fun fact, you can clap up to 50 times on medium)
DNA digital data storage is one of the emerging forms of storing data. With the amount of data in the world growing exponentially, by over 20% data increase from one year to the next, we need something more efficient at storing data. DNA Data Storage isn’t what you’d think, it’s not storing the data inside us, it’s just using DNA as the medium of storing binary values. They are then safely kept in various methods, the most common being stored in solution.
Now, DNA data storage is possibly going to revolutionize data storage in the future, not for its cost, but for its longevity and compactness. DNA functions at the molecular level with intermolecular forces, which just shows how small the units we’d store data with are. While it’s not realistic at scale yet, that’s what drew me into looking and researching DNA Data Storage. I also just needed to refresh my python skills.
Business Competitions
I joined the Canadian National Leadership Conference, competing in the Business Plan, where registrants create a business plan, (Our plan is linked), for a potential business. This involved lots of research about how business works, market analysis, and in general how to run a company. I could get into the details, but I am not a finance person. I also realized just how much I was capable of when I actually get LOCKED IN.
Our Idea was a weekend fight camp, one with trainers and rigorous training, that took place away from the city. We thought it would be a good chance to recreate a Thailand exclusive event right here in Canada, and get some more tourism in the process. It would be a unique experience from the usual training, and allows us to add to the growing competitive fighting market, rather than fighting it.
What I’ve learned from participating:
While the work of planning it was fun, I should focus more on things that are real. There’s a saying in TKS of “make it real.”
Following a train of thought can lead to an interesting place. Could be good or bad, waste of time or a good use. Regardless, can be interesting
Don’t have too many distractions. If your brain is cluttered with random things, your brain will get distracted by itself when it matters most.
The only reason I kept going with this competition, which we got top 20 in, was because it was enjoyable. Working with my friend, learning some skills and knowledge to run and plan a business. It’s not a ‘real’ business, but this was an idea we were passionate about. If this had been something that felt more completion, something I’m forced to do, it would have been less fun. And that’s where procrastination would kick in for me.
There is one more competition I was working on, and that’s the Blue Ocean Competition. I won’t go in depth, but the video is here. We created a product that aims to provide temporary relief for pelvic pain with long term insights to solve the root cause of the pain.
And we March forth…
February was a busy month, and March is going to end up being way busier. That’s how life will be. Since I figured out what I actually can and wanted to do in life, every month got busier and busier. And honestly, that’s why it’s been fun. Going from directionless waiting for the next person to message me to kill time, to working on things that are fun and even others are curious about, is honestly a good change. Here’s what I have planned for the next month.
💣 TKS Spring Challenge
We have been given the chance to work with Microsoft to help make a more efficient and sustainable way to expand data centers with the increased demand for processing and AI
🌙 Ramadan
It’s the holy month for Muslims, where we have a strict fast from sunrise to sunset. It’s exciting because it honestly feels more at peace and every Muslim feels more connected to Allah during this time.
🧬 Learning about Biomarkers
My first project was about DNA data storage, but I’m switching gears to something more practical and fun to learn about, so stay tuned.
What should be your takeaways?
Work on things that are fun and exciting, not because work will turn to play, but because you’ll be more inclined to do good quality work.
Don’t try to have as much free time as possible, it’s the wrong mindset to have.
Communication isn’t about being an extrovert, it’s about being able to talk to others and make meaningful connections.
Thanks for making it through the article. I wanted to give some shutouts. The Peak, for taking me on as a video host. Steve Ouellette, someone I respect and have learned lots from. And Steven, for somehow believing in me.
If you want to find everything I’ve worked on since we last spoke, and more…
such a vibe, Neeor!)