Cover Photo by Sheri Hooley on Unsplash
How an introvert like myself managed to inspire people.
Up until 3 years ago, I had been an awkward guy to converse with. I could hold conversations in pretty much only two subjects: software engineering and video games. If that’s what you wanted to talk about, I was your guy. Other than that, your time would have been better spent talking to your dog.
When I lived in Cambodia as a nomad 3 years ago, things started to change. Somehow, I had become more social and could hold conversations on more topics than previously. I thought travelling did that to me, but I later realized it wasn’t the main reason for the change — skill learning was.
In Cambodia, I was working fourteen hours a day, up to seven days a week then. I was living in a co-working/co-living space, so there really wasn’t much else to do, and that’s exactly what I wanted at the time.
A few weeks after arriving, I realized that I could be more than “just” a video game developer. I realized that being very good in only one trade was a risky endeavour.
What if the game industry came crashing down and AI replaced all software engineers?
Could I adapt to this new reality?
The answer back then was probably no. I had always disliked school but loved learning, so I figured there must be a way to learn skills more quickly than by going to school. I brainstormed such ways.
I started researching ways to learn skills. I came across the fantastic Michael Simmons and Thomas Oppong and devoured their material. But the real trigger for me was Josh Kaufman’s TEDx talk, where he showed that with only 20 hours of practice, you can become quite good at something.
I decided to stop working fourteen hours a day and use two hours for my self-improvement. Thirty minutes for working out, and an hour and a half for skill learning. That gave me forty-five hours of skills learning per month. If I used Kaufman’s approach, that would be about two skills per month. But I decided to experiment with three skills, for fifteen hours each.
I started with these three skills: Categorization using Machine Learning (Logical), Past and Future tense in Spanish (Language), and Sketching, Line art, and Colouring using Photoshop (Art).
The real catalyst to my transformation was the last skill — art.
As a deeply logical person, I had always thought that I couldn’t do anything artsy and creative. I had tried in the past and gave up quickly. But this time, the whole premise was to practice thirty minutes a day, rain or shine.
It only took eight days of practice to realize I could do it. This completely shattered the mindset that there were things I couldn’t do. I continued for the rest of the month and was amazed by the results in all three skills.
I decided then to keep learning three new skills every month. I’ve since experimented with many skills that were way out of my comfort zone, like Meditation and Salsa Dancing.
I kept nomading around the world and also lived in Spain, India, and Colombia. In every new county, I become more and more apt at conversing about different topics. Before I knew it, I was the centre of attention. That’s not exactly what you’d expect from a deeply introverted person!
I started writing about my experiences online. I connected with deeply inspiring people and even made friends with them.
This all seems surreal. And if I look back at the Danny I knew three years ago, I can’t help but wonder if it would have been possible at all if it wasn’t for my decision to learn new skills every month.
I think not.
I’m where I am today because I went out of my comfort zone and diversified my skill set.
With learning different skills, I could hold conversations about pretty much any topic you’d throw my way. Reading books on different topics became easy, making it more enjoyable for me to read more and become more knowledgeable.
I started having more intellectual discussions on a wider variety of topics and became deeply interested in education, but more specifically, the art of learning. I realized, the more I learned, the more range of conversations I could have, and the deeper I could go. I even gave workshops on topics I barely knew three months prior.
Skill learning drastically changed my life for the better, and it can do the same for you. I built SkillUp Academy so people like us can learn like never before. It’s the largest virtual community of learners in the world, and it has only begun.
You can be more interesting too, and it all starts with taking the time to practice skills every day. It’s never about a massive single event, but rather it’s in the little increments. Step by step, you’ll get there.
You can do it, my friend!