I’m totally shocked by some art performances I’m seeing in the last few weeks.
I’m truly inspired by the amount of craftsmanship that goes into these art.
First, Better Call Saul came to its finale this week. Probably one of the best shows in television history. Then I watched this speech where the actors receiving awards.
What’s amazing is that these main actors never had any major performance before this show, and they are all getting pretty old, Bob Odenkirk (Saul) - 59 yrs old, Giancarlo Esposito (Gus) - 64 yrs old, Rhea Seehorn (Kim) - 50 yrs old. Imagine you are a 50yr old engineer and haven’t achieved much, it can be a little depressing. But these guys finally made it with oustanding performance. It feels like these actors spend their entire life crafting their acting skills, in preparation for their best work in life.
Similarly, I was equally inspired by some top performance of Chinese rap this week. Rappers have so many styles - mumble rap, melodic rap, drill, trap - just to name a few. And the best rappers are those who craft their own category to the extreme. When they reached that extreme, you feel immense power and respect from their show.
All these art made me want to craft on something. I want to feel that immense power when I get there. There is also an old Chinese saying 奴徒工匠师家圣, where you become a craftsman then you become a true influencer to the world.
Then what shall people really craft on in tech?
This question reminds me of the essay of obsession that Paul Graham wrote a couple of years ago. When I read the article 3 years ago, I felt obsession was too far away from me - I did not have anything to obsess about, nor did I feel I would ever be obsessed with something.
But Paul’s essay strikes a really important point - pick something you are passionate about and truly matters.
This weekend, I’m reading a book Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making by Tony Fadell. Tony is a true role model for tech craftsmanship. He started his career in making consumer hardware, and just kept honing his crafts, building iPods, and then later Nest.
One advice that Tony shared in his book, is when you pick your potential careers, you should start with “what do I want to learn”, instead of money and title. And once you picked it, you pull your ass off to hone the craft on it.
However, most of my similar-age peers, obsess over money and title, rather than true craftsmanship for a certain topic. Well, who does not like money and title? But, in order to achieve something really powerful and inspirational, you gotta hone your craftsmanship on something that matters. Just like the artists do.
After thinking through this, you no longer compare yourself against your peers, who are working on different things from you most of the time. What only matters is how much craft you gained on the thing you care about. And whatever that does not contribute to your craft and you do not enjoy, is a waste of time.
Eventually, craftsmanship is never easy and it takes time. Just devote yourself, then trust the process. Good luck.