Forcing Function

It was late January of 2016 during our company holiday party at Shipwire—I know, holiday party after Christmas? Yeah, that’s how the logistics industry party.

Back to the story, I was chatting with my friend and colleague Abe about how crazy the year was. We talked about the new year and how it always springs optimism and hope for something better. I eventually pointed over to the group of engineers huddled at the other side of the room and told him “I’m going to be one of them, I’m going to be an engineer”.

We both laughed in hysterics at the idea but I was very serious about the entire matter. Mind you I had no computer science background, just a pretender self-described whiz who knew his way around a computer.

Just a few months prior, Shipwire held an international summit where we basically invited every Shipwirean from around the globe to a week-long affair. We had a guest motivational speaker—I can’t remember his name but what’s important was what he left me with that day—forcing function.

It was this idea about how you had to do more than simply speak something into existence, it was about making yourself accountable by making your plans known to others.

As I reflect back on that day and as I recently crawled through my LinkedIn network contacts, I smiled and couldn’t help but be happy for all of those people who’ve gone on to do more, to achieve their various life goals. I also write this for anyone reading who wants more, don’t just wish it, don’t just try to speak it into existence, perform it into existence, figure out what it takes, complete each task step by step. You may not get to where you thought you wanted to be but it'll push you to a happier place.