Starting A Fire Without A Match

As I approach the end of my “high school career”1, it’s occurred to me that I can finally make good on that promise I’ve made to what is truthfully way too many people, to talk about how exactly I got where I am.

Despite what you might be expecting, I don’t have any formula for you. I can’t give you step by step instructions for starting a company, nor would I advise following it if I could. I can, however, share some revelations I’ve had over the years.

The Problem

In my opinion, one of the largest problems teenagers have these days is that they get so caught up in grades, tests, and college, that they forget to figure out what they want to do with their lives 2. Honestly, I don’t care if you’re a druggy, have a drinking problem, or are pregnant; If you can tell me what you want to do with your life, definitively, you’re on the right track.

But how? How do you figure out what you’re passionate and amazing at, all before you’re 20? I’ll tell you.

Prioritizing Life

The number one priority in the life of a high-schooler ought to be figuring out what he or she wants to do with his or her life. That means exploring, and seriously pursuing things that you’re interested in.

When I was in 10th grade, I started a (super) small organization named “Macin-Talk.” It didn’t really have any business prospects, but it fascinated me — completely and honestly. This was a defining period of my life, because this was when I decided that exploring my interests on my own was more valuable than anything a book could teach me. If you want to be anywhere before you graduate high school, you need to recognize that.

Looking back today, I can comfortably add that if you’re truly determined to do something, you’ll learn what’s necessary to do it along the way. That’s the proper order of learning, after all. What motivation does one have for learning in advance? How often have you heard students ask the very valid question, “when are we going to use this in life?” Discovering what you want to do, and then learning how to do it answers this question inherently and naturally. I didn’t know Cocoa until I wanted to start Flow.

And yes, because I know you’re wondering: your GPA will drop3. But really, answer me this: does an English degree from Harvard mean anything if, some years later, you realize your passion is in writing social software? Nope; it doesn’t mean a damn thing. So don’t worry about it. If you don’t know where you want to go already, your perfect grades aren’t going to help you anyway.

Doing It

Once you know what you want to do with your life, do it. Yes, that’s right, start right now. I didn’t successfully launch a 1.0 product by waiting a few years. I buckled down and worked my ass off, day in, and day out.

I’m not going to lie, even if you’ve made this far, it’s going to be really difficult. I titled this post “Starting A Fire Without A Match” because that’s exactly what you’re doing. As a high-school student, you pretty much have none of the tools necessary to make a difference. Chances are, you don’t know a single other student your age doing the same thing. But that’s alright. The thesis here is to not let anything stop you — ever.

Realize that when you go to sleep at night, unlike pretty much everyone else, you can rest easy knowing you’re doing something that matters. If you’re good at it, chances are it matters to the rest of the world, too.

And That’s Really It

Do what feels right, and trust that it’ll work out. If you keep at it, I promise you’ll end up somewhere worth staying. People who not only know their passion, but follow it, are incredibly rare in this world of paper-pushing, cubicle-working squares. It’s a great place to be.

1. I hate this phrase because it implies that anyone should just be focusing on school. I passionately disagree with this notion.
2. You’re wrong if you think you’ll figure it out after you get into college. By that time, it’s going to be really difficult to make a significant change in your college-path. Trust me, you’ll make different choices in your first year of college if you go in thinking you’re an English major only to decide later you’re into software.
3. At least partially. I had a perfect average before 10th grade, and graduated high school 20th in my class of nearly 400.

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You’re currently reading “Starting A Fire Without A Match,” an entry on Brian Amerige

Published:
04.20.08 / 7pm
Category:
Life