Take action

Today’s guest post on @fat’s blog by @divya is a pertinent one that reflects on the community we work and play in. Her point is best articulated with this line:

By idolising people, I gave up on my opportunity to change the world, learn something exhilaratingly new, call out the wrongs done, and contribute to right some of the wrongs.

And this one, referring to her own successes:

None of these required any particular skill or talent, they are merely results of taking an action.

Keep pushing. Don’t simply do what the rest of us do—do it differently, do it better, do it faster. Take a stance and have an opinion. Don’t be afraid to be wrong. In fact, you should expect to be proved wrong. We learn the most when we take a chance on something and discover our assumptions were incorrect. Taking risks with our own ideas is how we learn to be stay both humble and ambitious. It’s a delicate balance, but one of the most important—you have little to lose and so very much to gain just by being yourself.

So, burn your idols, but most importantly, take action.