Juan David's Newsletter - November 14, 2021

Change the plans, not your goal.

Over the last few days, I attended an engineering convention that was more like a career fair. Many people seem to attend it to get internships and jobs.

Fair deal.

I had no expectations. I wasn’t interested in getting internships in the companies attending. Most companies were part of the legacy tech, which are companies that get the boring important stuff done.

I attend and talk to the many recruiters, and even have some interviews. However, I look around and I notice the lack of intentionality and herd-like mentality by thousands of attendees, including myself.

Everyone is lining up in two to three-hour lines to talk to recruiters to get internships.

You can feel the thoughts in the air:

“I don’t care what you do. I JUST WANT AN INTERNSHIP.”

Internship, internship everywhere, and not a minute to think for yourself¹.

They say, “You have to sell yourself. Have an elevator pitch. Wear a suit, and so on.”

Did I want that outcome? (which by the way it’s totally valid).

No.

So why the hell was I competing for something I didn’t want?

After long hours of persuading recruiters, I’d lose my energy and feel demoralized. It felt like I was running faster and faster and coming back to where I started.

If I want to be building companies and developing technology, that’s not the path that will get me there.

I could go and take a paid internship at these companies and get “experience” and get “connections.” Did I say experience and networking already? Ok, networking.

We come back to last week’s essay.

What do I want?

I want to work in startups. But let’s get rid of the word “startups.” I want to use startups as a medium to 1) create positive change and 2) carry out my vision of how the world should be at a scale.

Does it make sense to pursue other paths? That’s the question. I shouldn’t change my goal unless I have some kind of realization.

If I’m sure, that’s what I want. I should pursue it FULLSPEED!²

What holds us back? Our internal resistance, which in my case is probably a younger Juan David trying to please or prove people.

What does the current and future Juan David think about that? IDGAF.

I want to do what I want to do. Change the plans, not the goal.

1. Inspired by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

2. Even if I’m not sure, still FULLSPEED (that way I’ll know faster).