life Archives - Another Geek Blog

I started my career early, at fourteen years old. My dad owned a small business, and I had been pestering him since I was about eight that I wanted to work. So, when I reached the minimum legal age to work in Brazil, he hired me.

You might imagine I’d be hired for a position just for show, one where no real work was necessary. But no… My dad assigned me arguably the most painful work possible for me.

You see, I am a highly introverted person. To say I’m uncomfortable with people and new situations is an understatement. So, naturally, my dad assigned me tasks like calling customers and partners, going to the bank, dealing with Brazilian bureaucracy, and running all sorts of errands that usually required me to talk to people and ask for help or directions. This was the early 1990s, so the only way to figure out which bus to take home from an unfamiliar neighborhood was to ask someone at the bus stop. Remember, this was Brazil. At the time, bus stops were often just wooden poles painted red and stuck in the ground, with no signs indicating which bus lines served that stop, schedules, or anything else.

I hated running those errands. But the experience taught me something crucial: Figure It Out.

Unsurprisingly, this mindset proved very helpful when I started tinkering with computers. I didn’t know anyone else who knew how to use them. I had only one friend at school who actually owned a computer, and that was it.

My resources were limited: a few books (they were expensive, so not many), access to BBSes, and later, the Internet, plus those almost-useless manuals that came with computers.

Well, those resources might be enough if you have the right mindset. I can’t claim to be one of those geniuses who could write an operating system in assembly just by reading code from a monthly magazine, but I definitely made progress.

When I entered high school – where, in Brazil, you could also receive vocational training – I chose an IT track. There, I finally found like-minded individuals to exchange ideas, share books and information, and generally just figure things out together. Many of our teachers weren’t very helpful, and by the end of our final year, a few of us were more technically competent than most of them.

College proved disappointing, involving several false starts. The only time I truly felt I was making progress and learning was at the last university I attended. There, I discovered a few students running a “Linux Lab.” I finally found a group of nerds who were figuring things out on their own, and we started spending time together, learning from each other.

But since that still wasn’t enough, I dropped out again and decided to work full-time. I joined a very small ISP – just four people, with no overlapping skills. As the only Linux guy on the team, I had to get the work done with no one to “coach,” “mentor,” or “guide” me.

I’m not opposed to those things – quite the opposite, in fact. I actively engage with and mentor many people, offering advice and helping them accelerate their careers. I truly wish I’d had someone doing that for me back in the day.

However, I find that not many people today seem willing to do the hard work of “Figuring It Out.” They often want precise instructions, a detailed roadmap, and step-by-step guidance on what to do next.

Well, most of the time, I don’t have that information for them. Most of the time, I don’t even have it for myself when facing my own challenges.

Look, I know that staring down a problem without a clear path forward can be incredibly uncomfortable, maybe even scary. Believe me, I remember that feeling vividly from my teenage years running errands or later, wrestling with tech problems alone. It’s natural to wish someone would just hand you a manual for life, or at least for the next step in your career.

But here’s the thing I learned from being thrown into the deep end, time and time again: those moments of uncertainty, the ones where you have to dig in and find your own way, are where the real growth happens. That’s where you build resilience, resourcefulness, and the unshakeable confidence that you can handle whatever comes next, even without instructions. Waiting for the perfect roadmap often means waiting forever, letting opportunities pass you by while someone else figures their stuff out.

Nobody is going to care about your life or your career trajectory as much as you do. They have their own challenges to figure out. So, stop waiting for permission, for the ideal mentor to appear, or for someone else to draw you the perfect map. It’s your journey. Take the wheel, embrace the messy parts, and start Figuring It Out for yourself. Your future self will thank you for it.

Or, more specifically, self-discipline. When you institute and follow a habit or routine as you have determined with yourself, regardless of motivation or disposition. Whether it’s hot or cold, in the mood to do it or not.

Here in my office, I have this poster right behind me, which I see every time I come to work and every time I join a video conference (for the benefit of other participants):

At first glance, it may not seem accurate. Discipline seems almost the opposite of freedom. But let’s break it down a bit:

My alarm clock goes off at 4:15 in the morning. I don’t hit the snooze button. I don’t stay in bed enjoying another 5 minutes. When the alarm clock goes off, I immediately throw off the covers and sit on the bed—90% of the time, I don’t want to wake up. I’m not in the mood. It’s cold (I live in Canada, after all). Maybe I’m off duty and don’t have to work. But – out of sheer discipline – I get up.

That alone gives me enormous freedom. While most of the world is still sleeping, I can choose what to do with my day and get ahead of the competition.

If you have the discipline to wake up early, say 1 hour earlier than necessary, you can quickly improve your life by following the 20/20/20 principle from the book “ The 5 AM Club ”:

Use the first 20 minutes for physical activities. Stretching, light jogging, or light resistance training (should not replace your primary exercise routine)
Use the next 20 minutes for your education and development. Read a book, or listen to a technical podcast in your field, about self-help or another subject that will help you personally or professionally. Maybe watch a lecture or take an online course.
Finally, use the last 20 minutes to meditate, reflect on the day before, write in your journal or have your daily devotional.

This isn’t particularly my routine, but it looks like a pretty decent framework.

Twenty minutes a day in a year means 121 hours. I guarantee that if you spend 121 hours a year studying, exercising and reflecting, you will be a better and more successful person, probably with more disposition and a better income.

Some perks of self-discipline I want to point out:

By using discipline, you also avoid having to make decisions. And making decisions is something that generates fatigue and stress. See decision fatigue on Wikipedia.
You become more productive. Less time is spent procrastinating or looking for excuses for doing or not doing something. Does your routine say that at 10 am, you answer emails? Guess what: At 10 am, you will be answering emails.
Your Decisions Will Be Better: When you plan and institute a new habit or routine that you maintain via discipline, it’s usually something you’ve pondered and considered for a while. You have devised a strategy, and you have a plan. It’s not something you improvised at the last minute.

Developing discipline can seem tricky, but I think that’s because people often confuse discipline with willpower. People say I can lose weight and run marathons because I have willpower. Wrong. I have discipline.

Go back and read the first paragraph of this post again. Discipline is doing something regardless of wanting to.

I’m a fan of Jocko Willink, and on Twitter, he often answers questions as succinctly and obviously as possible.

– “How do I wake up earlier?”
– “Wake up earlier.”

– “How do I go to the gym every day?”
– “Go to the gym every day.”

One of the best ways to develop discipline is to use systems instead of setting goals.

The idea of systems vs goals suggests that you should focus on developing systems and habits that lead to your desired results rather than just focusing on the results themselves. That way, you can reach your goals more sustainably and efficiently while building the discipline and skills necessary for long-term success.

If your goal is to lose 10 kg, this cannot seem easy. But adopting a system that states that you only have two meals a day and no more soda is easy to follow through discipline.

I highly recommend James Clear’s Atomic Habits book.

Finally, be persistent and have perseverance. You will succeed by creating good habits and staying disciplined even when things get tough.

In summary, self-discipline is a valuable skill that can transform a person’s life in many ways. By instituting and following established habits and routines, regardless of motivation or disposition, you can be more productive, make better decisions, and achieve goals more efficiently. When developing self-discipline, it’s essential to focus on systems rather than goals, be persistent and persevering, and look for additional resources to help with the process. Start practicing self-discipline today and experience all the benefits it can bring to your life.