Planting A Completely Ridiculous Flag

As I previously mentioned, I've bounced around in several directions over the last few months. Finally, I've settled on the reason behind it: something wasn't lining up. Each morning, I found myself re-evaluating what I had been working on just the day before. It felt like starting over every day in some sense.

A quote eventually came to mind, from Tony Robbins: "The strongest force in the human personality is the need to stay consistent with how we define ourselves."

Powerful stuff. But I think that's exactly what was happening. What I was doing wasn't lining up with my identity.

My initial business endeavor involved automating a process to mass-produce video content at scale, ideally for YouTube. It would be a potentially powerful and useful service used correctly, but I was approaching it for the wrong reasons. I was primarily focused on the idea that it would be a relatively quick win in making money. Approaching something strictly for the monetary potential is a good way to get into trouble, if not immediately, eventually. I still think it's a valuable concept but it didn't really align with my true passions, or ultimately, my identity.

I'm a firm believer in YouTube, but I struggled with the quantity over quality approach. For now, that project will be on the backburner. Instead I'm going to concentrate on something more authentic to me.

Here's the rough outline of my ultimate plan:

Short term

Personal "Brand" (jaypeters.dev)

I hear those are hot right now.

The components:

• Blog: Expect more rambling, long winded entries like this nonsense you're reading right now!

• YouTube Channel: The jaypeters.dev channel will feature focused content, mainly advice I gleaned from my experience as a software engineer and manager.

• Last Half Technologies: I'll also be offering IT consulting through automation and AI tools for small businesses that are looking to spend less time on admin work. That service will be available at LastHalf.tech.

• Twitter/X: - Content syndicated over to "X" via @jaypetersdotdev

Between affiliate marketing, YouTube ad revenue, potential sponsorships, and consulting contracts, I should be able to pay the bills in the short term.

And now for the aforementioned completely ridiculous flag...

Long Term

Quantum Computing Expert

Right now, I am not a Quantum Computing expert. I haven't studied Quantum Computing academically, nor worked in the field, nor do I know anyone with connections to the field. However, I do find it extremely fascinating and plan to dive in deep and strive to make a contribution. Obviously, this won't happen tomorrow.

Bill Gates quote: "We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don't let yourself be lulled into inaction."

In the spirit of that quote, my aggressive goal will be in just over two years, I aim to converse with experts in the field, and not sound like a complete idiot.

Will this be a challenge? Absolutely. Is it realistically achievable within a decade? I believe so!

Why Quantum Computing? And what happened to that identity non-sense?

Math, science, technology, and programming together have uniquely lead me down this new path.

First up, gaming was a two-for-one deal. I've been a gamer as long as I can remember, starting with Mario on the Nintendo Entertainment System. At some point I graduated to PC gaming and learned how to build a gaming PC, around the same time I spawned the bright idea that I should go into video games as a career.

After spending two brief years studying Computer Engineering before switching to IT, I continued chasing the dream of working in gaming. Eventually I discovered, much to my dismay, that the video game industry is a rather harsh environment. I quickly buried that dream, however, my new found love for programming and technology persisted.

In the realm of math, I fell two courses short of a minor. I heavily debated sticking around to complete them but ultimately decided not having homework anymore was too tempting. I finished Linear Algebra with a C, but within the last year, I've found myself on multiple occasions picking up my old Linear Algebra book with the intent to give it a second chance. Linear Algebra has been increasingly relevant as of late.

As for science, most of the books I've read for fun lately have been physics-related. Two books in particular, though, fueled my passion for physics and quantum mechanics - "Timeline" by Michael Crichton ¹, and "The Hidden Reality" by Brian Greene ¹. The former I read as a kid and it blew mind. The latter I read in college. Spoilers - the last chapter detailing the theory of a simulated universe powered by a quantum computer also blew my mind, and briefly made me reconsider my IT career path (and all of existence) for a good week. But finally, after an 11-year detour into software engineering, what better time than to return to science and quantum computing.

Looking at Quantum Computing, let's check some boxes:

✅ Math

✅ Science

✅ Technology

✅ Programming

✅ Meaningful Contribution to Humanity

And there we go.

When I took a hiatus from my software engineering career, I initially set out to provide a marketing service that helps people save time, which is noble work in it's own right. However, over the past few months, I found myself searching for a more substantial, long-term motivation that checked more identity boxes. A longer path, with a proper goal to ignore.

There's much more to unpack here, but that's for another post. Feels both crazy and exciting to put this in writing, and I'll take that as a good sign. Let me know what you think @jaypetersdotdev or email [email protected], and thanks for stopping by!

¹ This is an affiliate link, if you want to help me out. Obviously it is not expected, but if you do, it would be greatly appreciated!