Personal essays
Step back from the shiny object.
So many shiny things
I lasted a day before installing the iOS, iPad, Watch, and Mac betas on my devices.
The sessions on what’s new in SwiftUI, Swift, and other familiar APIs combined with the introductions to the new technologies left me sketching out a few apps I might try building.
I love the week of the Apple developer conference.
It’s particularly fun when many of us are able to come together in one place - but just the promise of all that is coming to the various platforms we love get’s me all fired up.
Scoping out the competition
By midweek I wasn’t sure any more.
I was feeling old, dejected, and behind.
As I describe in this free video Take a Breath, by Wednesday John Sundell had written a dozen articles, Ben Scheirman had posted a screencast, David Smith had started his next project, and Paul Hudson had posted a ton of content (and probably written his next two books.
And then I remembered…
It’s not a competition
I’m going to read Sundell’s articles, watch Scheirman’s screencast, buy Smith’s app, and benefit tremendously from all that Hudson does.
I took a breath.
I felt energized and excited. The possibilities are endless.
Instead of feeling dejected that my training business is gone while we can’t travel, I see opportunities to write the apps I never have time to write, explore new technologies, and reconsider those I thought I knew.
Goals and plans
I’ll say more when I know more, but I’m going to update all of my books for Xcode 12, iOS 14, and the additions to SwiftUI.
I plan to do some of that work in public. I’ll write articles here or there noting changes I’m making.
One of the things I remembered is that, like Apple, I’m often not the first on a given topic. When I used to cover the MacWorld and WWDC keynote for various publications, mine was the article that often appeared later in the week after we’d sat with the announcements for a while.
Your voice
Part of what relaxed me by week’s end was remembering where I fit in in this ecosystem.
I’m not saying my work is better than John’s, Ben’s, David’s, or Paul’s - it often isn’t nearly as good - I’m saying that it’s different.
All of our work is different in a way that reflects the differences in our personalities and personal goals.
Whether you intend to or not, the work you do often reveals a lot about who you are.
Embrace that.
We are not competing. We are all part of a bigger whole.
Find you place. Find your pace.
To paraphrase what Apple says at the end of too many presentations, I can’t wait to see what you come up with.
Essay from Dim Sum Thinking Newsletter 14. Read the rest of the Newsletter or subscribe