I’m definitely a computer geek, no doubt about that. But you’ve got to have balance as well. I share my time between writing code, marketing my business, helping others, and ranting on about whatever’s on my mind. This blog lets me do that. Can’t recommend it highly enough.

Like I said before, if you need a hand getting started, give me a shout. I’d be more then happy to get you setup.

Yeah I’ve huge respect for Sean Kelly. He consistently performed and excelled throughout his entire career. Probably Ireland’s greatest sporting legend ever.

I agree with you on having heroes that are a little more accessible as well. I have them too. But for the sake of brevity I just listed the ones above to get the ball rolling. Obviously there are people I know personally that I admire hugely as well, but that’s for another post.

Obviously we all want to leave our own mark on the World, that’s a given. I think heroes play a vital role in this because they help to define (and explain to others) our own motives and goals. This includes all kinds of things like: what our culture is, what our values are, how we want to live, how we treat others, what we hold true, and so on.

Having a hero doesn’t encourage people to ignore their own goals. Instead it lets people express them. Particularly when they define a list of heroes, the sum of which is very different from the achievements of just one person and creates a completely new and unique set of aspirations.

Can’t say I really agree with he concept of a “Heroes” to be honest. There are people that I admire of course but I don’t really wish to aspire to be anyone else if anything I would aspire to leave my own individual mark. I associate the heroes with people obsessing over them and ignoring there own goals. Maybe thats too narrow a definition though.

You’re absolutely right, people can’t really lose their egos, they can only bring them under control, and then like you said, use them to their advantage.

We could talk forever on the strengths and weaknesses of a person’s ego (and I’d probably enjoy that chat), but at the end of the day it comes down to guts and respect. Respect for yourself and respect for others, while also having the guts to shake things up.

In my view, it’s a mixture of determination and humility that makes this possible. With either of these virtues on their own, you’ll get nowhere. But with the two combined, you’ve got everything you need to build that ‘good ego’ you’re talking about.

I agree that naivete can be a beautiful and a liberating thing. In fact, I used to keep a blog called Naive by Design. I valued the idea of not knowing the “right” way to do design and business. I was making everything up as I went along and doing what felt good and made people happy. But of course, along the way, I made a tonne of mistakes, offending others, embarrassing myself, but always learning a lot. The result of those hard lessons learned is now what you’re referring to as ego. And here’s where I value that: without ego, you’re a madman, blind to the way of the world and pleasing only yourself. I think that my ego therefore makes me stronger and I see it as progress in my career. Because of my ego, I make less mistakes and do more things that are relevant and valuable to people.

In other words: it’s your right to do whatever you want, to worry little about what others think; but true greatness doesn’t come from independence. Humans need humans. No man is an island, and all that! If you really want to “make meaning”, your efforts need to be in the context of what people need, what problems you will solve for them, and so on. You can’t make real meaning for just yourself.

I know you know this, but what I’m trying to say here is that you shouldn’t de-value ego and fame straight-up. Fame for the sake of fame is as much bullshit as any hollow, quick-win pursuit. But fame that is recognition from your peers, is healthy. It’s a perfectly human thing to desire. And it’s a good incentive to do meaningful, valuable, wholesome, relevant work. The real trick here is to think beyond the quick hit of fame you can get from producing short-term value; stunts can get you fame but it won’t last because their relevance diminishes as quickly as it appears. I know this because I’ve pulled more than a couple stunts in my career!

For what it’s worth, you don’t appear to be overly restricted by your ego. Unlike a lot of people I know, you’re actually doing something creative and constructive and clearly working hard at your business, as opposed to others that would rather talk about what they’re going to do (going for the hit of quick-win fame). Of course you could claim that if it wasn’t for your ego you would have done a tonne of other stuff. But who’s to say that pursuing all those crazy ideas would actually get you anywhere?

Risk is a requirement in the process of innovation and success. But it doesn’t have to be stupid risk. Use your wisdom and fear of failure and ego to take risks with the things that are least likely to fail! Failure is a great way to learn, but if you fail at the exact same thing twice, you’re doing it wrong.

If I was a good writer, I’d be able to say all that in one line. I’ll try now for the craic: Egos are bad when they’re bad egos, so build a good one and use it to your advantage!

A wise lady indeed!

Glad you like the photo. I didn’t realise it at the time, but looking closer at the photo I’m starting to think it may have been the inspiration for the colours and design of my blog’s banner. Not sure if it’s a fluke or a sub-conscious decision I made. But they’re quite similar no matter what way you look at it.