Tyler Durden, the main character of the movie Fight Club, makes the following remark about modern society:
„We buy things we don’t need, to impress people we don’t like“
That statement sums up the term human rat race astonishingly well. But let’s be more specific: How does the human rat race work? And what’s its hidden purpose?
When life hits you hard, the only important question is „How do you respond“?
In the eye of the storm, however, human beings have an unfortunate weakness. We overcomplicate things.
And indeed, if you browse the internet for advice, you will find detailed action-plans and complex tactics on how to respond to adversity. But do you have the energy for all of this?
Probably not. Things should be kept simple, especially in hard times.
That’s why we should take a step back, breathe deeply, and remember this:
Programming makes me feel invincible. Not all the time, but surprisingly often.
In such moments, I get in a flow state where space and time don’t exist. It’s just me, the keyboard and the screen.
In that zone, thinking becomes effortless. Almost automatic. The solution to my current problem gets crystal clear, spread out like a map in front of me. It’s a sublime sensation when everything fits together – like the bricks of a complex Lego figure.
Good for me, right?
Just kidding.
Let me guess what you think right now. It’s one of these two thoughts:
This is a story about a simple bus driver from Santorini. He taught me how to prevent artificial intelligence from taking over the world – and from stealing your job.
It all started on my last summer vacation: My wife and I traveled to Naxos, the largest island of the Cyclades, located in the South of Greece.
As Naxos doesn’t have an airport, we had to fly to the neighboring island Santorini and continue our travel from there. Arrived at the Santorini airport, we went to the bus station to catch our bus which would take us to our hotel for the night.
Our bus driver was already waiting for us, next to his 1980s bus, chatting to one of his colleagues. He had a notable figure: About 6,2 feet tall, strong physique, dark curly hair, and the obligatory hairy chest you’d expect from a greek male. I guessed him around the age of 50.
He greeted every single passenger personally, then our bus journey started.
I have to be honest here: I started my blog 3 months ago, and it still overwhelms me.
The problem is easily summarized – There is too much to do, and not enough time.
Writing content, increasing web traffic, networking with other bloggers, working on blog design, participating in social media – just to name a few.
With all these different activities in mind, it’s hard to get things done. It seems that I enter a circle without getting actual results. Often times, my typical daily blog routine looks like this: