It’s hard to say no when you can clearly see how much you can help a client, but I’m making myself learn how to do it. I’d love to be in two or three places working on these amazing and useful things. I haven’t yet figured out how to clone myself, although that’s on the to-do list under “learn how to train people to have and surpass my skills”. If I want to learn the things I set out to learn, I have to pull myself out of the easy wins and head toward the uncertanties.

Consulting is wonderful. Digging deep, making a difference, and learning new skills gave me the same thrills I’d enjoyed in my previous (awesome) job at IBM, with more flexibility and more influence on how I wanted to grow.

I had prepared for spending the first year just finding my bearings and establishing my business, so I’m delighted with the running start. I’m ahead of my savings targets and have been resisting the temptation to inflate my spending. I have an even better foundation for further experiments.

That’s why I have to keep pushing forward to learn more about different areas instead of stopping with the first success. There’s much more to learn. I’m taking September off in order to learn more about tracking and Quantified Self, explore mobile development, and catch up with family and friends in California. I’ve promised myself that in October and November, I’m going to spend the majority of my time creating value outside the time=money equation. I might scale back even further after that. It’s going to be a big shift for me and I expect to feel confused along the way, but other people have figured this out, so I probably can too. :)

It’s easy to respond to other people’s requests, and it’s harder to create the space for your own curiosity. I’m looking forward to doing that, though, and I hope I can learn many useful skills and share many useful things along the way.