Success(Things which I didn’t do, which you should)

Vikram Vijayaraghavan

This talk…

• Conveys my opinions on what it takes to succeed

• Lets not “define” success . That’s boring; you know what success is.

• Success can’t be just – By technical prowess alone– By personality skills alone– It takes the right combination of a technical &

personal philosophy to really succeed big in life

PART I: Personal

A personal philosophy to achieve success

1.Don’t lie to yourself

• Ask yourself….what do you want to succeed in?• Do you really want to do computer science?

– Is it a passion (or) is it a paying past-time?– Are you going to work for a living (or) live for working?

• Do you want to come to the top of your profession (or) be one of the thousand software engineers churned out every year?

• Do you want to be just another “glorified typist”?

2. Cornerstone

• Discipline– Engineering is boring. Tough luck

• Any achievement of any worth is always through discipline. Life is not a movie!

• Perseverance– You have to stick it out; the people who have stuck it

out when others gave excuses are the winners.

• Never forget:– The achievement is at the end; the slog is in the

middle; you are at the beginning

3. Be your own person

• Group psychology – Avoid it– Not very different from a pack of animals– Its “cool” to be rebellious isn’t it? Try to be rebellious

on your own– Its “cool” to make fun of someone isn’t it? Try to make

fun of that person on your own

• How to counter group psychology?– Develop (external) arrogance as a survival

mechanism. – Come on. Don’t get defined by others.

4. Avoid the “Big Desi Lie”

• Respect comes from within; not a false external appearance– No point saying “sir” when you really don’t like that

person

• Most of our system is a show – Attendance? (I think it’s) A silly concept– Politics? A show of high stakes– Education system? A suffocating system

• Don’t get confused by the show around you– Learn to game it while being honest to your

conscience

5. Ethics

• Have a strong ethical bent

• This is one area which we really lack in & most other countries shine in. – Our Indian psyche is astonishing lacking when

it comes to ethics. Why?

• Get rid of selfishness. – Take a simple example: Traffic

• So many funny incidents about this…..

6. Work now, enjoy later

• Friends : choose them wisely– Fortunately you can choose them;

unfortunately you can't choose your relatives

• Party tonight? – Don’t go. :( Use this time; you can sit back

and relax later when you have achieved success

• Drive, energy, mental and physical ability are all at the peak in your life. And you want to waste it on....dancing, driving, drinking? Think about it

7. YES, Work is boring

• Yes it is boring. Tough luck • Nothing in life comes for free.

– If it were to come for free everyone would come forward to claim it.

• Make work interesting – don’t think of it as a work.

• Practice the art of concentration– Read a book every week (deBakley’s advice)– Sit in a quiet place for few hours and finish one thing– Prayers…..?

8. Think different

• Avoid TV– It’s called the “idiot box” and guess who is the

idiot?

• You see a film, you see a match, you goto a resort…..– Why don’t you think: I want to make that film, I

want to be in that finals, I want to be owning that resort?

– Be a producer not a consumer

9. not(Ego)

• In technical matters there is no concept called ego.

• Don’t hype yourself too much & don’t take yourself too seriously– Does it hurt if I say its most likely your degree

is not worth the paper its printed on?– Does it hurt if I say that there are always folks

smarter than you

• Ego distracts you from the end goal

10. Cliches, parents & teachers

• Cliches are (unfortunately) true! – I used to feel “sure….some old hag said that”. My mistake.– Pay attention to cliches; they are a distilled version of thousands

of years of experience

• Parents & Teachers are ON YOUR SIDE– They have spent a sizeable amount of their lives on you. Why

don’t you spend a minute listening to them?– They have made all the mistakes you are going to and they want

you to avoid it. – Yet you listen to some male or female whom you know just for

few months and who has no more experience or wisdom than you?

PART II : Technical

A technical philosophy to achieve success

1. Open Source

• Open source– What is it?

• It’s a fantastic philosophy with a great community

– Why do we need it & What can you do with it?– It’s the present & the future

• Good recession-proof strategy to work on open-source; its free after all

2. Linux

• Use Linux– Excuses: “Oh its too hard”, “It doesn’t install on my

system”– Try Ubuntu (www.ubuntu.com)

• Don’t simply use it for putting it on your resume– “OS : dos, windows, linux”

• Become comfortable with using linux and then…..become a poweruser– It’s a very good OS with a wonderful community

3. What can I do in “open source”

• Anyone can contribute to a project! Its all about the experience & exposure– Sitting in your room, work and interact with

thousands of people all over the world. – Why do you even want to goto the USA when

the USA comes to you for free?

• Pick a project in an area you like.Download it, join mailing lists, read the source

• Start small – don't be afraid– Documentation, bugfixes etc

4. What if I don’t like Linux or Open Source?

• Be an expert in whatever technology you choose– C# & .NET? Become a MVP

• There is always a need for experts whatever the domain, platform etc– It is “recession-proof”

• Its always never about whats “hot”, its about what stuff you got

5. Competitiveness

• “I thought the guy was a genius…till he opened his mouth”– Measure yourself constantly with peers

• Online competitions – topcoder : earn money while competing

• Only one principle applies– Get a bunch of smart people together,

something good will result

Some additional notes:Recession

• “Recessions come and go, you should go on forever”– A temporary phase can't spoil a permanent

career– You will see such ups and downs many times

• Work on technology, work on open-source (its free anyway), be recognized, be placed– Google summer of code, topcoder,

programming contests etc

Some additional notes:Going abroad

• Going to the USA is (pretty) easy– Colleges want you to come – they are

requesting you. You don't need to even search folks!

• Tier I/II/III Appl+GRE+TOEFL+Reco+SOP+Money → USA

– You want to goto the USA? Here are 2 key points to remember:

• its not about funding or branding. Let me explain....

– Question is not “how to go to the USA” but rather “whether you want to goto the USA”

• Personal vs Professional

I am done, folks!

• Discipline • Perseverance• Enjoy your work

• Open source/Linux• Be an expert• Be competitive

Thanksvvikram@gmail.com