It's not all about winning
Tags: learning, codenewbie
Published: 2020-08-13 14:26:59

---
title: It's not all about winning
published: true
date: 2020-08-13 00:00:00 UTC
tags: learning, codenewbie
canonical_url: https://waylonwalker.com/blog/journey/
cover_image: https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/cde22wcyi6j4b4k1sx7p.png
---


This post comes to you from the archives of [waylonwalker.com](https://waylonwalker.com/blog/journey/) sharing my love for the learning and the journey to success.

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_This is my story into data science._

# The Journey Begins

I am addicted to the process of learning and improving my skills nearly to a fault. The reason I say nearly is that my addiction is fueled with results. I crave the output of my work to enhance the work of others. I jump with joy as I see users gain insights they could have never imagined before. My mouth starts watering as I see their boring repetitive data mining activities be completed in a matter of seconds, opening up their mind to focus on their expertise. The day I stop learning will be the day that I start looking for another career path.

> It's not all about winning.

_~Mom_

This happened to me in 2014. I have a mechanical engineering degree and had a really good position at the time. I owned full engineering control of a small subset of engine components. The problem was that Everything is so proprietary and hardly documented the process of learning did not click with me. I felt like I had learned a lot about the product early on, and was stuck without any more resources to learn more. On the side, I had started learning python and data science techniques to enhance my job.

![mountains in the fog](https://d33wubrfki0l68.cloudfront.net/a093e6c28214bb9556a4e877f5d128cf77b82bd3/9c5c4/static/eberhard-grossgasteiger-382452-unsplash-6f1eb07825ef1b2165ea1a3805fff023.jpg)

> every time I feel like I have reached the peak of anyone topic the fog clears and I can now see a whole new mountain range that I did not know existed.

I was addicted. I felt like there is so much knowledge easily obtained online in my free time, and I was able to take it back to my job and achieve results. Every time I feel like I have reached the peak of anyone's topic the fog clears and I can now see a whole new mountain range that I did not know existed.

# Love the Journey

By 2017 I was really good at gaining results for our business and decided to make the jump to the data science team. I have achieved great results, and have been recognized as a high contributor to our business. Still, I do not feel like I have won. My goals are always moving and will always be 3-6 months ahead of me. I truly enjoy the process of learning and providing value so much that I will never let myself sit back and think that I have won and its time to reap the rewards of my hard work. I will say that I am winning. Not because of any results, awards, or recognition, but because I am happy. I have found a career path that I really enjoy the journey and I am not just trying to get on the fast track to a destination.

![exploring](https://d33wubrfki0l68.cloudfront.net/162929bbf69dff3eb3b32dfbacb0988e49014ce0/999b0/static/michelle-spencer-1116-unsplash-86715ac2384bc1a140cd9f01a6d0c883.jpg)

> Life is too short to stay on a path you do not enjoy.

Enjoy the journey, explore new paths, and do what brings you joy. Life is too short to stay on a path you do not enjoy. Focus on the process not the Destination.

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