The Value of Checking Your Work Twice and Washing Away Obstacles.
Dean Kamen is my go-to hero in making the most of my weaknesses. You may not be a big enough nerd/geek to know who he is but let me introduce him later. I gained insight from one of my newsletters about presenting our written work in public. Ashton Kleon even wrote a book, Show Your Best Work. I am always getting called out for errors. I make a few, quite a few. What gets me in trouble is being in a mad rush to publish. I don't check my work over one more time. However, taking the time to read over my sources and check how my work sounds when I read it leads to significantly fewer printed errors. I don't need to come across as dumb if I take the time not to act dumb. Not being the smartest can frequently be overcome by being the most self-checked.
That brings me to Dean Kamen, an inventor of such things as the segway two-wheel scooters and, more recently, the self-serve soda machines you see in movie theaters. It has a massive touch screen that allows you to choose from a dizzying array of coke products. In exchange, Coke funded his research and deployment of drinking water filtration systems that could be deployed and serviced by rural communities worldwide. He has trouble reading, so he reads books very carefully, slowly, and sometimes twice—decidedly an ingenious fellow. You have to admit it seems to be working for him. He has turned a weakness into strength.
"I started realizing that I wasn't so dumb; rather, most people simply didn't know the answers to the questions that I was interested in-or they didn't care."
My boss is great at this habit of self-checking his work and constantly admonishes me to do the same and look at it in different browsers to ensure it shares and presents at its best. I am not a great researcher or writer, but I now repeatedly check my work. So, like my hero, I don't sound so dumb after all.
I have one more thought on this topic to share. Suppose we persist like water which does not resist its weaknesses but persists in doing what it does best, flowing. It washes away rocks with a patient drip. "Remember, you are half water. If you can't go through an obstacle, go around it." Margret Atwood. By way of James Clear 3-2-1 newsletter.