# ama.md
You can ask any question anonymously through the link below. By default, questions are answered here. If you want a private response, let me know (with a way to contact you).
## answered
Q: If your 40-year-old self could tell you something now, what would he say?
A: Great question. Before I answer, one common pitfall I've noticed when I answer this sort of question is I generally bias towards overly optimistic answers (i.e. "don't take things too seriously, it'll all work out in the end"). Perhaps it's because I'm speaking from a future where I already know things have worked out so I can afford to advise my younger self to take more breaks and be more relaxed. For this answer, I will avoid giving advice like this.
I think my 40-year-old self would advise my 22-year-old self to set meaningful long horizon goals and periodically reflect on two things:
1) whether these long horizon goals still align with your expectations i.e. whether you still truly believe you're getting what you signed up for
2) monitoring and adapting (if necessary) your game plan to reach these goals as your understanding of the playing field improves
I think as I get older, I'll develop better strategies to improve on both, but the overall framework seems durable. Will have to credit Naval Ravikant for inspiring this line of thinking: "The only real test of intelligence is if you get what you want out of life."
I think my 40-year-old self would advise my 22-year-old self to set meaningful long horizon goals and periodically reflect on two things:
1) whether these long horizon goals still align with your expectations i.e. whether you still truly believe you're getting what you signed up for
2) monitoring and adapting (if necessary) your game plan to reach these goals as your understanding of the playing field improves
I think as I get older, I'll develop better strategies to improve on both, but the overall framework seems durable. Will have to credit Naval Ravikant for inspiring this line of thinking: "The only real test of intelligence is if you get what you want out of life."
Q: I came from a chemical engineering background and want to develop a second discipline in software, really inspired by your experience, do you plan on doing mentorships for aspiring engineers like you?
A: Thanks for your kind words! Unfortunately, I don't have the bandwidth for mentorships at the moment with school and work. Best of luck on your journey into software engineering!
Q: When are u starting a company?
A: Not sure. If I do, it'll be updated on my now page.