Re: [DIYbio] How do you keep motivated?

openbiotech.com is John Schloendorn's operation.

On Thu, Jul 3, 2014 at 10:40 PM, Yuriy Fazylov <yuriyology@gmail.com> wrote:
> Cathal Garvey since finding out that openbiotech.com is your website (am I right to make that assumption?), I wanted to know -some human cell lines are Biosafety level 2 whereas others don't have a classification. Does that mean they can be worked on under BSL 1 conditions?
>
> On Friday, June 6, 2014 3:20:50 PM UTC-4, Cathal Garvey wrote:
>> There are many tiers and types of "motivation", so it'd be hard for me
>>
>> to give one answer. So, I won't.
>>
>>
>>
>> On the one hand, I'm motivated by a love of making/hacking/doing, and a
>>
>> love of teaching and enabling. And, that's not likely to change. That
>>
>> motivates me to do "stuff" daily, whether it's writing, coding, or (when
>>
>> I was able) biohacking.
>>
>>
>>
>> The other side is motivation to actually stick to a particular mission
>>
>> or task, to see something through to conclusion. Over time, with my bad
>>
>> luck in the lab and events like IndieBB, I found myself enjoying more
>>
>> and more the other end of my hobbies; software and writing. Motivation
>>
>> to actually do things in the lab is hard to maintain without successes
>>
>> or support, unless you have something else to go on. For most people,
>>
>> that's company and camaraderie, but I lacked that in Cork for a long time.
>>
>>
>>
>> Another thing that was keeping me going was a mission to develop "open
>>
>> biotech", but I learned that, as an end in itself, it's sadly not very
>>
>> rewarding. I still develop open, but I realised that few people besides
>>
>> myself care that much: http://www.indiebiotech.com/?p=245
>>
>>
>>
>> Of late, my motivation problem has been turning around. We've received
>>
>> verbal agreement from the Cork City Council that we can use a lovely
>>
>> city centre building for a minimal fee per month, to establish a
>>
>> biomakerspace, and I have found a nice nucleus of DIYbio founders to
>>
>> back it up. We have Synbio Axlr8r in Cork for at least another month,
>>
>> and some teams may choose to remain for a while or indefinitely.
>>
>>
>>
>> So, my mission right now is to somehow raise enough money in the next
>>
>> month to actually fund a biohackerspace, and my own survival, in order
>>
>> to give it all a good shot. Probably corporate sponsorship, if we can
>>
>> find a local company with enough vision. I feel like if I can get the
>>
>> doors open, and invite people into a communal DIYbio lab in my own city,
>>
>> that I'll never want for motivation again. Time will tell!
>>
>>
>>
>> On 06/06/14 17:25, Dakota Hamill wrote:
>>
>> > No science here, but nonetheless important.
>>
>> >
>>
>> > It's been interesting reading the posts on this group over the years and
>>
>> > even meeting some people in person. The group is an eclectic bunch that
>>
>> > spans the gamut from academic professionals to people who've never picked
>>
>> > up a pipette in their life, and all are part of the family! It's great
>>
>> > when that many people come together because they want to learn something.
>>
>> > Curiosity is no doubt an important human trait, as is the desire to teach
>>
>> > others.
>>
>> >
>>
>> > I know many people each have their own little projects they are working on,
>>
>> > with some people intent on changing the world and others just happy to see
>>
>> > that a transformation worked. Nevertheless I'd venture to say that many of
>>
>> > us all share something in common, and that's that we all are a little
>>
>> > "different" from the normal crowd.
>>
>> >
>>
>> > I never liked jumping through hoops and life has an odd way of punishing
>>
>> > you for that. Many of us are or were students, undergraduate or graduate,
>>
>> > and I feel like academia can sometimes be the worst perpetrator of elitism.
>>
>> >
>>
>> > I'll be completely honest here and say part of me really desires to be part
>>
>> > of "the club" of elite institutions because it is a form of validation, of
>>
>> > saying, you made it, you're good enough. And then the other half of me,
>>
>> > which brings me to this place filled with all you fine people, says #$%&
>>
>> > the club. It says to me, you don't need external validation to be great.
>>
>> > You create greatness through your actions, you inspire greatness with your
>>
>> > ideas, and you nurture greatness by helping others.
>>
>> >
>>
>> > Maybe I'm going through a quarter life crisis because I fear committing to
>>
>> > graduate school prior to taking a chance in life, but it seems like you're
>>
>> > up against the world when you're outside the bubble of rich schools and
>>
>> > rich companies. I guess that never stopped many great people in the past
>>
>> > though, so why should it stop any of us?
>>
>> >
>>
>> > I suppose part of it is feeling guilty for asking for help without a
>>
>> > perfect product, or a flawless plan of execution, or an already finished
>>
>> > proof of concept. But...often times you need help in order to make a
>>
>> > better product, or to build a better plan of execution, or to achieve a
>>
>> > proof of concept.
>>
>> >
>>
>> > Before I write a book that no one wants to read I think I'll stop there and
>>
>> > just ask, what inspires you? What motivates you? What are your successes
>>
>> > and failures? Do you fear living your entire life without being validated
>>
>> > for something you've worked very hard for? How do you overcome caring
>>
>> > about what other people think to just get shit done?
>>
>> >
>>
>> > -Dakota
>>
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> T: @onetruecathal, @IndieBBDNA
>>
>> P: +353876363185
>>
>> W: http://indiebiotech.com
>
> --
> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups DIYbio group. To post to this group, send email to diybio@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to diybio+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at https://groups.google.com/d/forum/diybio?hl=en
> Learn more at www.diybio.org
> ---
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DIYbio" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to diybio+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
> To post to this group, send email to diybio@googlegroups.com.
> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/diybio.
> To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/diybio/df105862-8bb0-4135-9b4d-74f208749e35%40googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.



--
-Nathan

--
-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups DIYbio group. To post to this group, send email to diybio@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to diybio+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at https://groups.google.com/d/forum/diybio?hl=en
Learn more at www.diybio.org
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DIYbio" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to diybio+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to diybio@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/diybio.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/diybio/CA%2B82U9%2Bwt8zcAip4ZbJFqgpzsVUMpB%3DMac36M7xHXrSesdvMFg%40mail.gmail.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.