Hacker Philosophy Weekly - The Danger Zone
Danger is a friend
Hey this is Chris from Cyber Seneca letters back with another episode of Hacker philosophy weekly.
This week I’m going to touch on what I call "The Danger Zone". This is a topic discussed in the recent Cyber Seneca Letter titled "On Fair Winds" published recently.
After doing a deep dive into this subtopic, check out letter 3 "On Fair Winds" available on cyberseneca.com, under the section called "The Letters" for more hacker philosophy goodness.
Okay so, Danger Zone: what am I talking about and how does it relate to hackers or hacking? Like discussed on the previous episode of Hacker Philosophy Weekly "Hacker Mindset", the danger zone is a state of mind.
The Danger Zone is a state of mind
If the Hacker Mindset is how I can accomplish a goal, then the Danger Zone is where I go to accomplish that goal both mentally, and to get a little deeper, spiritually.
"On Fair Winds" talks about how a person must always move forward, never to the side and never backwards. I know there are times in my life where I am faced with an obstacles or challenges that seem to never end, daily or even hourly.
When I am faced with a challenge, that is the moment in time where I can make the decision to step to the side, or step forward. The place where that moment exists is the Danger Zone.
The Danger Zone in and of itself is not dangerous. It's a term used to help understand where I am and what I am facing. It's a trick I use to collect myself and think rationally, so that I can start figuring out how to move forward.
It’s a trick I use to collect myself and think rationally
When I become aware that I am facing a problem, when I can label my situation as being in the Danger Zone, my mental perspective shifts and the growth mindset kicks in.
Instead of an obstacle I see an opportunity: an opportunity to move forward.
As a hacker, my options for overcoming the obstacle are vast. The longer I stay in the Danger Zone, the more options I can explore. The longer I stay in the Danger Zone, the more adversity my mind and spirit are able to endure.
The longer I stay in the Danger Zone, the more adversity my mind and spirit are able to endure
One day there will come an obstacle that I am not ready to face today. Each minute I spend in the danger zone now prepares me for that challenge, bringing me one step closer to seizing an opportunity when it presents itself.
For example: my current job. Many would consider it a dream job, and I count myself among them. A manager of hackers? At a world class company where I have opportunities to explore the philosophy behind offensive operations? Easy.
I could not have seized that opportunity had I not given up on job interviews, of which I failed more than twenty over the course of a year.
I stayed in the zone. I kept moving forward. I put myself in the best spot to face my obstacles by keeping them in front of me, and never to my back.
Stay in the danger zone, be a hacker, and fair winds will find and guide you.
Farewell.