I Am Writing A Smart Contract

At least, I think I am. I definitely want to.

I mean, what I really want, or in more Agile wording: the problem I’m trying to solve is: an owner should be able to name an NFT, and have that name appear in the crypto asset. This requires an owner-only ability to change its metadata, and then a dynamic updating of the associated media file.

At least, I think it does. It makes sense to me.

I mean, what I really want is to make shit again. So I downloaded VS Code, and am following along with a YouTube tutorial. I’ve got some documentation open, and more accurately, I’m stumbling along, setting up a development environment on my 11″ MacBook Air from 2013, never having been a coder. And it’s exciting.

At least, I think it is. I feel solid about all this.

I mean, writing a smart contract may not be necessary, but the adventure of making something does feel necessary, and I hope to share the specific (and on-chain!) utility I’m after once I have something to show, as opposed to the other times I’d declare I’m working on a project. I do wonder “Where the fuck am I going with this thing?” as I explore this latest thing out loud; inner critic acknowledged & put aside, this is currently the art into which I’m pouring my heart: my next cadenza.


In 2022, I hope you find what you can control, along with what you can’t (like 2021) (and 2020) (…and 2019, 2018, …). If you’re like me, you’ll probably realize you have a much better ability to control the effort than the outcome, so to what combination of hell-yes inspiring outcome (vision / noun) and gut-level enjoyable effort (activity / verb) do you want to give your focus?

#StayAgileMyFriends #YouGotThis

Bring-Yourself-To-Work Day

Imagine this concept: “Bring-Yourself-To-Work” Day.

What psychological safety would be required in the workplace for you to show up as your authentic self?

What culture would be required in the workplace for us to celebrate each others’ individuality?

What grace would we have to practice giving for us to work with each others’… individuality?

What patterns of communication, both synchronous & asynchronous, would we try, to bring the best of ourselves to work?

I re-derived this phrased the other week, giggled, and figured I’d share for the lulz.

Want more? This has been written about, so google around. But first, giggle.

Explore Your Thing Out Loud

What’s your thing?

For me, it’s how Agility and personal development intersect.

I mean, I like making music, too. I’m usually found remixing something in my head, or beatboxing something out loud. This is a thing I can’t help doing, not so much because I’m intrigued by it, but because… I can’t help it. I guess this is a thing, too… a natural thing, vs. an intriguing thing. BOTH are things. (Where the fuck am I going with this thing? Let’s keep exploring…)

Pick a thing, then explore it out loud.

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To-Don’t List

I’ve made to-do lists since I was a kid, currently managing a love/hate relationship with ‘em, which is ironic, since I’m in a profession where I’m all about backlogs and frontlogs. So you’d think I’d be dang good at ‘em. I mean, I am. (I’m real’ humble, too!) And I bet you are, too. And we can get better, with a little help from our friends: Bruce Lee, Greg Marta, and Tim Ferriss.

Oh, and y’saw “To-Don’t List” in the title, and wonder when we’ll get more into that? Yeah, that’s at the end. I can’t stop ya from skipping ahead, but its build-up will make a little more sense if you hang out for the ride…

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You’re not a real Agile Coach unless You’ve Coached Yourself

Or, to bastardize a quote attributed to Gandhi:

Be the Agile Coach you want to see in the world.

And you can start being that person at home. Right now.

Think about it… If you were hiring a coder, wouldn’t you want someone who codes in their free time, contributing to open source projects, or is otherwise experimenting on their own? If you were hiring a network engineer, wouldn’t you prefer someone who has set up a LAN in their basement, or is otherwise experimenting on their own? Why wouldn’t this apply to hiring a Scrum Master or Agile Coach? If you were hiring one of these kinds of cool cats, wouldn’t you rather have someone who geeks out on this topic at home, or is otherwise experimenting on their own?

Regardless of the skill or domain, finding ways to experiment on your own means:

Continue reading You’re not a real Agile Coach unless You’ve Coached Yourself