From Geek to Star #26 - Stand first, then Fly

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🗓️ This Week – Episode 26: Stand First, Then Fly

We live in a time when things can seem overwhelming, even for us tech leaders and tech individual contributors who are used to seeing frequent changes in technologies. 

This can be both exciting, with so much potential to achieve, and at the same time exhausting, as it may feel like an endless wheel spinning faster and faster in which we are running. 

Out of chance this week, we watched with my wife and our two daughters a movie I had not seen for decades: The Karate Kid (1984). 

In the movie, there is a very famous scene when, as the young hero thinks he is going to learn Karate with his sensei Miyagi, he ends up waxing on and off cars… 

I won't make any spoilers, but the message behind that scene is that you don't become good at something by rushing in on what seems obvious.

🌱 Nature Rule: Nothing Grows Overnight

We live in an age of acceleration: instant code generation, instant insights, instant gratification.

But growth, whether in nature or in our careers (for 99.99% of us at least), still follows an ancient rule: roots first, branches later.

When you rush to “fly” before you’ve built the strength to “stand,” you risk burnout, fragility, and dependence on the next shiny tool.

Even in the AI era, the human foundation such as reasoning, discipline, curiosity, remains what makes progress sustainable.

🥋 Wax On, Wax Off… or Building Enduring Mastery

In tech and in life, the wax on, wax off moments still matter.

They’re the repetitions that make skills stick, the invisible groundwork that gives you stability before flight.

In your SHINE journey, this is the foundation layer.

Before your SHINE becomes visible, it needs to be anchored:

• S (Soft Skills): patience, communication, resilience
  

• H (Hard Skills): consistent practice, not shortcuts
  

• I (Industry Knowledge): curiosity about your field’s fundamentals
  

• N (Network): building over time genuine relationships before visibility
  

• E (Experience): time, mistakes, and reflections that make wisdom

As Mr. Miyagi would say: “First learn stand, then learn fly.”

💡 How to “Stand” Before You Fly

Here are a few small, practical ways to apply this mindset:

1️⃣ Identify where you want to learn to stand. Your foundations may be already strong in some parts of SHINE, pick one aspect you are not feeling comfortable yet that you think would help in your career and focus progress on it.

2️⃣ Practice deliberately. Block 15–30 minutes daily to build mastery through repetition.

3️⃣ Reflect often. Write or voice-record one insight per week. Reflection is how experience becomes learning.

4️⃣ Celebrate patience. Progress in small, invisible increments is still progress.

⚙️ In the AI Era, Standing Still Is Strength

GenAI may help us “fly” faster but it’s your ability to stand, to discern, to think independently, that keeps you grounded when everything else moves.

If AI can code, summarize, and write, your differentiator isn’t speed: it’s depth.

Depth of thought. Depth of connection. Depth of meaning. And from there you can use AI on the speed part.

✨ Reflection

“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” Aristotle

What’s your current “wax on, wax off” moment?

Which small, repeated action today is quietly building a new part of your foundations for your next leap? 

🙏 I’d Love to Hear From You

What’s the hardest part for you in slowing down and focusing on fundamentals?

Reply to this email, I read every note.

Follow me on LinkedIn for more reflections and “behind-the-scenes” thinking between newsletters. Don’t hesitate to comment or reshare,  it’s one of the best ways to grow your SHINE 🌟. If you want to know more about how I can support you 1-1 to thrive in your tech career, have a look at my offerings here.  

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Forward this email to one engineer or tech friend who might need a reminder: strong roots make lasting growth.

✨ May the SHINE be with you!

From Geek to Star by Khang | The Way Forward