Like most of us, I wear many hats. Engineer, ethical hacker, author, and artist. Second only to dad, the hat I value most is that of maker.

For me, the title of maker is a powerful one because it contains in itself so many important concepts.

A maker is someone who thinks, who designs, who engineers, who innovates.

But they also create with their hands. They balance the cerebral and mechanical. They value working hard and working smart.

They like to tinker. Not every project has to have a goal. They make sometimes just for the sake of making. Making is almost a spiritual act.

However, when they do make for a specific reason, they have the endstate always in mind. And still they aren’t afraid to change the goal or the path to get there as they learn more and their skills improve.

They value sustainability and elegant, user-centered design. They eschew complexity.

They don’t invent everything from scratch because they know they don’t have to. They aren’t afraid of the good enough. They value speed and iteration in their design process. They know the first attempt is just a first attempt but aren’t afraid to share it with the world.

They look at problems in an inherently multi-disciplinarian manner.

Makers value creativity. They are inquisitive. They are passionate. They are explorers of the world and of the mind. They constantly learn new skills, refine existing ones, and apply something new to every project.

Science. Technology. Engineering. Design. Art. Mathematics. All subjects they value. Their passions are diverse. They are humanists. They seek to improve the human condition.

They never quit.

They listen.

And perhaps most importantly they are both students and teachers. They are fervent learners and passionate educators. They willingly and openly share their knowledge. They don’t hoard information to make themselves self-important. They recognize that teaching others is the highest aspiration for an individual.

They improve themselves, their fellow makers, and the world.

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