Don’t settle!

Don’t settle!

And, so, it all begins again. After a nice restful Summer break, the new semester has arrived, and I can’t wait. I have the privilege to learn from a whole lot of new students.

The great thing is that things really seem to be scaling up again after the pandemic lockdowns. Along with my university teaching on Wednesday, I have two new presentation areas: the GLASS wallet and quantum computers. I am a bit scared, and these are both keynote talks. To me, though, you have to watch that you settle on something in your comfort zone and never push yourself. Steve Jobs says it best:

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”

So, on Tuesday, I’m off to one of my favouriate universities (Royal Holloway) to present on how digital wallets could break down the barriers that falsely divide us [here]:

And then do my Network Security and Cryptography class on Wednesday, followed by a keynote talk in my second favourite city in the world (Glasgow) [here]:

The work is part of a partnership I have with Madjid Tehran (and who knows so much about how to drive quantum computers for good things, and I have a strong understanding of Post Quantum Cryptography (PQC). So it’s a sinner and saint approach.

For just now, I am a bit scared, but, if you don’t push yourself into areas outside your comfort zone, you never advance.

Don’t settle! Have wonderment in this amazing world and its beauty, but know its flaws, and do something about it. Have a vision and define your mission in life.

If you are coming along to the talks next week, please be gentle on me … I must just break a little.