Stream2

Style is a funny thing. Once it takes hold it’s unshakeable. The lengths one can go to, however, to get to a style that feels qualitatively sufficient varies.

As a man of multiple interests I’ve had many opportunities to find style and each area of interest has provided its own unique path to a sense of style.

I’ve been reading Nietzsche for years now and I’ve always loved the way his writing rings subtly in my ear, but this was never enough for me. I had to consult the memory bank and reflect on how in a previous life Rousseau did the same for me, then recall that at an even earlier period Dostoevsky struck me with beautiful depth, and only then upon reflecting on what they all had in common did a target manifest. It’s the commonality between these three writers that presented itself to me as being of the highest quality.

Jazz piano was an entirely different story. I started off listening to Keith Jarrett and he wowed me, but he didn’t provide me with a style of interest. He simply made me aware of the potential of the piano as an instrument. It was only when I started listening to Bill Evans that all at once I accepted his style singularly. No other influence was needed. The harmonies of profound beauty, and progressions, that are Bill Evans’ bread and butter, the melodies that ring as if they are harmonic themselves, and a special shoutout to his chord solos – this style of his struck me as so thoroughly complete that I never cared to listen to another pianist.

Many entrepreneurs suggest specializing. They draw two circles, one of which has multiple little lines coming out of it, and another that has one long line coming out of it, then they say look how much farther you can go if you only do one thing. However I don’t think I could do entrepreneurship if it didn’t agree with me stylistically. I’ve been working on three fields in parallel – cybersecurity, engineering, and philosophy. It’s only in the combination of these three fields that entrepreneurship finally presented itself to me as something beautiful that I could move forward with.

I thought of a quirky line years back: “It took two, it took to”, and this is the formula for my finding the style I like in rap. I listen mostly to Lil Wayne and Drake. To be sure they both stand on their own like Bill Evans, but I wouldn’t be able to listen to rap for extended periods of time with only one of them. I need both to sustain my listening ear.

As for employment it only took one company for me to feel satisfied with my work life. A company that has great culture, plenty of interesting technical work that spans both software and engineering, and work from home – this did it for me. I work for a company called Orbital Stack and it works for me from a stylistic point of view. I’m not looking for something different, I’m looking to get into it. Ultimately maybe this is what finding a style means: when you know precisely what you want to get into. When you don’t need to search anymore.

So, for my readers, though you are few, you are cherished: what kind of styles do you like? And how many did it take for you to take to it? Post in the comments 😊