Brianne Fahey

curiosity

Space to Work

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There are a lot of influences on an event.  Each of us have our own set of internal and external forces working on us as well.

My goal is to be able to draw from my headspace or my heartspace.

You know those days when your senses tingle to lead you to your lost keys and there’s no actual logic or reason to your discovery?  That’s your heartspace. Your intuition, instinct, and natural internal abilities drive from the heart.  You can close your eyes and lead from your heartspace with nothing but an idea and some imagination.

At other times nothing but numbers drive what you do next. You work smart with the tools you have at hand. You follow a procedure and endeavor to produce predictable results. You make a plan based on the likeliest outcome and use a tried and true technique to get there.  Some days you don’t want to chase a guess so you follow a trusted formula and lead with your headspace.

Both of these methods are good methods.  Finding a blend is even better.

I’m really in The Zone when I can work from both my headspace and heartspace. If I can build a plan based on the research, pay attention to the fails and the changes and then pivot into a new idea or a variation on the primary, I can persevere.  Work with your peers and mentors,  dig in to your headspace and your heartspace.  Make questions and find answers and keep trying – be it forward, backward, or sideways – till you get your conclusive point.

 

I put together the above image with my free trial of MindJet Mind Manager 2018.  I consider this a Venn diagram of the things that live within my own headspace and heartspace.

Find a Zone that works for you and build up your material understanding and experiential inclinations to grow it and support it.

Learning is Living

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There are so many things I want to know…

I regularly scan for stories and use cases that will inspire good work and sharpen what I can offer.  As a result, I read about a lot of tools and theories that I am not familiar with.  Knowledge requires information and growth requires experience.  I’ve always been a fan of the idea of writing down any term or acronym you see or hear in use and if you don’t have a chance to ask about it immediately – Google it later.

Today is always a good day to start.

Personally I keep a running list of things I want to lean more about.  That way when I see an opportunity to pick up an ebook, watch some recorded convention talks on YouTube or take advantage of a training deal, I know where to start. Because the list is sometimes overwhelming, I use a priority system that keeps me focused. Chris Sanders offered a fantastic discount on his Applied Network Defense courses at the end of 2017 and I could not pass up the opportunity to learn from him.  I saw Chris speak at BSides Cincy this summer about Curiosity as a necessary analyst skill. He is intelligent and inspiring.  Plus he knows what the heck he’s doing and I love his philanthropy goals for the Rural Tech Fund.

All this is shaping my early 2018 personal learning plan around these 3 Applied Network Defense Courses:

Some of Chris Sanders’ Applied Network Defense Courses

Keep building yourself.

I know I have a lot to learn.  I keep pushing myself to ask questions, admit when I need to do more research, and listen to the inputs of my friends and colleagues.  Listen to the experts and those willing to teach, like Chris Sanders. It will stoke your curiosity and possibly even inspire you.