Episode 426 | Gareth Small - Grateful Turnaround

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Gareth Small talks with Dave Rael about dark experiences, going to prison, software as a path to improvement, living with integrity, and teaching and learning

Gareth Small started learning how to code by building a browser based MMORPG in middle school. He loved it. Afterwards, he went a different direction, and ended up addicted to drugs. After high school, he was involved in a robbery and was sentenced to five years in prison shortly after. He didn't want this life. It was time to re-evaluate who he was. He wanted more out of life. During this time, he had the opportunity to help other inmates learn how to code. He spoke at the first ever tech conference in a prison on a 2D Canvas game he created. After release, he struggled to find work. He wasn't going to give up. He gained work experience through consulting and contracting for the first year where he scraped by just enough to survive. He interviewed for hundreds of jobs, failed, learned, adapted, and refined his interviewing process. In 2017, he was given the opportunity to work for a company which specialized in helping children with special needs through their charting software. Here, he gained a love for the quickly changing front-end. He has since become a specialist in front-end optimizations and technologies. With the hope of spreading what he's learned through interviewing and job hunting, he helps out in a slack group that focuses on helping felons returning to society who are interested in software development.

Chapters: 0:15 - Dave introduces the show and Gareth Small2:51 - How Gareth got started with computing, gaming, game development, and software5:25 - Gareth on his journey to and through the prison experience12:56 - The reality of going to prison and computing as a ray of hope17:20 - Gareth's experience with the computer lab in prison21:17 - Helping others learn22:53 - Seeking jobs after release25:50 - Circumstances, opportunities, and second chances32:14 - Gareth's current life and outlook33:54 - Gareth's book recommendation39:04 - Gareth's top 3 tips for delivering more value

Resources: "Kite" Guy Royse on Developer On Fire Dan Wiebe Simon Sinek

Gareth's book recommendation: Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action - Simon Sinek

Gareth's top 3 tips for delivering more value: Always look for opportunities to grow (even in failure) Enjoy life (it's not promised) Take some time to understand what you want out of life