{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Harold Treen: software, break dancing, and improv.","description":"Visit GregAlbritton.com and HaroldTreen.com to learn more. \u201cNowadays I can have an image in my mind of some big (software) application that I want to build and just work on the pieces bit by bit\u2026 and maybe not see a big result until the end, but having walked that path so many times I\u2019m less afraid of it and there\u2019s less hesitation holding me back. I think it\u2019s just a process of teaching yourself to not be afraid of that unknown.\u201d Harold Treen is a software engineer, and more. His fascination with coding started with an introduction to HTML in middle school, and he quickly noted the \u2018magic\u2019 of typing something into a computer to make big changes happen on screen. \u201cThe amount of effort you need to input to see an output or to see an effect is so small that it helps start the motivation engine\u2026\u201d He continues to create code, now at Square Space where he contributes to massive projects.  While his interest in coding has been present since a young age, interacting with other human beings wasn\u2019t always at the forefront of his experience, \u201cThere was a time when I was very anxious and socially awkward. I made it a habit to go out and ask people for the time so I wasn\u2019t afraid of strangers.\u201d This deliberate action to open up to others has grown over the years, and it has moved fast. What started as saying hi to \u2018strangers\u2019 ultimately enabled Harold to say yes to an invitation to go to a dance studio. \u201cThe next thing you know I was going to this dance studio every week for a year, learning rumba and cha-cha and doing partner dancing and salsa. That was huge.\u201d His dancing enabled him to be more comfortable in his body, and a big weight was off his shoulders. He continued to \u2018lean into it\u2019, receiving compliments and even performing on stage as a dance instigator at the Daybreaker early morning dance parties he attends. \u201cI just built my confidence up to the point of, \u2018I don\u2019t really care anymore\u2019. I just feel totally free to do and act however I want.\u201d  And act he does as well. He performs improv, where one is required to listen intently, let go, and say \u2018yes!\u2019. What started as a means to socialize has become much more for Harold, \u201cI think it\u2019s scary at first, but it also encourages you to be yourself if you can put yourself through that over and over again and realize that in the process of being vulnerable you\u2019re entertaining people, you\u2019re making them laugh, you\u2019re making them connect with you. That is huge positive reinforcement to being vulnerable.\u201d Harold brings these learnings of expression, empathy, and openness into his daily life. While this may seem like form of living he has always had, it is relatively fresh, and he has put himself in environments to be social and collaborative, \u201cWhen you feel socially anxious and the story in your head is that people don\u2019t want to hang out with you, or you\u2019re not fun to be around\u2026 when someone offers you an activity to do, that\u2019s like an olive branch that you want to grab on to. \u201c Grabbing ahold of that olive branch and saying yes continues to bring about opportunities.  Whether he is contributing well-written, accessible code for his collaborators, or creating a character onstage at improv; Harold simply wants to \u201cbe someone that can interact with people and really understand them, who people feel comfortable approaching, who people connect with and are excited about.\u201d Thank you to Wistia for the music. \u201cSidecar Sessions\u201d Recorded at Wistia HQ in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Written and arranged by Dan Mills. Performed by Dan Mills. Engineered and mixed by Dan Mills. Mastered by Rob Murray.   ","author_name":"Profound Perspective","author_url":"http:\/\/profoundperspective.libsyn.com\/website","html":"