I Am Not Yoda

John Bradley "JJ" Jackson

05 Nov 2025 • 2 min read

I am not Yoda. (He might say "Not Yoda, I am" or "Yoda I am not")

But I am, in my own way, a disciple of Yoda. I listen. I read. I reflect. I advise.

I’ve learned that wisdom doesn’t come from age or a galaxy far, far away. It comes from paying attention. From being willing to change your mind when new evidence appears. From having enough humility to admit when you’re wrong and enough curiosity to ask why.

I base my decisions and opinions on evidence whenever possible. It’s not always neat or easy. Evidence doesn’t always line up with our instincts or our preferences. But over time, I’ve found that data, feedback, and experience, combined thoughtfully, beat gut feeling alone.

Experience, though, has its own kind of efficiency. I’ve seen patterns repeat. I’ve heard hundreds of startup pitches, and each one teaches me something. Sometimes about innovation, sometimes about storytelling, sometimes about human nature. You start to recognize the rhythm: the hopeful spark, the blind spots, the quiet brilliance that occasionally hides behind nervous delivery.

I try to evaluate things from multiple angles, not just my own. Perspective is a muscle. It grows stronger when exercised. I’ve learned that my biases are not flaws to hide, but signals to notice. They remind me that my lens is one of many, and that truth often lives in the intersection of views.

So no, I am not Yoda. I don’t speak in riddles or lift starships with my mind. But I do practice reflection. I do seek clarity. And I do try every day to make decisions grounded in both reason and empathy.

In the end, mastery isn’t about knowing everything. It’s about being willing to keep learning.

But I am not a Jedi Grand Master. Far from it.

Yoda I am not.

P.S. For the record, Yoda is a wise, sage-like, small green alien Jedi Grand Master, a main character in the movie "Star Wars", and a powerful Force-user. His species and home planet are unknown.