Blog It Forward – Nil Peksen

Finally able to find time for a reply back to Mynyna Chau
Long-time passed over my last blog post, and I need someone to push me forward to write.
Special thanks go to Mynyna for waking me up from my winter sleep 🙂

About me:

I am a typical Mediterranean person born and raised in Istanbul. This sentence typically goes on with normal childhood, having fun or being a successful student, etc.
Nope, I don’t have them all except fun 🙂

In my early childhood, I diagnosed with autism. Today, it is called autism spectrum disorder.
Thanks to my dear 78 years old wiser Norwegian friend. With his support, I am openly sharing my disorder since last August. Previously, I was sharing only ADHD because of cultural perspectives, but I have more. Dyslexia, some Asperger characteristics, and dominant ADHD. These are my unique pieces makes me who I am and proud of them all. (I am also advocating #neurodiversity. I believe, early recognition and improved support make significant changes to autism diagnosed children. With this purpose and to raise awareness, I am working with support groups and sharing my insights with parents about looking beyond diagnoses.)

In my childhood, there was no particular school for my education in Istanbul, and I studied with healthy kids who helped too much to improve my social skills. With my mother’s most enormous effort, we normalized so many abnormal-looking things. For example, I hated to touch other people and never let others contact me. Somehow in my first grade, I saw friends hugging each other or teacher. One day one of classroom friend said that I am making people upset around me because of not touching them. After this, I started to touch my mum, which I didn’t previously. Then I found myself hugging her nearly 30-40 times every night (Madness, I still appreciate her patience while raising me). Then with baby steps, I got used to touching other people. My childhood doctor is still confusing about my easy to hug case, but I am Mediterranean, come on…

Here is naughty by nature, Nil.

Yes, I’ve learned many impossible said things with pain at the beginning but fun in the end.
My other great luck is having a close syndrome friend. Our dominant characteristics were nearly the same. D and B are the same alphabets for long years. In primary school, right after every summer break, we were turning back to school with forgetting reading 🙂
Luckily we both did well with our family’s support. He is in the US right now and going to be a professor at the end of 2020 🙂

Another crazy fact about me, I have been working since my 16 year old. it was a trainee job during high school. After high school, I studied computer programming, then studied engineering while full time working. It seems quite hard, but as a hyperactive person’s point of view, it is a lifestyle. Five years passed with programming and 15 years with SAP. I think the most fruitful and crazy years passed with SAP.

Two years ago, with a sudden and unexpected decision, I moved to Norway. Luckily it didn’t be a complete move. I had a chance to work remotely, and the short term projects let me visit my family and friends in every opportunity. Currently, I am in Istanbul, but this visit is quite different. I quit my project and have some doubts about turning back to Oslo. Luckily, I am the same Nil and saying the same things as two years ago; I survived all my challenges to this point, and I will survive whatever has come. Thanks to my never giving up, stubborn personality.

Here is where I used to live in Oslo, a lovely Lillestrøm district.

In my spare time, I love reading and developing ideas about Neuroscience. I’ve been reading Brain related stuff since 2000 (not only functional but anatomical). In the beginning, it was just an interest. I was trying to understand my own brain’s functionality. Years later, It became a passion. I think It is about my nerd side, mind/body/machine interfaces make me super excited and trying to develop these kinds of technologies in my available times.

On the other hand, music has a special place in my life. End of the ’90s and early 2000’s I’ve started to produce my music with software like Cubase, FL then Ableton. It began as a hobby, surprisingly changed it’s formed and made me a producer. I did advertisements and documentary music and sold one jingle to the world’s biggest cold drink company. It was a long years ago, and these days I have severe plans about turning back to making my music again

Let’s focus back on Mynyna’s questions,

Name the person who affected you most in your career/ way of thinking and why?

I have a lot, especially after my 2018 Teched Scholarship, I had a chance to meet great guys who made positive changes in my life.

Abdulbasit Gulsen
He is the guy who introduced me to the SAP Community. He is also a great mentor who did great things to support me and my ideas.

Emotiv’s President Olivier Oullier and SAP Innovation UX Director Philip Miseldine
These two guys introduced me to the technology that I am obsessed with for long years, which is a portable EEG. They totally changed the direction of my life and I am so thankful for their magical touch.

Jan Penninkoff
He is also one of the life touching mentors who helped me to make my dream come true. After experiencing portable EEG, I developed my idea, which has been thinking for long years, and Jan helped me bring my project SAP One Billion Lives. First nominated Top 1 project in the Netherlands than with an idea team from SAP NL, the idea chosen Top 10 in Emea N. Sadly, we didn’t get golden tickets at London finals. But no easy giving up. I am still working about the idea and developments 🙂

Share a fun fact/story about yourself that people don’t know

I think, my disorder related stories and the facts are the funniest ones — for example, direction dysfunction. Yes, I know. It looks weird, but you can’t imagine how I am confusing in essential functions sometimes. Generally, I prefer highly complex math problem than showing direction. Because when I say RIGHT and showing LEFT by my hand, the correct direction is RIGHT, not LEFT or vice versa. If I show the route with using my hand, it is %100 wrong direction. My family and close friends know this; the correct path is the opposite one.
I am personally not preferring showing the directions by hand, but sometimes I am unconsciously forgetting, and I am following the way showed person like a spy to be sure is he/she in the right route or not 🙂

What personnel development skills do you think everyone should have or strive to have? 

I think, finding a source of purpose and inspiration. First I am finding my purpose.  Purpose fueling my passion then inspiration accompanies me through the way.
Whenever I need, passion and inspiration help me broaden my horizons and provides the necessary strength whenever I need…

What do you most enjoy about the SAP Community?

Simply spirit. It has its own authentic, unique spirit, which makes me motivated more than other things. Here is the reason why I love spending my whole available times with the SAP community on social media, blogs, or SAP events.

Which is your most favorite travel destination and why?

I love city life. San Francisco (especially Palo Alto and Sausalito) and Berlin are my ashrams.
These two cities feed my soul than other places on earth.
San Franciso is a great place year-round weather. Both two cities are great for meeting like-minded people and both are very diverse cities in terms of culture and cuisine.

Now I’d like to learn from;

Anne Johnson
Marina Pontjakova
David Ruiz Badia
Łukasz Pęgiel
Douglas Cezar Kuchler

to share their insights or perspectives about the questions below.

• Share a fun fact/story about yourself that people don’t know?
• What is your personal life dream?
• What is your proudest accomplishment?
• What do you most enjoy about the SAP Community?

I’m also adding Susan Keohan’s great “blog it forward” post, which helped me too much when writing. If you didn’t like the questions listed above, please feel free whatever you would like to answer.