Monday, February 13, 2006
As I plot my escape from the rat race, it's essential to remember that world domination is not a goal. At best, it should be a happy side effect. A common characteristic of the big-talking blowhard who never gets anything done is that they will talk about how awesome what they're going to do will be. They'll talk about how much money they'll make, how famous they'll be, and all sorts of other things that focus on the desired effects rather than actual features of the product. I'm all for having your head in the clouds some of the time, but your dreams should be about how to make your product better. As soon as you focus on the effects you desire, they'll slip out of your fingers. That's important for me to remember, because I want a lot of stuff, and I think faster than I produce. What matters is making something good and useful, putting one foot in front of the other to make it better and more useful day after day. If that leads to a big payoff, that's wonderful, but I'll never get to the pot of gold if I ignore the rainbow.