Hey everyone,
I'm excited to be here! And I'm looking forward to learning from everyone. I'm definitely ready for something new.
I worry my road may be a bit different from many others here. I'm can't say that I've ever had an FTE. To be honest, I've actually found a lot of satisfaction working regular corporate jobs. I've been extremely lucky.
I'm a programmer. I find the work creative, interesting, and fulfilling. It's a job I'd enjoy doing even if the pay was minimal. But a bigger jackpot seems to be that most of my bosses were great. Even the bad ones weren't really that bad, and in the one case where we didn't really get along, it didn't last long.
Except for a brief rut around a decade ago, I have never stopped learning. The first decade of my career was in the game industry, and though the hours were long, I spent time outside of work continuing to improve my craft (which is still a never ending pursuit). After that, I moved to a software giant, and while I wouldn't say I've excelled there, I work with great people, and the company has treated me well enough (especially compared to the game industry). Recently, I've spent more and more time focusing on learning mentorship and management. I hope I've been a decent boss myself, to pay it forward.
My wife and I don't have kids, and we don't have plans to. We are quite frugal by nature, with similar financial values. Far from describing my life as deprived of experience, we truly enjoy it - we cook our own healthy dishes, exercise regularly, and travel locally quite a bit with our dog. We both have absolutely no desire to collect piles of unnecessary crap. Barring some unexpected emergency (like both of us getting hit with giant medical bills at the same time), we could stretch what we currently have for the rest of our lives.
I suspect many people here have to struggle against incredible adversity and face daunting risks. And here I am with this cushy life. But this isn't something I'm proud of. In fact, if anything, I feel ashamed. When I think back on the people I've known, the ones who impressed me the most were the few who took real risks, even when it didn't pan out. One friend, who started a small software contracting business, even created work and income for others around him, earning my highest esteem.
I am growingly self critical of my own lack of courage. Even now, the fear of making a decision that I'll regret is real. That I won't be good enough or strong enough for this journey, and that at its end I'll have shut the doors behind me only to find myself stuck out in the cold.
But, my whole life, I have been excited by the idea of striking out on my own. The feeling has always been there, but perhaps more like a persistent background hum than any sort of sudden epiphany. I suspect it's because I grew up in the shadow of my amazing late grandmother, whose husband owned a failing suit business when he passed away at a young middle age. I can't imagine what it must have been like to be a single mother in the 50s facing bankruptcy like that, but my grandmother was ferociously strong, and she turned around and converted the store into what became a very popular jeans shop. Even as a very young kid, I remember feeling awe for what she accomplished, and, being quite timid at the time, unsure of how she did it.
Last week, I took the week off from work, to buy myself some time to play around with yet another toy side project. During this time, by chance I started reading UNSCRIPTED , and suddenly, all those feelings about entrepreneurship I had buried for so long tore out with a vengeance. Suddenly I dreaded the upcoming Monday, not because of the work itself, but because I was intensely aware that Monday wasn't really mine. I also realized that I had already mentally resigned not to finish this side project, because, like dozens of times before, I know some work deadline will inevitably crash into my life and sap all my spare energy.
I've enjoyed my work, yes, but I've also given so much to it. And now? I crave owning my own path. I want to know that I can produce value as an individual, and not just succeed as a cog in a well-oiled machine. I'm hoping to embrace my fear of failing, instead of shying away from it. Given how much I spend time worrying (even more evident having reread what I've written above), I think failing a bunch will be just what I need to grow into the next stage of my life.
Thank you @MJ DeMarco for writing UNSCRIPTED and making this forum where we can learn from each other. I still have no idea what to expect, but I'm eager to find out what's next.
David
I'm excited to be here! And I'm looking forward to learning from everyone. I'm definitely ready for something new.
I worry my road may be a bit different from many others here. I'm can't say that I've ever had an FTE. To be honest, I've actually found a lot of satisfaction working regular corporate jobs. I've been extremely lucky.
I'm a programmer. I find the work creative, interesting, and fulfilling. It's a job I'd enjoy doing even if the pay was minimal. But a bigger jackpot seems to be that most of my bosses were great. Even the bad ones weren't really that bad, and in the one case where we didn't really get along, it didn't last long.
Except for a brief rut around a decade ago, I have never stopped learning. The first decade of my career was in the game industry, and though the hours were long, I spent time outside of work continuing to improve my craft (which is still a never ending pursuit). After that, I moved to a software giant, and while I wouldn't say I've excelled there, I work with great people, and the company has treated me well enough (especially compared to the game industry). Recently, I've spent more and more time focusing on learning mentorship and management. I hope I've been a decent boss myself, to pay it forward.
My wife and I don't have kids, and we don't have plans to. We are quite frugal by nature, with similar financial values. Far from describing my life as deprived of experience, we truly enjoy it - we cook our own healthy dishes, exercise regularly, and travel locally quite a bit with our dog. We both have absolutely no desire to collect piles of unnecessary crap. Barring some unexpected emergency (like both of us getting hit with giant medical bills at the same time), we could stretch what we currently have for the rest of our lives.
I suspect many people here have to struggle against incredible adversity and face daunting risks. And here I am with this cushy life. But this isn't something I'm proud of. In fact, if anything, I feel ashamed. When I think back on the people I've known, the ones who impressed me the most were the few who took real risks, even when it didn't pan out. One friend, who started a small software contracting business, even created work and income for others around him, earning my highest esteem.
I am growingly self critical of my own lack of courage. Even now, the fear of making a decision that I'll regret is real. That I won't be good enough or strong enough for this journey, and that at its end I'll have shut the doors behind me only to find myself stuck out in the cold.
But, my whole life, I have been excited by the idea of striking out on my own. The feeling has always been there, but perhaps more like a persistent background hum than any sort of sudden epiphany. I suspect it's because I grew up in the shadow of my amazing late grandmother, whose husband owned a failing suit business when he passed away at a young middle age. I can't imagine what it must have been like to be a single mother in the 50s facing bankruptcy like that, but my grandmother was ferociously strong, and she turned around and converted the store into what became a very popular jeans shop. Even as a very young kid, I remember feeling awe for what she accomplished, and, being quite timid at the time, unsure of how she did it.
Last week, I took the week off from work, to buy myself some time to play around with yet another toy side project. During this time, by chance I started reading UNSCRIPTED , and suddenly, all those feelings about entrepreneurship I had buried for so long tore out with a vengeance. Suddenly I dreaded the upcoming Monday, not because of the work itself, but because I was intensely aware that Monday wasn't really mine. I also realized that I had already mentally resigned not to finish this side project, because, like dozens of times before, I know some work deadline will inevitably crash into my life and sap all my spare energy.
I've enjoyed my work, yes, but I've also given so much to it. And now? I crave owning my own path. I want to know that I can produce value as an individual, and not just succeed as a cog in a well-oiled machine. I'm hoping to embrace my fear of failing, instead of shying away from it. Given how much I spend time worrying (even more evident having reread what I've written above), I think failing a bunch will be just what I need to grow into the next stage of my life.
Thank you @MJ DeMarco for writing UNSCRIPTED and making this forum where we can learn from each other. I still have no idea what to expect, but I'm eager to find out what's next.
David
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