One of the things I am most proud of, and that I am most surprised to find distinguishes me when I look around at other people in my professional circles, is how often I finish things. To me, finishing is credibility, and a person’s record not just of starting or working on projects, but of finishing them, should be a factor in the weight you give to their opinions or the degree of leadership you entrust them with.
I recently read Chad Fowler’s The Passionate Programmer, a book broadly concerned with finding fulfillment through work in software development. The book had an unexpectedly strong impact on me. Many of Fowler’s key points aligned uncannily with recent experiences and observations of my own. One section that leapt out in particular to me concerned practice.
I did never know so full a voice issue from so empty a heart. But the saying is true: “The empty vessel makes the greatest sound.”
A decade living in New York has conditioned me to have an instinctive skepticism of the loudest voice in the room. The loud people, the pushy people, the bullies, those who take up the most space, whether in the workplace or hooting on the sidewalks at night on the weekend – these are almost always also the people of least consequence, but its a fact that is tragically lost on most.
Today was a Sunday and for the first time in probably 5 years I guiltlessly did nothing to advance any business initiative of mine. I worked on no personal projects. I did no client work. I walked down to Bleecker Street maybe 10 blocks south of my apartment and I went to Porto Rico, a hundred year old coffee importer I’ve been going to for a decade that has a little coffee bar in the back. I got a coffee, sat on a bench out front, drank my coffee and watched the streets.
Hi, my name is Nicholas and Hacker Notes is my personal blog. It is a collection of practical things I’ve picked up through my work in software, as well as writings on other subjects like seed-stage investing, travel and art. You can read more about the site and me by clicking here
