We need steady listeners. We need slow to responds. We need methodical actions. We need pragmatic solutions. Loud voices only get you through the meeting, but they don’t figure out the problem, they don’t create the solution, they don’t test its viability. Choose who you want to be.
Only a few people know the value of your work, the expert being you. Whether you’re salaried, part-time, or contract – your worth, what you deliver, what your work says about you never changes. You can turn in the same slop that AI can produce, quickly, without review, based on your first prompt. Or you can sit there, refine it, tweak it, validate answers, and demonstrate the value that you deliver that goes beyond quick…
Whatever you do, wherever you are. Never stop asking yourself this question. The concept of grown-ups and becoming something at 25 is out the door. You can change careers all throughout your life and look back one day and go – “I did all that stuff.” And beyond that, it keeps giving you something to aim for (if you’re into that). We might mature, but we are always growing and never stop.
To build something that lasts means you have to ignore all the hype, circumstance, and pomp around you. When you’re alone, you’re building it for you, not mass global adoption on day one. Build a product that will last and amaze. No one is watching – enjoy your time.
You don’t have to be an MVP, Guru, Expert, Ninja, Rocksart, or Master at everything you do. You can try something new and be bad at it. You can be downright horrible at it. And you can still enjoy it. The goal isn’t to be the best at everything and anything. The goal is to enjoy what you are doing. And you can’t be great at everything.