Knitting Your Parachute
5 comments
·February 22, 2025jp57
LoganDark
> It has, however, led me into roles where I have a hard time explaining to people what I am, exactly.
what about "doing what you love"? "I am doing what I love, which is X"
stevenfoster
I met David Sparks back at WWDC in 2018. One of the real ones. Definitely one of those internet people who inspired me make the jump out of Silicon Valley to do my own thing a few years ago. Meeting him made it real. Glad he's writing about it.
blairbeckwith
I listen to a lot of this world – David Sparks, the Relay podcast network, MacStories, etc.
I have been varying levels of Apple Fanboy over the years, but even when I haven't been all-in on Apple fanaticism, I've always enjoyed listening. I think it's because they're just people who are excited about technology in the way that I was when I was a teenager, before startup and VC culture got to me.
David Sparks captures all of this so well. The guy just loves technology while being kind, unassuming, and generous while capturing enough value to make a career out of it. It's the best, and I should find more people outside of this small niche to restore my hope.
ramesh31
It's a scary thought I think many of us are facing now. I know that my only future is in software, but what that is going to look like now has me terrified. The next ten years of our industry is going to look absolutely nothing like the last ten, and I don't know if I'll be able to make the jump. Maybe none of us will, and software work ends up as just a highly paid small niche for a few super geniuses running and tweaking the AI for us all. I just don't know anymore, and that's the hardest part.
It took me into my forties to realize that I needed to stop thinking about what I want to be and focus on what I want to do. Only then did I have enough perspective to understand that when I tried to make career decisions based on expectations about what it means to be in a role, it always steered me wrong.
OTOH, when I focused on doing what I wanted to do or enjoyed doing, I generally ended up both happy and successful. It has, however, led me into roles where I have a hard time explaining to people what I am, exactly.