Wil's metaphor is brilliant and the values he describes are exactly what our industry needs to hear. I have been jumping from product to product for years, with the expectation of dump trucks arriving one day out front and unloading tons of money. I'm doing it again with my current company. We have a solid niche, strong traction and are leaders in our space, but rather than making what is good, really excellent, I'm considering jumping to the next shiny ball that may be the home run. This blog entry has caused me to reevaluate.
I once read a quote that goes something like: "If a book causes a reader to reevaluate their own life, it says more about the reader than the book".
That has happened to me a couple of times. Most recently was probably reading "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. I had pigeonholed that book as something that banking types read and presupposed the book advocated "Mining" (to use Wil's analogy). However, the protagonists in the book are hard-working (in spite of family wealth) and innovative. In the book, the protagonists opt out of what the world at large deems as the "right" way to do things.
Ignore the mythology that glorifies "mining". It's nonsense. Find different people to look up to.
