First we form habits, then they form us. Conquer your bad habits or they will conquer you.
– Dr. Rob Gilbert
Success is largely a function of habits. Habits might be things you do every day, every week, or every month, or they might be patterned responses you have to particular situations. For example, if you want [...]

All I want to do, ever, is play chess.
– Bobby Fischer
Between the ages of 14 and 18, I wanted nothing more than to be the next Bobby Fischer. Sure, I started a bit late by World Champion standards, but I wasn’t going to let that slow me down. I read several books on Fischer’s [...]

I’m not a big fan of employment. I haven’t had a “job” in three and a half years. But I also realize that entrepreneurship doesn’t make sense for everyone. Even for those pursuing the dream of starting a business, You Gotta Start Somewhere (TM) and that usually means working for someone else. Some people even [...]

Open source software is, roughly speaking, software released under a license that permits its users to use, modify, and redistribute the software in almost any way they see fit. This provides users of open source software a degree of liberty that is simply not found in proprietary alternatives. While it’s a bit silly and idealistic [...]

We cannot think first and act afterward. From the moment of birth we are immersed in action, and can only fitfully guide it by taking thought.
– Alfred North Whitehead
It’s the starting point for almost every personal development geek: What do I want to do with my life?
You’ve no doubt learned many of the questions you’re [...]

A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent in doing nothing.
– George Bernard Shaw
A couple months ago I wrote an article on embracing rejection, the idea of which was that you can go a long way in life simply by developing a tolerance for blowouts. The [...]

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.
– Scott Adams
Whether you’re a novelist, musician, software developer, painter, poet, designer, or any other kind of creative, you probably know what it feels like to have “that time of the month”. You cramp up and buckle down for the storm that [...]

It’s one of the most common questions a consulting newbie asks: How much should I charge?
I was a software consultant for three and a half years. First I was into Plone, then I worked on a big Zope 3 project, and more recently I’ve done some Rails stuff. I still do the odd gig here [...]

If you want to know your past life, look into your present condition;
if you want to know your future life, look at your present actions.
– Padmasambhava
You are not hard working. You are not lazy. You are not a World Champion. You are not an underdog. You are not a player. You are not hopeless with [...]

I really wish I was less of a thinking man and more of a fool not afraid of rejection.
– Billy Joel

You aren’t attractive enough. You aren’t smart enough. You aren’t cool enough. You aren’t man enough. Your idea won’t work. You’re too short. You’re too tall. You’re too chunky. You don’t have enough money. I [...]