Figuring it out, again and again

Are we idealists or pragmatists? Do we have principles we hold dear, and a vision for the future we want to create? Or are we fumbling along, tinkering, finding what works, and forever allowing contact with reality to rearrange our mental furniture, make a mess on our conceptual floor, and occasionally punch so many holes in the walls that need to ... See more

Putting the idealism and pragmatism together is forever uncomfortable. Frequently the direction set by ideals means not taking the clearest practical path. More subtly, often as you go to put principles into practice, you realize that the ideal is not quite as simple as you thought when you started.

What does it feel like when things take shape?

There is sunlight in the office and a warm cup of coffee. There are meetings with inventors and artists. The code runs, no bugs. Wonderful music plays, I barely need to intervene, the playlist gets it right. I wrap some critical work just before our evening plans.

There is a shape to the sort of life I i... See more

One thing I’ve come to appreciate is that having a vision is not the same as executing it. There is no shortage of ambitious ideas. Time and time again, it is when the rubber of ambition meets the road of practicality that things get tough.

In the beginning, the dissonance between the scale of your aspirations and the reality of your days will riddle you with anxiety. You will be tempted to strip the unknown of its surprises and travel to the future: What if my customers churn? What if a competitor introduces a better product? What if I run out of ideas? But spending your time wrestli... See more