Code Soloist #16: Stop spending money
This one is short. Stop spending so much money chasing your tail, or a dream. If you’re anything like me, you have these sudden, pivotal shifts in inspiration that convince you that this is the idea, and this is the [consultant / designer / component / service] that’s going to make all the difference.
It isn’t. It’s not. The idea you were already working on was plenty good enough for now. You create a non-virtuous circle of resource waste when you put your money down on a new idea. First, your mental machinery has to justify the purchase, so whatever you might have been working on beforehand will temporarily take a back seat while your brain injects itself with reassurance that the purchase was sound, in the form of false enthusiasm. When the inspiration for your “next big thing” wanes, your brain will then counter the original rush with guilt about betraying what you already planned.
The things I’ve worked hardest on, and am proudest of, have all come from the least of my investments. I don’t think that’s hard to wrap your head around. An idea, like people, can be born with “a silver spoon in its mouth”.
The trick is to always know that the new thing is suspect. The new thing can’t prove itself with the false priority of purchased time and attention. If the new thing wants to stick around and replace the old thing, it better be able to do it without spending a dime. That should be the litmus test. Otherwise, it’s just your engineer’s spirit, not a legitimate alternative. It should be respected, thanked, and shown the door.
Code Soloist is for single-person software development companies that are trying to start something big with their bare hands. In it, I try to impart whatever I’ve learned, for better or worse, doing the same thing badly.
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