Things don’t change.
I’ve been going back through Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson’s Rework. It’s inspiring. That hasn’t changed.
I’m reading it at a different time in my life, so the ways I’ll try applying the lessons are different.
Actually, this reminds me of something from Paul Graham’s essay “How You Know”:
For example, reading and experience are usually “compiled” at the time they happen, using the state of your brain at that time. The same book would get compiled differently at different points in your life. Which means it is very much worth reading important books multiple times.
Let’s say there’s some code folding going on here. You unfold “reading” and it’s just whatever that book is. Great. But then you unfold “experience” and…
There’s a lot bouncing around your head at any time. And that’s just any moment in time. Rework hasn’t changed. The printed words are the same. I’m compiling them with a different set of experiences. It feels even more useful now.
One principle: have principles.
Even better if you choose them yourself. At least be aware of where yours came from.
(Which reminds me of William B. Irvine’s A Guide to the Good Life: “Furthermore, in almost all cases, a person is better off to adopt a less than ideal philosophy of life than to try to live with no philosophy at all.”)
Oh yeah. The excerpt in the notecard. From Rework:
For 37signals, things like speed, simplicity, ease of use, and clarity are our focus. Those are timeless desires. People aren’t going to wake up in ten years and say, “Man, I wish software was harder to use.” They won’t say, “I wish this application was slower.”
Even if your company name changes, the principles remain.
Jason Fried and DHH have a new book out later this year, It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work:
Are there occasionally stressful moments? Sure — such is life. Is every day peachy? Of course not — we’d be lying if we said it was. But we do our best to make sure those are the exceptions. On balance we’re calm — by choice, by practice. We’re intentional about it. We’ve made different decisions than the rest.
The principles remain.