This week, I’m neck deep in open source sustainability.
I have been thinking about open source sustainability since I started working in open source. It’s a problem that feels solved but isn’t as evident from the rug pulls and ego wars that have become most common. Writing a blog called “The Open Source Absolutist” puts me in a favorable position to use the platform and, of course, the absolutism to think about and advocate for more sustainable open source.
One of the underlying causes for wide unsustainability stems from misaligned commercial and community incentives. Companies want to profit, and communities wish for free, open source code. They don’t often go hand in hand.
So, for building sustainable open source projects and communities, we must be willing to adopt strategies that not only make software open source but sustainable as well. I will be writing a deep dive into the recent developments in this niche.
I was listening to Sam Altman on “How I Write,” and I decided to reread his article “How to Be Successful.” I have added some of my favorite parts below.
I am willing to take as much time as needed between projects to find my next thing. But I always want it to be a project that, if successful, will make the rest of my career look like a footnote.
Many people I know don’t do this deliberately and instead go with the flow even when they have the means. They follow their peers into random pursuits and waste their early years.
Self-belief is immensely powerful. The most successful people I know believe in themselves almost to the point of delusion.
Delulu is the only solulu.
It’s often easier to take risks early in your career; you don’t have much to lose, and you potentially have a lot to gain. Once you’ve gotten yourself to a point where you have your basic obligations covered you should try to make it easy to take risks. Look for small bets you can make where you lose 1x if you’re wrong but make 100x if it works. Then make a bigger bet in that direction.
I always make a point that it is essential to take risks. I have written more on my “Reasonable Life Advice for Twentysomethings” post.
One more thought about working hard: do it at the beginning of your career. Hard work compounds like interest, and the earlier you do it, the more time you have for the benefits to pay off. It’s also easier to work hard when you have fewer other responsibilities, which is frequently but not always the case when you’re young.
We young people might have taken “don’t burn out at work” too far to the other end and refrain from doing any hard work. This is bad and can have compounding negative benefits to your career. It is important to work hard, especially in your early years.
The best way to become difficult to compete with is to build up leverage. For example, you can do it with personal relationships, by building a strong personal brand, or by getting good at the intersection of multiple different fields. There are many other strategies, but you have to figure out some way to do it.
I always say this to my peers. You can’t expect to do the same job as the average Joe and be surprised when you get the average pay. You need leverage, and doing all these helps build leverage.