“So, what have these uber-successful, self-disciplined people figured out that we haven’t?
I’ve worked with these people one-on-one, and I can assure you they don’t enjoy self-discipline any more than the rest of us. It’s not that they find it easier to do things that most people don’t like doing; it’s that they think differently about it. Self-discipline is not about chores, or punishment, or doing things the hardest way possible. It’s simply about doing the hard things you know you should do, even when you don’t feel like doing them—and then doing them as early on as possible, to boot.”
Rory Vaden.
Over my years in OSS, I’ve noticed that my colleagues who achieve the most are actually the ones who take responsibility for the hardest tasks rather than doing lots of little tasks.
They make the big decisions, with corresponding efforts, such as overhauling outdated products rather than trying to make lots of little patches to a product that is quickly losing relevance.
As referred to in “Massive Inflection Point,” I wonder whether the OSS industry in general is taking the easy path currently rather than committing to the next generation of OSS?