“Suffering is the pathway to awareness.”
Zen.
Why is it that almost every OSS project involves pain, suffering and long hours? The OctopOSS certainly finds a way of whacking you in a different way each time. But each one leads you down the pathway of increased awareness – making you more aware of the potential pitfalls next time around and hence, more valuable.
Not too long ago I was approached with a job opportunity, a very tempting one in fact, and one of the questions their CTO asked was “have I ever failed at anything?” You can already tell what my answer was right? I’ve worked on OSS, so the answer is definitely yes!
I have been involved in OSS projects that could only be classified as failures, but I also list those projects as my biggest career achievements interestingly enough.