get busy living… or get busy dying

Some of you answered my question.

Some of you didn’t.

My thanks to Aleksandar, who mentioned “AI, mindset, and high-paying jobs” as topics he would like me to write more about.

What about the other 8,000+ developers on this list?

I hope that at least you thought about it.

And if you did, reply with the topics you want me to discuss. If not, don’t worry, I have an infinite reading list :)

But I do want you to know I care about you.

I care about your success. And I care about the time you give me when reading this.

I don’t want to be the guru in the ivory tower, talking about stuff I am interested in instead of what you need me to discuss. Ha!

Anyway, enough with the rant.

Among others, Aleksandar mentioned mindset.

Turns out, it is something I always think about on my morning walks.

All of you read some stuff online telling you how to escape the 9 to 5 and live on your terms. How you can work remotely, make millions, and work 5 hours a week.

And I know most of you don’t fall for that crap.

Because you live in the real world.

In the real world, you work 40 to 45 hours a week. You have little time left to “make your dreams come true.” You have mortgages to pay, families to feed, and a life outside of work.

And most of you can’t leave your life behind in the snap of a finger.

And for what?

A pina colada in a 5-star hotel in Bali? Sounds good… on paper.

In reality, you will be away from your family, in humid weather, having to deal with the same problems you are dealing with right now... Just 11.000 km away.

So what can you do when you want to change your life but feel like you can’t?

When you are stuck on a job and know you have to be there for the next six months. You don’t like it, you don’t make progress, but you can’t leave it either.

Simple.

You either “get busy living or get busy dying.”

This one is from Shawshank Redemption, one of my favorite movies. Andy, the hero, is imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. He has to serve his time no matter what.

Yet, despite the circumstances, he chooses to “get busy living.”

He works in the prison library, helps fellow inmates earn their diplomas, and at the same time works on an escape time.

I never cry.

But I swear to you, that movie put me into tears.

The point of the story is, that no matter the circumstances, we all have a choice.

To engage with life and seek purpose, joy, and growth ("get busy living"), or to resign ourselves to stagnation, despair, or aimlessness ("get busy dying").

Back to the ones of you that are stuck…

Get busy living. Your job or project might be stuck. But you don’t have to. Learn something new, like testing. Or how to use ChatGPT better to write code.

Go to the gym.

Do the dishes. Spend time with your loved ones. Get engaged.

And we can’t always expect coding to give us that feeling.

Take care, Dragos, “the get busy living” Dude

P.S. I took my advice, and guess what... went back to boxing. Many of you don't know it, but I wasn't the biggest kid in class when I was younger. I was actually one of the smallest. That, together with having a twin, invited a lot of bullying. I hated those as**es. So, I told myself when I grew up, I would get into boxing and teach them a lesson. And so I did. That was more than 10 years ago. I decided to go back a few weeks ago, and it's been a game-changer. After 8 hours of staring at a computer, punching a bag feels so satisfying, feel free to try it!