Motivation
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I enjoy programming, for the most part, but its hardly a central facet of who I am. I mean, I could easly go from now until the day I die without coding another line, and would not miss it. The reason I do it, is because it pays the bills, and given the wealth of applications, it affords me to be able to jump from industry to industry when I want(sort of). Also, did I mention it pays the bills? For those of you aren't passionate about programming, how do you keep motivated to continue learning and continue being productive? BW "I'm coming with you! I got you fired, it's the least I can do. Well, the least I could do is absolutely nothing, but I'll go you one better and come along!" - Homer J. Simpson
brianwelsch wrote: For those of you aren't passionate about programming I had no idea that you could NOT be passionate about it? Man..... what have I been missing... Sleep aparently... Paul Watson wrote: At the end of the day it is what you produce that counts, not how many doctorates you have on the wall.
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brianwelsch wrote: For those of you aren't passionate about programming I had no idea that you could NOT be passionate about it? Man..... what have I been missing... Sleep aparently... Paul Watson wrote: At the end of the day it is what you produce that counts, not how many doctorates you have on the wall.
Ray Cassick wrote: I had no idea that you could NOT be passionate about it? Plenty of people in the IT industry who just treat it as another job in another industry. Like being a pilot or a Checkout Captain or an investment banker. Would be nice if we could all do exactly what we really wanted to do... but too few of us have that conviction. Ray Cassick wrote: Paul Watson wrote: At the end of the day it is what you produce that counts, not how many doctorates you have on the wall. :-D ta *Paul looks at the wall, no doctorates. Paul looks at the production schedule, did stuff all today... doh! Maybe I should get a doctorate and become Dr. Watson after all.*
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaColin Davies wrote: ...can you imagine a John Simmons stalker !
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Ray Cassick wrote: I had no idea that you could NOT be passionate about it? Plenty of people in the IT industry who just treat it as another job in another industry. Like being a pilot or a Checkout Captain or an investment banker. Would be nice if we could all do exactly what we really wanted to do... but too few of us have that conviction. Ray Cassick wrote: Paul Watson wrote: At the end of the day it is what you produce that counts, not how many doctorates you have on the wall. :-D ta *Paul looks at the wall, no doctorates. Paul looks at the production schedule, did stuff all today... doh! Maybe I should get a doctorate and become Dr. Watson after all.*
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaColin Davies wrote: ...can you imagine a John Simmons stalker !
Paul Watson wrote: Maybe I should get a doctorate and become Dr. Watson after all. hehehehe Do you REALLY want to become 'Dr. Watson' ??? If you do, just make sure that you do an _Exception_al job at it. :-D I mean no one any disrepsect here, but I have a bit of a problem with people that are not passionate about what they do. My opinion is that, if you find that you can not be passionate about it, then you need to change careers. I rememebr a story from the Dale Carnagie book I read... If you are a janator, be the best damn janiotr that you can be. Make every window sparkle, and keep every carpet spotless. Make poeple that walk by the things you maintain saw 'Wow, who ever takes care of this area must really care...' I know that sometimes we get stuck in a job / project that we just can't seem to get into, but we need to take that as a sign and prepare to move on. In my opinion, programming is not just a job, or a task. It is an attitude, and a way of life. But that's just me :) Paul Watson wrote: At the end of the day it is what you produce that counts, not how many doctorates you have on the wall.
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Ray Cassick wrote: I had no idea that you could NOT be passionate about it? Plenty of people in the IT industry who just treat it as another job in another industry. Like being a pilot or a Checkout Captain or an investment banker. Would be nice if we could all do exactly what we really wanted to do... but too few of us have that conviction. Ray Cassick wrote: Paul Watson wrote: At the end of the day it is what you produce that counts, not how many doctorates you have on the wall. :-D ta *Paul looks at the wall, no doctorates. Paul looks at the production schedule, did stuff all today... doh! Maybe I should get a doctorate and become Dr. Watson after all.*
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaColin Davies wrote: ...can you imagine a John Simmons stalker !
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Paul Watson wrote: Maybe I should get a doctorate and become Dr. Watson after all. hehehehe Do you REALLY want to become 'Dr. Watson' ??? If you do, just make sure that you do an _Exception_al job at it. :-D I mean no one any disrepsect here, but I have a bit of a problem with people that are not passionate about what they do. My opinion is that, if you find that you can not be passionate about it, then you need to change careers. I rememebr a story from the Dale Carnagie book I read... If you are a janator, be the best damn janiotr that you can be. Make every window sparkle, and keep every carpet spotless. Make poeple that walk by the things you maintain saw 'Wow, who ever takes care of this area must really care...' I know that sometimes we get stuck in a job / project that we just can't seem to get into, but we need to take that as a sign and prepare to move on. In my opinion, programming is not just a job, or a task. It is an attitude, and a way of life. But that's just me :) Paul Watson wrote: At the end of the day it is what you produce that counts, not how many doctorates you have on the wall.
Ray Cassick wrote: If you are a janator, be the best damn janiotr that you can be. Make every window sparkle, and keep every carpet spotless. Make poeple that walk by the things you maintain saw 'Wow, who ever takes care of this area must really care...' Absolutely! "Be faithful in the little things" and all that. It shocks me to see people working their way through college doing the absolute minimum in whatever part-time jobs they end up with... these are tomorrow's teachers and physicians?!?
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Shog9 Life seems pretty easy when it's from my easy chair And you're burnin up inside and no one cares...
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Paul Watson wrote: Maybe I should get a doctorate and become Dr. Watson after all. hehehehe Do you REALLY want to become 'Dr. Watson' ??? If you do, just make sure that you do an _Exception_al job at it. :-D I mean no one any disrepsect here, but I have a bit of a problem with people that are not passionate about what they do. My opinion is that, if you find that you can not be passionate about it, then you need to change careers. I rememebr a story from the Dale Carnagie book I read... If you are a janator, be the best damn janiotr that you can be. Make every window sparkle, and keep every carpet spotless. Make poeple that walk by the things you maintain saw 'Wow, who ever takes care of this area must really care...' I know that sometimes we get stuck in a job / project that we just can't seem to get into, but we need to take that as a sign and prepare to move on. In my opinion, programming is not just a job, or a task. It is an attitude, and a way of life. But that's just me :) Paul Watson wrote: At the end of the day it is what you produce that counts, not how many doctorates you have on the wall.
Ray Cassick wrote: If you do, just make sure that you do an Exceptional job at it *groan* Where is my "Bad Dr. Watson Jokes" book. I keep a tally of the number of times people use the word "elementary" with a grin on their face while I am around. :rolleyes: LOL no, not really, but I should Ray Cassick wrote: My opinion is that, if you find that you can not be passionate about it, then you need to change careers. I rememebr a story from the Dale Carnagie book I read... If you are a janator, be the best damn janiotr that you can be. Make every window sparkle, and keep every carpet spotless. Make poeple that walk by the things you maintain saw 'Wow, who ever takes care of this area must really care...' I know that sometimes we get stuck in a job / project that we just can't seem to get into, but we need to take that as a sign and prepare to move on. In my opinion, programming is not just a job, or a task. It is an attitude, and a way of life. Totally agree with you but it takes some realisation to actually implement that. Funny thing is that it is one of those cyclic ideas. Being passionate produces tangible results which makes you more passionate. It is the getting into the loop that is hard. While IT is really a stepping stone for me, I still strive to do my best in it. I don't work long hours just because I have to. Most of the time I am telling the boss that I had better put in X hours today to ensure a happy client while the boss is saying "no don't worry, leave it till tomorrow and lets cut a few corners." As I said, I have a goal and to get to that goal passion and hard work is required. If I don't or didn't then I will not reach that goal and will hate my situation in the end. Zen and the art of... defines it quite well: Caring for what you do produces quality which makes you feel good which feeds-back into what you are doing, increasing care and so increasing quality (not actually in the book, just my simple summary).
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaColin Davies wrote: ...can you imagine a John Simmons stalker !
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Paul Watson wrote: Maybe I should get a doctorate and become Dr. Watson after all. c'mon, do it - you know you'd get the milage out of it... :)
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Shog9 Life seems pretty easy when it's from my easy chair And you're burnin up inside and no one cares...
Shog9 wrote: c'mon, do it - you know you'd get the milage out of it... :-D True. I really want to get an English degree of some sort one day. Not the hard option of a "real" Science, but not exactly easy either. I also have to develop a taste for pipes and wearing tweed... :rolleyes:
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaColin Davies wrote: ...can you imagine a John Simmons stalker !
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Shog9 wrote: c'mon, do it - you know you'd get the milage out of it... :-D True. I really want to get an English degree of some sort one day. Not the hard option of a "real" Science, but not exactly easy either. I also have to develop a taste for pipes and wearing tweed... :rolleyes:
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaColin Davies wrote: ...can you imagine a John Simmons stalker !
Paul Watson wrote: wearing tweed And the eblow patches... Can't forget those :) Paul Watson wrote: "At the end of the day it is what you produce that counts, not how many doctorates you have on the wall." Unknown wrote: "Don't sweat the petty things, and don't pet the sweaty things."
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Paul Watson wrote: Maybe I should get a doctorate and become Dr. Watson after all. hehehehe Do you REALLY want to become 'Dr. Watson' ??? If you do, just make sure that you do an _Exception_al job at it. :-D I mean no one any disrepsect here, but I have a bit of a problem with people that are not passionate about what they do. My opinion is that, if you find that you can not be passionate about it, then you need to change careers. I rememebr a story from the Dale Carnagie book I read... If you are a janator, be the best damn janiotr that you can be. Make every window sparkle, and keep every carpet spotless. Make poeple that walk by the things you maintain saw 'Wow, who ever takes care of this area must really care...' I know that sometimes we get stuck in a job / project that we just can't seem to get into, but we need to take that as a sign and prepare to move on. In my opinion, programming is not just a job, or a task. It is an attitude, and a way of life. But that's just me :) Paul Watson wrote: At the end of the day it is what you produce that counts, not how many doctorates you have on the wall.
Being passionate about a job and doing a job well, are somewhat different. I can be proud of my work, and do more than the bare minimum because of my work ethic, but not be passionate about what I'm doing. It doesn't bring me down, but doesn't always fire me up either. There are pros and cons just like anything else. The problem I usually have is I don't want to spend the time it takes to become a guru, because so many other things are catching my eye and piquing my curiosity. So I rarely get deeply involved in anything for too long without wondering "if.." about something else. Maybe I'm ADD or whatever.... I guess I'm not unmotivated some much as unfocused. BW "I'm coming with you! I got you fired, it's the least I can do. Well, the least I could do is absolutely nothing, but I'll go you one better and come along!" - Homer J. Simpson
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Ray Cassick wrote: If you do, just make sure that you do an Exceptional job at it *groan* Where is my "Bad Dr. Watson Jokes" book. I keep a tally of the number of times people use the word "elementary" with a grin on their face while I am around. :rolleyes: LOL no, not really, but I should Ray Cassick wrote: My opinion is that, if you find that you can not be passionate about it, then you need to change careers. I rememebr a story from the Dale Carnagie book I read... If you are a janator, be the best damn janiotr that you can be. Make every window sparkle, and keep every carpet spotless. Make poeple that walk by the things you maintain saw 'Wow, who ever takes care of this area must really care...' I know that sometimes we get stuck in a job / project that we just can't seem to get into, but we need to take that as a sign and prepare to move on. In my opinion, programming is not just a job, or a task. It is an attitude, and a way of life. Totally agree with you but it takes some realisation to actually implement that. Funny thing is that it is one of those cyclic ideas. Being passionate produces tangible results which makes you more passionate. It is the getting into the loop that is hard. While IT is really a stepping stone for me, I still strive to do my best in it. I don't work long hours just because I have to. Most of the time I am telling the boss that I had better put in X hours today to ensure a happy client while the boss is saying "no don't worry, leave it till tomorrow and lets cut a few corners." As I said, I have a goal and to get to that goal passion and hard work is required. If I don't or didn't then I will not reach that goal and will hate my situation in the end. Zen and the art of... defines it quite well: Caring for what you do produces quality which makes you feel good which feeds-back into what you are doing, increasing care and so increasing quality (not actually in the book, just my simple summary).
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaColin Davies wrote: ...can you imagine a John Simmons stalker !
Paul Watson wrote: Zen and the art of... defines it quite well: I need to finish that. I got half-way through, and started reading something else..... (unfortunately very typical for me) 7 Habits of Effective People, has many similar ideas, but a totally different approach. (same deal there, half-way through :-O) BW "I'm coming with you! I got you fired, it's the least I can do. Well, the least I could do is absolutely nothing, but I'll go you one better and come along!" - Homer J. Simpson
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Paul Watson wrote: Zen and the art of... defines it quite well: I need to finish that. I got half-way through, and started reading something else..... (unfortunately very typical for me) 7 Habits of Effective People, has many similar ideas, but a totally different approach. (same deal there, half-way through :-O) BW "I'm coming with you! I got you fired, it's the least I can do. Well, the least I could do is absolutely nothing, but I'll go you one better and come along!" - Homer J. Simpson
brianwelsch wrote: 7 Habits of Effective People What is the general idea behind it? Have heard of this "amazing" book and my boss keeps trying to get me to read it. Also all those Who Moved My Cheese and One Minute Manager and blah, life, blah, is, blah, not, blah, a, blah, 7, blah, step, blah plan. :rolleyes: Sorry I just have this dislike of breeding habits so that you can be a better worker/person/father/mother/mass-murderer. It seems wrong that to succeed hinges on fooling yourself into non-natural habits. I love cheese, don't move it damnit! I am not a poorer person because I cannot fool everyone into thinking I am organised and successful. From what I have seen the truly brilliant people have been just totally and utterly themselves, totally and utterly passionate about what they do. Brilliant people who succeed don't rely on 7 habits or self help books, they rely on themselves and do everything honestly. Anyway... me ranting again. One thing is for sure; The rise in the number of self help books has not resulted in a comparable rise in success and happiness :)
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaColin Davies wrote: ...can you imagine a John Simmons stalker !
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brianwelsch wrote: 7 Habits of Effective People What is the general idea behind it? Have heard of this "amazing" book and my boss keeps trying to get me to read it. Also all those Who Moved My Cheese and One Minute Manager and blah, life, blah, is, blah, not, blah, a, blah, 7, blah, step, blah plan. :rolleyes: Sorry I just have this dislike of breeding habits so that you can be a better worker/person/father/mother/mass-murderer. It seems wrong that to succeed hinges on fooling yourself into non-natural habits. I love cheese, don't move it damnit! I am not a poorer person because I cannot fool everyone into thinking I am organised and successful. From what I have seen the truly brilliant people have been just totally and utterly themselves, totally and utterly passionate about what they do. Brilliant people who succeed don't rely on 7 habits or self help books, they rely on themselves and do everything honestly. Anyway... me ranting again. One thing is for sure; The rise in the number of self help books has not resulted in a comparable rise in success and happiness :)
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaColin Davies wrote: ...can you imagine a John Simmons stalker !
"7 Habits" is not a specific list of what to do to keep organized and be successful. It is more an approach to living. They seem to be very much common sense, but sometimes it good to see things you've realized already written out by someone else. A good overview is here: http://www.quickmba.com/mgmt/7hab/[^] BW "I'm coming with you! I got you fired, it's the least I can do. Well, the least I could do is absolutely nothing, but I'll go you one better and come along!" - Homer J. Simpson
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"7 Habits" is not a specific list of what to do to keep organized and be successful. It is more an approach to living. They seem to be very much common sense, but sometimes it good to see things you've realized already written out by someone else. A good overview is here: http://www.quickmba.com/mgmt/7hab/[^] BW "I'm coming with you! I got you fired, it's the least I can do. Well, the least I could do is absolutely nothing, but I'll go you one better and come along!" - Homer J. Simpson
brianwelsch wrote: A good overview is here: Thank you, looks good :) brianwelsch wrote: They seem to be very much common sense, but sometimes it good to see things you've realized already written out by someone else. The real trick is actually practising it. I am great at reading and thinking things, just often quite hopeless at doing and sticking to things. As it seems most of us are.
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaColin Davies wrote: ...can you imagine a John Simmons stalker !
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brianwelsch wrote: A good overview is here: Thank you, looks good :) brianwelsch wrote: They seem to be very much common sense, but sometimes it good to see things you've realized already written out by someone else. The real trick is actually practising it. I am great at reading and thinking things, just often quite hopeless at doing and sticking to things. As it seems most of us are.
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaColin Davies wrote: ...can you imagine a John Simmons stalker !
Paul Watson wrote: The real trick is actually practising it And there it is. Its always easy to read about things, and wonder others don't do XYZ or ABC, but then you look in the mirror and see, hey, man I'm not exactly realizing my potential either. The trick here(I think), is to recognize your cycles, and break out of them. If you always do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten. I've realised some things about myself lately, and have been trying to break out of my routines, to get fresh look at things, and stop repeating my bad habits. A few of these have been, less procrastination on chores, I stopped smoking (4 days now), and going to the gym 3-4 times a week. It's tough. BW "I'm coming with you! I got you fired, it's the least I can do. Well, the least I could do is absolutely nothing, but I'll go you one better and come along!" - Homer J. Simpson
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I enjoy programming, for the most part, but its hardly a central facet of who I am. I mean, I could easly go from now until the day I die without coding another line, and would not miss it. The reason I do it, is because it pays the bills, and given the wealth of applications, it affords me to be able to jump from industry to industry when I want(sort of). Also, did I mention it pays the bills? For those of you aren't passionate about programming, how do you keep motivated to continue learning and continue being productive? BW "I'm coming with you! I got you fired, it's the least I can do. Well, the least I could do is absolutely nothing, but I'll go you one better and come along!" - Homer J. Simpson
My love of programming blows hot and cold. Or should I say my love of coding. I have the passion for solving problems and trying to make people's working lives easier. It is the desire to do this that drives my need to learn - in order to make my own working life easier. I could give up coding tomorrow, but I could never give up designing and creating software solutions. Michael Fat bottomed girls You make the rockin' world go round -- Queen
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My love of programming blows hot and cold. Or should I say my love of coding. I have the passion for solving problems and trying to make people's working lives easier. It is the desire to do this that drives my need to learn - in order to make my own working life easier. I could give up coding tomorrow, but I could never give up designing and creating software solutions. Michael Fat bottomed girls You make the rockin' world go round -- Queen
Michael P Butler wrote: but I could never give up designing and creating software solutions. I am working on inventing the ImplementatorThon Mark 2000. A device which you feed in your grand idea, your well architected concept, and it does all the damned coding details for you! You don't happen to have a lot of projects started but unfinished lying about do you? :-D
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaColin Davies wrote: ...can you imagine a John Simmons stalker !
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I enjoy programming, for the most part, but its hardly a central facet of who I am. I mean, I could easly go from now until the day I die without coding another line, and would not miss it. The reason I do it, is because it pays the bills, and given the wealth of applications, it affords me to be able to jump from industry to industry when I want(sort of). Also, did I mention it pays the bills? For those of you aren't passionate about programming, how do you keep motivated to continue learning and continue being productive? BW "I'm coming with you! I got you fired, it's the least I can do. Well, the least I could do is absolutely nothing, but I'll go you one better and come along!" - Homer J. Simpson
brianwelsch wrote: For those of you aren't passionate about programming Guaranteed, everyone who answers this does not have a boss who reads CP. Christian No offense, but I don't really want to encourage the creation of another VB developer. - Larry Antram 22 Oct 2002 Hey, at least Logo had, at it's inception, a mechanical turtle. VB has always lacked even that... - Shog9 04-09-2002 Again, you can screw up a C/C++ program just as easily as a VB program. OK, maybe not as easily, but it's certainly doable. - Jamie Nordmeyer - 15-Nov-2002
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Ray Cassick wrote: If you do, just make sure that you do an Exceptional job at it *groan* Where is my "Bad Dr. Watson Jokes" book. I keep a tally of the number of times people use the word "elementary" with a grin on their face while I am around. :rolleyes: LOL no, not really, but I should Ray Cassick wrote: My opinion is that, if you find that you can not be passionate about it, then you need to change careers. I rememebr a story from the Dale Carnagie book I read... If you are a janator, be the best damn janiotr that you can be. Make every window sparkle, and keep every carpet spotless. Make poeple that walk by the things you maintain saw 'Wow, who ever takes care of this area must really care...' I know that sometimes we get stuck in a job / project that we just can't seem to get into, but we need to take that as a sign and prepare to move on. In my opinion, programming is not just a job, or a task. It is an attitude, and a way of life. Totally agree with you but it takes some realisation to actually implement that. Funny thing is that it is one of those cyclic ideas. Being passionate produces tangible results which makes you more passionate. It is the getting into the loop that is hard. While IT is really a stepping stone for me, I still strive to do my best in it. I don't work long hours just because I have to. Most of the time I am telling the boss that I had better put in X hours today to ensure a happy client while the boss is saying "no don't worry, leave it till tomorrow and lets cut a few corners." As I said, I have a goal and to get to that goal passion and hard work is required. If I don't or didn't then I will not reach that goal and will hate my situation in the end. Zen and the art of... defines it quite well: Caring for what you do produces quality which makes you feel good which feeds-back into what you are doing, increasing care and so increasing quality (not actually in the book, just my simple summary).
Paul Watson
Bluegrass
Cape Town, South AfricaColin Davies wrote: ...can you imagine a John Simmons stalker !
Paul Watson wrote: *groan* Where is my "Bad Dr. Watson Jokes" book. I keep a tally of the number of times people use the word "elementary" with a grin on their face while I am around. LOL no, not really, but I should At least your not called Jonny! Just care to think of what they say when asking for a rubber (eraser). Every time someone says "Can I borrow a rubber Jonny" then everyone bursts into hysterics. I cringe. It was funny the first time, but not the several thousandth time.
We brought out this new and very similar version of our expensive software because the old version was......old....It's a good enough excuse for Microsoft so its fine for us.
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brianwelsch wrote: For those of you aren't passionate about programming Guaranteed, everyone who answers this does not have a boss who reads CP. Christian No offense, but I don't really want to encourage the creation of another VB developer. - Larry Antram 22 Oct 2002 Hey, at least Logo had, at it's inception, a mechanical turtle. VB has always lacked even that... - Shog9 04-09-2002 Again, you can screw up a C/C++ program just as easily as a VB program. OK, maybe not as easily, but it's certainly doable. - Jamie Nordmeyer - 15-Nov-2002
Christian Graus wrote: Guaranteed, everyone who answers this does not have a boss who reads CP. :omg: On NO! My Boss! :omg: BW "I'm coming with you! I got you fired, it's the least I can do. Well, the least I could do is absolutely nothing, but I'll go you one better and come along!" - Homer J. Simpson
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Not passionate about programming? I recommend an ECT programme immeadiatly. :wtf:
David Wulff http://www.davidwulff.co.uk
David Wulff Born and Bred.
David Wulff wrote: I recommend an ECT programme That's what you always say! We understand that you enjoy that tingly, warm feeling it gives you all over, but it's really not for everyone. By the way, how's that home do-it-yourself ECT machine working out?:) "My child was Inmate of the Month at Mohave County Jail" - Bumper Sticker in Bullhead City, AZ