DISTILLED Monday, September 16, 13

Monday, September 16, 13 I want to ask you a question:

WHY? Monday, September 16, 13 “Why?”

WHY DO YOU DO WHAT YOU DO? Monday, September 16, 13 Why do you do what you do? How many would say you're passionate about software or the web or some aspect of your work?

“PASSION” Monday, September 16, 13 Passion is a funny word. We use it a lot (at least in English!), but I think most don't really recognize the original meaning of what they're saying. It means to suffer. How many people would also say you suffer programming?

YOU WANT TO KNOW YOUR LIFE HAD MEANING YOU WANT TO MAKE A MEANINGFUL DIFFERENCE Monday, September 16, 13 You, just like nearly every person who came before you, want to leave your mark on the earth. You want to know that your life had meaning. That your time, your energy, your breath wasnt wasted... Almost certainly, you want your life to have meaning now and you want to make a meaningful difference. So-- why make software? Why build stuff for the web?

TECHNOLOGY MULTIPLIES OUR POWER, INFLUENCE, AND REACH Monday, September 16, 13 I think we all recognize technology is one of the most powerful forces. It multiplies our power, influence, reach. Even to the point where pretty much everyone in this room can do something that people have been desperately trying to figure out how to do for centuries:

ALCHEMY Monday, September 16, 13 We can perform the alchemy of converting something valueless into gold. (Thanks, Jan for this amazing analogy) Most of us pay for our food and where we live by way of alchemy. A few people here probably do it only for the money. My bet, though, is most don't.

WHY DO YOU DO WHAT YOU DO? Monday, September 16, 13 So why do you do what you do? ... I love this line:

When all your desires are distilled you will cast just two votes: to love more, and be happy. — Hafiz Monday, September 16, 13

When all your desires are distilled you will cast just two votes: to love more, and be happy. — Hafiz Monday, September 16, 13

When all your desires are distilled you will cast just two votes: to love more, and be happy. — Hafiz Monday, September 16, 13 That’s it.

SO WHERE DOES SOFTWARE FIT IN THIS? Monday, September 16, 13 Where does software fit in that scheme...? ... I discovered a lot about myself and our team by way of something that one of our earliest clients said, which I think he meant as a friendly criticism.

“You see, you’re artists, and I’m a businessman.” One of &yet’s earliest clients: Monday, September 16, 13 "You see," he said, "You're artists, I'm a businessman." Now, I would consider myself an artist, but a very poor one. I draw cartoons, have written and acted in plays, I play some music, and I write songs and poetry—but again, none of that's very good--like, at all. I'm really not just being humble about this. All of it has *feeling* though, and even though I'd most definitely consider it poorly done, I have a level of intentionality to that work and a desire to do my best with it. And I realized that what that client meant was that even though our team was very much delivering the software we were building on time, we were being too perfectionistic about the work we were doing for his taste, and were too eager to improve existing work that was already "good enough" in his eyes.

ARTIST? Monday, September 16, 13 For a long time, I thought about art as something I loved, but which was quite separate from my work and my life. But it was at the moment this client said this I started to think differently, and began to understand more clearly some things that were just "gut feelings". This helped make sense of world view from which our team at &yet operated... the culture we were trying to create... and the certainty we held that we'd never take outside funding because we believed it would compromise our vision and the spirit of play with which we approached our work. (Our slogan at &yet is: "What the heck. Why not?") ....

Monday, September 16, 13 Hafiz is one of my favorite programmers of all time. What he's able to do in just a few lines of code blows my mind. I want to share some of his work with you today.

Even After All this time The sun never says to the earth, “You owe me.” Look What happens With a love like that, It lights the Whole Sky. Monday, September 16, 13

Even After All this time The sun never says to the earth, “You owe me.” Look What happens With a love like that, It lights the Whole Sky. Monday, September 16, 13

Even After All this time The sun never says to the earth, “You owe me.” Look What happens With a love like that, It lights the Whole Sky. Monday, September 16, 13

Even After All this time The sun never says to the earth, “You owe me.” Look What happens With a love like that, It lights the Whole Sky. Monday, September 16, 13

Even After All this time The sun never says to the earth, “You owe me.” Look What happens With a love like that, It lights the Whole Sky. Monday, September 16, 13

Even After All this time The sun never says to the earth, “You owe me.” Look What happens With a love like that, It lights the Whole Sky. Monday, September 16, 13

Even After All this time The sun never says to the earth, “You owe me.” Look What happens With a love like that, It lights the Whole Sky. Monday, September 16, 13

Even After All this time The sun never says to the earth, “You owe me.” Look What happens With a love like that, It lights the Whole Sky. Monday, September 16, 13

Even After All this time The sun never says to the earth, “You owe me.” Look What happens With a love like that, It lights the Whole Sky. Monday, September 16, 13

Even After All this time The sun never says to the earth, “You owe me.” Look What happens With a love like that, It lights the Whole Sky. Monday, September 16, 13

Even After All this time The sun never says to the earth, “You owe me.” Look What happens With a love like that, It lights the Whole Sky. Monday, September 16, 13 Hafiz is actually a 14th Century Persian poet But it is with software-like power that he can turn a few lines into something that evokes a feeling and helps cleanse my mind and reset my thinking. I read that... and suddenly my selfishness washes away. I remember everything’s not about me and what I want. And I can come back to a place of gratitude and peace.

When all your desires are distilled you will cast just two votes: to love more, and be happy. — Hafiz Monday, September 16, 13 (Incidentally, Hafiz is also the author of the line I mentioned earlier.)

ART IS THE SOFTWARE OF THE SOUL Monday, September 16, 13 I really have come to see art as the software of the soul. [[ more, intro music ]]

EX. 1 Monday, September 16, 13 Jurassic Park Theme

EX. 2 Monday, September 16, 13 My wife and kids are two and a half days of travel away and I miss them so much. They sent me pictures and messages today and I couldn’t help but tear up thinking of how much I miss them. Close your eyes, picture someone who you love dearly and miss, and listen to this: (Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings in C)

ART IS THE SOFTWARE OF THE SOUL Monday, September 16, 13 But, see, as much as software may be approached artistically, and with the level of intentionality and craft and inspiration that an artist would approach it... software is quite soulless in comparison. Certainly, we might be moved by the simplicity or elegance of a module or an architecture, but few outside our insular group will be. So we need artists who speak the language of human emotion to humanize our creations, give them life, and make them more. The first obvious place to think about this is design.

Firebird logo Monday, September 16, 13 Who here used this?

http://www.actsofvolition.com/archive/2003/october/brandingmozilla Monday, September 16, 13 Steven Garrity wrote a post criticizing Mozilla branding and design. He says Bart Decrem from the mozilla foundation reached out to him with the design equivalent of “where’s the patch?” and asked him to get involved in the process

Monday, September 16, 13 Steven DesRoches from Steven Garrity’s company, silverorange, drew some artwork which Jon Hicks illustrated in Fireworks.

Firefox Monday, September 16, 13 The story of Firefox (from my personal vantage point) is itself a terrific tale of software incorporating more voices and different perspectives to make a better finished product.

Unless the bad of your ideas isn’t getting regularly replaced by the good of someone else’s, you won’t know it, but it will suck. — @natevw Monday, September 16, 13 One of my dear friends and someone who thinks very differently from me once wrote this: "Unless the bad of your ideas isnt getting regularly replaced by the good of someone elses, you wont know it but it will suck." He wrote that after a series of conversations he and I had where we came at something from absolutely different perspectives and made something that was dramatically better as a result.

Monday, September 16, 13 Conversations are powerful. It's interesting to me that Hafiz compares art to a conversation.

Art is the conversation between lovers. Art offers an opening for the heart. True art make the divine silence of the soul break into applause — Hafiz Monday, September 16, 13

A ONE ON ONE CONVERSATION IS A WORK OF ART Monday, September 16, 13 A one on one conversation is a work of art. It's really amazing what its capable of doing when two people really listen and share their whole thoughts. I believe and have found that if you truly understand someone, it is impossible not to love them as a human being. This goes as far as people who are on opposite ends of the spectrum politically, culturally, socially. We miss a lot of opportunities for growth as we stubbornly consider our own viewpoint incapable of being improved by someone else's perspective.

LISTEN Monday, September 16, 13 If you want to listen to someone, your chief aim must be to understand them. This means setting aside your own worldview, experiences, biases and doing your best to enter into their mind, empathize with and understand them.

“When we listen, really listen, we reveal respect, support, understanding, empathy. All things that often cannot be expressed with words alone.” — @stephaniemaier Monday, September 16, 13 Stephanie: “When we listen, really listen, we reveal respect, support, understanding, empathy. All things that often cannot be expressed with words alone.” Its not easy - it requires a ton of work and focus.

ONE ON ONE Monday, September 16, 13 By way of what I always considered to be a personality flaw, I discovered something that has made a tremendous difference in my life, my work, my thinking. I absolutely hate small-talk. Im actually terrified of it, to be honest. I love people so I love conferences (in fact, we help put on a few) because I love bringing together people who are passionate so that conversations can happen... but I’m also terrified and entirely uncomfortable at conferences because I really don’t do that well in crowds and as much as I might convince people otherwise from time to time, Im a hardcore introvert, like most of you.

ONE ON ONE Monday, September 16, 13 At conferences, I feel like I don’t get enough of a chance to know people to really listen and understand them, and that makes me feel super awkward. I will often suck at keeping up in a conversation about the day's news or politics or even some cool new programming thing. But talk to me about something of substance, your hopes and dreams and fears, and I cant help but be drawn in.

Why just ask the donkey in me to speak to the donkey in you, when we have so many other beautiful animals and brilliant colored birds inside that are longing to say something wonderful and exciting from our heart? — Hafiz Monday, September 16, 13 Another line from Hafiz.........

MARKED BY A CONVERSATION Monday, September 16, 13 When I go to a conference, my hope is to meet a small number of people who I walk away knowing considerably better. Those conversations tend to permanently mark me. I turn them over and over and over in my head like a song or a lyric. I think back on some of the conversations I had in the last year.

Paul Monday, September 16, 13 At funconf, Paul and I began talking about how to create an experience that captured our feelings that a business that keeps its focus on people is just another form of art—and a very important one, at that. The conference Brio was one of the results of that conversation.

Jan Monday, September 16, 13 Also at funconf, Jan and I started a conversation about how to use our privilege as technologists to better the world instead of just enriching our own lives.

Boaz Monday, September 16, 13 At BackBoneConf and then again at Brio this year, I had lengthy conversations with Boaz about leading and really caring for the people you work with, and getting out of their way while trying to find your own place in a company you started.

Allen Monday, September 16, 13 Over the course of two days in Seattle at CascadiaJS, I had a conversations with Allen about organizations and how to create a quality company culture.

Ana Monday, September 16, 13 At JSConf, I had a conversation with Ana Hevesi about fighting the very self-centered nature of technology businesses with the hope of being part of something that made a more substantial impact.

Baldwin Monday, September 16, 13 I’ve been having a conversation with my dear friend and colleague Adam Baldwin for the past few years about how to give security research a more positive and useful place in development communities.

Shenoa/Erin/ Doug/Nate Monday, September 16, 13 In the past four weeks, Ive had probably hours and hours of conversations with Shenoa, Erin, Doug, Nate, and some other friends who operate and support the first coworking space in our small community, and who've recently made the very hard decision to close down so that a new iteration with less organizational overhead can emerge.

Henrik Monday, September 16, 13 And of course Henrik and I have been talking since I first met him over Thai food about making things that have meaning— from business to products, without needing to take investment that would compromise our values.

WHAT CONVERSATIONS HAVE MARKED YOU? Monday, September 16, 13 What conversations have marked you? I want you to think about the individual conversations that you've had in the last few years that shaped you and helped you arrive where you are now. The ones that have impacted you are like favorite songs or pieces of poetry that get turned over and over in your head. In his introduction to his translation of Hafiz's poetry, Daniel Ladinsky wrote:

“True art evolves us—opens our arms and weakens our prejudices so that the ever-present seeds of healing and renewal can take root in our soul and sinew, and cause joy.” — Daniel Ladinsky Monday, September 16, 13

DEEP, ONE-ON-ONE CONVERSATIONS ARE ONE OF THE HIGHEST FORMS OF ART Monday, September 16, 13 Deep, one on one conversations are one of the highest art forms. To truly listen and give someone your full attention is a small but significant way to leave your mark on the world. And you may well find yourself marked in the process.

Mike Monday, September 16, 13 I’ve recently been having a conversation with my friend Mike Speegle, who is a terrific novelist and very imaginative writer. We’ve been discussing the relationship of technology and art in making a positive difference in society. Through his work which has emerged from our conversations, I’ve been learning a lot about this and it’s really affected me. We celebrate technologists far too much—the real heroes of our society are underpaid and underappreciated: people like teachers. We all understand how much it really matters that technology and the web remain open and free-as-in-speech, if not beer. We spend a lot of time ranting to each other about how important this stuff is.

THE WEB IS NOT ABOUT WEB DEVELOPERS Monday, September 16, 13 But the web is not about web developers. And we need to have one on one conversations—and conversations with people who are not technologists. Helping people who are outside our world understand why this matters.

WHAT IF THE CONVERSATION ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THE OPEN WEB WAS EXTENDED TO NORMAL PEOPLE? Monday, September 16, 13 What if the conversation about the open web was extended to include....

WHAT IF THE CONVERSATION ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THE OPEN WEB WAS EXTENDED TO NORMAL PEOPLE? Monday, September 16, 13 ...normal people? That's only going to happen if each of us do it, one person at a time.

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Monday, September 16, 13 Someone once said, "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" We put a lot of our treasure into impressing our fellow treasurers. I am including myself as having fallen completely prey to this trap. For us alchemists who literally turn lines of text into gold, I really believe its important to put our investment into places that can really teach us to care about and focus on the right things. That means our money, yes, and our time, yes—but also our deep conversations.

Monday, September 16, 13 One of my personal goals is to convince more people that we can make the most significant difference in the small opportunities we see and take. We all want so badly to be superheroes that we sometimes pass up the chance to be every day heroes. We have some ambitious dream in our heads, and we don’t feel like well have accomplished anything important until we do the whole thing.

WE NEED TO GIVE MORE CREDIT TO THE SMALL STUFF. Monday, September 16, 13 We need to give more credit and put more focus on the small stuff.

“Small things done with great love change the world.” — Mother Teresa Monday, September 16, 13

USUALLY THE BEST WAY TO GET SOMEWHERE IS TO FIND AN OLDER, WISER WAY AND WALK IN IT. Monday, September 16, 13 We have an obsession with novelty, but usually the best way to get somewhere is to find an older, wiser way and walk in it. In a world where we're used to software being a powerful force that demands attention, we need to recognize that the power of single, simple human actions will always be infinitely more powerful.

Monday, September 16, 13 Five and a half years ago, I was in a truly terrible place. I had seriously contemplated and wished for suicide for almost two years but had no desire to put my family through that, after having seen firsthand the impact doing that. Instead of killing myself, I was in the midst of trying to ruin everything about my life and every good relationship I had. One friend reached out to me in the midst of deep depression. She forced me to look at the truth. The truth that is always there: it doesnt matter how lost you are or how hopeless things seem....

NOTHING CAN EVER STOP YOU FROM MAKING THINGS BETTER THAN THEY ARE RIGHT NOW. Monday, September 16, 13 nothing can stop you from making things better than they are right now. It was a hard choice, but it was a simple one. And I didnt have to change everything that was wrong in order to change. I just needed to make one small, hard choice, then another. We all can look at the world as if it's impossible to change and become hopeless over that fact and do nothing about it. ----- I want to ask you a question.

WHY? Monday, September 16, 13 “Why?”

WHY DO YOU DO WHAT YOU DO? Monday, September 16, 13 Why do you do what you do?

When all your desires are distilled you will cast just two votes: to love more, and be happy. Monday, September 16, 13 "When all your desires are distilled, you will cast just two votes: to love more, and be happy." – Hafiz Do more of that, in simple, small, meaningful ways. And the world will be different because of your art.

@adambrault THANK YOU. Monday, September 16, 13

PLEASE HELP ME THANK THE JSCONFBR TEAM WITH WILD APPLAUSE Monday, September 16, 13