Impact
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When I was first starting my career, I was really concerned with doing things that mattered. I feel like it’s kinda odd for an 18-year-old to be aware of this, but it was on my mind a lot at the beginning. Other than one or two projects, you could definitely argue none of it had any impact, but I remember at least trying.
I remember thinking about this a lot after being fortunate enough to have lots of job options later in my career. I definitely considered trying to do good (by whatever measure at the time) in my new role. For example at Lyft, I remember being really excited that it was helping folks that had limited job options make a living, etc. (In hindsight, this logic is a bit questionable.)
Lately, I realized I don’t care about “world impact” as much as I used to. I feel like it’s kinda stressful to always try to do what’s best.
Now, I’m of the mindset that the process along the way is part of the output. I can see value in spending time on something purely because I enjoy it or because I’m learning something. Younger me, had a really hard time with this.
At Along (the company I started last year with my friend, Bryn), there’s a good chance we’re not going to change the world. We have a lot of ideas we’re really excited about, but if it doesn’t work out, that’s okay. My experience of working with people I really like and learning new things is value enough for me.
I mean not that I don’t want to change the world for the better, but I’m also trying to enjoy as I go.