Tynan

There is a little bit more. Look up the concepts of social proof and compound interest.

Here's a helpful piece on compound interest: https://tynan.com/thekey/

As for social proof, here's the concept: your reputation consists of your greatest achievements, not your greatest failures. I'll use Jonathan Blow as an example. He's the creator of Braid. He will always be known as the creator of Braid. One huge massively loved breakout hit is all you need to cement your reputation as an outstanding programmer. You could work on a dozen things nobody's ever heard of before and after that breakout hit and it doesn't matter.

The tricky thing is you never know what's going to be big and successful and what's going to be forgotten. That's why most outstanding programmers swing for the fences. They make things that are BIG. They're ambitious. You're not going to become recognized for outstanding work by making yet another ECS system in Rust. It has to be a step above in some way.

That said, to make a big, ambitious, impressive ECS system in Rust, you need to understand the problem extremely well. You do that by making unimpressive ECS systems in Rust. See previous point about compound interest.

I would go even further than you and say "have a plan by 25" myself. Why dick around and be a fool for longer than is absolutely necessary? :)

I am all for learning by making painful mistakes, but one should cut the failure iteration cycle as short as possible. Learn the lesson by scraping your knees, not by breaking your legs, is my analogy.

This is good reading for those who, like me, are in their mid-20s: http://tynan.com/youngpeople

I look at my age peers and I am flabbergasted that they seem to spend all their free time on fashion, computer games, going to clubs, Facebook, etc.

I spend basically all my free time reading, engaging in self-improvement activities, and plotting for my eventual world domination (heh).

Sorry for ranting, but this is a topic that is close to my heart :)

Tynan recently shared how he manages finances with his wife, plus the rationale:

> We keep our finances mostly separate. The primary reason is we both have enough that we don’t need the other’s money, and we both like having the freedom to buy whatever we want. I don’t want to ask when I’m buying pinball machines or random stuff for my next project, and she doesn’t want to ask me when she goes shopping or sends money to family members. We both invested enough money to cover house expenses and the interest goes into a joint account that pays the bills every month. Of course if she needed some of my money for some reason she’d be welcome to it, and vice versa, so it’s more like we have combined finances that we manage separately.

Source: https://tynan.com/having-a-good-marriage/

I share this preference at times. At times I disappear somewhere quite for months to learn, focus, get stuff done. Most people I know doing that have a) no pets, b) only what's truly necessary. Have a look at some examples of packing lists below. It's a great experience on it's own to learn how little you truly need. The couple behind http://8milesfromhome.com/ is traveling with a dog and the couple behind http://almostfearless.com/ and http://thewirelessgeneration.com/ are traveling with kids. So are the Bakers of http://manvsdebt.com/ and many many others. So it seems possible.

[1] http://tynan.com/gear2014
[2] https://levels.io/the-100-thing-challenge/
[3] http://www.tropicalmba.com/digital-nomad-packing-list-2014-living-since-2008-with-2-bags/

I hated small talk traditionally. It was very much a learned trait. One of the best conversation openers is “what keeps you busy?” and then ask open ended questions.

Ask about their favorite travel destinations or even what are some interesting things about where they live.

On the other hand, step outside your comfort zone and try something different so you have something to talk about interesting.

https://tynan.com/letstalk/

You didn’t become a software developer overnight. You won’t become a great conversationalist over night either.

“How to Talk to Anyone”

https://www.amazon.com/How-Talk-Anyone-Success-Relationships-ebook/dp/B000SEI4V0?dplnkId=6f3629fe-ed85-4f9d-9b61-d0d581a2a078&nodl=1

(not an affiliate link)

Very nice article, I appreciated both the game/technical detail and the personal touches in the text.

Not knowing about the author, I checked the About page [1] which states that Tynan is a "minimalist nomad", but perhaps that label is somewhat outdated? I mean ... owning three full-size pinball machines seems somewhat incompatible with both properties. Perhaps they are only minimalist when in nomad mode and not when at home, or something. Also, I have little clue about "nomadism", that is not my cup of beverage at all. :)

[1]: https://tynan.com/about/