If Something Seems Boring, Skip It

...I tried two tactics to increase the amount of money I could charge for my programming services. One of them failed spectacularly, and one of them succeeded wonderfully. The failure was learning the skills that had the most job posts; the success was learning the skills that most engaged my own curiosity. I learned Java and got nothing out of it; I studied Bayesian filtering for fun and did consulting work in Bayesian filtering through my activity on a Ruby mailing list.

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The moral here is that if something seems boring, skip it. Trust your intuition.

- Giles Bowkett