Ten

• John

Ten years ago this Sunday, I published my first article on MacStories. I’ve told the story of how I got started before, so today, I thought I’d see if I could come up with 10 things I’ve learned over the past decade.

1. Carve Your Own Path. Success comes in many shapes and often has as much to do with luck as anything else, so there’s no point in imitating what worked for someone else. It may be the sincerest form of flattery, but imitation is also boring. It’s been done before. Do your own thing.
2. Measure Yourself By You. I’m not a fan of hero worship, which often comes in the form of low-key jealousy of someone else’s success. That’s not to say I don’t recognize or respect the expertise and success of others, but if you follow #1 above, you’ll naturally measure your success against what you set out to do, not someone else’s accomplishments. Lean into you.
3. Focus on the Horizon. Instead of imitating what worked in the past, focus on where things are heading. Get there first, and you’ll be the one others imitate.
4. Never Stop Moving. Starting something new is hard, and stopping is easy, but failing to adapt and change along the way is the surest path to irrelevance. This is especially true for someone who works online like I do, but it’s true for nearly everyone in our tech-accelerated world.
5. Stay Curious. If you “Never Stop Moving,” chances are, this one will take care of itself. In fact, sometimes, curiosity needs to be put on a leash to avoid spiraling down too many rabbit holes, but make time to indulge curiosity because it’s the fuel that makes your perpetual motion machine go.
6. Bucket Lists Are a Dead End. If you tell yourself, “I’ll know I’ve made it when…,” you’re setting yourself up to drift once you reach your destination. Goals are important, but I’ve known too many people who have had to ask themselves, “What’s next?” after reaching a milestone. The trick to “Never Stop Moving” is that you never reach, “What’s next?” because by definition, there is no end state.
7. Don’t Accept the Status Quo. “Because that’s how we’ve always done it” isn’t a good answer. There is always a better way to do something. Beware: this thinking leads to testing dozens of email and task apps every year, year after year.
8. Know Who to Trust. This is a hard one to get right, but it’s important to know whose judgment you can rely on unconditionally. These people are a rare breed, but when you find the right person, listen. Everything else is just noise.
9. Commitment Is Okay. This is a corollary of “Know Who to Trust.” Lots of people advised me to hedge my bets and split my time between being a lawyer and writing about Apple. But after two years of that, I knew it was the path to failing at both. Commitment is risky, but it’s also rewarding.
10. Take Time to Enjoy the Journey. Most projects don’t end in applause or cheering crowds. When something good happens, pause and soak in it a little before moving on. A little self-aware self-indulgence is okay.

If I were to sneak in a #11, it would be Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously. Just because it’s called work doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun or admit that you aren’t perfect. That didn’t play so well at “Big Buttoned-Down Law Firm,” and that’s a big part of why I left.