Being a programmer means more to me than merely possessing a trade skill with which I can earn a paycheck. Throughout my life it has always meant wielding a freedom and virtually limitless potential to directly create value in the world. Collecting wages by filling a mundane coder position at some tech company means relinquishing a life-long dream of achieving my true potential, and settling for less. For whatever reason my life goals preclude wading through traffic and clocking-in for the privilege of giving away all of my best work to the most alluring and motivated profiteers of the world who don't really deserve it.

What gives me a sense of purpose and achievement in life is not the acquisition of material possessions, fame, or fortune. Instead, I enjoy the solving of problems, pioneering new methods and techniques, and obviating and upsetting the established ways and means that might otherwise never evolve or change if creativity were not to intervene. I dream of making the world a better place the best way I know how - through technological innovation and inspiring others to pursue their own independence, creativity, and potential, each in their own unique way.

Ikigai!