inspiration

I noticed that the official VMware tweets about their Q&A with me talk about “the inspiration behind my work”.  They got my inspiration to get started in computing, which isn’t the same as what inspires my day-to-day work.

I like solving hard problems.  The hardest problems aren’t necessarily in the code.  They’re the ones that keep people from getting to that code, or that keep that code from being something that people want to put to use.

My inspiration is seeing someone get frustrated because they can’t do something.  My inspiration is seeing someone spend hours searching online for help.  My inspiration is seeing someone trip over something, not even notice it because they always trip over it, and continuing on with that little bit of lingering annoyance that they can’t identify because they didn’t notice it when it happened.

My inspiration lies in coming up with ways that make people’s lives better.  It might be a little thing, like fixing that thing that trips them up every day but that they don’t notice.  It might be something bigger, like giving them the tools to do something that they never knew was possible but can make their days go so much smoother.  It might be in providing great APIs so that they can roll their own solution that perfectly meets their needs, and in them having the satisfaction of a job well done as they roll their own solution.

My work is invisible.  When it’s done well, you’ll never see it.  My inspiration is in keeping your life ticking along, making things easier for you, without you ever even knowing about it.