I build things.
Not because of a job, nor because I have to, but because my ability to build is part of my identity, I develop myself as an individual by expanding the scope of what I can do.
Not all projects are created equal, most are small, ranging for a few hours to a few days. I might pick up a bit of additional nuance on a domain I have already opened the door to, but these simply prolong the trajectory of my current growth.
Then you have the medium projects, taking days to months. These do not happen accidentally, they come with goals, plans and strategies. They push the boundaries of my current understanding and sometimes create step functions in the technical growth curve.
Lastly, you have the true mastodonts, the tentpole projects. These are purposefully designed to be leaped into the unknown and cut a new path to grow though it. They are hard, long and ambitious projects, requiring multiple months of perseverant work. But they re-define the growth trajectory, opening up new dimensions to it and accelerating it upwards.
They are also the rarest.
I have currently done only 5 tentpole projects in my life. I can name each one and tell you exactly how each changed what I can do. Not all are hardware or software projects, but each expanded the space of possibility.
Today I am embarking on project number 6.
