Playing for Stakes

Work doesn't count if you aren't putting anything at risk. Advice is meaningless from people who don't have skin in the game. (skin in the game might be a better name for this note).

Examples include when I decided to write for money to prove I could.

As the cult of done manifesto says dirty hands make you right. Be wary of people giving advice who haven't implemented it themselves or don't stand to lose anything if it doesn't work.

Work when it matters helps you skill up faster. For example, I once started a job where I needed to know TypeScript. I learned more about TypeScript in two weeks working on production code than I did doing exercises on my computer.