From the Desk of Josh Beckman

Hello, friends. I’m Josh.

I’m a software engineer building gardens, systems, and tools.

What I Believe

Make things. Not too much. Mostly for others — Our job is to help others. Be of service.
Building means repairing the world around it — Creation must make the surrounding context more whole. Form, in Context, evaluated against Fit.
Publishing is everything — Nothing matters until it’s in use. Shipping is a feature. Publish to replenish.
It’s not fully shipped until it’s fast — Performance determines whether something is usable.
Before making it better, stop making it worse — Stabilize before optimizing.
Work without a vision is toil. Vision without work is a daydream — Both are necessary. Thinking is work, too.
Solve the right problem — Most failures come from solving the wrong thing well. A well-defined problem is half-solved. Solve for the perimeter, not the area.
In software, everything is possible but nothing is free — Many things in life can’t be done, but software is an ultimate enabler.

Do it right, or you’ll need to do it over — Debt compounds faster than you think. Half measures are as bad as nothing at all.
One change makes seven — Everything is connected; plan accordingly. Favor focus over features. Adding anything dilutes everything else.
Bugs and features don’t add, they compound — Complexity grows exponentially.
Resource constraints enable creativity; bureaucratic constraints destroy it — Know which constraints to embrace. With enough workarounds you develop style.
Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast — Rushing creates more problems than it solves.
Non-blocking is better than blocking — Keep systems and people moving. Responsive is better than fast. Design for failure.
Approachable is better than simple — Easy to start with beats theoretically pure. Practicality beats purity.

Mind your words, they are important — Language shapes thought and culture. Speak like a human.
People act on the stories they know — People do things for reasons. Narrative drives behavior more than facts. Everyone has an incomplete view, but we form complete narratives.
Collaboration through communication — Work in public. Shared understanding enables shared success. Send messages instead of sharing direct control.
Ask for help with gratitude — We have the power to help each other; be in collaboration with the world.
Writing stuff down gives you unreasonable influence — Documentation shapes reality. Writing is thinking.
“Just” and “easy” are four letter words — Respect the complexity others face.
Trust accumulates in a “trust battery” — Every interaction charges or depletes trust.
Peace of mind produces right values, right thoughts, right actions — Inner state manifests outward.
Lead through ambiguity, advocate through disagreement — Embrace uncertainty and differing opinions to find the best path forward.
Mental models from diverse disciplines beat narrow expertise — Cross-functional thinking creates better solutions.

Personal growth has no speed limit — Keep your identity as small as possible. Growth mindset beats fixed mindset every time.
Some lessons aren’t worth learning — Choose empowering beliefs over limiting ones, even if those limits are sometimes true.
Mood follows action expresses mood — Being enthusiastic is worth 25 IQ points. If you can’t get out of it, get into it. Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.
Compete with yourself and root for everyone else — Success isn’t zero-sum.

Go places. Not too much. Mostly self-powered — You must meet the world to appreciate it and help it.
Working on human thriving is the entire point — Technology serves humanity, not vice versa.
Anything you do not give freely becomes lost to you — Generosity creates abundance.
Life is a gift meant to be given away — We mature by finding worthy causes for our time and energy. Parenting is one long gifting of your rights into another.
The only thing you can truly control is your own brain — Focus energy where you have agency. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. Press on.

The season is: Hot Summer 🌼