Innovating is not about technology, but psychology.

Why do we do it? Why do we try so hard? Why are we paying to be here, to listen to people talk? Maybe because we’re life long learners - we want to learn new things? Commune with our own kind? But why? Come examine our motives as developers, the pitfalls we fall into, and the cost of being great.

“It is the recognition that well-read is not a destination, there is nowhere to get to and if there was somewhere to get to, you would need a thousand years to even think about getting there.” -Linda Holmes

Many people strive to be “well-read” as developers or designers, they want to know & do it all. But why? All in the name of being “well-read”? All just to say “Yeah — I’ve done that”?

Why do we do what we do? Why do we try so hard? Why are we here, paying to be here, to listen to people talk? Maybe because we’re life long learners - we want to learn new things? Commune with our own kind? But why? Come examine our motives as developers, the pitfalls we fall into, and the cost of being great.

I am the best person to give this talk because I am the only person who can give it; this is my signature talk. My passion and insane energy give me a stage presence like no other, paired with my years teaching online, in front of a camera at Code School, is a power combination you won’t wanna miss. My goal in life is to be a community cultivator in the web industry, speaking is just one of the ways I try to do this.