David “DHH” Heinemeier Hansson: The Power of Being Outspoken
Photo credit: Jiri Krenek
“It’s not about being eight hours in an office. It’s about increasing the quality of the hours that you spend.”
– David “DHH” Heinemeier Hansson
David “DHH” Heinemeier Hansson (@dhh) is the creator of Ruby on Rails, founder and CTO at Basecamp (formerly 37signals), and the best-selling co-author of Rework and Remote: Office Not Required. Oh, and he went from not having a driver’s license at 25 to winning, at 34, the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, one of the most prestigious automobile races in the world. It is often called the “Grand Prix of endurance and efficiency.”
David is one of the most outspoken technologists out there. He is not one to hide his opinions or mince words.
In this episode, we cover a lot, including…
The power of being outspoken
Running a profitable business without venture capital
Stoic philosophy
Flow space
Parallels across disciplines
DHH’s rules for creating excellence
And much, much more…
If you only have 5 minutes, listen to DHH’s tips on cultivating a sustainable work/life balance.
Please enjoy my conversation with DHH!
Listen to it on iTunes.
Stream by clicking here.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
Want to hear another episode with an entrepreneur balancing family life? — Listen to this interview with Shay Carl. In this episode, he shares his thoughts on the future of ad revenue, how he balances capturing the moment vs. experiencing the moment, his greatest obstacles in life, and lessons learned as a father (stream below or right-click here to download):
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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
Selected Links from the Episode
Connect with DHH:
Website | The Distance Podcast | Twitter | Instagram | Medium | Basecamp | Ruby on Rails
Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Remote: Office Not Required by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
The Art of Strategic Laziness by Shane Snow (guest post featuring DHH’s learning process)
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
24 Hours of Le Mans
20 of Our Favourite Retro Racing Games by BBC Top Gear
Levels of the Game by John McPhee
The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis
What is flow?
Core Archery: Shooting With Proper Back Tension by Larry Wise
The Daily Rush (The last of the gaming sites David made around the turn of the millennium — and it’s still around!)
37signals
Bushnell’s Law
Ruby — “a programmer’s best friend”
Perl
Struts
From E-Commerce Expert to NFL Owner: How Gary Vee Is Positioning Himself to Buy the New York Jets by Chad Rubin, Skubana
I Am Elon Musk, Ask Me Anything about Becoming a Spacefaring Civ! (Reddit AMA)
Stoicism for Modern Stresses: 5 Lessons from Cato
The Day I Became a Millionaire by DHH, signalvnoise.com
37 Signals Takes Jeff Bezos Investment by Michael Arrington, TechCrunch
Moral Letters to Lucilius/Letter 18: On Festivals and Fasting by Seneca
Join 125+ other companies in taking the Work Can Wait pledge
The Age of Absurdity: Why Modern Life Makes It Hard to Be Happy by Michael Foley
It’s Always Your Fault by DHH, Medium
A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by William B. Irvine
Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise, and Other Bribes by Alfie Kohn
The Myth of the Spoiled Child: Coddled Kids, Helicopter Parents, and Other Phony Crises by Alfie Kohn
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink
Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders by L. David Marquet and Stephen R. Covey
The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution by Francis Fukuyama
Political Order and Political Decay: From the Industrial Revolution to the Globalization of Democracy by Francis Fukuyama
Maverick: The Success Story Behind the World’s Most Unusual Workplace by Ricardo Semler
Comedian (documentary with Jerry Seinfeld)
The Big Short (movie)
Montage of Heck
New Rules — Real Time with Bill Maher
Hardcore History — Wrath of the Khans Series with Dan Carlin
Common Sense with Dan Carlin
Casey Neistat’s Boosted Boards
David considers his Leica M 240 “not just a good camera, but a freaking amazing camera.”
Understanding Exposure, Fourth Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera by Bryan Peterson
Composed Method by Kent Beck
Coding: It’s Just Writing by Jeff Atwood, Coding Horror
Show Notes
David and I talk about how we first met. [07:29]
How did David go from not having a driver’s license to racing cars? [09:17]
What did David do differently compared to others when learning to drive? [15:35]
Everything’s interesting if you dig deep enough — whether it’s a driver’s manual or writing code. [17:09]
David describes the flow state he experiences when racing vs. the flow state he experiences while programming. [21:28]
David’s big aha moment that changed his perspective and brought about the development of Ruby on Rails. [37:13]
Is picking up a programming language akin to learning a new human language? [46:59]
David talks about Ruby on Rails and why experienced programmers find it instantly familiar. [49:09]
Is it more satisfying to be a jack of all trades than a master of one? [53:28]
David talks about the start of his business ventures with Jason Fried and their first principles [1:03:28]
David on keeping his business small and streamlined without being negligent. [1:09:24]
Does David consider himself a happy person? [1:18:34]
“Expectations — not outcomes — govern the happiness of your perceived reality.” [1:27:00]
How David and Jason went from the stance of eschewing venture capital to accepting money from Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. [1:31:49]
For most captains of industry, doing interesting work and taking on new challenges is far more gratifying than retiring. [1:36:06]
How is money like alcohol? [1:38:33]
What Seneca had to say on the subject of negative visualization. [1:39:22]
What has Jeff Bezos gained by investing in Basecamp? [1:40:42]
On cultivating sustainable work/life balance habits [1:43:50]
Bad luck vs. bad planning [1:54:21]
How is David’s “almost pathological” distaste for repeating work part of what makes him a good programmer? [2:01:03]
Books David has been enjoying. [2:05:56]
How does David know when he’s being a good parent — and what common mistakes does he see other parents making? [2:10:55]
What are the habits that have helped David develop empathy — and convey it — as a parent? [2:24:10]
Who comes to mind when David thinks of the word “successful?” [2:28:21]
Does David have any business idols? [2:31:15]
Does meeting your heroes ever live up to your expectations? [2:33:55]
David’s favorite documentaries and movies. [2:38:25]
Books David has gifted and recommended most. [2:42:17]
David’s favorite podcasts. [2:44:25]
David’s purchase of $100 or less that has had the most positive impact on his life in recent memory. [2:46:29]
David’s most worthwhile investment of money, time, or energy. [2:52:08]
Resources that have helped David improve as a photographer. [2:56:52]
What is beautiful code? [2:59:18]
What advice would David give his younger self? [3:14:15]
Does David have a favorite failure? [3:17:05]
People Mentioned
Seth Godin
Jason Fried
Tom Kristensen
John McPhee
Arthur Ashe
Clark Graebner
Michael Lewis
Martin Fowler
Chad Fowler
Scott Adams
Michael Jordan
Marc Andreessen
Nolan Bushnell
Yukihiro “Matz” Matsumoto
Gary Vaynerchuk
Elon Musk
Jeff Bezos
Coco Chanel
Jerry Colonna
Seneca
Alfie Kohn
Patton Oswalt
Ricardo Semler
Richard Branson
Warren Buffett
Steve Jobs
Jerry Seinfeld
Bill Maher
Dan Carlin
Casey Neistat
Amelia Boone
Steve Huff
Tobi Lütke
Upton Sinclair
Yoda
Jack Ma
