Shill, hack, slop It will be endlessly baffling to me that people can’t imagine someone who loves what they do, is delighted by puzzles and progress, revels in creating, wants to try new things, is grateful to be making money, and is genuinely having fun. They’d rather imagine a fraud, with dark intentions and an empty spirit. So they yell: Shill. Hack. Slop. I’m lucky enough to be raising little humans, so everyday I sit next to curiosity and wonder that exists without a lick of self-consciousness. The deep obsessions come fun and fast. Facts get memorized, art improvised, and the relentless questions are researched then documented with care. Kids watch how the world works and try to figure out how it will work for them. (Literal) lemonade stands get planned, the cost of lemons noted at the store. Excitement builds and is so infections that when neighbors wander by they, of course, say: “keep the change.” But somewhere along the way we decide curiosity is cringe. Creation is embarrassing; don’t you know people are watching? Cynicism sets in and we can’t imagine someone actually believes that, thinks that, built that, is proud of that. Don’t they see that lemonade is just a thin wrapper on lemons? And it all makes me so sad. Sure, with success and some visibility you absolutely will (should?) be exposed to fair inspection and perhaps less fair suspicion. Ideas have weight, and big ideas can change worlds. Frauds exist, and money can make people do weird things. But living in the builder capital of the world, I can tell you this; there are a lot of nice, bright humans out there who just want to do things. The tweets and the MRR and the series X raises are such a small fraction of who they are: good friends, neighbors, parents, partners. When you meet them it’s clear: they just had an idea they couldn’t let go. And then they work hard at it because a) they value hard work and b) it’s kinda fun. Of course there are the frauds and flexes. Of course! But on the whole, people are more earnest than you imagine, work harder, come from less, and worry more about the things you worry about, too. So I’ll be out here cheering on anyone building in public or sharing an idea they think is worth considering. I’ll definitely be cheering on the students and the explorers, taking time to learn and make something new. And yes: I’ll cheer you on if you can turn that idea or that learning or that thought into a business. I want to live in a neighborhood with lemonade stands. So next time you want to yell “shill, hack, slop!” remind yourself of that feeling as a little kid where you loved something new and wanted to be part of it. Ask yourself: is this creating the neighborhood I want to live in? Then go build. It’s fun!

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