Barking Up the Wrong Tree

A thought-provoking book that challenges conventional wisdom about success. Rather than offering cookie-cutter advice, Barker digs into the surprising science behind achievement.

How it shaped my work

The idea I kept is that the traits that hold you back in one setting can carry you in another. Barker calls it finding the right pond. For years I treated my habit of building side projects nobody asked for as a distraction from "real" work. This book made me see it as the thing that works for me: graphpg, the homelab and the YouTube channels all started that way.

It also made me more honest about networking. I don't enjoy it, so I stopped forcing it and started sharing what I build instead. Writing and video bring the conversations to me.