Matt Mullenweg the CEO of Automattic, the company where I work, is turning 40 today. Happy birthday Matt. For his birthday he asked for people to blog so that’s what I’m doing. I figure he and Automattic have given me so much that this is the least I could do.
So here we go, happy birthday Matt. In your post today about turning 40 mentioned having mixed feelings about this milestone, saying approaching it felt both light and heavy. Having crossed that threshold a few years back now I’ll assure you that it’s not that big a deal. Lots of life left to live.
For someone who really does live the Automattic creed I think one of the keys is in the first line, as you also highlighted in your post, I will never stop learning. If this is your mindset 40 still leaves lots of time left to learn. I was already past 40 when, thanks to the developer apprenticeship program at work, I was able to change roles. It was a pretty big shift and required lots of work and learning, but well worth it. In fact this decade has already seen some of the biggest and best changes of my life. I’m looking forward to what comes next.
I know that isn’t ground breaking thoughts, and I don’t have any deep advice to offer, but keep going the way you are. Your work has such an impact on the world and my and my families life specifically, I’m on board and looking forward continuing being at least a small part in the impact Automattic will have in the future.
Sandy McFadden 