Acting your wage will atrophy your abilities

> Whatever the situation, whatever the company, you should show up with your very best. Not for them, but for you.

i cannot stress this enough. Case in point: after having been a moderately successful I.T. Guy my whole life, i was knocked out of the industry by a severe case of chronic RSI and found myself, a couple of years ago, delivering newspapers between one and three in the morning, six days a week, to earn some extra money. i found myself thinking, "you know, this may be minimum-wage menial labor, but if i don't give it my best effort then i'm just being an arrogant (expletive)."

To be clear, i had to keep _actively reminding myself_ of that (because it _was_ brain-dead, low-paying work, which can easily become demoralizing for someone used to earning well by typing), but if someone's paying me to do a job, and i've accepted the terms of that job, then it's up to me to make an honest best effort.

Giving your very best usually takes time and energy, which are finite resources. For many people a job is just an instrument to finance other things (an idea, education, a hobby) that also take time and energy. So depending on your particular goals and life situation not giving your very best is perfectly ok.

There's always open source...