Patrick's Programming Blog

Automattic Creed Poster

When I was working at Automattic one of the things that struck me the most was how amazing the people are.

They're passionate, they don't accept the world as it is, they believe in openness & transparency, and they are constantly experimenting and trying new things.

If I could only give Automattic credit for one thing it would be how they hire the very best people.

Creed

And I think a lot of this comes back to the founder's – Matt Mullenweg's ethos.

I will never stop learning.

I won’t just work on things that are assigned to me.

I know there’s no such thing as a status quo.

I will build our business sustainably through passionate and loyal customers.

I will never pass up an opportunity to help out a colleague, and I’ll remember the days before I knew everything.

I am more motivated by impact than money, and I know that Open Source is one of the most powerful ideas of our generation.

I will communicate as much as possible, because it’s the oxygen of a distributed company.

I am in a marathon, not a sprint, and no matter how far away the goal is, the only way to get there is by putting one foot in front of another every day.

Given time, there is no problem that’s insurmountable.

I still find myself inspired by these words. And the more I look at it the more sense it makes. Like when you hear the same song on the radio and after the 50th play you understand a deeper level of meaning.

I'm a huge believer in life being a marathon. You over-estimate what you can do in a year and you under-estimate what you can do in 30.

I believe in constantly improving yourself. But you have to do it because you love yourself and you want to be better (not because you hate yourself).

I don't believe there's a status quo; the world you see before you is malleable. To believe the world is fixed means you and your actions don't matter and you might as well not get out of bed.

This creed reminds me who I am, what I want to do in the world, and how I want to do it.

Creed + Illustration = Magic

Even though I left Automattic I still want to be inspired by this creed. Which is why I had it illustrated and put above my desk.

I worked with Clark Wolter to make it visual. To bold certain parts that stick out to me. And to add colors & icons that reinforce the point.

I think it came out great and since I'm the client that means it did come out great. 🙂

The poster it self measures 24″ by 36″. Which is actually pretty huge.

Ignore my dorky smile. 🙂

I worked with a print-on-demand drop shipper meaning if you want you can click this little button here and buy your own. In a week or so it will arrive at your doorstep.

I want this!

 

Please note I do this at cost. If I make money (due to volume discounts, or my bad math skills) I will donate it to Wikipedia or the EFF (the two causes I support every year).

You can also download the high resolution version to use as a desktop background.

I want this!

 

I hope this inspires you as much as it inspires me.

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