Today I attended an UnPresenting workshop because I’d like to get comfortable in front of a crowd so I can be a speaker at WordCamps. When it was my turn to talk in front of the others I mentioned “I never want to settle.” It drew an interesting reaction.

As I’ve thought about it the rest of the day I was reminded of a post I wrote in 2004, titled Being Satisfied. Be sure to read the comment from my friend Lindsay, which is excellent. Many of the things I wrote about in that post are still goals today. A few things have changed.

If I were writing that post today, I wouldn’t mention money or a new job. When I worked for SVSU, money was a motivator because I didn’t enjoy what I was doing and there wasn’t any place to advance to. A higher salary was advancement.

Today I have a job I love. I’m motivated to make great products for our users, help my coworkers, and improve my skills. You might be thinking, “Isn’t that settling for your job?” Not at all. There isn’t another company in the world I would rather work for and I love the role I have. However, I will not settle for my performance. There are many things I have to learn and I can always get better at doing my job.

Do you settle?