#180 - Becoming a Distinguished Engineer, Public Speaking, and Early Retirement - Kelsey Hightower

“Learn the difference between activities and impact. Sometimes we spend our career trying to get really great at activities. Always ask yourself, what is the impact of the work I’m doing?” From Google Distinguished Engineer to early retirement, Kelsey Hightower has a career journey filled with lessons for tech professionals at every stage. In this episode, Kelsey reflects on his journey, revealing why he decided to retire early, and offering valuable insights and lessons learned. Discover the importance of an entrepreneurial mindset, differentiating between activity and impact, and building a strong personal brand. Kelsey reveals his top strategies for becoming a confident public speaker and shares his thoughts on staying engaged and planning your career path. Plus, we touch on the impact of AI on software developers’ careers. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from one of the industry’s most respected figures and gain a unique perspective on achieving career success and fulfillment.   Listen out for: Career Journey - [00:01:35] Entrepreneurial Mindset - [00:04:15] Taking Risks in Our Role - [00:07:50] Activity vs Impact - [00:11:45] Thinking in Bigger Impact - [00:16:04] Impact of AI - [00:24:52] Getting Good at Public Speaking - [00:31:23] Building a Personal Brand - [00:38:05] Retiring Early - [00:44:04] Getting Engaged in Our Career - [00:50:49] Tech Lead Wisdom - [00:57:48] _____ Kelsey Hightower’s BioKelsey has worn every hat possible throughout his career in tech and enjoys leadership roles focused on making things happen and shipping software. Prior to his retirement, he was a Distinguished Engineer at Google, where he worked on Google Cloud Platform. He is a strong open source advocate with a focus on building great software as well as great communities around them. He is also an accomplished author and keynote speaker with a knack for demystifying complex topics, doing live demos and enabling others to succeed. When he is not writing code, you can catch him giving technical workshops covering everything from programming to system administration. Follow Kelsey: Twitter / X – @kelseyhightower LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/kelsey-hightower-849b342b1 Email – [email protected] _____ Our Sponsors Enjoy an exceptional developer experience with JetBrains. Whatever programming language and technology you use, JetBrains IDEs provide the tools you need to go beyond simple code editing and excel as a developer.Check out FREE coding software options and special offers on jetbrains.com/store/#discounts.Make it happen. With code. Manning Publications is a premier publisher of technical books on computer and software development topics for both experienced developers and new learners alike. Manning prides itself on being independently owned and operated, and for paving the way for innovative initiatives, such as early access book content and protection-free PDF formats that are now industry standard.Get a 40% discount for Tech Lead Journal listeners by using the code techlead24 for all products in all formats. Like this episode? Show notes & transcript: techleadjournal.dev/episodes/180. Follow @techleadjournal on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Buy me a coffee or become a patron.