Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture

by David Kushner

I first listened to this audiobook in Oct. 2013. A few months later, in April 2014, I listened to it again. I just finished a third listen, really just wanting to hear about John Carmack’s work ethic, looking for inspiration.

“But for Carmack it wasn’t the cash that was intriguing, it was the opportunity to get back into the trenches. This was what he truly loved: the work, the rolling up of the sleeves, the challenging of his intellect.”

“In the information age, the barriers [to entry into programming] just aren’t there. The barriers are self imposed. If you want to set off and go develop some grand new thing, you don’t need millions of dollars of capitalization. You need enough pizza and Diet Coke to stick in your refrigerator, a cheap PC to work on, and the dedication to go through with it. We slept on floors. We waded across rivers.”

In at least this respect, I can relate to Carmack, although I don’t have so single-minded of a work ethic. For certain challenges, having the dedication to stick with it until you crack through is all that’s really required, and that’s where the joy and satisfaction come from.