When I read Spolsky's story to me the "where from" and "where to" parts didn't really mean anything. For me its about someone smart enough to realize they are

When I read Spolsky's story to me the "where from" and "where to" parts didn't really mean anything. For me its about someone smart enough to realize they are running in place and brave enough to do something about it. So many people get stuck in a rut and let it rule their life instead of the other way around. Ashton made the move. Anecdotally, I've spent pretty much my whole life living between SF and Palo Alto, and realized about 2 years ago that I had to do something different so I quit my good job at a large software company to branch out on my own. Took a huge pay cut the first year, but I couldn't be happier. Getting stuck can happen anywhere.