Won't speak for GP, but to me it means: - charging what you're worth to your client, not what you think you'd pay; (made this mistake for years) - doing enoug

Won't speak for GP, but to me it means: - charging what you're worth to your client, not what you think you'd pay; (made this mistake for years) - doing enough networking to keep business coming in. When you've got too much business coming in, see my first point. - doing enough self promotion to keep business coming in - learn something new frequently. New language, new toolkit, new mode of hacking (hardware vs software, for example)... Something that keeps you interested and engaged, and keeps you valuable. This is one of the harder ones, and probably the most important to future-proof yourself as you get older and have a family or other obligations. And it's damn hard for me to do if I don't follow #1. There's a few other threads on HN about this subject that are worth reading, lots of good advice there. I don't always follow my own advice (and the above certainly isn't comprehensive) but I can say I've got a pretty good idea that I know what it takes.