So funny thing at one point I was actually going to charge for Livewire. That's funny to hear me say that right now, but you've not even that long before larrikin. I mean way before larrikin, but even right before Larrick on I was like really running the numbers and thinking, you know, all right, how much can I make on this thing?

Like put a lot of work into this basically quit my job and haven't worked in like four or five months. I've like to make some money redeem some of this value. Okay, I'll charge for live or that's the thing. I'm not going to try to like raise a board or do patreon stuff. Like that doesn't work. I'm just going to charge for it, you know charging for software.

That's the thing people do so I messaged Adam Ladd and I basically had this plan and I really believe I stood to make like 15 grand. I think I could have maybe. Now in hindsight, I probably definitely couldn't anybody know I would have been 15 grand. And you know, I even knew that myself like 15 grand is not worth it for the work.

I put into it 15 grand. No way. I'd rather just not have that money and has something that everybody can use and grow it's an open-source, you know project I mentioned I asked a couple people for advice and one of those people was mr. Adam wave and and he gave it to me straight. Like I knew he would you said something like.

Dude, you're going to make like $200 to something. Like I don't know what he said maybe more than that. I think that's what he was saying about patreon. He's like, yeah, if you pay trying to make $200 if you charge for it, you know, whatever basically somewhere in this this midst of him, like giving it to me straight was like but don't underestimate the value of you know, your reputation of like building building.

Your reputation is like a open-source maintainer contributor person who created something pretty big. That stuck with me. Those are not his words, but sort of kind of that's what he was saying and that stuck with me for sure big time that that yeah, right. I mean this seems so obvious, but I had to be reminded that like.

that. This is this is a big step for me like this is this is a real contribution something that if I execute well, if I if it's if it's as useful as I think it could be and I execute it. Well could be something that most layer of elapsed use, you know, that would be crazy and it's kind of it's not just like a little like package, you know, it's a it's a way of developing it's a system.

It's a framework unto itself. That's pretty big deal. So. This could kind of open some doors for me. And I don't know he reminded me of that and that that just was a good reminder for me. That's all I needed now is like yeah, you're right. You know what? Yeah reputation is a thing. I guess. I'm my mind.

I felt like I sort of had that reputation of felt like it's like sort of I don't know if. If you're putting like laravel celebrities and tears, I'm probably like a second or third-tier celebrity and that's what I feel like, you know in terms. I don't know for using my follower can be like screw humility.

This is like how I picture myself based on Twitter followers, and I don't know just general like my connections with people in the community whatever but I think I'm at that level and I just sort of felt like that was. Heil a high enough level or something, I don't know but. He reminded me that there's you know, there's more to be had there's more to be reputed for I don't know there's more of a reputation to have more doors will open if I contribute something of value to the community more than just my little tip tweets and blog posts and stuff like that.

So anyway, I'm saying all this because I'm reflecting on this. I'm about to travel to Europe for full-stack EU and this is funny because there's like lots of people. But first I've never been to Europe and a lot of my family. My mom is never been in Europe. My dad has never been in Europe Brothers never been in Europe.

My sisters have been here, you know, there's. I don't know. It's like it's kind of a big deal for me, even though I travel a lot. I been a lot of places and I imagined that I would go here whether or not I was speaking somewhere. But you know, there's somebody who's paying for my flights and a couple nights in a hotel to go to Europe and talk about not actually about Livewire but stuff like it like like Frank asked me to talk about live organized like well, they're not all PHP developers.

Maybe I shouldn't but but this is in some way in some indirect Way live where open the door for me to go talk about this. And next year I'm going to shoot for you know, the other conference is laravel EU or Larrick on EU and stuff like that. And those are doors. You know, that's sort of like this is the kind of thing that I feel funny saying to the laravel community because a lot of community members do this sort of thing this traveling and whatever.

But you know what? I tell my family about this they're like to like what like this thing that you're working on is take you around the world, like people are paying, you know, whatever a thousand dollars for you to fly over and hundreds more to stay in a hotel and whatever and talk about this thing for help for 30 minutes what that's insane.

Like, you know, people are just like dump on my dad. He's so funny. He's like, you know, he's so proud and just like can't believe this you know, which is really funny. It's again funny saying to this crowd because I think this you know, I don't know if it's I don't know just definitely not as big of a deal than it is to my parents.

And anyway, so so going to Europe and then I get an email. The other day, I don't know about a week ago from somebody who works for a company called Prisma Kai got to look into it. I think it's Prismatic and and this guy's like Hey, we're starting a new YouTube video on YouTube channel, where were interviewing like open-source maintainers.

We've had West boss on we've had named a couple other big names and he's like. So and I you know, I follow you on Twitter and I heard that you're going to be in Belgium. Would you be up for flying to Paris and US interviewing you you know for our YouTube channel and I'm like well hell, yeah, like that's super cool and you know that they offer to like sponsor my travel to Paris from Belgium.

Like that's insane just for a YouTube interview. I don't know so it's for me that like I'm being transparent here like. These are kind of big moments. These are moments where I go home and like this is something like this is more than nothing. This is somebody who's follows me on Twitter and wants to fly me somewhere to hear me talk like they're big moments and I guess I take pride in them and I feel good about them and I'm humbled by them or whatever, you know.

Yeah, so so it feels pretty good. And that's why I'm reflecting on this and I'm like, you know, a lot of this is because of Livewire and. I think I could have maybe shot for some of these things without it. But live wires. The thing is the thing that that I guess I'm most known for at the moment and hopefully will become more known for as it becomes more valuable and and whatever so, I don't know I'm saying here.

I guess what I'm saying though is like I underestimated the value of the reputation of it. I didn't really think of it like that. I thought of it first it was like just fun and a really useful tool and then I started to get my sights set on like maybe I could actually fund. My life with this tool and I think that maybe was a lofty goal at the time maybe eventually down the road.

But but then I sort of shifted my sites to this is about my reputation. Like I want to build something. I want to make it really good as good as I can possibly make it really useful do a really good job on the docks and educational materials and everything just make it a really valuable tool for laravel developers and and I'll be recognized for that, you know, and that'll build their reputation and then it'll be kind of like a tool in my.

Tool, I don't know like like a Resume Builder, you know something that that that I'll be able to any job I go to like I'm going to point a live wire. I'm gonna be like, hey, yeah, I spent a ton of time working on this open source project and you can see all the code. I wrote here and all the people you can see how I managed a how to Big open source project, you know, so it's been a wild ride and really good time and.

Yeah, so that's that I think now is maybe a good it's pretty late and I got to go to bed these last three episodes. You can probably hear I have a cold and it's late at night. And so I'm really like quiet right now, but I was just in the reflective mood and I'm about to leave for Europe for two weeks and I'm putting the pen down.

I'm not going to be on the computer too much. I will be at full stack you but outside of that will be traveling and doing whatever else so I'm going to be a little bit quiet. I'll release these. Maybe over the next two weeks, but but things will be a little quiet. I won't be really around much, but I'm but when I get back I'm going to be hitting it hard.

So so there's definitely some exciting stuff to come in the Live Wire front that I can't wait to talk about and work on it. Whatever so stay tuned. Thanks for listening to Lon. Enjoy your cab ride by.