Empathetic understanding of others should make one hesitate to tell them that being primarily focused on doing what they're passionate about is "self-centred crap", rather than using a less needlessly excoriating phrase. It touched a nerve for me specifically because I feel I, like most people, have prioritised doing things that other people need and are willing to pay for, and then felt attacked for my wish to be doing something I actually enjoy and have an aptitude for.
When I ask "What problem are you trying to solve?" most of the engineers I talk with can't explain it at all. They're so solutions focused, they may as well be saying, "But these go up to eleven."
