It's already backfired on me several times: I keep doing shit I figure is going to kill my career, and they keep promoting me.

Fortunately I grew up kinda poor, so I never learned all the ways middle class people waste money and was able to save like crazy. So the more they pay me, the more I save and the less dependent on their money I am. Which allows me to care even less about my career. So it all works out in my favor.

Edit: when I started out on my own I lived in a neighborhood full of Mexican day laborers, because it didn't make sense to live in a "good school district" like all my coworkers. Now those same coworkers criticize me for not being "diverse and inclusive". I wonder how many of them have lived someplace where you couldn't assume you could speak the same language as your next-door neighbor.

It's already backfired on me several times: I keep doing shit I figure is going to kill my career, and they keep promoting me.

Fortunately I grew up kinda poor, so I never learned all the ways middle class people waste money and was able to save like crazy. So the more they pay me, the more I save and the less dependent on their money I am. Which allows me to care even less about my career. So it all works out in my favor.