Friction Into Fuel [Verse 1] I really need you to listen, I really need my friends Pierce in the retro, steady with the plan Ten years leading patterns, seeing cause and then effect While I’m chasing constellations through the branches in my head Ethan on the portal, turned an intern to a pro Shipped a client to production, took initiative and owned Fed with methodical patience, pulling threads from all my code Cherry-picking what I scatter into paths the team can hold Omar aligning channels, keeping stakeholders in the the know Defining scopes and epics so that the team can grow [Chorus] So if I move too fast, and the branches all collide Know I’m fighting with my wiring, not a lack of pride When the tickets and conventions start to pull me out of view You’ve been turning all that friction into fuel Pierce you keep the vision, Ethan you push through Fed you shape the chaos into something we can use Omar clears the scope so we deliver right on cue We’re a different kind of engine, but this engine’s running true You’ve been turning all that friction into fuel [Verse 2] It’s not “just have more discipline,” it’s thoughts that fall away One interruption and the whole world starts to fray Overwhelmed by every choice, my focus starts to spin “What branch was I on, what rule was that, where do I begin?” Stories sized for stakeholders while the code is in my hands Tickets written like predictions in a world that never stands “Fix it now or write it down?” I’m frozen in between Afraid that following my brain makes me look like I’m obscene [Chorus] So if I move too fast, and the branches all collide Know I’m fighting with my wiring, not a lack of pride When the tickets and conventions start to pull me out of view You’ve been turning all that friction into fuel Pierce you keep the vision, Ethan you push through Fed you shape the chaos into something we can use Omar clears the scope so we deliver right on cue We’re a different kind of engine, but this engine’s running true You’ve been turning all that friction into fuel [Verse 3] Each little gate seems reasonable, taken on its own But stacked into a fortress, it can lock me out of flow Yet when I’m in that current, twelve hours feel like one Late at night the noise is gone and I can finally get things done I’m not better, not the worst, just another kind of mind ADHD, poor memory, thoughts are comets hard to find Hyperfocus is my power when the runway’s guarded well I’m not broken, just a pattern that your frameworks seldom tell [Chorus] So if I move too fast, and the branches all collide Know I’m fighting with my wiring, not a lack of pride When the tickets and conventions start to pull me out of view You’ve been turning all that friction into fuel Pierce you keep the vision, Ethan you push through Fed you shape the chaos into something we can use Omar clears the scope so we deliver right on cue We’re a different kind of engine, but this engine’s running true You’ve been turning all that friction into fuel [Verse 4] In complex moving systems, cause and effect arrive late I probe and learn by building, then I circle back to shape Upfront plans are perfect when the outcome line is clear Mine appears in retrospect, only once my hands are near I know that I’m the principal, but self-taught all the way Still learning how to lead you while my brain rewrites the day Asking me for points before I even see the fault Turns my honest exploration into fiction by default [Chorus] So if I move too fast, and the branches all collide Know I’m fighting with my wiring, not a lack of pride When the tickets and conventions start to pull me out of view You’ve been turning all that friction into fuel Pierce you keep the vision, Ethan you push through Fed you shape the chaos into something we can use Omar clears the scope so we deliver right on cue We’re a different kind of engine, but this engine’s running true You’ve been turning all that friction into fuel [Bridge] I owned it when I stumbled, split the work the way you said Seventy percent of effort lost to dancing with git’s threads But you met me there with patience, not a target on my back You showed me how to slice it without killing off the knack Pierce, you guide the retro so the blame turns into light You ask “What support is missing?” not “Who failed to do it right?” Ethan, you keep shipping, taking weight off of my chest Fed, your slower, steady cadence lets my chaos do its best Omar, you take the crossfire, every stakeholder demand You translate all the pressure into plans where we can land [Verse 5] What’s missing isn’t effort, it’s the scaffolding I lack A way to plan while moving so my focus can come back Automation, tiny rails that hold the habits I forget Hooks and tools that keep me safe from every unseen debt Not asking for exemption or a softer kind of grade Just help me build a system where my strengths can be displayed Judge me by the fire that turns creative ideas into tools
