Ep 64. 🎙️ Creating Value Outside the Comfort Zone — with John Di Rico

This week on Freelancer Training, I had the pleasure of catching up with the one and only John Di Rico, a certified French–English translator and interpreter based in Nice, France.

John works with the French police and justice system as a sworn interpreter and has a long-standing career in translation technology. He recently made a strategic career move from his sales role at Wordfast (the go-to CAT tool for Mac users) to Wordbee, a powerful cloud-based TMS and CAT tool all in one.

💡 Here are some standout takeaways from our conversation:

✅ Career Growth Through Change

John believes that every 10 years or so, it's healthy to switch roles. “In your comfort zone, you consume value. Outside your comfort zone, you create it.”

✅ Understanding AI in Translation

We discussed how Large Language Models (LLMs) operate—particularly the “temperature” parameter, which controls how predictable the output is word by word. As John puts it, “LLMs are nothing but clever magic tricks—one word at a time.”

✅ AI Adoption is Non-Negotiable

Translators who embrace AI tools to boost productivity will ultimately replace those who don’t. The message is clear: adapt and thrive.

✅ Smart Work Over Hard Work

We reflected on one of John’s favourite quotes by Abraham Lincoln:
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

📚 Book Mentioned:
Lean Marketing by Allan Dib

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