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In his Opening Keynote at RailsConf 2015, David Heinemeier Hansson discusses the release of Rails 5 and reflects on his twelve years of involvement with Ruby on Rails. He explores the motivations that keep him engaged in the software community, particularly the intrinsic joy of programming and the fear of losing what he has built. Hansson emphasizes the importance of community and daily interactions as vital reasons for his continued dedication to Rails. He shares insights on his personal evolution from a joy-driven approach to programming to adopting a more strategic mindset, influenced by Stoicism, to confront the fears associated with success and ownership.

Key points include:
- **Rails 5 Launch**: Hansson announces the upcoming release and the significance of reaching the fifth major version, which marks ten years of major releases.
- **Motivation**: He introspects on his motivations for working on Rails, identifying factors such as community, personal pleasure in coding, and responsibilities as driving forces.
- **Fear of Loss**: He discusses the transition to taking on responsibilities and the accompanying fear of losing his achievements, noting the impact this has on decision-making.
- **Prepper Mentality**: Hansson likens his approach to a 'prepper' mindset, where he prepares for potential calamities, using Rails as a set of tools that empower him to adapt and rebuild if necessary.
- **Simplicity vs Complexity**: He reflects on the challenges of overly complex systems, sharing lessons learned from experimenting with microservices. He advocates for simplicity and integrated solutions as a way to empower software developers.
- **Rails 5 Vision**: The upcoming version aims to enhance community collaboration and integrate common development practices while retaining simplicity.

Hansson concludes by encouraging developers to embrace a mindset that values simplicity, equipping themselves with the essential tools they need to tackle future challenges and fostering a thriving community around Rails. He expresses excitement for the evolution of Rails and its capacity to support developers in realizing their visions without compromising on functionality or cohesion.

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