WORK & FAMILY Software Ace Turns His Life Upside Down, And Is Happier for It By Sue Shellenbarger 01/31/1996 The Wall Street Journal Page B1 (Copyright (c) 1996, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) AT AGE 41, software whiz Rocky Rhodes could write his own ticket. As a co-founder and chief engineer of Silicon Graphics, he could pick among cutting-edge R&D projects at his company. He had a chance in 1994 to help Silicon Valley legend Jim Clark, Silicon Graphics' primary founder, start up another Wall Street darling, Netscape Communications. Instead, Mr. Rhodes charted a course that felt "like jumping off a cliff," he says, by cutting back to a part-time schedule at Silicon Graphics. Few people at Silicon Graphics (or in Silicon Valley, for that matter) work part time, and no one at Mr. Rhodes's level. The move has baffled acquaintances and left him adrift at the margins of the company he helped found, casting about for projects that fit his oddball hours. Why would anyone make such a choice? The answer lies in a faded yellow Post-It note, stuck to the refrigerator in his Los Altos, Calif., home -- a note that turned his life upside down. But more on that later. WSJ users can visit their repository and pay a fee to see the entire article, however you could view a short version of the story