3 Priceless Habits That Let You Turn Faster Into A Successfully Software Developer

Successfully developers don't know shit.

You would be surprised if I tell you that the question entered in the title picture above is not a joke, even after my 7 years of software development. The skill of a software engineer is not to know everything in detail. Instead, the true power is to know the pattern to get where you are expected or to solve any particular problem.

Difficulties can occur in millions of different variations, and you can't memorize all solutions, what you can keep burned inside your mind is the general pattern of habits to achieve your goal.

1. Dream Big, Keep in Mind All the Single Steps That Sum Up

The boss comes at the end of a level.

Before someone lets you play with the big ones, you must defeat the guppies in your level 1, then comes level 2, and so on. This circumstance is totally fine because you are progressing in the correct direction.

"Notoriously, human beings spend an awful lot of time imagining the big achievement we want for ourselves at the end of the journey, but struggle tremendously getting through the beginning - where we suck." - Nicolas Cole

I used to suck, my colleagues used to suck, all used to suck initially. During my studies, I couldn't even memorize the datatype integer to give you insight into how much I sucked. You have to start somewhere to get to the point you want to. Nobody came to the world being the most excellent, best, or most vital, practicing many little steps is become good.

Take, for example, Leonardo DiCaprio, he did it also step by step by playing in crappy advertisement spots for Bubble Yum und Kraft-Cheese. Recently I listened to a podcast from two german comedians, and they talked about how they went big. Their path was a puzzle with 1000 pieces for both of them, but they had to overcome each one before getting big.

Whenever you dream big, keep that dream, but be aware that you will reach this certain point only when you've made every single step that leads to this big achievement.

2. Knowledge Has a Best Before, Stay Tuned, Stay Consistent

"I just did this yesterday, why do I can't remember?" - Arnold Abraham

The human brain is tricky, you can remember details from your childhood, but not the solution to yesterday's problem. Since then, it has been even more important to be consistent in terms of practice, especially what you've already done.

The title picture from Cyris explains this pretty well. It also happens to me after seven years in software development. Sometimes I also get asked hilarious simple questions about data types from experienced colleagues. Your brain can't remember everything, and this is human nature. Essential for you to get better and remember as much as possible to repeat the process frequently.

Your brain isn't a computer, but you are responsible for teaching it all the nifty little things coding comes up with. The more you repeat a process, the more you will remember and eliminate the lack of knowledge over time.

"Repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action, which makes it the architect of accomplishment." - Zig Ziglar

Always keep an eye on both directions, what you've learned so far and what you will discover next.

3. Ask" Do I Want It Bad Enough?" - Tough Times Come and Go

"Nothing In This World Worth Having Comes Easy" - Dr. Kelso

This saying is valid for all longer processes. You will have easy times, and you will have hard times.

Those hard times are the ones trying to break your willpower. I had such a moment when I released my first android app and posted a link on Reddit for reviews. I thought I had done an excellent job on the user interface, but one guy nailed it, "The UI made me eye cancer." Such a moment can ruin your entire energy to carry on. However, this is also when you are genuinely tested if you are worth your goals.

Life was never meant to have only good parts, that's the reason why a Utopia can't exist. Apply the same pattern to your journey of becoming a developer. Good and bad times occur, compare it to your daily form.

Ask yourself, "Do I Want It Bad Enough?" What you do after answering the question is the answer to your goals.

In general, becoming a developer or a successful one are two different pairs of shoes, but you can reduce both to the three listed habits. It is about the dreams that also made me successful in the end and the awareness to take every little shitty step to get there.

Furthermore, it is about your willpower to look in both directions, upfront and backward, to keep your knowledge fresh and not get broken by tough times. Like mine with the eye cancer UI, my best friend is still laughing about this comment today.

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