How to Succeed as a Software Developer

Now, you are on a journey to pursue Software Development.

How can you succeed?

It’s through Determination.

Determination is that sense of joy that boosts us to move forward. It’s that sense of urgency that helps us achieve our goals. 

So, now comes the question, how does determination work?

Triangle of belief

To understand this, imagine a triangle and at the peak of the triangle, there’s belief. On the bottom left is the effort and on the bottom right is the result.

Now, if you are reading this chapter, you believe that you can learn software development. That’s why you are here in the first place. So, you believe that you can learn software development because you are confident, you have a positive mindset, and a positive outlook on your life.

Positive vs Negative belief

Here’s what is going to happen. If you have a positive belief, you are going to put in a great effort. When you put in a great effort, you are going to achieve great results. Now, what do you think will happen? Those great results are going to reinforce your belief. So, you are going to build this belief system that will make you climb up the ladder of success. It’s the ladder that takes you to the heaven of success.

Now, imagine the same triangle of belief. If you don’t believe in yourself, what kind of effort are you going to have? A very limited effort! Now, what kind of results will those efforts fetch you? Terrible results! Now, how will these results impact your belief system? It will break it down. You will start to reinforce a negative belief system which will push you down to the hell of failure.

Remember that belief is the key to determination. So, keep this in mind. This is not something that schools teach. 

The roadblock you may encounter when you are working on a project, trying to learn a new skill, or trying to pursue a career is common. We all face roadblocks at some point in our lives. All of a sudden, someone might let you down. I’ll tell you about an incident that occurred many years ago when I was first introduced to this field. 

Personal experience with the worst advice

I had a friend of mine that had been developing software for a couple of years. He was a senior to me. So I asked him, “Hey, I tried reading this book on programming and I kind of liked how you can just assign values to variables and run loops and that was interesting to me”. And you know what he said. He said, “Just because you enjoy doing something, doesn’t mean that you can get good at it”. 

As a result, I did what I believed in. I pursued a successful career in software development instead of taking that advice to heart.

So, that’s why we need to stay determined. If you’re struggling right now, and if you’re not able to figure it out, even though you kind of enjoy software development. If you kind of enjoys software development, trust me. Increase your belief system, increase it. Don’t lose faith in yourself. Keep reminding yourself that you’ll get through this. You will figure this out and you will make it happen.

Because trust me the alternative sucks.

So, keep it simple, stay positive, stay motivated, and trust me, that’s the only way to do anything and become successful in life. 

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