Learn in public
This is why my blog started, and why it will never stop, because...
You already know that you will never be done learning. But most people "learn in private", and like 'Great men practicing in secret in the mountains🗻' (best joke in my mind 🥲). They consume content without creating any themselves. What you do here is to have a habit of creating excitement while learning:
- Write blogs and tutorials and cheatsheets 🗞️.
- Speak at meetups and conferences 🙊.
- Ask and answer things on Stackoverflow or ChatGpt 🔍.
- Make Youtube videos or tiktok streams 📺.
- Start a newsletter. Photoshop or blender the things 🤥.
Whatever your thing is, make the thing you wish you had found when you were learning. Don't judge your results by 👏👏👏 or ⭐ or 👍(my bad habit up to now 😼). I try to keep an daily dev blog, explain solutions to code challenges everyday written for no one else but me 😆.
It's not about reaching as many people as possible with your content. If you can do that, great, remember me when you're famous 👨🎤. But chances are that you trying to help past you is future you.
Oh you think you're done? Don't stop there. Enjoyed a coding video? Reach out to the speaker/instructor and thank them, and ask questions. Make PR's to libraries you use. Make your own libraries no one will ever use (i already tried 😆). Clone stuff you like. Go to conferences and summarize what you learned 📖. There's always one level deeper. But at every step of the way: Document what you did and the problems you solved.
Try your best to be right, don't worry when you're wrong. Repeatedly. If you feel uncomfortable, good 😩. You're pushing yourself. Don't assume you know everything, but try your best anyway, and let the internet correct you when you are inevitably wrong.
People think you suck? Good. You agree. Ask them to explain, in detail, why you suck. You want to just feel good or you want to be good? No objections, no hurt feelings. Then go away and prove them wrong.
Did I mention that teaching is the best way to learn? Talk while you code. It can be stressful and I haven't done it all that much, because i talk with language that i not fluent (the way try to learn english from me, live coding interview for all 🥲🥲🥲).
At some point you'll get some support behind you. People notice true learners. They'll want to help you (Yours true friend - KhoaC# btw). Don't tell them, but they just became your mentors, your teachers. These are senior engineers, some of the most 'hunted 🫎' people in tech.
At some point people will start asking you for help because of all the stuff you put out. 80% of developers are "dark", they dont write or speak. But you do. You must be an expert, right? Don't tell them you aren't 😎😎. Answer best as you can, and when you're stuck or wrong pass it up to your mentors 😆.
Eventually you run out of mentors, and just solve things on your own 🤥. You're still putting out content though. You see how this works?
Learn in public
References from swyx
