Ask HN: What did the really successful programmers do differently?

There are a lot of guys making $250k or more working on some obscure B2B product or enterprise team somewhere. Just because we don't hear about them doesn't mean they aren't just as happy or find as much meaning in their work, and it's certainly a lot easier to optimize for if that's what you want.

That said, I think programming is a bit like a professional athlete in that you can't have a great lifelong career by sticking purely to the technical aspects. You need to be learning how your skills apply to real businesses and building your network. Fortunately I think these things happen naturally to some extent, but it can't hurt to think about them.

I'm not sure if you've heard about the concepts of Structure and Agency [0] in sociology? Consider the importance of: (1) being able to go off the beaten path to chase a new way of thinking/working or an idea which can improve many other people's lives, and (2) being in a company or position which gives an increase in high-value opportunities.

In any case, forget about just being a standard developer if you want to reach this level of impact. You own neither the platform on which you can reach a large group of people; nor the intellectual skill, anti-authoritarian outlook or vision required to create at a standard that sets you apart from your peers. There is something qualitatively different here from the careers of normal developers.

By the way, the ease of defining these qualities actually means it's not so hard to go about reaching them. If you can engineer software, you can engineer your career.

[0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structure_and_agency

Great folks I've met are high on productivity, they are quick in discovering things and generally maintain an aura of self confidence around them. Many of them start off because they a 'lucky break' somewhere but they build on it, they work hard and make their own space.

When we are talking of successful guys out there. We are ideally talking of guys who are >40 now. I know a relative of mine highly successful 40+ guy. Some of the things that I've noticed is, he is insanely hardworking, nearing 50 he can give any 20 year old run for his money. He is productive, doesn't blog much, not very active on social media. Doesn't go gaga on small wins, he has great focus on picking and solving tough problems. I mean problems that can add real great value.

A few things that I've noticed is he is agnostic to tool religion. He goes by what helps him, rather than our usual religious tool affiliations. He is also very well organized.

So to add it up:

1. Work really hard, I mean I literally. No excuses on this point.

2. Focus on solving tough problems, adding value and things that matter. Learn and master things that can help you solve problems. But there is no such a thing called 'permanent' technology. You have to learn to move on, because tools help you solve the problems. They are not your problems you would want to solve. Unless selling tools is your business.

3. Technology matters, but that is only a enabler.

4. Be a little disciplined and organized.

5. Celebrate big wins, write and talk about them. Network with people just like you and surround yourself with smart people.

6. Work hard on opportunities and always keep a tab on your next move. The more opportunities you convert to finished work the more you get next.

I think one could make several distinctions about "being successful" though:

* You're good at it, and you're still employed at 50.

* You strike it rich, so you can do whatever you want at 50.

From what you write here, you're in the second category. Given the odds of striking it rich though, I hope people post about type #1 programmers too.

Einstein said something like "I owe many of my achievements to my persistence, not letting go of my goal until I achieve it" (Nash proved later that keeping to a strategy [= persistence] increases chances of winning a game), and Feynman has been known as a big advocate of the scientific method per se. Again, hard to say whether they owe their Nobel prizes to these methods, but I like to think that they helped.

Methods are actions gone habits. If you force yourself to think "Is this really right?" before coming to a conclusion, you will soon do it automatically. As a programmer, you could build up the habit of understanding the system you are currently operating in, before fixing or enhancing a part of it. Or you could write a pseudo-code script using your API (or testcases ;)) before implementing it, to get a grasp of what your users will actually use it for. You can make it a habit to blank out program areas in your mind which you don't currently need, to reduce cognitive load and turn a greater focus on the problem at hand (which will also enforce modularization automatically).

There are many such methods (also including getting more focus out of your worktime etc.), and they can become habits if you execute them for long enough. Habits are everywhere, and the (IMO) most crucial ones are hidden in how we think, and our thoughts eventually ensue our actions.