How do you get good at coding?
How do you get good at art?
How do you get good at anything?
We all wish there were shortcuts to expertise,
but sadly, the magic pill to instant expertise does not exist.
We must start as beginners in every new subject like everyone else and consistently practice.
Digging deep enough, you will discover that all the "geniuses" we admire are human.
They, like everyone, started with no knowledge and became experts in their fields through obsession and practice.
A while ago I read this story from Zen Master Hakuin, which reminds us to stop looking for shortcuts and practice like we need to.
It is like chopping down a huge tree of immense girth. You will not accomplish it with one swing of your axe. If you keep chopping away at it, though, and do not let up, eventually, whether it wants to or not, it will suddenly topple down. When that time comes, you could round up everyone you could find and pay them to hold the tree up, but they would not be able to do it. It would still come crashing to the ground.... But if the woodcutter stopped after one or two strokes of his axe to ask the third son of Mr. Chang, "Why does this tree not fall?" And after three or four more strokes stopped again to ask the fourth son of Mr. Li, "Why does this tree not fall?" he would never succeed in felling the tree. It is no different for someone who is practicing the Way.
I read this in Robert Greene book, "Mastery."
Codú Articles
Shane kicked off a CSS debugging series on Codú, absolutely fantastic skill to build so start following the series.
Another bunch of book recommendations for web developers that will prepare you for more senior roles.
In .NET development, Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) plays a crucial role in bridging object-oriented programming with relational databases.
Codú CSS Course (work in progress)
This course is taking a lot more time than planned (because of the amount of demos I have to create while explaining concepts). But I am hoping by next week, we will have our first completed draft, which will set us up to start making the JS content.
I would appreciate the chance to review some of the content, feedback, and suggestions. I am creating a resource that all new devs will be comfortable reading through.
Other Articles/Resources
Single individuals make less of a difference to the success or failure of a technology project than you might think (and that is a good thing).
TypeScript just bumped a version; check out all the new goodies on the Microsoft site.
Wait a minute... CSS introduces programming? if() in CSS that will not be in browsers for a while. What are our options in the meantime?
I am always amazed by JavaScript games. This one is a fantastic example. It is a 50+ level puzzle game with a rubber duck that wants to travel around the world.
Something I have been enjoying
Somebody asked me for a backpack recommendation this week, and I just realized I have been using the same bag for the last five years, and it is pretty much still as good as new. It has been thrown around the place and has protected my laptops for years now.
The exact backpack I got has been "improved" over the years, but it is still known as one of the best. It is one of those things that is so good that I have not even had to think about it since I got it.
So, if you are in the market for a reliable backpack and laptop bag, the Incase Icon is epic!
That is it for this week!
If you have any ideas or feedback, reply to this email.
Thanks, and stay awesome,
Niall
Founder @ Codú