I've been at this for a long time. I've had to learn many new languages, toolchains, and stacks over the years. I try to read at least one technical book a mont

I've been at this for a long time. I've had to learn many new languages, toolchains, and stacks over the years. I try to read at least one technical book a month. So will you. That's a fact. Understanding systems (no, not operating systems, not file systems, not that stuff) will give you the ability to create really good stuff. By "systems" I mean, basically, human systems. For example, understanding why the New York City subways are working poorly these days involves knowing something about politics, economics, electronics (the signaling systems) and demographics. Knowing why software companies sometimes have a hard time "putting themselves out of business" involves technical debt, new technology, resistance from people who know how to succed and want to keep doing it. Why doesn't the Roman Catholic Church let their clergy marry? That's the mother of all systems questions. How to bust into this way of thinking? Read "The Fifth Discipline" by Peter Senge. Be an anthropologist. To practice, read worseThanFailure.com as am amateur anthropologist. Don't just laugh, try to figure out WHY people do silly-seeming things.