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Out of the side projects that I know of which made it past the MVP stage most had one thing in common: they solved a problem that the person who came up with th
by Tade0 6y ago
Out of the side projects that I know of which made it past the MVP stage most had one thing in common: they solved a problem that the person who came up with the idea had.
Sounds obvious, but I've seen a few projects fail because the developer couldn't relate to their users.
Side note: quite often this lack of motivation is simply a matter of impostor syndrome.
The other day I managed to break out of that by looking at a "how to" of something from a field foreign to me.
It was a step-by-step demonstration of how a certain drawing was created.
My first reaction was: "this is amazing - I wish I could create such awe-inspiring things".
Then I remembered that I've been programming since I was twelve and am fully capable of creating things that might be as impressive to people who are not in my field as that artwork was to me.
- steve_adams_86 6y agoThis reminds me of something that happened to me the other day. We hired a developer to work with me, and he said he was excited to have a chance to work with a ‘brilliant engineer’ like me. I was at a loss for words and thought about it a lot for a couple days. I almost worried he’d be disappointed to find out how mediocre I am. I came to the same conclusion though, really - I feel like an imposter, and after 15 years or so I probably do seem competent to people with less experience. I’m not a brilliant engineer but yeah, he will probably learn a bit working with me. A lot of us probably need to give ourselves more credit. It’s hard not to think so much about how our work is only possible on the shoulders of giants. I don’t spend enough time thinking about what I can do, and too much thinking about what I can’t.