When I think of "rockstar" or "10x'er" engineers I think of Fabrice Ballard. The idea of rockstar and 10x'er are both mostly buzz words to make developers feel

When I think of "rockstar" or "10x'er" engineers I think of Fabrice Ballard. The idea of rockstar and 10x'er are both mostly buzz words to make developers feel real good about themselves. Many people would put Fabrice in this category, though he probably wouldn't put himself into the category at all. Regardless here are a few traits he has which make him amazing. He puts a constant level of effort into everything he does. Not an insane level of effort, just constant. He is very knowledgeable about his craft. He constantly expands on what he knows within his area of expertise. He does not attempt to know about everything. He stays with technologies he knows and understands and this allows him to have deep knowledge and to stick with his consistent level of effort. Finally, he seems to try to know what he doesn't know. Again, by knowing what he doesn't know he can stay focuses, keep a consistent level or effort, and gain deep knowledge. Whether these will make you a rockstar, I have no idea. But I can say that by living by these principles you can become a really exceptional engineer.