| 1. Realize that it is impossible to become an expert in everything. 2. Realize that it is very possible to become an expert in targeted areas. 3. Pick the targeted area that you enjoy the most and that makes the most $$$. 4. DO SOMETHING with the knowledge. Don't just acquire knowledge, because you will forget it. Build something useful... something that you can show off! THAT is the point at which people will start looking at you as the expert. Personal note: I decided that I wanted to create a useful, non-trivial programming language, so I built one entirely on video. Github link: https://github.com/coreyp1/Tang Youtube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZqirAnnqaCZ8lT8w7p2P... Guess what? NOBODY is going to watch the videos, and I know that. But I did it for myself. People look at 2 things: the end result, and the fact that it was me that did it. I'm STILL not an expert at Vim, Flex, Bison, ICU, Make, or programming language design in general, but I absolutely know much, much more than I did starting out, and I learned things that I didn't anticipate. Most of all, though, I found the process personally very rewarding. I have decided to make peace with the belief that I can master anything that I focus on, generally speaking. With that settled, now I only have to decide where to put that focus, and have the discipline to stick with it long enough to achieve my goal. |