Blake Smith

create. code. learn.

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software as a moving target

When you read books on self-improvement, one thing crops up again and again: You have to change something. If you want results, something has to change. Most of these works focus on the change that you can do on a regular basis. What actions can I take today that will help me to get what I want out of life? This simple concept is what makes guys like Tony Robbins so sought after for inspiration.

Change is my favorite thing about software. I’m not talking about change as in ‘change-order’ change, where the boss comes up and tells you that you need to rewrite the entire module that you just spent 6 months working on. I’m talking about change as in landscape change. I’m talking about change of scenery change. Software is always moving. There are always new languages to learn, new tools to master, new concepts to understand. I could spend my entire life studying technology, computers, programming and software development and still not even scratch the surface of all the avenues that are out there (and there’s always new avenues opening!). This is the exciting stuff. This is why being a passionate software developer means settling in for the lifelong journey and adventure instead of banging stuff out with just results in mind.

If you’re in software and not learning, growing and seeking knowledge like it’s an ice cold glass of water on a sweltering hot day, then you’re not doing it right.


about the author

Blake Smith is a Principal Software Engineer at Sprout Social.