The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now.
For the life of me, I can’t remember where I read or heard those words, but ever since then, they became a part of my life. I didn’t even want to write this article today, I thought I’d do it tomorrow, but then those words rang in my head, and here I am now, typing away in front of my screen.
But aside from helping me battle my procrastination, those words have another meaning, another use if you will, they give me another clearer view of life, where I can clearly see that it’s never too late to do or become anything, that if I plant the seed today, twenty years from now, I’ll have a big tree to rest under.
Many people want to learn how to code, either as a hobby, a way to make some extra money or to even change their career completely, but as all humans do, most of these people shackle themselves with excuses, to mask their fear of failure.
I mean who wants to try and fail in life? We’d all rather keep our perfect image of ourselves, the perfect reflexion we see when we close our eyes, the one we look at, clean and put away making sure we don’t scratch, but in my few years on this earth, I’ve learned one essential truth, it’s better to try and fail, than to never try at all.
So the next time you try to tell yourself that you’re too old, too young, too busy, too dumb, or too screwed by life, just cut the shit, walk your ass to the mirror, look into your eyes and know that the only person you’re letting down is yourself, that your life can be very very different in a few years, if you just take that first step.
I’ll break down some of the excuses I hear the most, and try to show you why you can still become a developer despite whatever imaginary monster you have standing in your way.
Too old
This is a classic, pun intended. Some of our more senior citizens believe that their years of learning and accomplishments are far behind them. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, as they’d like to say. But if you haven't noticed, you’re not a dog, if you were, you’d be licking your balls and chasing your tail right now.
You might be old, but there’s nothing preventing you from rising from the ashes, from spreading your wings and telling old age to go fuck itself.
The development community will embrace you, you’ll learn things you’ve never thought you’d be able to understand, and what’s more, you’ll regain your curiosity, and if that’s not youth, then I don’t know what is.
You’re still mentally capable of learning, heck, it’ll even help you maintain your health and morality.
As far as work goes, if you reach a certain level, no one will give a shit how old you’re, when it comes to development, the only thing that matter is what you can do.
So rise Pheonix, rise, and show the world you still got it.
Too busy
I mean who isn’t busy, even the homeless have a certain air of being busy these days.
But, would it be so impossible for a normal person to free a couple of hours from their day? Well, what if I told you that if you sacrificed two hours of your day for a couple of years, to follow your dream, your life will change! Not so impossible now, right?
I have seen people chase their dream and lose, and I have seen people settle and “win”, and I can tell you with confidence that those who gave themselves to their dreams are the true winners, and that nothing in life can extinguish the fire in their eyes, not failure, not bankruptcy, and not even death, dreamers live forever and light our night sky.
Dare to dream, dare to sacrifice a few hours of doing nothing to accomplish what you always wanted, dare to be great.
I have a record, and no one would hire me
Who amongst us is perfect? I’m certainly not, heck, I’m further away from perfection than some people behind bars.
You made a mistake, you did your time, you paid your debt, and now you want to make a new life for yourself, is that right? Well, what’s stopping you? Afraid of what people might think of you? Don’t feel that you deserve a second chance in life? Scared of failure? Fuck you! Wake up, you not only owe it to your family and friends, but you also owe it to the young you, to get your shit together, none of us grow up dreaming to become ex-cons with nothing to show, so plant the seed now, and watch it grow.
The tech industry is filled with forgiving and open-minded people, that would stop at nothing to see you succeed in life, as long as you’ve shown that you really want it.
You might not be behind bars anymore, but your mind still is, break those bars, Shawshank your way to freedom through miles of shit, because we both know that in the end, it’ll be worth it.
Conclusion
Don’t fear failure, don’t give in to your limitations, use them, wear them as armor, fuck anyone who doesn't believe in you, including you.
I really hope you enjoyed this list, and if you did, please share it with your friends, it’ll mean the world to me as a writer.
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