I’m often asked why it is that there are so many good musicians who are also good software developers. That’s the reason. It’s not because the brain functions are the same or that they’re both detail-oriented or both require creativity. It’s because a person who wants to be great is far more likely to become great than someone who just wants to do their job.

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When I was a music student, I spent long nights in my university’s music building. Through the thin walls of the university’s practice rooms, I was constantly immersed in some of the ugliest musical sounds imaginable. It’s not that the musicians at my school weren’t any good. Quite the contrary. But they were practicing.
When you practice music, it shouldn’t sound good. If you always sound good during practice sessions, it means you’re not stretching your limits.

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Always be the worst guy in every band you’re in. - so you can learn. The people around you affect your performance. Choose your crowd wisely.

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It’s comfortable to play the idealist and pretend you don’t care what other people think about you. But, that’s a game. You can’t let yourself believe it. You should care what other people think about you. Percep- tion is reality. Get over it.

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[…] people all too often assume that anyone who doesn’t know how to operate a com- puter is not intelligent. Saying it explicitly like this makes it sound idiotic, but that’s true of all prejudices. However, this feeling is so ingrained in many of us that we don’t even know when we’re feeling it.

Read. This. Book.