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So, I've been coding since 2012, and I
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really wish someone told me these 10
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things before I wasted years figuring
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them out the hard way. If you're stuck,
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overwhelmed, or doubting yourself, let
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me save you 10 plus years. My name is
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Pete, and I've been a professional
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programmer for more than 13 years, and
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I've helped hundreds of beginner devs
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learn how to code properly and land a
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job in tech. You don't need to know
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everything. All right, here's the first
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thing I wish someone told me. You don't
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need to know everything. Not even close.
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But when I started out, I thought real
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developers had all of JavaScript
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memorized. Like they were just built
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different. I used to think real
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developers could just wake up, grab
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their keyboard from under their pillow,
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and instantly write perfect JavaScript,
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like they had the entire language stored
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in their brain. Spoiler, they don't.
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Nobody does. Imagine you're learning to
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cook. You don't need to memorize every
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recipe. You just need to know the
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basics. how to chop, how to season, how
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not to burn the house down. Coding is
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the same. It's more about understanding
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patterns than remembering every detail.
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Back in the day, I used to feel bad
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googling how to get the last item in
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array. Like, wasn't I supposed to
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already know this? But here's the thing,
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I still Google that sometimes. And so do
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developers who've been doing this way
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longer than me. Being a good developer
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isn't about having everything memorized.
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It's about knowing how to find answers,
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how to think through problems, and how
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to stay calm when nothing works. So, if
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you're googling basic stuff, congrats.
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You're doing it right. Learn how to
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learn. All right, here's a big one that
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would have saved me years of feeling
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stuck. Most beginners try to learn code
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before they learn how to learn code.
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See, I thought if I just watched enough
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tutorials, eventually I'd get it.
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Spoiler alert, 10 tutorials later, I
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could follow along, but I couldn't build
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anything on my own. It was like learning
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to ride a bike by watching YouTube
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videos. You feel productive right up
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until you actually try pedaling and
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crash into a bush. Learning to code is
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like learning a language. You don't
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become fluent by listening. You become
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fluent by speaking. Same with coding. If
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your fingers aren't on the keyboard,
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your brain isn't really learning. What
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really changed everything for me was
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switching from consume mode to create
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mode. Instead of just watching someone
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else build an app, I started building my
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own stuff, even if it was terrible.
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Here's the rule I wish I had from day
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one. For every hour you spend watching a
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tutorial, spend at least 4 hours
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building without it. Get stuck, Google
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stuff, break things. That's the real
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course. Perfection is a trap. Okay,
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confession time. Early in my dev
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journey, I once spent 3 hours trying to
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name a variable. Not even kidding. Just
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staring at the screen like, should I
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call it data info or maybe super
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important thingy? Why? Because I thought
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everything I wrote had to be perfect.
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But here's the problem. Perfection is a
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lie. You're never going to write
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flawless code. Nobody does. Even the
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senior dev you look up to is pushing
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code that breaks sometimes. They just
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know how to fix it faster. It's like
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learning to paint but never putting a
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brush on canvas because you're scared
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that the first stroke won't be a
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masterpiece. Well, it won't be. It's not
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supposed to be. Once I stopped obsessing
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over making everything clean or elegant
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and just started shipping stuff, things
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changed. Projects got finished. I
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started learning faster. And guess what?
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The code got better as a result. Not
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because I chased perfection, but because
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I gave myself room to mess up. Done is
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better than perfect. Ugly code that
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works will teach you more than beautiful
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code that never leaves your laptop. So
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stop polishing. Start building. You will
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never feel ready. Start anyway. You're
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never going to feel ready. Not ready to
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build your first project. Not ready to
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apply for that dev job. Not ready to
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charge money for your work. I kept
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waiting for this magical moment where I
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would feel like a real developer. But it
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never came. Even after years of
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experience, I'd still think, "Who let me
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touch production?" It's kind of like
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going to the gym. You don't wait until
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you're in shape to start working out.
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You just show up. You start small. You
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get stronger over time. And same thing
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with coding. Confidence is built by
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doing, not waiting. My first freelance
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gig, I was terrified. Imposter syndrome
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on full blast. But I said yes anyway.
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And for sure, I Googled half of it on
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the fly. But I delivered. And that one
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yes opened doors I didn't even know
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existed. You're more ready than you
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think. You don't need to feel confident.
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You just need to be willing. Start
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messy. Start scared. Just start. The
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real skill is problem solving. Here's
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something no tutorial thumbnail ever
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says. The real skill in coding isn't
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writing code. It's solving problems.
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Anyone can memorize a for loop. But can
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you break down a feature request into
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tiny buildable chunks? Can you figure
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out why something's broken when nothing
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looks broken? Think of coding like being
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a detective. The syntax, that's just
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your notebook. But the real magic is in
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asking the right questions, tracing
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clues, and piecing things together.
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Early on, I'd freeze every time
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something didn't work. Like, it's
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broken. I must suck. But eventually, I
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realized debugging is the job. It's not
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a failure. It's the process. The devs
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you admire aren't just fluent in a
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language. They are relentless problem
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solvers. They stay curious. They ask
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questions. They keep digging. If you
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want to level up fast, start focusing
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less on what to write and more on why
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it's written that way. Build your
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thinking muscle and not just your typing
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speed. By the way, check the description
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below for my beginner dev video series
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because I'm sure you will find value
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into it. Nobody cares about your code.
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They care about what it does. This one
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might hurt a little, but you need to
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hear it. Nobody cares about your code.
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Not your client, not your boss, not the
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user. They care about what it does. You
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could write the cleanest, most elegant
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code known to humankind. But if the
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button doesn't work or the site loads
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like it's on dial app, it's useless. I
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remember building this beautifully
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abstracted component once. I was so
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proud of it. It was reusable, efficient,
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do not repeat yourself. But the client,
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they just said, "Cool. Can we make the
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button blue instead of green?" They
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didn't care. They just didn't care about
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my clever hooks. They just wanted
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results. Think of your code like
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plumbing. Nobody looks under the sink
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and clubs because your pipes are tidy.
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They just want the water to run. Write
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code that works. Write code that solves
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problems. If it's clean and elegant,
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too, great. But don't lose sleep over
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the perfect solution no one sees. Value
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is better than vanity. Burnout is real.
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Protect your energy. Let's get real for
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a second. Burnout is real and it can hit
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hard. You start off excited, motivated,
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watching tutorials at double speed,
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drinking way too much coffee. Fast
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forward a few months later, you're
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exhausted, confused, and wondering if
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you're even meant for coding. Been
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there. I once spent an entire weekend
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trying to fix one tiny bug. Did I eat
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properly? Barely slept. Just stared at
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the screen hoping the code would
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magically heal itself. When I finally
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solved it, sure the bug was gone, but so
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was my energy. And honestly, that wasn't
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a win. That was a warning. This idea
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that real developers grind 24/7. Total
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nonsense. The best developers I know,
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the ones who last, they take breaks,
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they have boundaries, they rest, they go
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on holidays, they play games. Think of
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your brain like a battery. You wouldn't
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run your phone at 1% all day. Why do
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that to yourself? You don't need to
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hustle every second to prove something.
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Productivity isn't about burning out.
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It's about sustainability. Sleep, touch
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grass, go for a walk. Your code will
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thank you. All right, let's recap fast
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and real. You don't need to know
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everything. Learn how to learn.
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Perfection is a lie. Ship it anyway. You
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will never feel ready. Start anyway.
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Coding is problem solving, not just
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typing. Nobody cares how clever your
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code is, just that it works. And yeah,
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burnout is real. Protect your brain
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battery. If even one of those hits you
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today, then this video did its job. And
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now I want to hear from you. Which one
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of these do you wish someone told you
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earlier? Drop it in the comments below
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and let's help each other avoid some
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pain. Oh, and if this video helped, go
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ahead and like and subscribe and maybe
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hit that notification bell. Thanks for
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watching. I'm Pete and I'll see you on
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the next
