Getting back to failing early, I've learned it's important to completely fail. Get fired. Shoot the project, then burn its corpse. Melt the CVS repository and microwave the backup CDs. When things go wrong, I've often tried to play the hero from start to finish. Guess what? Some projects are doomed no matter what. Some need skills I don't possess. And some need a fresh face. -- Reginald Braithwaite

Computer science education cannot make anybody an expert programmer any more than studying brushes and pigment can make somebody an expert painter. -- Eric Raymond

Understanding why C++ is the way it is helps a programmer use it well. A deep understanding of a tool is essential for an expert craftsman. -- Bjarne Stroustrap

The wonderful and frustrating thing about understanding yourself is that nobody can do it for you. -- BetterExplained.com

Side projects are less masturbatory than reading RSS, often more useful than MobileMe, more educational than the comments on Reddit, and usually more fun than listening to keynotes. -- Chris Wanstrath

Show, don't tell. -- unknown

Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. –John Lennon

I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took any excuse. –Florence Nightingale

Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful. –Joshua J. Marine

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. ~Jim Ryun