I wrote my first line of code when I was 9. In most industries starting that early would be unusual. Yet in the tech industry this is actually quite common.
So why is this? It is simply because we have a passion for it.
When you are 9 years old, you're not doing it for money, popularity or anything self indulgent other than the amazement of seeing something you have created out of nothing. Even if it is just a blue box on a webpage. That hit if dopamine still tells you it's the coolest thing ever.
But as we get older and step out into the real world we find all sorts of external pressures. Rent to pay, food to put on the table - the list goes on.
For most people the dream is to have passive income. Be able to build something and earn money from it, rather than selling your time. It gives you the freedom to work on those projects you think are cool and that you enjoy, rather than working out of necessity.
This is where so many developers get into the SaaS mindset. Software as a service can lucrative. So why not? The issue is coming up with an idea.
You search around for SaaS ideas. What industries have a gap for a niche app? You find one and start building. Full of passion and positive mentality.
Some people will succeed at this, but quite a few wont. That's because it all goes back to the 9 year old self making a box blue on the screen. After spending a significant amount of time on just setting up the project you begin to lose interest and motivation. You don't find the project enjoyable because you don't have that passion to see it through.
It is not because you lack passion in coding, it is because you lack passion in the product you are building.
This won't apply to everybody, but I know for me it does.
This is how we end up with a bunch of unfinished side projects.
Because of this, I am now putting that time and energy from trying to build SaaS apps to doing those things that give me the dopamine hit. For me, it is helping people and creating resources.
So I aim to be a lot more active on a variety of channels. My website, DEV and Twitter to name a few.
I'm going back to my 9 year old self and doing what is making me happy - and there's nothing wrong with that.
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