He came to me and said:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧔" title="Person mit Bart" aria-label="Emoji: Person mit Bart"> Hey, I’ve been stuck as a middle-of-the-pack developer for years now. I want to take my career to the next level. What should I do?

(This is a real conversation) https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧵" title="Thread" aria-label="Emoji: Thread">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten">

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="▫️" title="Weißes kleines Quadrat" aria-label="Emoji: Weißes kleines Quadrat">Ok, let& #39;s see. What’s your area of expertise?

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧔" title="Person mit Bart" aria-label="Emoji: Person mit Bart"> I& #39;m a backend developer working with C#.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="▫️" title="Weißes kleines Quadrat" aria-label="Emoji: Weißes kleines Quadrat">That& #39;s great! Have you looked into expanding into different areas?

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧔" title="Person mit Bart" aria-label="Emoji: Person mit Bart"> No. There& #39;s plenty of demand for people that do what I do, and I feel comfortable working with what I know.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten">

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="▫️" title="Weißes kleines Quadrat" aria-label="Emoji: Weißes kleines Quadrat">Yeah, that makes sense. So, what’s something new and exciting that you’ve learned over the last few weeks?

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧔" title="Person mit Bart" aria-label="Emoji: Person mit Bart"> Not much really. They keep me busy so I don’t have a lot of free time.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="▫️" title="Weißes kleines Quadrat" aria-label="Emoji: Weißes kleines Quadrat">I see. How many hours per day do you work with them?

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧔" title="Person mit Bart" aria-label="Emoji: Person mit Bart"> Eight to nine every day.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten">

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="▫️" title="Weißes kleines Quadrat" aria-label="Emoji: Weißes kleines Quadrat">How about the rest of the time? Maybe you could look into networking or...

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧔" title="Person mit Bart" aria-label="Emoji: Person mit Bart"> Not possible. I commute for an hour. I also have a family. Go to the gym.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="▫️" title="Weißes kleines Quadrat" aria-label="Emoji: Weißes kleines Quadrat">How about just one hour a day? Maybe weekends?

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧔" title="Person mit Bart" aria-label="Emoji: Person mit Bart"> I& #39;m exhausted after work. I don& #39;t want to spend my personal time.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten">

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="▫️" title="Weißes kleines Quadrat" aria-label="Emoji: Weißes kleines Quadrat">Ok, that makes sense. Have you thought about going back to school? Maybe get a degree that helps you grow?

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧔" title="Person mit Bart" aria-label="Emoji: Person mit Bart"> They cost too much, honestly. Plus johnyTheCool54 on Twitter says degrees don’t matter.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="▫️" title="Weißes kleines Quadrat" aria-label="Emoji: Weißes kleines Quadrat">How about picking a couple of books?

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🧔" title="Person mit Bart" aria-label="Emoji: Person mit Bart"> Who reads anymore in 2020?

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten">

Ok, let me get this straight:

You feel stuck, but:

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="▫️" title="Weißes kleines Quadrat" aria-label="Emoji: Weißes kleines Quadrat">You don& #39;t want to expand
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="▫️" title="Weißes kleines Quadrat" aria-label="Emoji: Weißes kleines Quadrat">You don’t have any time
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="▫️" title="Weißes kleines Quadrat" aria-label="Emoji: Weißes kleines Quadrat">School isn& #39;t relevant
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="▫️" title="Weißes kleines Quadrat" aria-label="Emoji: Weißes kleines Quadrat">Books are out of fashion

But you still want to grow.

You want to live like the 1% putting no effort beyond the minimum possible.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten">

Let me break it for you:

Anything that matters in life costs a lot. It may be time, money, sacrifice. You can’t expect good things to happen if you don’t grind like the rest.

I’m happy you have a great life balance. But there’s a cost to that. You can’t just have it all.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten">

By the way, it’s all a matter of priorities. There’s no right or wrong here.

But it’s delusional to think you can achieve something without prioritizing it.

Understand that you are designing your life with every choice you make.