Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. – Samuel Beckett

Yes, I’d like to share with you my best professional mistakes, which have helped me throughout the last 13 years to better shape my vision for my career.

As a lot of young software engineers used to compete for the first place in every competition, their egos completely blinded them … I made the same mistake.

Mistake #1: Accepted lot of irrealistic task/expectation

I was in my 20-something, had just graduated and was full of ambitions.
I was tempted and convinced to think I could do anything, but the reality was entirely different.

In fact, this is one of the common mistakes that young professionals usually make: accepting anything.

I learned to say “No”, to know my limits and to think in a realistic/pragmatic way before accepting a request.

Mistake #2: Burned-out

As any newly grown-up adult, I had to deal with multiple life’s shit: bills, angry [ex] girlfriends, car problems, bureaucracy …
At the same time, as shits always happen, I had to deal with angry bosses, late projects and a lot of crap.

Staying calm in such a situation was a hard acrobatic exercise, and I admit, I burned out twice.

I learned to understand that I have to be patient, set my priorities, push the doors, ask for help, work on problems separately and especially take breaks to deal with complex personal ones.

Mistake #3: Working on something that doesn’t motivate me

And the results were awful.

I learned that I’m more efficient and proactive when it comes to something that I can feel or that motivates me.

Mistake #4: Didn’t accept failure

My ego was too big to accept that I failed, but I ended up understanding that a big part of any expertise is built on failures: that’s why experts know how to deal with obstacles; they’ve already encountered them.

Mistake #5: Avoid dealing with upper hierarchy and paperwork

Like many young people, I often shouted: “I’m the smart technical guy; I don’t deal with old administrative people”.
Again, it was the ego of a young, enthusiastic engineer, but the consequence was merely obvious: nobody heard about me.

I understood that to get more exposure and be more known in a larger network, I had to learn to wear a tie, to speak to the C-level/management and do my reports properly.

Mistake #6: Moving fast from technical junior to a project manager

Burning bridges was my worst best mistake,
I was still a junior, and some team called me as a project manager; I saw it as a promotion, and the result was a complete disaster.

It’s about ego again, and I wanted to prove that I can be bigger than usual.

I learned to temper my enthusiasm and to break my ego until I was sure that the next position/job was realistic for me.

Mistake #7: Forgot to learn a new thing

Dealing with the same problems and types of projects repeatedly ended me being stuck for almost 3 years.

Technologies always continue to evolve, and I have finished being outdated.

I understood that, like a child, I must keep a sandbox to read and experiment with any new gadget.

Mistake #8: Think as an enslaved person

Or being just an executor for some manager with no initiative, motivation or added value.

I learned that I can’t move forward if someone trapped me.

Mistake #9: Working for losers

This is another best mistake where I learned that mediocrity is contagious.

I understood that working for non-professional profiteers and stubborn people wouldn’t help me to move forward or get paid.

Even if I lost a lot of money and time, I learned to stop immediately any collaboration with these kinds of managers/customers.

Mistake #10: Trusting the wrong persons

I learned that I can’t put my trust in non-reliable people, and they can ruin me.

People don’t have the same intelligence or ways of dealing with tasks or problems so that just pushed me to choose my entourage carefully.

Mistake #11: Not defending the right thing to do

I was young and working under a stubborn, disrespectful boss when I faced a technical problem. I was able to provide a quick solution, but I was afraid of the overreacting boss.
The problem persisted, we lost time and the customer.

I learned that if I have a solution, I must share it and defend it … a stubborn boss is just stupid to understand that he’s not a God.

Mistake #12: Working [for] cheap

Being presented as a cheap solution maker or negotiating for the cheapest cost pushed me to make this life’s rule:

“Work for free or full price, never for cheap.”

Feeling cheap was disrespectful to my selfesteem and reputation, and that won’t help but only demotivate me

Mistake #13: following wrong advice, not following the right ones.

I lose.

Mistake #14: Comparing with peers

Even if it’s human to compare, it’s always poisonous.

As many young guys living in an environment where your social value is related to your car, your wife and your bank account, you can’t stop speculating about anything just to become as normal as them.

I learned that the balance may differ from one person to another, and what makes others happy may not have the same effect on me.

Finally

As you can see, you can’t change what you won’t recognize.
It took me a while to sharpen my personality and accept that I can learn from my mistakes.

It’s human to have these defects. You can’t kick yourself too hard, but it’s better to laugh, learn, and clean it up.
The point is to have enough humility to recognize and correct your faults before they worsen.