Today is the final day to submit your KendoReact challenge ideas/project demos. Even though my recent post about offering free mentoring for contests came a little late after the contest had already begun, it was nonetheless a fruitful experience. Since my post went up, I've received countless requests from contestants seeking advice and guidance regarding their project ideas. There were a few that I've spoken to who have shared exciting ideas/solutions that would demonstrate not just how incredible the KendoReact UI components are but also their understanding of those components. Unfortunately, due to the high number of requests and limited time, I can't help everyone equally (I wished I could). Therefore, I needed to pick and choose carefully who to give more of my time and energy to.
But, on this final day of the challenge, I want to take a moment to share some thoughts about what you can take away from this experience that you've just had. Three things come to mind as I draw upon my past experiences.
1. Win or Lose, You've Learned Something
If you end up winning something, congratulations. I'm happy for you. And if you lose, don't be disheartened. I had to fail my first two entries into a contest during my early years of participating, and I didn't take it very well back then. After my first contest, I genuinely felt like I wasn't good enough. I felt like I was way over my head. I had thoughts like, "What did you think, Weizhi? You thought you might have a chance at winning?"
I realized later that every contest and hackathon that I participated in became a learning experience. I said learning experience because hackathons and contests are the best ways to find out just how good we are while also serving as a benchmark of the work we need to do to get better at it.
These competitions are also a great way to help us explore and consider real-world solutions/ideas. They help us determine whether a solution/idea is feasible beyond sounding good on paper.
2. Dig Deeper. You've Only Scratch the Surface.
Whenever I would participate in a contest involving the possibility of winning some software tool or development product, it would also make me realize that everything I've discovered about the product is only scratching the surface of what was possible.
Every time I left a competition, I continued to use that tool or convinced my company's decision-makers to procure it so that I could use it officially at work (obviously, since I couldn't afford it back then). That is precisely how I got to use Telerik's products through the years.
The more I tinkered with the products, the more I realized what the components could do. Over time, I eventually earned the title of being the best expert on all things Telerik. During my brief employment with Progress, my colleagues would call me "The Telerik Guy".
3. Keep Tinkering. Keep Building.
One of the most important takeaways I can share with you is this: Do not abandon your project. Now, in some cases, the idea you submitted didn't work out. Maybe it wasn't as feasible or practical in the real world. It's alright. Like I said, it is a learning experience. But if, for some reason, the idea you have submitted got some constructive criticism, it means that there could be something there.
Taking this constructive criticism, I would encourage you to continue tinkering and working on the idea. This is the same idea; you can submit version 2.0 at the next contest. In my experience, some of my ideas/solutions went through multiple iterations before I began winning something.
I have to admit it: When I finally won something (even if it's just a consolation or runner-up prize), it felt like the best form of validation of everything I've gone through to reach that point. To be fair, during my time coming up, I never really had much support from my peers, so for me, it was extremely gratifying when I finally won something. I felt like I'd persevered and deserved it.
Continuing my Mentoring (Paid Services)
This leads me to this final point and offer I would like to make to all the contestants of the KendoReact Challenge. I want to continue offering you my time and energy as a mentor/coach. Until the next contest, or even when facing real-world challenges in your work as a front-end dev, I want to help you.
Looking back now, I wish I had someone to help guide me along the way. I had to endure many hard knocks before I could get to where I am today. I had to fail and make many mistakes before learning what I needed to know.
I genuinely hope you won't have to go through what I've been through just to get to where you want to be, ultimately. I genuinely believe that learning from other people's mistakes and failures is possible. That said, I am also not saying that you won't encounter some of your own mistakes and failures. It can happen to the best of us, and we can never avoid them forever. And you should never try to avoid making your own unique mistakes. The best you and I can do is to ensure we don't repeat the same mistakes that others have made.
If you are interested in my paid mentoring/coaching services, you can officially reach me at d2d.weizhi@gmail.com. I will typically reply within 24~48 hours.
Top comments (2)
Thanks for sharing @d2d_weizhi
It's a genuine pleasure. 😉