How to reach your potential as a programmer

A guide on how programmers can accelerate their growth beyond tutorials and AI code copying. Key strategies include reading foundational books to build mental models, experimenting deliberately by breaking things and asking 'why', stepping outside comfort zones by tackling unfamiliar problems and languages, contributing to open source for real-world feedback, surrounding yourself with higher-standard peers, and teaching concepts to expose gaps in your own understanding. The Feynman technique and Vygotsky's zone of proximal development are referenced as frameworks for effective learning.