It’s nice to be good at things, but it does no good if it doesn’t solve a problem. I understand that coding is fun and that it is challenging, but people don’t get hired to solve leetcode questions all day. You have to do something that people care about. And people care about what you can do for them. If you can manage to change the way you think into something that focuses around not what you can do but what value you can add, it can change the way that you interact with the world.

For example, maybe you want to break into the tech field. You’re first thought might be what do I want to be the best at? That’s a pretty good way to motivating yourself, but a better question would be, “What do people need that I can be the best at?” If you focus on the needs of companies or people you are more likely to be successful.

Have you ever had talked to someone that just asked you questions and let you talk? You probably walked away from that conversation thinking that person was really nice even though you learned nothing about them. This is because it’s nice to be able to talk about what you’re interested in. If you can provide information on something that is of interest to others that is valuable.

Some try to provide value only because it benefits them but they eventually give up because it’s obvious that they are only in it for themselves. Being helpful can be hard. Find something that you care about that helps other people. Then you will do it because you enjoy bringing value to other people.

It can take a while for people to see that you’re not in it for yourself and start to trust you. You have to be consistent.

Consistency is really the key. If you show that you’ve been adding value consistently for a while people will believe you and they will know that you actually care.