FunctionOverload.pas

Do you have what it takes to freelance as a software developer?

Subscriber Anu isn't sure he's ready:

I have been working in the field of programming for 2 years. I would like to work as a freelancer, but I don't have the confidence to work on projects independently. As a programmer how can I improve?

Anu, you're falling into a trap here.

There's a little voice in your head that says, "You? Freelancing? That's crazy. You don't have the skills and experience. Maybe someday you will, but not yet."

If you're holding off for that voice to tell you, "OK, now you're ready!" then you're in for a long wait.

Fact:

You will NEVER know everything you "need" to know.

You will NEVER have all the skills you "need" to have.

You will NEVER just wake up one day and have the confidence you "need" to have in order to make your goal a reality.

In my experience I've found that I could spend 5 years honing my programming skills and in the end I'm no more confident than I was at the beginning. 

What *will* increase your confidence?

For me it was improving my ability to acquire new skills and knowledge quickly and efficiently to tackle whatever challenge I happened to be facing...

To jump off the cliff and stitch together my parachute on the way down.

Even though I may not have had complete confidence that I knew everything I'd need to know for a given project, I had total confidence in my ability to GET that knowledge.

That's a game changer.