How can I become an exceptional programmer?

Think of coding like building with Legos, but in reverse. Start with a big solution and break it down into smaller parts. For example, if you need to draw a tree, think of it as a tree drawer that has different components: a trunk drawer, a branch drawer, and a foliage drawer. Each part does its job, and after breaking down your approach, it all comes together beautifully!

It really boils down to practice. But not just any practice—focus on quality, deliberate practice. You want to work on problems that are just challenging enough to help you grow. If it's too easy, you'll just breeze through, and if it's too hard, you'll feel stuck. Also, the more hours you can dedicate, the better your progress will be—there's definitely a correlation between time spent and skill level!

Before aiming to be the best, maybe try to just be ‘good’ first, or at least not terrible. Once you’ve got the basics down, then look to improve. It's all about building a solid foundation first!