We hear stories all the time about really young, talented kids doing things that many adults haven’t done. Technology in particular is filled with them, such as the now-typical young hacker showing some company their mistakes.
I always hear these stories and wish I had gotten started just a little bit earlier. If only I could have been the kid who started his website at age 11. I started flute in fourth grade, but if only I was the prodigy could already play beautifully in his fourth year of life.
But the likelihood of being the absolute best at something we like is very slim. Those of us who aren’t born with some incredible talent are stuck doing things the long, hard, stupid way.
Regardless of talent, some of us just don’t get started as early as others. The young kid who started his website at age 11 might have had parents who pushed him in that direction, whereas mine (in their wisdom) allowed me to explore whatever I was interested in. More likely, he might have stumbled upon the topic before I did, much like you might not have heard about GitLab until now (I mention that because I am working on installing it at the moment).
The real issue is that we always want to be the best at what we do, and are unwilling to accept that others might have already achieved our goals.
Something else I am interested in is mesh networks, and I find myself getting annoyed when I learn that others have designed what I wanted to create, even if their work would actually be really helpful and allow me to get much further than I could alone.
I think the important thing, especially in a culture that loves to idolize “revolutionary” developers or business people, is to remember that it’s okay to not be the first, and that someone else has already made your idea shouldn’t curb your enthusiasm. An existing solution means there is room for improvement, and gives you an example to learn what to do, and what not to do. Or if the other solution is decent and accepts contributions, it gives you a group of people who share your interests and are willing to work together to achieve your common goal (open source is awesome). Even a closed source solution gives an example of one way to approach a problem, so learn from those too.
These are some of the things I try to keep in mind when I am working on projects and find myself irritated with someone else’s solution.