This post originated from an RSS feed registered with .NET Buzz by Dave Bettin. Original Post: Passion Breeds Success? Feed Title: Dave Bettin on Services Feed URL: http://www.davebettin.com/me/rss.aspx Feed Description: Bettin' on .Net Service Development Latest .NET Buzz Posts Latest .NET Buzz Posts by Dave Bettin Latest Posts From Dave Bettin on Services

I was watching an interview with “The Donald” about being successful in business and realized a lot of parallels with the software engineer discipline.

The following was the most insightful question asked in the interview:

 What essential qualities should an individual possess to be successful in business?

Mr. Trump answered with the following characteristics:

1. You must be born with a brain.
2. You must have an ego.
3. If there is a concrete wall in front of you; you must never stop trying to knock it down.
4. You must have passion for what you do.

While I do believe the above qualities can engender success in a software career. I would alter them slightly to align with qualities that I have witnessed in successful software engineers that I have had a chance to work with.

Here is my altered list:

1. You must be born with a brain.
2. You must possess self-confidence. (Ego has to many negative connotations)
3. If there is a concrete wall in front of you; you must never stop trying to find a way pass it.
4. You absolutely must have passion for what you do. If you don't have passion, you might as well be asking “Would you like to super size that? “. 

Passion, Passion, Passion, and Passion.