Pybites Podcast

This week we interview Pete Lynch who is a long time PyBites Community member.

We talk about his career, how he shifted from marketing to a coding role (!) after taking a 5 month break to upskill by taking part in a bootcamp.

Now as a web developer he is architecting his dream life.

You might think: "Wow, this cannot be a technical skill transformation only, right?"

Correct, MINDSET has been one of the key ingredients in pulling this off!

So meet "Deathbed Pete" and learn how Pete deliberately manages risk for greater rewards in his career and life.

We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did producing it.

Ah and some interesting books mentioned in this episode:
Mind for Numbers, Mindset (Carol Dweck) and The Daily Stoic.

Get in touch with Pete here:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/thelynchpinau
• His website: https://peterlunch.com
• And of course on the PyBites Slack: https://pybit.es/community

P.S.: If you want to achieve results like Pete, come talk to us about our high intensity Python coaching program: https://pybitesdevelopermindset.com/

This week we talk with Sarah Gencarelli, animation director @ Cartoon Network and avid Pythonista and member of the PyBites community.

We talk about how surprisingly common art creation and programming are!

Sarah also shares how applying a creative mindset can help you as a developer.

We had a blast, we hope you too!

If you want to connect with Sarah you can do so here:
https://www.instagram.com/sarah_gencarelli/
https://pybit.es/community

In this episode we share our career stories: how we got into programming and Python. If you're somewhat new to PyBites or haven't yet heard how we got to where we are, you'll want to give this a listen.

Note: this is an excerpt from a presentation we proudly gave to students at UCLA!

The key takeaway from this episode is that careers are not always linear. The skills you develop along the way can lead you down different paths. Taking these opportunities as they come are usually highly beneficial - they certainly were for us.

Many of the concepts we talk about in the podcast are also present in our stories: getting uncomfortable; building things and networking with people.

Links:

Click here to join the PyBites Community: https://pybit.es/community

This week we have Chris Patti on the show.

We talk about how he got into programming going all the way back to the 80s!

We talk about automation (and scratching your own itch) being the root of his everlasting passion for coding.

His message is dear to our heart, because it was his ability to overcome perfectionism ("ship it" mentality), putting his work out there that opened doors for him and led to an amazing career so far.

And this virtuous cycle is accessible to you too, just listen to Chris' valuable advice around:

• How to upskill your Python.
• The critical role of deliberate practice in this.
• Tips to get unstuck when solving complex problems.
• The need to become uncomfortable to gain the required confidence to succeed.
• That you don't need a CS degree per se, adopting the right mindset is of critical importance as a developer.
• And more...

Resources:

• Peak, THE book on deliberate practice: https://www.amazon.com/Peak-Secrets-New-Science-Expertise/dp/0544947223/
• Our 100 Days of Python course: https://pybit.es/100days

Get in touch with Chris:

• Website: https://www.feoh.org
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/feoh
• PyBites Community: https://pybit.es/community

In this episode we talk all about Habits and Triggers!

In fact, this is actually a snippet from our new Practical Productivity with PyBites course that we know you'll get a lot of value out of.

"Goals are paramount, habits are King".

You'll hear us share our thoughts on habits, what triggers are and most importantly, we share some solid, relatable examples of our own.

Enjoy the listen and if you are interested in this course, check it out here:
https://pybit.es/productivity

In this episode we have a wonderful conversation with Christo Olivier, one of our valued PyBites Community Members.

Christo joins us to talk about a very cool app he created while working with us. He also dives into the Mindset that makes a successful developer.

Everything Christo has achieved is totally doable by anyone as long as you have the right mindset.

You can learn more about the PyBites Developer Mindset (PDM) Program that Christo participated in here:

https://pybitesdevelopermindset.com/

Christo's Blog: https://www.christoolivier.com/
Christo's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christoolivier/

In this episode we talk about How to Say No, the benefits of doing so and as always, throw in a story or two.

Some noteworthy highlights from the episode:

• If you don't say NO, others will determine your schedule.
• There is always a trade off don't have the illusion you can do it all.
• Saying no actually wins you respect.

Have a read of this article that goes into more detail on ways to say no:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/8-ways-say-without-feeling-like-jerk-steve-cunningham

Our favourite ways to say no:

• Pause. Don't jump in with excitement straight away.
• Get some distance and time in. Say, "let me check my calendar and get back to you".
• Say, "yes, but what should I reprioritize" - show them there is a trade off.
• Delegate > win win, you cannot be the expert in everything, give other people exposure / opportunity.

Another thing you need to do is get on top of things so you're not even put in the situation where you have to say "no". Fix it earlier in the pipeline

• Block time on your calendar for your own work.
• Let your team know when you are working on something (e.g. you won't be on Slack).

Taking on too much ultimately results in multitasking because you're overcommitted (ever been in a meeting while doing your email?)

Stories:
You'll have to listen!

This episode is an excerpt from our Marketing Training.

In just these brief 10 minutes we discuss two of our pillars: Being Proactive and Growing your Network.

1. Be more Proactive by doing the following:
   • Find ways to add more value
   • Anticipate what stakeholders want
   • Push out of your comfort zone
   • (We each also throw in an example!)
2. Grow Your Network:
   • Where to find Career/Technical Contacts
   • LinkedIn Tips
   • Reaching out Internally

Notable Links:

PyBites Marketing Training: https://pybit.es/marketing

Subscribe to Weekly Python, Career and Mindset Tips: https://codechalleng.es/tips

Book: So Good They Can't Ignore You - Cal Newport

In this episode we discuss Perfectionism, what it is and how we overcome it ourselves.

To put some skin in the game we each share some stories (coding and every day life) where we got caught up in Perfectionism and the impact it had.

If as a coder you experience Perfectionism more often than you'd like, we encourage you to hop on a call with us so we can help get you some clarity and next steps: https://pybit.es/pages/talk

Note: The code challenges platform has been updated and now lives at https://pybitesplatform.com. The links in the show notes have been updated accordingly.

Curious about what it's like for grade and middle school students working on real-world Python exercises?

For us, one of the greatest honours of 2020 was seeing the Pybites Platform (our exercises platform) being utilised by a school in the U.S. This was thanks to two teachers who happen to be the Teaching Python Podcast hosts, Sean Tibor and Kelly Schuster-Paredes.

In this episode we nab some valuable time from Sean and Kelly to discuss what it's been like for them to teach Python to students in their school, what the challenges are and how they've been able to utilise our codechalleng.es platform in the classroom.

Needless to say, they've certainly blown our expectations!

Enjoy the listen and if you're interested in trying the platform out in your classroom or at your child's school, schedule a free demo here!

Notable Links:

Sean Tibor: https://twitter.com/smtibor
Kelly Schuster-Paredes: https://twitter.com/KellyPared

PyBites Platform: https://pybitesplatform.com
Teaching Python Podcast: https://www.teachingpython.fm/

Schedule a free demo: https://pybit.es/schools