Takeaway from the 'How to Be Top 10% in Ruby' lightning talk. Because averages are surprisingly low — e.g. Polish average reading is less than one book per year, and ~50% of developers have under two years of experience — simple compounding habits put you in the top decile: read one technical book per year, stay with a job a few years, teach (forces understanding and exposure to critique), meet smarter people via a blog/podcast/YouTube channel, find a mentor, and attend conferences.