[Why do I code?] I code to change the world.

Sure, that is a bold statement. But what does it really mean to change the world? In my mind, it means to add value to others in the precise quality and quantity that allows freedom from a set of problems in order to focus on a more important or essential task. To change the world, you need to provide a solution that is greater than the collective previous alternatives. In examining truly ground breaking discoveries, I imagine we would agree that a great deal of hard work goes into such efforts — many that could attest to how great the impact is for mankind.

Can we change the world, as individuals, without being vaulted to the world stage? Can small inputs into the improvement engine be the impetus of major feats? I say yes. They do count; they do contribute. Every exhaustive effort that leads toward progress counts, no matter the size. Efficiency gained from the tiniest of innovations fuels the flames, inching us closer to even larger breakthroughs. Perceived minor improvements in some areas can spark of new thought in another area or permit us to redeploy resources in new promising arenas. We all benefit when people step up the plate to share skills and knowledge.

My goal is to take existing problems, break them into smaller ones, and then into even smaller bits, until I get to the essence of logic statements that I can craft into code, which will be compiled into products that solve real problems. And while my software applications won’t always generate earth shattering outputs — the basis of which unicorn companies are made to rule the day on Wall Street — they are innovations just same. I know that my work helps to make everyday life more efficient, more enjoyable, more productive. Isn’t that a worthy purpose to which we should aspire?

I love my craft. I’ve spent my entire career working with technology and developing software to solve problems. I am excited each day to work on new and novel ideas. I live for the moments when my work product offers a viable solution to any of life’s challenges and inefficiencies. I am at awe and humbled by users interacting with my creations that, while not perfect, are helping to satisfy real needs and desires.

Software is my passion and I am a master craftsman capable of tackling all manner of problems presented. I dream of creating amazing solutions and then carefully pursue building the foundation to reach my lofty aspirations.

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them. — Henry David Thoreau

My humanity is evident, however. My creations don’t solve the world’s largest problems. I haven’t developed code to solve cancer or to feed a starving population. Still, I’m not discouraged. In fact, I am motivated to solve the problems that might enable someone else to solve those larger problems. Every minute I can save you from repeating a mundane task that I could automate or eliminate entirely matters greatly and prompts us to seek new challenges to address. The ripple is what I’m after — that’s when the increase in productivity to which I contributed allows someone else to build upon that and create their own productivity gains and so on, until we all benefit from a large breakthrough.

I solve problems. I know that I am helping others, and that makes me happy. I’m doing my part to make the world a better place, one line of code at a time. I am a coder. I am helping to change the world.