The patterns that directly support an apprentice’s journey on The Long Road can be assembled into myriad combinations. Their ordering in this chapter does not imply a linear progression. For example...

You may be walking The Long Road with relative ease. Your working environment is not stifling you, your passion for the craft is strong. You are excelling. You receive a promotion to what your organization calls “architect” and you are still programming full time. Your Accurate Self-Assessment suggests that it’s time to Use Your Title to gauge the level of your organization. This may be enough to keep you on The Long Road, and perhaps no other patterns are needed.

...or...

Your organization emphasizes financial rewards. There is a constant, unspoken organizational undercurrent that pressures people to focus on making more money; after all, making more money implies you’re more valuable to the company. You recognize the undercurrent and the danger it presents to your journey. You Nurture Your Passion and focus on maintaining Sustainable Motivations. Your focus on Craft over Art has grown your reputation, and you are offered a promotion to project manager. By Staying in the Trenches and Drawing Your Own Map, you work with your employer to define a career path that will keep you on The Long Road.

...or...

You have been programming since you were very young. You program because you enjoy creating beautiful, elegant solutions. But now, in the corporate world, you are faced with tasks that are not enjoyable and with customers who need you to deliver functionality and who don’t care about elegance. You recognize that for the foreseeable future, your motivation for programming is not aligned with The Long Road. You take steps to Nurture Your Passion as you develop more Sustainable Motivations by focusing on Craft over Art. Over time, you gradually develop a motivation to establish strong relationships with your customers.

As you can see, the possibilities for combining these patterns are as limitless as the contexts that apprentices live within.