Your personal character directly affects your ability to write computer programs.

The characteristics that matter most are humility, curiosity, intellectual honesty, creativity and discipline, and enlightened laziness.

The characteristics of a superior programmer have almost nothing to do with talent and everything to do with a commitment to personal development.

Surprisingly, raw intelligence, experience, persistence, and guts hurt as much as they help.

Many programmers don't actively seek new information and techniques and instead rely on accidental, on-the-job exposure to new information. If you devote a small percentage of your time to reading and learning about programming, after a few months or years you'll dramatically distinguish yourself from the programming mainstream.

Good character is mainly a matter of having the right habits. To be a great programmer, develop the right habits and the rest will come naturally.