Journey
I started writing code with clumsy lines of Java on an old laptop. Many years later I'm still writing code — different languages, and the lessons came from many books along the way.
Principles
Simpler is better. Read before you write. Understand the problem before you type. And most importantly: never trust yesterday's opinion too much.
Favorite reads
I read widely — engineering, philosophy, fiction, history. Every book is a friend lending you a few hours inside their head.