Becoming a successful hacker requires more than just technical skills; it demands a unique way of thinking. This guide explores the core principles that define a true hacker’s mindset, helping you cultivate the right attitude for your journey.
1. The World is Full of Problems Waiting to be Solved
A hacker’s journey is fueled by an insatiable curiosity and a passion for problem-solving. This isn’t just a hobby; it’s a way of life. The motivation comes from the thrill of the chase—exercising your intelligence and sharpening your skills with each successful hack.
This pursuit requires significant effort and, consequently, a great deal of motivation. Your drive will come from solving these fascinating problems, not from external factors like money or social approval, which can sap your energy and distract you from your true purpose.
A key part of this mindset is having faith in your own ability to learn. This belief tells you that while you don’t know everything, you can learn how to hack anything you need to. By tackling a problem and learning how to solve just one piece of it, you’ve made progress and are ready to move on to the next. It’s about having the self-belief to solve a puzzle one piece at a time.
2. No Problem Should Ever Have to Be Solved Twice
Your creative brain is a valuable and limited resource. Just as a wheel shouldn’t be reinvented, you shouldn’t have to go back and solve a problem that someone else has already tackled. There are many other interesting, new challenges out there to be solved.
To embrace this principle, you need to value your time and consider it a moral duty to share information from the problems you’ve solved. This helps other hackers advance to new problems instead of getting stuck on old ones. However, this doesn’t mean you should simply give away the solution. Instead, share your knowledge in a way that helps others learn, grow, and solve new issues on their own.
Remember, a solved problem is not a closed case. It is perfectly acceptable to go back and find a new solution that might make the original issue easier to address. There is never just one right solution to any given problem. Often, you learn more about a problem by studying the first solution and realizing you can do better.
What is not okay is to use artificial technical, legal, or institutional barriers to prevent a good solution from being reused, forcing others to “reinvent the wheel.”
You also do not need to feel obligated to hand over any of your creative product. It’s important to remember that the hackers themselves are the ones who will give you the most respect. It is perfectly acceptable to use your hacking skills to support yourself or get rich, as long as you do not forget where your loyalties lie: to the art form of hacking and to your fellow hackers who will help you on your way up.
3. Boredom and Drudgery Are Evil
Hackers are naturally creative individuals. Therefore, you should never get bored or be forced into drudgery (dull, repetitive, and unpleasant work) that is repetitive. Such work stifles your creativity and prevents you from solving the new, fascinating problems that are the very reason you are a hacker.
Therefore, boredom and drudgery are not just unpleasant—they are actually evil to a hacker.
To embody a hacker’s mindset, you need to believe this strongly enough to avoid falling into boredom. You also need to be able to spot when you have hit a wall and find a way to get past it. This is a skill you must develop for both yourself and others.
There is, of course, an exception to this rule. As a hacker, you will sometimes perform repetitive or boring tasks. These activities are often done by choice as a way to clear your mind, acquire a new skill, or sharpen an existing one. This type of “boredom” is perfectly fine because it serves a purpose. However, you should never be forced into a situation that stifles your creativity.
4. Freedom is Good
As a hacker, you are most likely anti-authoritarian (opposed to the use of excessive authority or control). This doesn’t have to mean you disrespect all authority, but for some hackers, this sentiment runs deep.
When an authority figure gives you an order that prevents you from solving a problem you are fascinated by, it will often cause you to fight even harder to solve it. Authority figures might provide a seemingly logical reason for why your pursuit is “stupid.” It’s important to fight this type of mindset so that your curiosity and passion are not smothered.
This doesn’t mean you are fighting all authority. A hacker needs to be able to accept some forms of authority to achieve their goals. However, this acceptance does not mean you have to allow that authority to smother you and stop you from hacking.
To behave like a hacker, you must develop an instinctive hostility toward censorship, the use of force or deception, and anything that is used to control responsible adults. You need to be willing to act on that belief alone.
5. Attitude Is No Substitute for Competence
If you are going to be a hacker, you need to have these core attitudes. However, simply “copping an attitude” alone is not going to make you a hacker any more than standing in a garage is going to make you a car.
To become a hacker, it will take practice, dedication, hard work, and intelligence.
Because of this, you will need to learn to distrust anyone who relies solely on attitude and instead respect the competence of every kind. While hackers will not waste their time on someone who just “wants to be” a hacker, they will revere (respect deeply) competence, especially when it comes to hacking. Competence in any field is valued.
Competence in demanding skills that very few people can master is considered especially good. Competence in demanding skills that involve mental craft, concentration, and acuteness (sharpness of mind) is the best.
By revering competence, you will find enjoyment in developing it within yourself. Hard work and dedication will transform from drudgery into an intense form of play. This is a vital attitude to help you on your path to becoming a true hacker.