Shaping My Career: Growth, Lessons, and Excellence

In my previous post, I shared thoughts and the beginning of how I accidentally and unexpectedly joined Presto-Changeo, also known as Everything is Possible (EIP) Concepts Inc., a U.S.-based company, and worked there as a programmer.

I’ve already written about the foundations this company laid in me and how it helped me understand what makes an excellent programmer. It solidified how to work with clients (by example) and allowed me to become what I consider a good employee today, setting the expectations I now have for my team.

Working with Americans and writing code in a team made me realize that it wasn’t just about the results of a freelance or solo programmer. I was driven to be the best simply because everyone on the team was older than me and had at least 10+ years of programming experience. At the same time, I embraced B. Tracy’s thoughts on “excellence,” a word for which I still can’t find an exact Lithuanian translation.

In the books I listened to as a teenager, B. Tracy said that to be the best, you must become the indispensable, top professional in your field. You must work harder than others, show your willingness and skills, stay longer, be proactive, and become your mentor’s right hand. The word “excellence ” became a practical fulfillment for me during my time at this company developing PrestaShop e-commerce solutions—something I have never let go of since.

B. Tracy also emphasizes that the secret lies in the small details. For instance, when sending a contract to a client, include answers to frequently asked questions, attach the document in a format that’s easy to sign, pre-fill the necessary details, and so on—don’t just send it for the sake of sending it. In other words, small, noticeable information can only be observed and refined through experience (working hard), making you better than others.

This is especially relevant in programming. How you name your methods and variables and write code that others can read, reuse, and quickly expand upon is an art. I am grateful that Presto-Changeo upheld these values, and I was able to embody them by writing quality code at the time.

Secondly, my development didn’t stop at this company—I continued learning. Seeing and feeling the guidance of more experienced mentors and their code reviews made me realize I had so much room for growth in programming. I read my first English-language book, such as The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master.

Anyone working in my field won’t deny that this book, along with Code Complete, is like a Bible—essential reading for any beginner or seasoned programmer.

Beyond career growth, I also gained insights into teamwork. Every year, we would gather all employees worldwide, including the U.S. and Europe.

I remember our first trip to Amsterdam, followed by Barcelona, where we enjoyed luxurious tasting dinners, activities, and what I would call my first “teambuilding” experiences. If not for Presto-Changeo, I probably wouldn’t have started traveling abroad so early, mainly because of my frugality. The team and work opened up career opportunities and personal growth potential.

This experience and the examples I saw laid the foundation for what I later brought to PrestaRock. When we were still a team of three or four people, we went to one of the most famous restaurants in Kaunas, Medžiotojo Užeiga, for our Christmas dinner with significant others. It was not just a first-time experience for my newly hired colleagues but also my first time tasting wild boar meat—years after my initial teambuilding experience.

I remember that dinner cost nearly a fifth of our monthly expenses, but it was something I had learned. I wanted to replicate and share what I had experienced with my colleagues while also surprising and enabling new PrestaRock employees to grow as specialists and individuals. Presto-Changeo helped me grow in every sense.

Lastly, one more thing that stuck with me was the American work culture. Working in Europe and Lithuania, we don’t understand that people in the U.S. wake up at 5 AM, travel almost 2 hours to work, complete one shift at one job, grab a quick snack, then head to another job, and finally return home at midnight, prepare some food, and only then rest. All of this is done to achieve the “American Dream.”

While working at this company, where we were sometimes asked to study and learn even on weekends or occasionally work 60-hour weeks, I realized that this is entirely normal for an ambitious and goal-oriented American. Just normal.

I’m not even talking about the excuses I wrote about last time—no one cares or listens to them. If you don’t like it, don’t work. But there’s a straightforward understanding:

1. Work must be done as required and without mistakes.
2. Work must be completed on time or earlier.
3. If you need to stay longer, that’s normal because results are required.
4. The result (and a proper one) is what matters. Excuses are irrelevant.
5. Innovation—America is a country that creates while others implement.
6. Continuous growth (and learning) is the engine of everything.

So today, even a smile comes to my face when I imagine myself from a low-income family that used to survive on 10 LTL a day during childhood, as a second or third-year student fully supporting myself, earning, and living the American Dream right here in Lithuania, with small escapes abroad and exploring the world.

All of this results from the right start, unpaid work, ambition, the desire to realize myself, starting early, doing more, taking responsibility, and striving for excellence.

I never calculated whether my PrestaShop forum posts would ever pay off. I never thought my blog would bring me clients. It all happened naturally and accidentally.

But was it all work? Stay tuned for the next post to find out.