What Separates Top 1% Contributors

Year 1: Great contributor
- Regular PRs
- Good code quality
- Helpful in discussions

Year 2: Exceptional
- Taking ownership
- Mentoring others
- Architectural decisions

Year 3+: Legendary
- Shaping direction
- Building culture
- Trusted advisor

✓ Long-term thinking (2+ years)
✓ Generosity (help without expecting return)
✓ Quality over quantity (5 great PRs > 100 small)
✓ Learning (humble, always growing)
✓ Communication (clear, kind)
✓ Reliability (do what they say)
✓ Respect (for maintainers and community)

✗ Self-promote constantly
✗ Compete with other contributors
✗ Cut corners on quality
✗ Give up after rejection
✗ Treat it as a job
✗ Demand attention
✗ Take credit only

Top 1%: Care about the project more than themselves
Others: Care about getting noticed

That's it. That's the difference.

You see a junior contributor struggling.
Average: Ignore them
Top 1%: Spend 30 minutes helping them learn

Code review feedback comes back tough.
Average: Argue or give up
Top 1%: Ask why, learn, improve next PR

You spot a major bug.
Average: Fix it and move on
Top 1%: Fix it, add test, improve system,
        document pattern, mentor others on it