I've always preferred to think of it more like being a Sith lord... the master and apprentice.
Joking aside, my best habits came from early teachers who took the time to go one on one with me. Checking over my shoulder, pointing me the right direction -- this is something that NORMAL educators and classwork never covered the four decades or so ago when I was learning, and if anything is even more missing in today's system of doing things.
I've taken on many the "apprentice" -- people who I saw what they were doing, saw potential, and decided to take them under my wing; both in the office-space and online.
More than once I've had them come back as the master and teach me things... BEING a mentor can be as much of a learning experience as quite often other people have problems you would never have or even think to come up with a solution for. That's why "randomly helping strangers" on forums can be as good a learning experience as it is helpful for the poor sod stuck on something "simple".
Bottom line to me -- even after 40 years of coding -- remains learn what you can from who you can, and pass it on.