The trick for remembering those things is debriefing with other devs and then documenting. And then keep talking about it.

I don't do mind blowing stuff like Carmack but: just yesterday I came across a bug that helps supporting my thesis that "splitting methods by LOC" can cause subtle programmer mistakes. Wanna write a blog post about it asap.

I find it's actually a good guideline for what to work on. If I'm 1, 3, 6, 12 months into a job or some other project and I can't remember what I was doing X months ago it tends to mean that I'm not improving during that period of time either.

Carmack is always trying to get better, do more, push the envelope further. He was never in it for money or fame, he was in it to be the best near as I can tell. And he's still among the truly terrifying hackers you wouldn't want to be up against, he just never stopped. You get that with a lot of the people I admire and try to emulate as best I can, Thompson comes to mind, Lamport, bunch of people. They just keep getting more badass from meeting their passion to the grave, a lifelong project of unbounded commitment to excellence in their craft.

That's who I look up to.

I tend to (more easily) remember things that frustrate me but I overcome. Annoyance is a real factor in it.