Pinned — 28 Oct 2025 #codingStreet-Smart Coding: 30 Ways to Get Better at Coding Without Losing Your Mind
I spent five years in college learning to code.
A stupid dissertation delayed my graduation. But that’s another story.
Most of my five-year program didn’t prepare me for real-world coding. My real coding journey began at my first job, with one Google search: “how to get good at coding.”
I found a lot of conflicting advice:
“Use comments”
“Don’t use comments”
“Do this”
“Don’t do that”
Arrggg!
It took years of trial and error to learn what worked.
I had to survive on-call shifts, talk to stakeholders, and say “no” politely. More importantly, I had to learn that coding takes more than just syntax.
That’s why I wrote Street-Smart Coding— a roadmap of 30 lessons I wish I had when I started. For every dev who’s ever typed “how to get better at coding” into Google or ChatGPT. (Back in my days, I didn’t have ChatGPT… Wait, I sound like a nostalgic grandpa…)
Preview of the first ~12 pages
Inside “Street-Smart Coding”
This isn’t a textbook. It’s a battle-tested guide for your journey from junior/mid-level to senior.
Some lessons are conventional.
Others were learned the hard way.
And a few are weird.
One lesson comes from a TV show. Nope, not Mr. Robot or Silicon Valley. That’s on Chapter #29. It will teach you about problem-solving.
You’ll learn how to:
Google like a pro
Debug without banging your head against a wall
Communicate clearly with non-tech folks
…and 27 more lessons I learned over ten years of mistakes.
Commenting might be the ultimate growth hack on social media for some.
For me, it feels unproductive and time-consuming. I still comment from time to time. And to avoid make it a waste of time, here are 5 random comments I shared on social media in recent weeks:
#0. Change is part of the job description of software engineering. Decades ago, we were punching cards. Years ago, we were writing every single line of code by hand. Well, not anymore. Change is probably the most exciting and challenging part of being a coder. Ride all the waves that come along.
#1. Clean Code isn’t the book everyone should read. The best in the Clean series and the book everyone should read is: Clean Coder. Clean Code turned me into a maniac of lines of code, a police offer looking for infractions. But nobody told me how to actually become a professional. The closest book was: Clean Coder.
#2. With AI, languages and syntax isn’t the edge anymore. Well, the real edge has always been ownership, communication, and collaboration.
#3. The real job is to solve problems, not to write code. Every time I share that end users don’t care about code, I get virtual stones. But interestingly enough, I’ve never heard a single client or end user asking to see the source code of the tools we build for them.
#4. It’s completely fine if you don’t know about everything. Full-stack? Full-stack who understands DevOps? Full-stack who understands agentic coding and is able to define the product they’re building.
Truth is, both generalists and specialists are needed. And we can’t pretend everyone should thrive on every mode. From Range by David Epstein: The world needs both frogs (deep-focused specialists) and birds (“above the trees” generalists who can see the bigger picture).
If any of these ideas resonates, you’re going to like Street-Smart Coding Manifesto. A case against syntax obsession to stand out as a coder.
I start by validating ideas as posts, emails, or social media posts.
The top performing ideas will eventually become book chapters, and the ones with less performance become supporting ideas.
Once I have enough validated ideas, I come up with a book promise, title, subtitle, 1-line summary, an outline, and Amazon sales page. It sounds counterintuitive, but it forces you to clarify your messaging and packing it.
Your book will be your best ideas presented in a new format. Your real job is to become a DJ of your own ideas.
And if writing a 100-page book sounds intimidating, aim for a mini-book: a short, focused book a read could finish in a sitting that solves one problem.
If you’re curious, you’ll find my books here. Short and actionable books on coding and personal growth.
It was at the butchery counter of my local grocery store. I hadn’t seen him in a while. I thought he was working in another rotation. I usually do my groceries in the afternoons.
“I was on sick leave for two months,” he said.
“Oh boy! I didn’t know. What happened?” Then he told me about his toe. For a second, I thought it was a simple cut that a few butterfly stitches could fix. “What actually happened?”
“The angle grinder did cut off my toe.” It wasn’t a simple cut. “I was doing some repairs at home, the angle grinder fell over, and I wasn’t wearing shoes.”
“You’re kidding, right?” I couldn’t believe him.
He simply nodded, with a big smile on his face. I had ordered two chicken breasts as usual. While he cleared the skin off the breasts, he raised his head, “I was on vacation and supposed to return in two days. My wife had told me to hire someone…“
“I guess she said, ‘I told you’,” my sister next to me told him. He kept nodding with a smile so big we could see all his teeth.
“That day I had an appointment, but I chose to stay at home… I guess when bad things happen, they simply happen.”
“Don’t worry! If you’re wearing shoes, nobody will notice it,” the guy next in line said. “If your wife chose you, one missing toe won’t change her mind,” I told him while we were all laughing.
Lesson:Always wear shoes when working with cutting tools… or hire someone who knows how to use them. More importantly, it’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it. Even if that’s losing a toe.
That was part of Ruben Blades’ speech when receiving the 2026 Billboard Icon Award.
Sorry, I found out by doomscrolling on Instagram.
In my defense, sometimes it gives me inspiration for ideas—like this one.
After that line, he started to mentioned a list of singers, producers, and orchestras who bet on him.
I’m not an icon, but I’ve received help from lots of people to get to where I’m at in my career.
One day, someone made an introduction for my first job.
Someone gave me a chance when I had zero experience.
Someone made another introduction when I was fired from my first job.
Someone made me sit next to him to mentor me.
Someone referred me to my highest-paying job.
Someone set aside time from his work agenda to give me advice.
Someone gave me another chance when I had a huge gap on my CV.
Those are the ones I remember from the top of my head.
I’ve never had the opportunity to say thanks to most of them.
To their eyes, their help was maybe a small act of kindness without importance.
But for me, they were defining moments in my career.
Take the time to say thank and do something small for someone today.
If this lesson resonates, you’re going to like, Career Lessons From the Trenches, my free 7-day email course where I distill 10+ years of career lessons into 7 short emails–to help you navigate your coding career.
(Bzzz…Radio voice) This email was brought to you by… Street-Smart Coding Manifesto. A case against syntax obsession. Because real impact comes from skills outside your IDE.
