17 Sep 2025 #misc
A long time ago, a friend asked me for a quote on a custom piece of software.
She and her friend wanted to start a marketing agency. And they wanted to build custom software to run it.
The problem? They didn’t have any savings or capital. And even worse, they didn’t have anyone to sell their service to. It was too early to build software.
I’ve been there too, on a different scale, coming up with value propositions and website copy for a freelance business I didn’t have yet. Later, it died with a single phone call.
After immersing myself in business podcasts and books, I’ve learned to:
- Come up with simple and cheap experiments to test a business idea
- Slap a price tag on whatever we’re building to see who buys
And simple experiments can validate big ideas.
The other day I watched a Diary of a CEO episode featuring a Netflix cofounder. How they validated their idea? He mailed a CD to his business partner to see if they could run a Blockbuster alternative by email. It was a cheap experiment. It worked.
Run experiments to learn, to grow, and to build something people really want.
16 Sep 2025 #misc
Back in August, I shared 7 content experiments I wanted to try.
As part of my daily routine, I write 10 bad ideas every day to keep my creativity muscles in shape. I wrote 10 ideas that day, but only posted 7.
I acted on some of those ideas. Here’s what I actually did:
#1. I redesigned the interior of my C# Idioms book. For the first version, I used Canva. Nothing wrong with Canva. But I wanted a more professional, less hobbyist design. So I added a copyright notice, an introduction, a table of content. The basics of a publishable book. Now, it’s available for $0.99. Next move? Offer it via Amazon.
#2. I uploaded all my coding courses to Gumroad. I have to admit the experience of Gumroad as a student isn’t as polished as Udemy for video courses. But it works well enough to show a video lesson with a description. Now, they’re available here: C# NullReferenceException Demystified, Getting Started With LINQ in C#, and Mastering C# Unit Testing with Real-world Examples.
#3. I packaged all my beginner’s material into the “C# Fundamentals Bundle.” That’s an ebook and more than 2 hours of video lessons to learn C#, at 20% off. It’s available here: C# Fundamentals Bundle.
After launching these, I notice a challenge: Gumroad doesn’t have a powerful discoverability feature. As creators, we can’t simply rely on Gumroad showing our products to users. At least, we shouldn’t expect it. We have to redirect traffic there ourselves. Now, my only source of traffic is my newsletter.
#4. I changed all prices to end in .99 and increased the suggested prices., I offer my books and courses as “Pay what you want.” I’ve received $1, $5, $7, $10, and $20 as payments. So I changed my current prices based on those anchor points.
Results? 10 free downloads and no sales. Not that bad. I learned about interior book design and practiced my copywriting skills. That’s helpful for any future project.
15 Sep 2025 #coding
“Is using AI totally forbidden?”, “When and how should I use it?”, and “What’s your take on vibecoding?”
I was on a firechat with a community of new coders last week. Those questions kept popping up. They all wanted to know about AI.
I get it! There’s a lot of noise… It’s taking our jobs. Some guy built an app with no coding skills and now he’s drinking martinis in the Caribbean. Don’t be discouraged by those headlines. This is the best time to learn coding.
You won’t like it, but… Here’s the rule: Don’t use AI to generate code until you’re comfortable coding on your own.
If you only copy and paste what ChatGPT, Cursor, or “insert the newest and fastest LLM here” gives you, you’re in trouble. You need to know if what that tool is spitting out is good code. And for that, you need your own judgment.
When in doubt, think of AI as a powerful calculator in math class. It makes you faster, but you still need to know how to solve equations.
14 Sep 2025 #misc
His name is Bryan Johnson and he has one single obsession: to stop and reverse his aging.
His obsession has led him to turn his apartment into a $2.5M science lab. He measures and tracks hundreds of markers to check if he’s getting closer to his goal.
He has the discipline of an Olympic athlete: eats only 2000 calories, takes 111 pills, and works out for one hour. Every. Single. Day.
He’s 45. But he’s aging as fast as a 10-year-old boy. (We don’t think of aging when we imagine a young boy). He beats his teenage children in almost any sport and aces any fitness competition with straight A’s.
His goal has attracted the media attention. Netflix has a documentary about him: Don’t Die. And you can find plenty of interviews on YouTube.
I watched his documentary and the interview on the James Altucher Show, here’s what I learned:
#1. Identify your self-destructing behaviors
The Big Mac and the 2-hour binge-watching on Netflix after work are coping mechanisms to run away from the life we hate.
That’s your mind looking for forms of pleasure. Learn to identify the self-destructing self and separate mentally from them. “Here it comes, the destructive Alice. Hi! I don’t need you around.”
That was Bryan’s first step before embarking on his goal of eternal life.
#2. Sleep 8 hours and eat well
If you don’t have $2.5M to turn your apartment into a lab, start taking care of your sleep and diet.
Here’s Bryan’s 80/20 for wellness:
- Go to bed at the same time.
- No light in your bedroom.
- No alcohol.
- Eat less.
- Eat more nutritious foods.
- Don’t eat before going to bed.
You don’t need plasma transfusions like Bryan. Rest and pay attention to what you put into your body.
#3. Live a steady life
Be like a high-performance athlete: focused on your body and mind.
Protect your mind by staying away from cheap dopamine like Candy Crush, news, social media, and smartphones. And, don’t use screens before going to bed. It ruins your sleeping patterns too.
After following his regimen for two years, Bryan has changed so much Face ID has had a hard time recognizing him. Maybe you don’t want to adopt a strict lifestyle to live forever, but if you want to age well, start today, not at 70 when it’s too late.
Well, it turns out I’m not that far with my healthy habits. I’m only 45 extra minutes of exercise, 99 pills, and a science lab away. But hey, we all start somewhere.
13 Sep 2025 #misc
A recent podcast interview was the perfect excuse to ask for feedback on my interviewing skills.
I’ve been putting more attention on my communication skills, but never asked for feedback. So I reached out to Ryan Alexander Wiens, a coach who helps engineers speak clearly and show impact, showing him one of my answers.
Here are two suggestions Ryan gave me. I’m sure he doesn’t mind I’m sharing them here:
#1. Slow down at key words and pause for emphasis. It’s hard to sound confident while answering well. Pauses give us time to think and create a sense of expectation for the listeners.
#2. Answer with PREP: Point/Reason/Example/Point. To answer questions confidently, I learned to start and end with the main point.
But to make our answers more impactful, add a “Why” or a reason after the main point. Then to end the answer, restate the question with the main point again. We tend to remember only the beginning and end, so win-win! We look more confident and help the listener remember our answer.
So let’s say we’re asked about the mistakes beginners make in terms of branding. Following the 4-step framework we could say:
(Point) I’d say one of my biggest mistakes has been not to start earlier.
(Reason) Building a brand has brought me great opportunities, like this interview… I wish I had started sooner.
(Example) If I had to start right from scratch again, I’d…
(Point) That was my mistake and the mistake most beginners make: waiting too long to start.
Now thanks to Ryan’s PREP framework, you’re PREPared for your next podcast or job interview. Pun intended.