I'm Launching Street-Smart Coding: 30 Lessons to Help You Code Like a Pro (the Roadmap I Wish I Had Starting Out)

Pinned — 28 Oct 2025 #coding

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…)

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.

Now they’re yours.

Get your copy of Street-Smart Coding here and skip the years of trial and error. For launch week only: Pay what you want—even $1 or $2.

Friday Links: AI slop fixer, rethinking rest, and faster Internet

10 Jul 2026 #mondaylinks

Hey there.

Quick update: 4 people have already preordered Street-Smart Coding Manifesto. A small win I’m celebrating. If you want to grow beyond syntax, this book is for you.

As usual, here are 4 links I thought were worth sharing this week:

#1. The new profitable coding gig seems to be to clean up vibecoded apps. Here’s a team already doing it (3min). It’s time to change our LinkedIn bios to “AI slop fixer.”

#2. Cheap and accessible media has changed the meaning of resting, turning us into fat kings (5min).

#3. AI has stolen the meditative part of our jobs. That’s why coders should start meditating (2min).

#4. How fast is your internet connection at home? Well, Switzerland has 25 Gbit dedicated home connections. Here’s how they do it (10min).

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And in case you missed it, I wrote on my blog about the joy of coding the old way (2min) and about “Who Is Quitting” hitting the front page of Hacker News (2min).

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(Bzzz…Radio voice) This email was brought to you by… Street-Smart Coding Manifesto. My case against syntax obsession to stand out. Because real impact comes from skills outside your IDE.

Preorder for just $1 and become a coder who stands out beyond syntax. Support with $5 or more, and I’ll thank you in the Acknowledgments.

Keep coding smarter,

Cesar

7 Random But Interesting Ideas (on Rest, AI, and Books) I Found in Recent Weeks

09 Jul 2026 #misc

As a creative practice, I write 10-idea lists every day. Here are 7 interesting ideas I found recently. I’m writing them as I go, so I’m missing sources.

#1. Have a list of alternative activities to scrolling. Instead of grabbing your phone, have a default activity for when you’re bored. That might be opening your journal or reading a book. Or have a creative date with yourself.

#2. Rest isn’t the same as stillness. Rest is inactivity that recharges you for later work. Industries profit from rest.

But stillness is inactivity just for the sake of doing nothing. Yes, you’re allowed to do nothing.

#3. Stress is external. Anxiety is internal. From a book I skimmed in a grocery store. I can’t remember its title…

Once the stress source is gone, so is stress. Think of hitting an important deadline at work. But anxiety is a fight in your own mind. You have power over it.

#4. Human attention requires human effort. Paul Graham from Y Combinator doesn’t read AI-generated emails. There’s nothing remarkable in prompting an LLM for a business pitch.

Don’t send screenshots of ChatGPT replies. Don’t copy-paste ChatGPT replies and pass them as yours. Anyone can do that. Show human effort.

#5. How to make a billion dollars. Again from Paul Graham. It isn’t as hard as it might sound.

#6. Build a fortress of related books. This is from Anthony Metivier’s YouTube… Read books that build on each other. Read one main source, a complementary source, and a contrasting source.

If you’re learning about guitar, read a songbook, a book on music theory, a biography of a musician…

#7. Use 10 words to describe your product. This is from a product marketplace I can’t remember… Its only requirement is to use 10 words to describe your product. Excellent idea for a book one-liner.

For more interesting ideas, check out 10 Surprisingly Simple Ideas That Changed My Life And Could Change Yours Too. It’s on my books page.

The Hidden Advantage of Blogging (And Why to Keep Doing It)

08 Jul 2026 #writing #selfgrowth

These days, I’ve been fighting my inner voice and its self-doubt.

I needed to reread my own advice:

From change starts in your mind, I remembered, action alleviates anxiety.

From write like no one’s watching, I remembered, signal takes time and there’s always a chance tomorrow.

From do nothing, I remembered, when overwhelmed, pause instead of doing more.

A blog leaves breadcrumbs and success clues for yourself.

That’s the real advantage and a good reason to keep writing.

Find some of my best pieces of life advice on 10 Surprisingly Simple Ideas That Changed My Life And Could Change Yours Too. Find it on my books page.

How I Keep My Daily Writing Streak (600+ Posts)

07 Jul 2026 #writing

Some days, the daily post is a piece of cake.

Other days, not even walking seems to help to hit publish.

But just a few lines count as writing. Anything longer than a tweet works to mark the day in the calendar. Better a small rep than a broken habit.

Like a high-performance sport, every day you don’t write you’re practicing not writing.

The Roller Coaster of Writing and Publishing a Book

06 Jul 2026 #bookwriting

Yesterday, a friend asked me, “How does writing a book feel?” She had just bought a printed copy of 10 Simple Ideas That Changed My Life.

Well…

The first days are full of excitement. I use 10-idea lists to come up with a title, subtitle, and outline. I come up with cover ideas.

The next few days are full of doubt. It’s when the inner critic speaks louder. “Is anyone going to like this?”

The next few weeks are quiet. Like a marathon, it’s one foot after the other. It’s doing something small every day.

The first draft brings accomplishment—and some anxiety. “What are my beta readers going to say?” “Wait! Is this really worth publishing?”

The roller coaster peaks when the first printed copies arrive. Opening that box of books is pure satisfaction. “This was in my head and now it’s in my hands.”

But the ride always goes down. The temptation is to refresh sales daily. “Why isn’t this book selling? Is it the price? The description?”

That’s when I let go of control. Time to start thinking about the next project.

It’s a roller coaster, worth every ride. A ride I’ll keep taking, turning parts of my life into books.

Find the pieces of my career and life I’ve already captured on my book page