27 Jun 2026 #writing
Art is stealing.
Stealing means blending your sources into something new: an artistic smoothie.
Not that I consider my writing “art,” but here are 7 writers I’ve stolen from:
#1. James Altucher.
He’s the writer who has inspired me the most.
I read almost all his books and hand-copied his posts to practice.
Some of the ideas that have changed my life came from his bankrupt stories.
I’ve stolen his storytelling-heavy style and the obsession with opening lines of books.
#2. Seth Godin.
Before getting seriously into writing, Seth was the first blogger I followed and studied.
I’ve borrowed his concept of a “post”:
A headline and a couple of sentences are enough to publish.
After finding his blog, I didn’t feel the need to write SEO-optimized guides anymore.
When I’m tempted to quit blogging, I remember Seth sharing about his 10,000th post.
#3. Derek Sivers.
From Derek, I’ve stolen his succinct writing and his practice of giving each sentence its own line.
After reading some of his books, I adopted concise, self-contained chapters.
That was the inspiration for Street-Smart Coding Manifesto.
#4. Austen Kleon.
Austen was the writer who taught me to steal.
He wrote Steal Like An Artist:
So I’m stealing from another thief.
No shame in admitting it.
After reading two of his books, I stole his book structure.
Each book is 10 ideas, one idea per chapter, with doodles and drawings.
Its back cover lists those 10 ideas.
That was where I stole the concept for 10 Surprisingly Simple Ideas That Changed My Life—without the doodles.
#5. Tim Denning.
My first writing class was with Tim.
Tim taught me to write daily and to start every piece with a strong 1-line opener.
Hope you noticed it at the start.
#6. Mark Thompson.
Mark is a veteran marketer I found on Medium.
Instead of email sequences for “nurturing,” he teaches a simple system to make money with words.
I stole it along with some of his CTAs, almost to the tee.
#7. Craig Mod.
I don’t know how I found Craig’s blog. Maybe through someone’s blogroll?
I spent an entire afternoon reading his community roundups.
When I was done, I said, “I want to do that too.”
Craig inspired my horizon goal: documenting my life into books.
And when I start my “behind the scenes” community, I’ll proudly steal from him.
26 Jun 2026 #mondaylinks
Hey there.
Quick update before the links:
The first draft of Street-Smart Coding Manifesto is done, at 4,880 words.
I already did a first pass of editing, looking for typos. (No matter how often I reread a draft, I always fear typos.) Next pass is to remove duplication and simplify ideas.
As usual, here are 4 links I thought were worth sharing this week:
#1. A manager reveals what truly sets high performers from average performers (3min). Spoiler alert: Not their code.
#2. Generative AI is having its Herbalife moment (11min). Vibe coding startups are charging “their victims” upfront, without any guarantees.
#3. Be careful with what you put into ChatGPT. Remember it’s not a confessional, but a database. Your conversations are stored even after asking to delete them (6min).
#4. I’m far from 50, but I like sneaking into lessons from later stages of life. Here are 5 lessons from being 50 (5min). Lesson 4 is my favorite.
And in case you missed it, here are two popular posts I reshared last quarter: two ways to think of AI without outsourcing your mind (2min) and 12 hard truths about coding I learned the hard way (4min).
(Bzzz…Radio voice) This email was brought to you by… Street-Smart Coding Manifesto. Preorder your digital copy today—starting at just $1—and become a coder who stands out beyond syntax. If you’d like to support the work, contribute $5 or more and I’ll thank you in the Acknowledgments.
See you next time,
Cesar
25 Jun 2026 #writing
The less time spent tweaking a post, the more it seems to resonate.
Yesterday, I hit the 600 daily post milestone.
The most popular posts were often the ones I spent less time editing.
Some were only to avoid breaking the chain.
The ones I poured my soul into resonated less.
Same observation after 300+ LinkedIn posts.
I’m calling it: the inverse effort effect.
Too much tweaking dilutes the real message and hides your true voice.
Maybe that’s why rants go viral and invite replies.
They feel raw and authentic.
From the inverse effort effect, not every post is a winner.
But unread posts still count: as practice, as a data point, as one time capsule entry.
Definitely not time wasted.
I’ll stop here before I fall prey to this effect.
24 Jun 2026 #writing
Why
These last 100 posts made me ask why.
Likes and attention are tempting.
I’ve questioned if a blog is the right place to be.
Writers I follow on social media have already moved to Substack.
Everybody seems to be thriving there.
Sometimes blog aggregators make me rush to count votes each morning.
Analytics, votes, replies, mentions…
“How did my posts do yesterday?”
I’ve had to remind myself to write for one person.
To build something I like.
To do it for my own health.
To quiet my inner critic.
Inspiration
Since May, I’ve started to take walks every day.
Every afternoon, I get outside to breathe fresh air and stretch my legs.
I’ve noticed how my mood changes when I do it.
Even if that’s just to walk around my block.
Maybe I’m just convincing myself to keep walking.
I leave my phone behind every time.
On Sundays, I go analog.
To capture ideas, I use old receipts and a tiny pencil that fits into my wallet.
I’ve learned not to rely on my phone for notes.
Paper doesn’t run out of battery.
Those walks have inspired most of my posts.
For the last 100 posts, I’ve published more stories from small life moments.
Not keeping a phone in my pocket makes me notice the world.
Who would have thought it?
Voice
Beyond walking, the last 100 posts felt different.
A post doesn’t feel like an assignment anymore.
It feels more like a spark to capture.
Some sparks need more words.
Others just a couple of sentences.
I try not to hit a word count, but sharing an idea without fluff.
Something that doesn’t need an AI summary.
My most-read posts
From analytics, blog aggregators, replies, and social blogs:
My favorites
Not every popular post is a favorite.
But these are the ones I enjoyed writing the most:
As an honorable mention, here’s My First Post Interview (On Coding, Writing, And Side Projects). Also available in Turkish. Merhaba!
Here are my 100-post, 200-post, 300-post, 400-post, and 500-post reflections.
23 Jun 2026 #writing
Mark Thompson introduced me to the The Bean Soup Theory:
Feedback from outsiders can tempt you to reshape work not meant for them.
Write a bean soup recipe for girls needing iron, and someone will ask, “What if I don’t like beans?” Then comes the temptation to tweak it.
Replace bean soup with creative work and the principle still applies.
My first product was an intermediate video course on unit testing.
When I asked an ex-coworker for feedback, he asked:
“Did you include about AI to generate tests? Did you also include…?”
Better to know who you’re creating for and who you’re not. And sometimes the best audience is yourself.