28 Oct 2026 #coding #bookwriting
One year ago, writing a book felt like a distant goal.
Today, Street-Smart Coding turns 1 year old.
It’s the book I wish I had when starting out as a coder.
A roadmap with 30 lessons to build skills that last a career.
From the most conventional to the most unexpected.
I wrote it for my younger self Googling “how to get better at coding.”
Street-Smart Coding became a book series
After one year, Street-Smart Coding became the second book in a 4-part series.
I wrote a prequel, Street-Smart Coding Manifesto, and I’m working on a sequel, Street-Smart Coding in the Age of AI.
I already have plans for a final career guide.
Those four will be my attempt to pass on everything I’ve learned about coding, and nobody taught me.
What I would do differently
Street-Smart Coding made me learn to write a book the hard way.
I missed some steps writing it.
And, of course, today I’d do a couple of things differently:
- I’d write a shorter introduction.
- I’d rewrite Chapter 1 to make it timeless. The principle is there: find your own answers. But I framed it using Google, which is not as relevant in these days of AI as it was years ago.
- I’d start writing it backwards.
Writing a book taught me a whole lot about writing, publishing, and marketing.
But more importantly, it gave me the confidence to call myself a writer.
Some random numbers
Unless you write a New York Times best-seller, you won’t live off a single book.
But if someone outside your circle buys your books, it’s already a success.
Street-Smart Coding is a huge success.
In the last year, it’s sold 92 ebook copies via Gumroad, and 9 Kindle and 2 paperback copies via Amazon.
It passed 100 copies in its first year.
Apart from sales, it earned me my first hater.
Someone called me “b*tch” for promoting it.
And it helped me define my category of one.
Someone called me the “Street-Smart Coding guy” in a comment.
Since then, I’ve made it my bio everywhere online.
Apart from my daily blog, Street-Smart Coding is the project I’m the most proud of.
One year later, I’d still recommend it to my younger self. If you want to code smarter and build real-world skills that last a career, grab your copy of Street-Smart Coding today.
27 Oct 2026 #coding
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.
27 Oct 2026 #writing #bookwriting
Don’t start writing a book by writing a book.
It’s tempting to start your book by creating a new Google Docs and throwing words into a page. You’ll doubt every step in the process.
Start by writing about your book subject months or years in advance:
- You’ll validate your ideas even before they become your table of content.
- You’ll grow an audience to sell your book to.
After writing Street-Smart Coding, my first coding book, I write almost all my books backwards. That’s what I learned from a book experiment I ran earlier this year when I wrote 10 Surprisingly Simple Ideas That Changed My Life And Could Change Yours Too.
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.
25 Oct 2026 #misc
“An angle grinder cut off my toe,” he told me.
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.
For more life lessons, check out 10 Surprisingly Simple Ideas That Changed My Life.
24 Oct 2026 #career
“Nobody becomes an icon without help.”
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.