05 Apr 2026 #selfgrowth
In 2023, after burning out, I felt completely lost.
A daily wellness routine to care for my body, mind, and spirit saved me.
That simple idea changed my life.
I still follow it today.
No excuses.
Inspiring people helped my burnout recovery.
I filled my days reading James Altucher, Dan Koe, and Borja Vilaseca.
I looked up to them.
More recently, I’ve added Seth Godin and Derek Sivers.
They had something in common:
Reinvention, living on their own terms, eating what they hunt, writing, books…
That’s the path I’m trying to follow now.
When lost, find the thread between your heroes.
04 Apr 2026 #writing #bookwriting
A weekend on YouTube led me to a writing channel, and then to rediscover Derek Sivers.
If you haven’t heard of him, he’s the definition of someone who reinvented their life. He went from circus performer to running CD Baby, an online distribution platform. After selling it, he now writes books. How to Live, is his most recent and popular.
Here’s what I learned binge-watching his interviews and reading his blog:
#1. Be the entertainer. Your writing and stories aren’t about you. They’re about how to help your readers.
#2. Write succinct books. Call it a tiny book, a mini book, or simply a short book, it’s your best ideas distilled. A short book shows respect for your readers’ time.
#3. Write essays then turn them into books. A book could be a single idea or a collection of multiple ideas.
Start your book by writing essays. Then compile the best ones into a book. You’ll have proven and validated ideas.
#4. Write to scale yourself. When you want to stop talking about a subject, write a book. Next asked again, point to the book. That’s why Derek wrote Anything You Want.
Like Derek, before retiring from coding, my goal is to write a trilogy. Street-Smart Coding is the second installment.
#5. Focus on writing sentences. Write each sentence on a separate line. Then, write something shorter than you could.
03 Apr 2026 #books
Forget LLCs or investors. Starting a business is simpler.
Being an entrepreneur is often mistaken for hustling and grinding long hours. In Purpose and Profit, Dan Koe, a millionaire creator, shares a different view of entrepreneurship.
#1. Entrepreneurship doesn’t have to be complicated
No more working long hours. No more growing a business while paying with your health. Entrepreneurship is building skills to help others.
#2. Entrepreneurship is self-help and others-help
Being a CEO is a title. But being an entrepreneur is a mindset.
You’re an entrepreneur when you solve your own problems and share your solution to help others.
Nobody will pay you unless you help them. To earn more, become more valuable: solve bigger problems or help more people. As an entrepreneur, money is the result of your personal development.
“If entrepreneurship is about solving problems and self-actualization is solving your own, you can combine both into a meaningful way of life”
Your product is what you created to solve your problem. Your audience is people with the same problem. Your platform is the internet.
At first, nobody will care about you and what you do. To make them care, you need to position your solution as valuable. Learn persuasion to reach the right audience—people like you.
#4. You’re the niche
When you solve your problems, you’ll find new and bigger problems. You won’t be limited by a social media bio or a tagline. As you solve them, your niche will evolve with you. “Your life’s work is getting paid to be yourself.” Entrepreneurship is evolving.
03 Apr 2026 #mondaylinks
Hey there.
Here are 4 stories that caught my eye last week:
#1. Last week, another npm package was hacked. This time, it was Axios’ turn (3min). If you’ve downloaded it recently, patch now.
#2. Not that testing isn’t important, but should we have QA teams? That’s another role AI makes us rethink (11min).
#3. Not a big surprise, but LinkedIn is searching and scraping your browser (3min). Time for better fingerprinting protection.
#4. Last week’s cool tool: twitchroulette I spun the roulette a few times and only found game streams. Maybe you’ll be luckier and find coding streams.
And in case you missed it, I wrote on my blog about the hidden truth AI has revealed (1min) the Excel paradox of coding (2min).
(Bzzz…Radio voice) This email was brought to you by… Street-Smart Coding, 30 lessons to help you code like a pro. From Googling to clear communication, it shares the lessons to help you stand out in the age of AI.
See you next time.
Cesar
01 Apr 2026 #coding #books
No coding tip today. Just celebrating a small win that remind me why I started writing.
Street-Smart Coding got a review on dev.to that made my day.
Here’s the original post in Spanish. Let me translate the gist of it:
“…It is written from experience. In other words, it doesn’t tell you how things should be done, but rather how the author personally learned how things should be done.”
That’s exactly the point! I wrote the guide I wish I had. A proven roadmap from junior to senior coder. I wanted it to feel like a conversation over coffee.
With a couple of prompts or searches, you could find tutorials on syntax. I’ve written my own. But inside Street-Smart Coding, you’ll find 30 lessons to level up your coding skills:
- Some conventional
- Some learned the hard way
- And a few… weird ones
All tested in the real world.
I wrote it for my past self and for every coder who’s ever asked “how to get better at coding.”
If you haven’t already, grab your copy here and start coding smartly.