21 Mar 2026 #wellness #selfgrowth
To unclutter my brain and take public notes, here are 5 interesting ideas I found last week:
#1. Workout using antagonistic supersets
Improving my health led me down a fitness rabbit hole. I found Dr. Michael Israetel and his YouTube channel.
Well, you don’t need to spend hours every day at the gym.
Most gym time is wasted checking your phone or waiting for machines. Two to three full-body workout sessions per week are enough to be healthy. In just 20 minutes, you can work out every major muscle group by alternating two unrelated muscle groups with minimal rest between sets.
Last week, I shared a LinkedIn post with the idea of staying away from social media and your phone as rebellion. I got an insightful comment back: “Scrolling is a waste of your human potential.” Wow!
#3. Work less, but daily
If you’re a creator, freelancer, or “side-gigger,” instead of constantly hustling, aim to work for 2-3 hours, but daily. Short sessions force you to focus and achieve more.
#4. Entrepreneurship doesn’t have to be complicated
You don’t need to worry about creating a business entity, the hustle culture, or complicated systems. Entrepreneurship is way simpler. It’s helping!
#5. Be more valuable to make more money
In Purpose and Profit, Dan Koe shares that, to make money, you have to be helpful to others since nobody will give you money in exchange for nothing. To earn more, make others value you more, solve bigger problems, or help more people.
That concept reminded me of money as fucks given and one of James Altucher’s inspiring quotes, “money is a byproduct of personal development.”
20 Mar 2026 #mondaylinks
Hey there.
Here are 4 links I thought were worth sharing this week:
#1. The internet is dead. It doesn’t seem to be a theory anymore (2min). Reddit, LinkedIn, GitHub…AI-generated slop is everywhere. Even bots interviewing bots.
#2. Every week, there’s a new AI tool, model, or prediction. But you don’t have to feel like you’re missing the whole AI train. If you’re not running 69 agents, you’re not behind (3min).
#3. AI shines at speed. We can crank out code faster than ever. But more code means more reviews. Every layer of review makes coding 10x slower (10min).
#4. When was the last time you finished a book? I’m replacing social media with books. But with plenty of distractions, it seems nobody finishes books anymore (14min). That’s a challenge for authors and educators.
And in case you missed it, I wrote on my blog about how we’re helping AI replace us (1min) and the most painful career lesson my best job taught me (3min).
(Bzzz…Radio voice) This email was brought to you by… 10 Surprisingly Simple Ideas That Changed My Life And Could Change Yours Too. If you’ve wondered how to actually change your life, this book shares 10 small daily ideas for big change.
See you next time.
Cesar
20 Mar 2026 #misc
Years ago, I thought entrepreneurship was nothing but risk.
I once thought running a business was crazy: registering a company, hiring employees, waiting for clients to pay… Being an employee was better. A monthly paycheck was safer. I couldn’t have been more wrong! I was young and naive. I had to be fired only once to change my mind.
Recently, to debunk all myths about entrepreneurship, I’ve stumbled upon two simple definitions—I’m paraphrasing them to practice the 7-word summary:
#1. Solving problems
From Purpose and Profit by Dan Koe, entrepreneurship is solving your own problems and distributing your solutions to others.
You don’t need to stare at the ceiling waiting for the perfect idea. If you have solved one of your own problems (losing weight or overcoming burnout, for example), you can share what you did and make some profit.
Recently, during my feed-free week, I picked up Financial Freedom by Grant Sabatier. Apart from early-retirement tactics, his definition of entrepreneurship resonated. He says entrepreneurship is simply finding other income sources.
You don’t need the LLC, employees, or fancy systems from a business coach, but to make money on the side. As simple as that. Of course, he advocates investing that extra money so you can retire before your 60s.
With those two definitions, entrepreneurship feels less intimidating. Maybe you’re already an entrepreneur without realizing it.
18 Mar 2026 #career #wellness
This is a submission for the 2026 WeCoded Challenge: Echoes of Experience
The most toxic job I ever had didn’t break me.
I’ve had only one job that fit all the definitions of a toxic place. Inexperienced management, competing deadlines, scope creep… To cope with the 9-5, I hung out with coworkers, worked out, and engaged in hobbies. That kept me sane. But it wasn’t the job that burned me out. It taught me enough lessons for a book.
The way to the exit door was clear.
Lesson: When the pain is real. So is the urge to leave.
The job that burned me out
A few years later, I landed my best job.
I was working from home, learning new subjects, and making a good salary. It wasn’t Silicon Valley, but it was where most coders wanted to be. It turned out more painful than my “worst” job.
Everything was good until the honeymoon ended. Another project doing the same tasks. No new roles for me. All seats were already taken. Same grind, same story.
This time, the way out wasn’t that clear. Updating a CV to play the hiring game made staying seem tolerable. “The pay is good.” “I don’t work overtime.” “I’ll wait until I finish this project.” Meanwhile, hiring trends were tougher and tougher each year.
The next thing I knew, I was rushing to the bathroom. It wasn’t to throw up, but I’ll spare the details.
My job became a burden. I rushed to finish my daily tasks and skipped my meals. Painful mistake! That brought stomach issues. (Eating when stressed out isn’t a good idea.) When I least expected it, I was sick and burned out. The way down was slow. But the way up was more painful and slower.
Lesson: If it makes you sick, you don’t need more signs to leave.
My most painful and expensive career mistake
Not having a career plan was my biggest, most painful, and expensive mistake.
I didn’t stop to think what I wanted out of my career. Money, title, connections, challenge? Maybe my only plan was to gain experience and make some money. Whatever that meant for my past self.
Lesson: Choose wisely. Or wait to leave when sick, bored, fired, or burned out.
A plan or, better yet, a career intention would have made me move out and saved me a lot of pain. But like a frog in a pot, the water wasn’t boiling, it was slowly heating up. By the time I noticed the exit sign, the damage was already done.
If you liked these lessons, 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.
18 Mar 2026 #coding
Most people glorify AI for its speed.
AI spits out code faster than any of us, with just a few magic words. Beep, beep, boop. But coding has never been the bottleneck.
In corporate settings, where is most of the time spent? 99.99% of the time, it isn’t coding.
It’s
- Waiting for your product owner while they talk to a customer
- Waiting for DevOps to create a pipeline for your new project
- Waiting for the Finance department to approve a $5 USD/month purchase
- Waiting for a committee to decide what to do
- Waiting for a code review
AI speeds up code generation. Everything else is as slow as it has always been. And more code means more reviews, builds, approvals, and bugs. More paperwork.