The Weekly Startup #4

Welkom to your weekly dose of content. We did the hard work for you and made a selection of the content that's actually worth your time. That is if you still want to level up your hustle game and start living life on your own terms.

In today's email:

• 10 Free Courses on Coding (Basically your 150K computer science program but free)

• How to get unstuck. Advice I gave a talented artist who became a slave of his own bad habits.

• A short insight on slow transitions. No need to rush into things.

• Pretty much all the skills you want to learn for FREE. (A website with free courses)

• An inspiring story on finding opportunities. (And capitalising on them)

• 3 ways you can help me (that cost you nothing and which I would appreciate a lot)

10 free YouTube courses on coding

Learning any of the these languages will instantly give you +$50k of professional value. If you're looking to land a job in the future this is where you start. My challenge to you: spend 10 minutes a day on any one of these videos What I’ll cover: • Javascript • HTML 5 • React • Python • Solidity • Full Stack • SQL • Rust • Swift • Unity

(My website is pretty slow, give it some time to load. I'm working on its speed.)

How Prioritising The Wrong Things Enslaves Us

And how to turn the mental switch to free yourself.

From time to time I share my unsolicited opinion with people.

During one of these encounters, I felt the urge to address the mindset of a young creative I know.

He is very talented, but keeps falling into the ‘quick money trap’.

The quick money trap is looking for the fastest way to make money. It’s how you get scammed. And if you’re not getting scammed, you’re most likely into something unethical. Or something you’re not passionate about.

Although the last part doesn’t seem important at first. It’s what makes it harder to keep your A-game going in the long run.

I had some side hustles that thought me this. They worked, but I found it very hard to motivate myself to put in the effort.

The solution has all to do with asking yourself the right questions.

Embrace slow transitions.

We tend to romanticise “big jumps”, where we quickly move from one clear status to another one. Survivorship bias leads to the celebration of heroic figures who made such big jumps and were successful. Big jumps make it easier to answer the question: “So, what do you do?”. But spending more time in the uncertain in-between leaves more room for experimentation, so we can figure out what works and what doesn’t.

Instead of quitting your job to start a business, work on a few side projects. Instead of packing your things to move across the country, visit a few places and keep a travel log. Take your time to gather insights contributing to an informed decision, and only complete the transition when you feel ready.

More courses - Pretty much anything you want to learn.

Coursera.org is my go-to website if I want to learn something new. You can find a lot from financial management, accounting, to marketing. Enjoy.

On finding opportunities

This is a very good thread:

• Business Insight: Robert realized that there were really long lines for specific items in NYC, including the famous Cronuts (a big fad from ~10 years ago). He figured that not everyone would want to stand in those lines to get the products, especially not people with a lot of money.

• Bias for Action: Rather than just thinking about it, Robert started charging $25 per hour for him to stand in line for people. He would text them when he was at the front of the line and they would come get the item.

• Expansion: He saw an opportunity to expand beyond the initial products he was in line waiting for. He grew to new Apple launches, limited edition sneaker releases, and more. He grew the team, marketed by writing in chalk next to long lines, and saw a bunch of growth.

I find stories like this quite inspiring. There's no shortage of opportunity out there—just a shortage of people willing to capitalize on it.

Be like Robert!

Help me. (If you like this mailing)

First of all, thanks a lot for reading. It motivates me to create and find more content going forward.

I want this information to be free for everyone. The world will only be a better place if chances are distributed more evenly. Inequality is already growing too fast. It's up to us to tighten the gap.

You can help me grow this educational platform I'm building in 3 easy ways (that cost you nothing).

1. Share this newsletter with friends who could benefit.

2. Subscribe to my YouTube channel: (This way I can earn some ad money in the future)

3. Follow me on Medium (I need 100 followers to get paid by Medium for my writing)

Thank you!

You made it to the end. I hoped you liked the insights provided in this mailing. This email is brought to you by Startup Library, a brand of The Growing Investor. I intend to shift my cheezy quote game on Instagram to a more serious game where I share with you the resources I use to keep myself updated and motivated. If you got any suggestions feel free to reply to this mail or send me a DM on Instagram. If you found value for a friend I would appreciate it if you'd share this mail with them and have them sign up as well.

Thanks again and I'll see you next week with new resources to shake your professional world.