Buried toward the end of the essay is a suggestion to become a better writer. Wondering if anyone has learned to become a better writer, and if so, what was your approach?

Writing.

There is no shortcut.

Just like working out improves your range of movement and manipulating your own body and weights in space, writing does the same with ideas and expression.

Simply writing more will get you 99% of the way there.

And the final 1% comes from re-reading yourself.

Editing.

How difficult was it to become a programmer with TopTal? How do you like working through them?

You have 4-5 step process. I do not know if top 3% that they boast on the website is correct and I do not care, I just care that I love working with them and that it pays more than the jobs from my city can pay, with added benefit of working from wherever you want. It was not 'that' hard if you are versed in the algorithms. Steps are like this :

1. Screening process (testing for good English)

2. Codility test (algorithms, 3-4 tasks in 90mins or such)

3. Same as codility but easier, coding while you share the screen with Toptal dev. And he will ask you some questions regarding your experience, and why did you do something. Tasks were easier than codility tasks.

4. You get the project to do. The project will be relevant to your experience. So if you are mobile dev you will probably get a task to make some basic mobile app with maybe firebase as a backend DB. I got some basic app to make as restful API and angular as a client. Its purpose is to demonstrate that you know the basic stuff like what REST is, testing, project structure, roles, security, etc..

5. The last step is to share the screen with Toptal dev and to go through your project explaining to him what you did and why (trying to explain like you would to a client)

From my experience, I would say if you pass algorithm tasks, you will make the project for sure (you get 2 weeks for it). If you fail they will give you a second chance to reapply very soon (at 2-3 month tops, depends on where and how miserably you failed). If you failed for the second time, you must wait 2-3 years. Good luck!

Curious if you could talk about the transition from FT to consulting? Specifically how you prepared and when you knew you had enough clients lined up to leave? Thanks!

I got laid off when the company that acquired the startup I worked for, plus two or three others in the same space at the same time, tried to make us the "cloud services" group for the others (laying off our product group to "refocus us"). We were like "...we don't want to do this", so we basically all got laid off with nice severances, I screwed around for a month or so, and I ended up doing some work for a very large startup where my friend was the Director of Engineering. Been doing it ever since.

This is so cool. Wish we saw more stuff like this on HN. Also liked the other projects you have listed on your site.

I think it's fair to say that this is 95% of people's first reaction to hearing about MMM or similar bloggers.

Here's something you can take away from MMM even if you don't agree with everything he says.

Based on your post, these are the things that are important to you (or at least a start):

- Newer car - owning a house over 300 sq. ft. - Traveling to Arizona to visit relatives.

Maybe there are a dozen or so other things that are important to you that you could add to that list.

Now open up your bank account and find out how much spending happens on stuff that isn't important to you. 50%? 80%?

If you can dial down the spending that doesn't make you happy or the spending you do that just out of habit then you would be able to do more that does matter to you... nicer house, nicer car, more frequent and longer trips to AZ.

I just wanted to mention that MMM sometimes rubs me the wrong way too. A more analytical approach that I found more thorough and more intriguing is at "Extreme Early Retirement" here:

http://earlyretirementextreme.com/

His book is especially interesting.

Granted, the author of this book is quirky and ends up doing a lot of work that you could hire someone to do for $10 an hour. But the author stressed that- at least for him- he'd rather spend his team mending clothes or fixing his bike that being in academia (his prior career).

I totally agree with this. 2x per week I play a game of soccer after work and then grab dinner with friends. By the time I get home around 9pm I could easily do another stretch of work.

On the days when I don't switch gears, there would be no way I could do focused work for more than an hour or two.

Honestly, if I ever really wanted to do a computer-based startup, I would leave my 9-5 job and do landscaping or something physical during the day. I don't think it's realistic to ask your body to be in front of a computer for 12 hours a day.

+1, in the past where I worked in hospitality, 4 days on 4 off, I could happily spent 3/4 days off building websites.

For the last 2 or 3 years working in agencies, you need a lot of extra willpower to get back on the computer after work.

I work best late at night and early in the morning so just try and fit my side projects in around that time, when I'm most productive.

Awesome article.

You can research this a bit more by googling for 'white labelling' and see what kinds of issues you may come across. I think if you have a good contract in place and work out who is going to be doing the customer service, you might be able to figure something out that works for both of you.

This is one of those instances where it isn't a zero-sum game, and you and the reseller can both benefit.

"The only way to keep up is to simply get ‘er done." Agrrrrrreed.