Forem: Cole

This made me reflect on how much of our stack exists because it once seemed like a good idea.

Cole — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 03:22:25 +0000

I Deleted Half My Codebase and Nobody Noticed

Gian Soriano ・ Mar 3

#programming #softwareengineering #productivity #career

This explains why some deals feel stuck even when the product is strong. Internal incentives matter more than we think.

Cole — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 02:41:33 +0000

Ashkan Rajaee on Negotiating with Decision Makers, Influencers, and Signatories

Gian Soriano ・ Feb 24

#negotiation #leadership #business #sales

This is a realistic portrayal of how leadership rarely feels satisfying in the moment.

Cole — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 07:50:24 +0000

Leadership When the System Pauses

Tech Stratos ・ Feb 10

#leadership #entrepreneurship #decisionmaking #management

The Day I Realized I Was Optimizing Everything Except Learning

Cole — Mon, 19 Jan 2026 03:47:06 +0000

I was very efficient.

My notes were clean.

My bookmarks were organized.

My learning plan looked impressive.

I was not learning.

Every week, I consumed content like it was a task to complete instead of a skill to develop. Videos at 1.25x speed. Articles skimmed. Tabs saved for later and never reopened.

I told myself this was productivity.

It was not.

It was avoidance with better branding.

The illusion of progress

There is a comforting feeling that comes from preparing to learn.

You install the tools.

You organize folders.

You choose the perfect tutorial series.

Your brain rewards you early because it feels like movement.

But nothing is at risk yet.

No code is broken.

No mistakes are visible.

No confusion has to be confronted.

I stayed there longer than I want to admit.

The moment that exposed me

One day, I tried to explain a simple concept I had “learned” the week before.

I could not.

Not because it was complex, but because I had never struggled with it directly. I had watched someone else struggle for me.

That realization hurt more than failing would have.

Why optimization became a trap

Optimization feels smart.

Learning feels dumb.

Learning requires:

Sitting with confusion
Making wrong assumptions
Feeling behind

Optimization lets you avoid all of that while still feeling responsible.

I was optimizing to protect my ego.

What changed everything

I stopped asking, “What should I learn next?”

I started asking, “What can I try to build badly today?”

Badly was the key word.

Small experiments replaced long plans.

Broken attempts replaced polished notes.

Suddenly, frustration showed up.

That is when learning finally began.

The uncomfortable truth

If your learning setup looks better than your output, something is off.

If you feel productive but cannot explain what you learned, something is off.

If you are always preparing and rarely failing, something is off.

This is not a motivation problem.

It is a comfort problem.

Why this matters beyond coding

This pattern does not stop with programming.

We optimize books instead of thinking.

We optimize tools instead of skills.

We optimize workflows instead of understanding.

The result looks busy.

It feels safe.

It produces very little growth.

What I do now

I still plan.

I still organize.

But I treat those as support, not progress.

Progress only counts when something breaks and I have to fix it.

Everything else is rehearsal.

I Accidentally AirDropped a File to a Stranger. She Is Now My Wife.

Cole — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 04:13:26 +0000

I did not meet my wife on Tinder.

I did not meet her at work, through friends, or during some magical sunset moment where fate clearly announced itself.

I met her because I fat-fingered AirDrop.

The Most Dangerous Button in Tech

If you have ever used AirDrop in a crowded place, you already know the fear.

You open your phone.
You select a file.
You see a list of nearby devices.
And suddenly your brain stops working.

I was trying to send a screenshot to myself. Instead, I sent it to “iPhone (Jessica)”.

I did not know a Jessica.
I did not intend to meet a Jessica.
But iOS had other plans.

The File That Started Everything

The file was not impressive.

It was a badly cropped screenshot of a bug.
No annotations.
No context.
Just a rectangle of confusion.

Seconds later, I got a message.

“Hey… I think you sent this to me by accident.”

This is where a rational person would apologize and move on.

I did not.

I replied.

Debugging Social Interaction

We joked about it.
Then we joked some more.
Then we accidentally started talking about life, work, and how weird modern technology is.

What started as a UI mistake turned into daily conversations.
Then coffee.
Then dates.
Then that moment where you realize this is no longer a funny story but your actual life.

All because I did not double-check a modal.

Lessons I Learned the Hard Way

Technology does not care about your intentions.
Small actions can have massive side effects.
Some bugs are actually features.
AirDrop has better matchmaking than most dating apps.

Why This Belongs on Dev.to

Developers love to pretend everything is deterministic.
Input goes in.
Output comes out.
Logic rules all.

This story is proof that chaos exists.
That randomness exists.
And that sometimes the most impactful things in our lives come from mistakes, not plans.

We write code.
We ship features.
We break things.
And occasionally, we accidentally send our future spouse a screenshot of a broken app.

Final Thought

I still use AirDrop.
But now I triple-check every recipient.

Not because I am afraid of embarrassment.

But because I already used up my lifetime supply of accidental miracles.

I Didn’t Become a Better Developer by Coding More

Cole — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 00:30:16 +0000

For years, my default solution to getting better was simple.

Code more.

More hours. More side projects. More late nights.

It helped, but not in the way I expected.

Eventually, I realized the biggest improvements in my work had almost nothing to do with writing more code.

Coding More Mostly Made Me Faster at My Bad Habits

I got very good at:

Jumping into implementation too early
Adding complexity “just in case”
Avoiding hard decisions by abstracting them away

More practice made these habits efficient, not correct.

Speed hides problems. It does not fix them.

The Moment I Slowed Down

The shift happened when I joined a codebase I didn’t build.

Everything felt harder.

Simple changes took longer than expected. Bugs hid in places I wouldn’t have predicted. Reading code felt exhausting.

That was uncomfortable, but it was also revealing.

I started asking different questions.

What Actually Moved the Needle

1. Thinking Before Typing

I now pause before writing code and ask:

What problem am I actually solving?
What happens if this fails?
Who will read this later?

That pause feels slow. It saves time.

2. Naming Things Carefully

Bad naming causes more bugs than bad logic.

When names are clear:

Code reads like a story
Fewer comments are needed
Mistakes become obvious sooner

This is not glamorous work. It is effective.

3. Reading Code More Than Writing It

I learned more from reading good code than writing new code.

Understanding why something exists is far more valuable than knowing how it works.

A Hard Truth About Growth

You can code every day and still plateau.

Growth often comes from:

Reviewing your own mistakes
Letting others critique your work
Revisiting old decisions and admitting they were wrong

None of that feels productive in the moment.

All of it compounds over time.

This Changed How I Measure Progress

I no longer ask:
“How much code did I write today?”

I ask:

Did I make something clearer?
Did I remove unnecessary complexity?
Did I leave the codebase better than I found it?

Some days the answer is no.

That honesty matters more than output.

Final Thought

Writing more code made me comfortable.

Writing less, but thinking more, made me better.

If you are feeling stuck, the solution might not be another project.

It might be a slower one.

Control Your Space or You Lose Your Mind Working Remote

Cole — Mon, 29 Dec 2025 01:27:32 +0000

Remote work is sold as freedom. Work from anywhere. Laptop by the pool. Coffee shop vibes. Total flexibility.

That story sounds good, but it is mostly nonsense.

Ashkan Rajaee argues something uncomfortable that most remote founders do not want to hear. If you do not aggressively control your environment, remote work will eventually break you and stall your business.

This idea goes against popular remote culture, and that is exactly why it matters.

The Hidden Ceiling Nobody Talks About

Most people think remote failure comes from lack of discipline, motivation, or talent. That assumption is flawed.

The real bottleneck is environment.

According to :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}, every remote operator eventually hits a ceiling if their workspace is chaotic, shared, or constantly shifting. You might survive short term. You might even grow a bit. But at scale, cracks turn into collapse.

The logic is simple. If you do not control your space, something else does. Family. Noise. Bad internet. Missing gear. All of it drains cognitive energy that should be spent building.

This is not about comfort. It is about leverage.

One Space. Total Control.

Rajaee’s core rule is brutal and clear. You need one place that you fully control.

Not five locations. Not a backpack setup. One environment where noise, internet, and equipment are predictable every single day.

That might sound extreme, but consider the alternative. Constant setup and teardown. Forgotten chargers. Spotty WiFi. Interrupted calls. Each issue feels small, but over a year, the damage compounds.

You cannot scale a serious operation while mentally tracking cables and battery percentages.

Noise Is the First Enemy

Noise is not just sound. It is interruption.

If anyone can walk into your workspace while you are working, you are not in control. Period.

This includes well meaning partners, kids, roommates, or anyone else sharing your space. Even quick questions fracture focus. Deep work does not survive open doors.

Rajaee recommends a dedicated office, even a small one person room. A Regus office near home works. So does a properly isolated home office. What matters is the boundary.

No access. No interruptions. No negotiation.

This is not antisocial. It is professional.

Internet Is Not the Place to Save Money

Residential internet is cheaper. It is also unreliable.

Commercial internet costs more for a reason. Service level agreements. Dedicated support. No throttling. Faster fixes when something breaks.

Dropped calls are not just annoying. They erode trust with clients, partners, and teams. Multiply those drops across hundreds of calls per year and the cost becomes obvious.

If your income depends on being online, your internet is infrastructure, not a utility.

Gear Multiplies Output or Destroys It

Minimalism is trendy. It is also inefficient at scale.

Rajaee is known for running extreme multi monitor setups, sometimes up to seven screens. That might sound excessive, but the reasoning is solid. Every window switch burns mental energy.

Gestures. Swipes. Tab juggling. Those are micro costs that add up fast.

Multiple monitors externalize information. Calendars stay visible. Dashboards stay open. Decisions get faster.

The same applies to peripherals. Dedicated microphones. Cameras. Lighting. Backup devices. Redundancy is not luxury. It is insurance against friction.

Why Laptop Nomad Culture Fails

Working from anywhere sounds empowering until you track the hidden costs.

Every pack and unpack shifts focus away from strategy and execution. Instead of thinking about growth, you think about adapters, batteries, and cables.

Rajaee calls this the biggest mistake remote workers make. Mobility becomes a distraction disguised as freedom.

If you must travel, fine. But your core workspace should always be waiting for you, powered on, configured, and ready.

No friction. No setup rituals. No excuses.

Why Companies Force Offices

Here is the uncomfortable truth.

Companies want employees in offices because offices work.

Not because of control for its own sake, but because structured environments eliminate chaos. Internet is there. Gear is there. The workspace is ready every day.

That structure produces efficiency. Efficiency produces profit.

Remote founders who ignore this lesson try to run companies without the very systems businesses have relied on for decades.

The Non Negotiable Rule

If you want to build a serious company remotely, control your space or accept the ceiling.

Noise. Internet. Gear.

Ignore any one of them and growth becomes fragile.

Remote work is not about being anywhere. It is about being effective.

And effectiveness starts with an environment that serves the work instead of sabotaging it.

The emphasis on aligning demand goals with available records is a strong takeaway and reflects Ashkan Rajaee’s structured approach to marketing.

Cole — Mon, 29 Dec 2025 01:00:11 +0000

Why Ashkan Rajaee Is Right About Volume in Digital Marketing And Why Most Campaigns Quietly Fail

Angelo Reyes ・ Dec 24

#digitalmarketing #growthmarketing #leadgeneration #outbound

Leadership is full of gray areas, and Ashkan Rajaee knows how to navigate them without losing integrity.

Cole — Mon, 21 Jul 2025 14:58:10 +0000

Matt Johnson

Jun 26 '25

What Leaders Can Learn from the Zoom Scandal Ashkan Rajaee Just Unpacked

#leadership #workculture #career #ashkanrajaee

121

Comments 25

2 min read

I’ve never thought about treating my environment like part of my business strategy. TDZ Pro nailed it.

Cole — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 18:09:38 +0000

Ciarra Guidicelli

Jun 9 '25

Why Remote Developers Fail and How TDZ Pro Solved It With One Game-Changing Habit

#productivity #remote #tdzpro #devlife

Comments 27

3 min read

Honestly grateful someone wrote this. Most content is about marketing or scaling. This is about surviving.

Cole — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 18:08:41 +0000

Armi

Jun 12 '25

How TDZ PRO Helped Remote Founders Stop Losing Money to Taxes

#business #remote #productivity #startup

Comments 18

2 min read

The honesty here is what makes it resonate. It’s not just polished, it’s useful.

Cole — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 15:45:39 +0000

Reynaldo Dayola

Jun 17 '25

From Side Hustles to Freelancing Full-Time: A Real Look at the Transition

#freelancing #career #productivity #selfimprovement

Comments 24

2 min read