A year of no writing/what has happened so far

Jesus christ a year has whizzed by so fast...I looked back and my first post on this blog was 2/2/2012...Man have things kind of changed/not really...where do I begin? Well firstly since I wrote my last article the first start up I've had has been thrown in the closet.

Lets start with the negatives:

 Apparently since I couldn't program it and my cousin "the CTO" was just starting to program he underestimated how hard it would be to create it...I still get about 5,000 mobile app users a month making me about 7 dollars a month, but that's not really anything. I'm not the master programmer I thought I would be by now, in fact I can't program at all...way for slacking off...I'm not close to rich and making less money then I was making in the first place from my mobile start up apps. (Around 65 dollars a month). I broke up with my ex-girlfriend due to the horrible work/life balance I have had before it made creating a healthy relationship harder. Plus being broke definitely didn't help since I quit my sales job at a music store. I have lost my mentor because his company is taking off and very successful I don't get coaching anymore losing him obviously makes things tougher. I haven't been blogging consistently...man whatever happened to that right? I am way not as far as I thought I'd be by now...At 22 I still live with my parents...thought I'd move out by now...I've decided that I have to be single until I'm at least 24 to put in the hours it takes to make this start up stuff work so I can get a grip on it, 10 hour days are no longer enough...I haven't landed any real deals, yet...I know soooo little its insane...I have figured out that you need to be a master of online marketing/sales/programming/team building and leadership to have a successful business and currently I am a master of none of the above.  I think a big question people should ask themselves whenever doing something is how do they stack up to the greats? I think the closer I am to saying I have Bill Gates' skill level at business the more successful I can be...and let me tell you right now to have Bill Gates level of skill looks like Mount Everest and I'm feeling like an ant.

Now we can comment on the positives:

Although I can't program I have learned how to utilize twitter bootstrap to the point where I can make my own websites now. I may not be able to program, but I can code and am definitely more technical then last year. I am learning Javascript from code academy currently since my cousin who has returned from Berkley is now on the team full time and I can learn more from him, he has turned into a pretty decent programmer. I know code academy is bad, but I'll get my hands dirty and then pick up a book on javascript later. I met a billionaire last year. He's one of the founders of Costco, I got to interview him face to face for 30 minutes even though I will probably never see him again. The conversation I had with this guy him has changed my life even though he forgot about me already (there where 3 other people my age in the room). I am actually close to coming up with a real business model. I have made good friendships and added a partner on my team who has my same business principles. This guy has made enough income to do start ups full time, which I consider a success. I feel comfortable with sales, I really don't give a fuck, if it needs to be done I'll do it. This is the attitude many say they have in start ups, but I can honestly say I feel I represent it quite well now. Even though I am barely surviving, I haven't quit yet and have learned a ton. I feel like I could literally lecture the old me for hours on end about business.  I paid off all my financial aid. Instead of moving out i've decided to stay with my parents and pay off all my debt. My networth is finally positive although I won't give a specific number lets say its below a couple thousand (still not good).

I am also in the best shape of my life right now health wise. I have never stopped working out and can bench press 230 while weighing 175...guess I'm running out of positives to be desperate enough to add that one huh? lol

Overall things are going ok for me. I'll keep you guys up to date on my progress/business thoughts. The biggest thing I can say for now is don't underestimate the necessity to be technical in a start up.

If you can program then you can actually 1) Keep sharpening your skills daily without heavily leaning on others 2) Offer contracting to pay the bills, while you think of your idea/modify your business 3) Not have to flail around on your start up idea like I did. 4) Become very hard to dispose of in the team (while you guys are starting out early 5) Let business guys do their things and learn from them, while all you do is build their idea and collect cash. 6) Become much more flexible in your product since you can change it faster to actually create something valuable easier

Most of all I have learned that at 22 I'm still a baby (although walking a tightrope I have a limited time until my goal comes trough) and with enough concentration and perseverance I think I can own my own software company and have the ability to retire by then. If things don't go well before I turn 24 then I will have to get a job and have failed my goal at retiring before the age of 25...now's the time that really counts.

Overall I'm still at it and doing well, hope you guys are too. I took a look at my blog post and I still agree with  a lot of my views, but as always feel free to disagree/comment.