Newsletter #001 - Welcome Aboard: The Journey Begins

What can you expect?

I will send a monthly email with news from the software development area. This will include a list of bookmarks deep-dive into tech topics, new tools I consider worth looking at, and reviews of books I read.

Book Challenge

During the last weeks, I took part in a book challenge:

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. There are no explanations, no reviews, just covers. ❤️📚

Scanning through my bookshelves floating in memory to feel the books I read was fun. Picking only 20 was a tough task, and not adding some notes to why I chose them even harder. That is why I will explain my choices. This time, I will start with books 1 to 5 - continuing in upcoming newsletters.

Book 1 - Der Weg zum erfolgreichem Unternehmer

This was the very first book I read after studying to learn something for my business next to my daily doing. Till that point in time, I read stuff because of a problem at hand.

The book is about an owner of a software development agency overwhelmed by its daily doing. He arrives too late for a meeting with his consultant and is confronted with a lot of questions, which guides him to learn the difference between working in your company vs. on your company.

I like the style of the book is written. It is not a classical technical book - it is written as a novel. This makes the character relatable and draws me into the story.

-> Amazon

Book 2 - Bounce: The myth of talent and the power of practice

The author, Matthew Syed, is a professional table tennis player. The examples in the book are sport-related and very often related to table tennis. A sport I love, and so the examples are very appealing to me.

Far more important is the message he gives. There is no such thing as "talent." You practice a lot till you master a craft. There is no shortcut. If very young kids are very good with something, they start training very young with a total focus on the topic. They are not gifted, talented, or gain somehow magically their skills - they start early and work hard for their success.

We should not forget this message when we start to learn something new. There will be a failure. Ideally, a lot of failures with short feedback cycles so we can adapt and learn. This is how growth works and how a growth mindset approaches non-comfort-zone tasks.

-> Amazon

Book 3 - Die Bullet-Journal Methode

This book I read recently. I was very reserved in the beginning. It sounds to me like another book promising a technique for more efficiency and getting things done better. After the introduction, my curiosity was piqued. The mix of (daily) journaling, to-do lists, collection of spontaneous thoughts, and the overall flexibility of the approach was exactly what I was looking for.

I immediately bought a hardcover journal at Thalia and started journaling. For nearly 3 months, the book is my faithful companion. This kind of content creation is becoming second nature.

-> Amazon

Book 4 - 4000 Wochen

The average person lives roughly 4000 weeks - that is how long a life is. This blunt statement got me stunned. Oliver Burkeman describes in various ways why serenity is more important than time management. His comments were an impetus to weigh up the reasons for or against something differently. I took a new perspective. What is important and what is unimportant has taken on a new level.

-> Amazon

Book 5 - Der Glukose Trick

As part of changing focus in my life, I started thinking about my eating habits. Less sugar was obvious, but how? And is there something more than just avoiding it? This book by Jessie Inchauspé gave me new insights about a healthy lifestyle.

It is important in which order I eat my meals. And why a salad is so important beforehand. That dessert is okay and good. This allowed me to build up a very healthy understanding of my dietary change and stick with it. It even does not feel like a dietary.

-> Amazon

Link recommendations

Domain-Driven-Design and Domain Storytelling

In Rodrigo Luque's article, we learn how Domain Storytelling goes hand in hand with Domain-Driven Design. The post is well structured and has good drawings that make his points clear. At the end, links are listed to dive deeper into the topic.

Kubernetes Administrator Exam

I've been thinking about getting a certificate in the areas of Serverless or Infrastructure as Code for a long time. On the one hand, I have the AWS Certified Solutions Architect in mind, and on the other hand, I have the Certified Kubernetes Administrator Exam. The article from Giorgi Keratishvili helps with decision-making by giving a good insight into the CKA exam.

How to deal with failure?

There is an article on LinkedIn about dealing with mistakes available in the "Lean Principle" group that you need to check out.

On the one hand, there is a chart with possible reactions to mistakes that makes you think - do I acknowledge a mistake and try to learn from it, or do I look for someone to blame? On the other hand, the article describes the importance of a good error culture. And how incredibly difficult it is to establish such a culture.

Server Side Stories

In case you missed the launch of my podcast, I recommend checking it out. Find some details here:

• Episode 1: how we built a blog from scratch within 2 weeks (spoiler - it is my YADL blog).
• Episode 2: what part takes AI in my content-creation workflow?

Thanks for being a reader of my newsletter.

Take care - Mark