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Well, I don't want to sound too ancient, but I learned how to program on 8-bit machines, as a kid, in the 80's. Commodore, Apple's, IBM Pc's (all pre-MS Windows

Well, I don't want to sound too ancient, but I learned how to program on 8-bit machines, as a kid, in the 80's. Commodore, Apple's, IBM Pc's (all pre-MS Windows). We (my friend and I) did everything in Basic. We had our first programming job at 14 & 13. And that was building mailing list apps for people (this was superseded by the database). My main driving force has always been get 'enough' knowledge and dive in. I still do that today and now there are a gazillion more resources on the web to help. I grew up in the model-T days of computers. Today if I was to advise someone on building a desktop or server app, I would probably say do it in Ruby or Python. And of those two, probably Ruby - it's just a little easier to get into. iOS and Android are definitely huge, but I would probably suggest to someone to learn Swift and go for iOS if they wanna go the mobile route. iOS pays more and Swift is enough like Javascript to where you could transition a little easier than Java. Nothing wrong with Java, of course, but it's way bigger - like you getting dropped in a jungle and trying to find a way out. However. I am a late comer to seo and _making money on the web_ via 'passive income'. My biggest recommendation to a kid might be to not program at all, but learn how to setup content sites and go for affiliate marketing, google adwords, etc. This is the complete opposite of coding for a living. Why would I recommend this?! Because you can make money this way while you sleep (see Tim Ferris & 4 hour work week). If you code for a living and trade time for money, you will never be able to do this. I've read many books from rich people and they say this is the worst form of earning you can do because you can never get time back, so time is the most valuable thing you have. I feel like I've done a lot of models on the web - startup, my own products, code for cash, code for equity - and the one I feel strongest about is the passive income approach. It's not guaranteed, but if you can make it work, you'll be way ahead of the guy - in terms of making money - that trades his time for programming. Check out http://www.smartpassiveincome.com http://www.smartpassiveincome.com and prepare to depressed and happy.

thekevan 12y ago
I didn't find anything of value at that passive income site you recommended, specifically because I have no interest in writing and selling an e-book. That and the techniques there seem a little sketchy. It seems filled with claims like, "Learn my business model!" "Learn how to make passive income work for you" but then when you click on those links, each one was something along the lines of, "give me your email address to receive my ebook which will teach you that" or "listen to my podcast (complete with ads) to learn that" or "watch my YouTube video (with ads) to learn that." He claims he just wants to teach people and his business process is transparent, the "education" is actually the business process and people may not realize they are being led down the very path he is teaching people to lead others down. Just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
- equalarrow 12y ago
  That's fine, to each his own. But I would say Pat's site and model are much more than what you say they are at face value. Sure, there is that 'learn the business model' message - but then again, almost all marketing sites you go to have something similar to say and if you can look past the up front message, a lot of time you can find value and expand your horizons. The podcasts are really good. I don't think they describe anything shady or (if I recall correctly) have a bunch of ads - in fact, I don't think they have any ads at all. I don't feel like anything he says is shady. Just look at his income reports to see exactly where his money is coming in. He's pretty transparent and up front about anything. I bet you if you emailed him directly with your concerns, he'd answer you back. In regards to writing or selling an ebook, yup, not for everyone. But one of the reasons an ebook is so big on his list is because that was his first big win and he pulled in a lot of money monthly by sharing his LEED experience and helped a lot of people pass their exams. Ebooks might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I'd love to have one out there that brings me in a couple of grand every month. Now, if you feel like coding is what you want to do and marketing or passive income is shady or bs, that's fine. I used to think like that too and to each his own. But for me, I feel like I've done it all and it's time to try other things. I'm at a point now where I can charge a lot to do contract work, but I'd rather have my money work for me so I can do other things. Like I said before, time is your most precious resource and you can never make it up or get it back. And since there's only so many waking hours in the day, it just seems silly to spend them trading my time for money when I can make things that can keep the money rolling in at all times. And then I can code for fun or to scratch an itch whenever I want.
  - thekevan 12y ago
    "marketing or passive income is shady or bs" Not at all. I just think he seems a little disingenuous. I don't like the subtle bait and switch.

thekevan 12y ago

I didn't find anything of value at that passive income site you recommended, specifically because I have no interest in writing and selling an e-book. That and the techniques there seem a little sketchy. It seems filled with claims like, "Learn my business model!" "Learn how to make passive income work for you" but then when you click on those links, each one was something along the lines of, "give me your email address to receive my ebook which will teach you that" or "listen to my podcast (complete with ads) to learn that" or "watch my YouTube video (with ads) to learn that." He claims he just wants to teach people and his business process is transparent, the "education" is actually the business process and people may not realize they are being led down the very path he is teaching people to lead others down. Just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

equalarrow 12y ago
That's fine, to each his own. But I would say Pat's site and model are much more than what you say they are at face value. Sure, there is that 'learn the business model' message - but then again, almost all marketing sites you go to have something similar to say and if you can look past the up front message, a lot of time you can find value and expand your horizons. The podcasts are really good. I don't think they describe anything shady or (if I recall correctly) have a bunch of ads - in fact, I don't think they have any ads at all. I don't feel like anything he says is shady. Just look at his income reports to see exactly where his money is coming in. He's pretty transparent and up front about anything. I bet you if you emailed him directly with your concerns, he'd answer you back. In regards to writing or selling an ebook, yup, not for everyone. But one of the reasons an ebook is so big on his list is because that was his first big win and he pulled in a lot of money monthly by sharing his LEED experience and helped a lot of people pass their exams. Ebooks might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I'd love to have one out there that brings me in a couple of grand every month. Now, if you feel like coding is what you want to do and marketing or passive income is shady or bs, that's fine. I used to think like that too and to each his own. But for me, I feel like I've done it all and it's time to try other things. I'm at a point now where I can charge a lot to do contract work, but I'd rather have my money work for me so I can do other things. Like I said before, time is your most precious resource and you can never make it up or get it back. And since there's only so many waking hours in the day, it just seems silly to spend them trading my time for money when I can make things that can keep the money rolling in at all times. And then I can code for fun or to scratch an itch whenever I want.
- thekevan 12y ago
  "marketing or passive income is shady or bs" Not at all. I just think he seems a little disingenuous. I don't like the subtle bait and switch.