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Hey, it’s Sarthak from Bitfumes! Welcome to the 8th Newsletter 🚀
A huge thanks for being here with us ✨
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Hi there 👋
As the year 2023 draws to a close, I want to take a moment out in the sun to cherish everything that this year has given me, along with all the lessons and challenges. And 3 cheers to you - for being here on this journey with me on Bitfumes 😁
If you missed the last newsletter, catch up on it here.
Before closing this year out, I want to share a few things - both the highs and the lows - that have brought me to where I am today.
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The Ones That Could Have Been
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I would not like to label these as regrets; rather, these are still on the list of goals, and these are what I would focus on improving for the coming year. We all have those lofty goals, don’t we? We are human, after all 😄
Not enough YouTube
Well, I suppose this is something of a sour-sweet cycle. The more videos I publish, the more I feel like learning, teaching, improving, etc. And this may be the reason why I feel that I did not publish as many videos as I actually hoped for.
But I will sort this beginning from 2024 - my pledge to you is that I will publish content on YouTube every week in this format -
- 2 long-form videos – tutorials, exploring new tools and technologies, building a project, etc.
- 1 short – that contains a very helpful drop of gyaan
- 1 live – to connect with my dear subcribers and engage with them in witty banter, laughter, and build cool stuff together!
How does that sound? 😎
Not enough learning
Again, this is one of those “busy life” things I guess! I previously used to spend 1 hour every day but ever since career and marriage took my priority, time is somehow flying away.
The more I have focused on creating value, I still feel like I did not spend just enough time for learning in-depth as well. 2024 is going to change that 🙌
Not enough books
As an avid reader with bookshelves all around the house - I have read only 2 books this year. Yes, 2. And I’m slightly regretful to say that I have only finished 1 book completely, while the other was just halfway done.
The 1st book - The Millionaire Fastlane by M. J. DeMarco - was captivating and I finished it in a sprint.
The 2nd book - Influence: Science and Practice by Robert Cialdini - is a thoroughly interesting book that hooks the readers; but I have not been able to finish it yet.
:::hljs-center Are you a reader? This is a chance for you to grab one of these books, or even let me know your favourite book and I would be happy to send the book as a gift to you - no questions asked!
DM me on Twitter or at sarthak[@]bitfumes[dot]com with your favourite author or book and you shall have it sent to your address 😎 :::
Not launching MezoHub
This is definitely the top real regret in my list.
I built MezoHub - a product to simplify your app deployments. I will share more details on this soon enough - but it has been ready for almost 7 months now and I have not officially “launched” it anywhere. I have a paying customer already but it has gone beyond that stage.
Yes, not a single promotion or shoutout about this. Life and work have kept me busy but I intend to change this in 2024. Expect some great news on this front soon. Meanwhile, go check it out and take it for a spin.
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The Small Wins
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What’s the fun in regretting things we did not do, when there are many little things to be grateful for as well 😃
Attended Laracon U.S!
This was one of THE BIGGEST wins I have had in my life, personally. I never imagined that I would set foot in the U.S, but it was a dream come true when I finally landed there for the biggest Laravel meetup in the world.
I got to meet and make new friends, catch up with the Twitter community, and meet Taylor Otwell (creator of Laravel).
And to think - I almost did not make it to the U.S because of long VISA wait times. But it finally arrived at the last possible moment and I hopped on the flight!
Travelled with my wife
This past year has been a wonderful mix of joy and adventure - something that married life makes all the more enjoyable 😁I have travelled to many new places - often unplanned - with my partner in happiness and crime 🤩
Gifted an iPhone to my mom
This is a satisfactory highlight of the wins :) Buying something cool for the ones who took care of us for so many years is something that gives a feeling of fulfilment like no other! Seeing their happy faces is definitely worth the journey!
Got an iPad
Now this is something funny - I cannot decide if it is a win or a regret!
While I remember wanting to buy an iPad for a long time, now that I have bought it, I honestly do not know what it can be used for. It is too small for a coding device, it is too large to be used like a phone, it is not pocket friendly - too bulky to be carried comfortably in my hands - and yet, it exists amongst my many laptops at home 😅
Made new friends
I got the chance to meet many new people this year - and I have made lasting friendships that I cherish - both personal and professional 💯
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What are your noteworthy moments?
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Each year brings us new things we never planned or accounted for. I hope you had your share of laughter and wins, and are ready to crush your new year goals soon 🔥
:::hljs-center If one of those goals is to become a rock solid Laravel developer - here is your rare chance to make that happen. My updated In-Depth Laravel course with over 30 hours of content, 200+ videos, and 3 high-level full-stack projects - is on the year-end discount. Grab it now with this code - NEWYEAR2024 for 25% flat off.
GRAB IT NOW
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What's cooking at Bitfumes
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Needless to say, I am here with Bitfumes to contribute to the developer community at large. And on that note - I have a surprise coming up!
It will be something new and very exclusive to the Indian community - and I'm waiting to begin it soon as 2024 arrives 😎 Stay tuned 👀
Meanwhile, some latest gems from YouTube -
:::hljs-center 👉 If you have been following my Docker journey, you know that I have dived deep into its many components in the last few weeks. In continuation of that, here is a video I made on Docker Scout - a solid way to find and fix vulnerabilities in your containers. Watch it here 👇
👉 Writing spaghetti code is almost a rite of passage with new developers. However, even experienced developers sometimes forget to refactor and write better code. Shortening the number of lines of code can make your codebase more readable. Watch how to do that here 👇
🎥 Refactoring JS Code :::
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Further Reading
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✅ Entering the world of development is one thing - but to keep the consistency strong as the journey continues is a bit of a challange. If you ever wanted to know what it takes to go from 0-1 and 1-100, here is a detailed read on becoming a 10x developer. Charge your 2024 developer journey with these powerful optimisations and workflows.
:::hljs-center 👉 Become a 10x developer 🚀 :::
✅ As I mentioned earlier, reading is one of the things that have slowed down in my busy schedule. However, 2024 will see more of me reading and absorbing knowledge - and it is not just for the sake of it. Reading can actually rewire your brain and create new neural pathways to enable more learning. Here is some more food for thought on the subject - :::hljs-center 👉 Why You Should Read :::
✅ And on that, as we close our last newsletter for the year, let us take a small journey into nostalgia 😇 Here is a wonderful post about how developer tools and IDEs have changed over years. 90s kids who grew up with programming will definitely relate!
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Show some love ❤️
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