January 8th, 2021
I got an email from a reader a few months ago. They had just quit their job and were about to start a coding bootcamp to learn to code.

I also did a coding bootcamp, years ago, and it is what set me off in this journey. 

I wished him good luck, and asked him to keep me updated.

A couple weeks later, he told me this:

As for the coding bootcamp, they kicked me out after I failed a test by one point on the theory of coding and took the 800euros admission fee I paid. I really liked that week of coding, so I am now pursuing that journey by myself.

When I saw this, my heart dropped. 

I remember how stressful those tests were. I almost failed them, too. I always wondered what I would have done if I got kicked out. Would I have given up? Gone back to corporate?

But then, he said this:

It will be more difficult and take more time, but I am determined to become a developer, get a dev job, and let my side business become my main business.

When I read this, I knew he would be successful.

It is this kind of determination that makes for a successful entrepreneur: Thriving with their back against the wall. Always finding a solution. Optimistic. Never backing down. And never taking no for an answer.

I just got an update from him today:

One final update since I got released from the bootcamp. I started my job search on the first of December and after approximately 180 applications and a handful of meetings, I received my contract last week Friday. Will be starting as a frontend developer on the fourth of January in the new year.
 
In that first week in October I also read Can’t hurt me by David Goggins and have been running more than 100km every month, since I see it more as a mental exercise than a physical one.
 
Nobody can hurt me or stop me! I am happy but also aware that this is just the first step in a new journey.