

Obaidy when we just got married
The Unspoken Trade-Off: Freedom vs. Flexibility
As I reflect on my own journey, I've come to realize that being an employee and being an entrepreneur have two vastly different relationships with time. While many of us dream of breaking free from the 9-to-5 grind, the truth is that having a traditional job provides a unique kind of freedom – the freedom to truly enjoy our free time.
When you're an employee, you have a clear distinction between work and play. You clock out, leave the office, and can truly unplug. You have the luxury of knowing exactly how much time you have for yourself, your family, and your hobbies. You can plan your weekends, vacations, and evenings with ease, without the weight of responsibility for a business.
On the other hand, being your own boss can be a double-edged sword. While you may have the flexibility to set your own schedule, the reality is that your business is always on your mind. You're responsible for every aspect, from finances to marketing to customer service. You may find yourself working late nights, weekends, and even vacations, just to keep up. This isn't to say that being an entrepreneur can't be incredibly rewarding. It can be exhilarating to pursue your passion and build something from scratch. However, it's essential to be aware of the trade-offs. When you're your own boss, your work and personal life can become deeply intertwined, leaving little room for true relaxation and enjoyment.
So, the next time you're tempted to romanticize the entrepreneurial lifestyle, remember that freedom and flexibility are not always the same thing. Being an employee may not be as glamorous, but it can provide a unique kind of freedom – the freedom to truly enjoy your free time.
What are your thoughts on this topic? Do you prefer the structure of being an employee or the flexibility of being an entrepreneur? Share your experiences in the comments below!
The other day, I was deep into coding when I ran into a bug I just couldn’t find. I combed through the code for an hour, scanning line by line, testing different sections, and still—nothing. The issue remained hidden.
Normally, I let AI handle my routine coding, but this time, I was offline, so I had to do everything manually. When my internet connection finally came back, I asked my AI assistant to debug the code. Within seconds, it pointed out the problem: I had mistakenly used a comma (,
) instead of a colon (:
) on one line.
Just like that, an hour of frustration was reduced to a few seconds of AI-assisted debugging.
This experience reinforced an important lesson:
✅ Let AI handle routine coding tasks.
✅ Use AI for debugging—it catches what you might overlook.
AI isn’t perfect, but it’s a powerful tool that can save time, reduce frustration, and let you focus on the creative aspects of coding. Why not use it to your advantage?
As artificial intelligence rapidly advances, it’s becoming clear that some jobs are more susceptible to automation than others. If your work primarily involves thinking, deciding, talking, or helping others navigate challenges—such as advising or consulting—you might be standing on the front line of AI-driven disruption.
Why is this the case? At its core, AI excels at processing information, identifying patterns, and providing solutions—all tasks that are fundamental to jobs in decision-making and advisory roles. Whether it’s offering financial advice, consulting on business strategy, or even providing mental health support, AI tools are emerging that can perform these tasks with impressive efficiency.
For example, AI can analyze vast datasets to recommend financial strategies in seconds, simulate complex scenarios for decision-making, and even engage in natural conversations to address emotional concerns. While these tools aren’t perfect, they’re improving rapidly, often matching or surpassing human performance in specific areas.
Does this mean the end of these jobs? Not necessarily. While AI might take over repetitive or data-driven tasks, it still lacks emotional intelligence, empathy, and the nuanced understanding of human experiences. These are the qualities that make human advisors indispensable in many contexts. To stay ahead, professionals in these fields must adapt by emphasizing their uniquely human skills. Deepening emotional connections, understanding cultural subtleties, and fostering creativity are areas where AI struggles and where humans can thrive. The rise of AI isn’t a death sentence for advisory roles—it’s a wake-up call. By adapting, learning, and finding ways to complement AI rather than compete with it, we can remain relevant in a world where technology increasingly shapes the way we work. What do you think? Is your job at risk, or are you ready to evolve with the times? Let me know your thoughts.
There are several web frameworks written in C++ that are similar to Flask, Django, or Laravel in terms of providing tools and libraries to build web applications. While C++ is not as commonly used for web development as languages like Python, Ruby, or PHP, there are still some robust frameworks available. Here are a few notable ones:
While C++ web frameworks may not have the same level of popularity or ecosystem as those in Python or PHP, they offer excellent performance and are well-suited for applications where speed and efficiency are critical. Depending on your project requirements, you can choose a framework that best fits your needs, whether it's a full-stack solution like CppCMS or TreeFrog, or a lightweight option like Crow or Pistache.
The Sweetness of a Happy Childhood and How Financial Security Can Bring It Back in Adulthood
There’s something magical about a happy childhood. For many of us, those early years were filled with laughter, carefree days, and a sense of security that made the world feel like a safe and welcoming place. If you were lucky enough to grow up in a good family, chances are money wasn’t a constant worry. Your parents likely provided for your needs, and you were free to focus on being a kid—playing, exploring, and dreaming without a care in the world.
But what made that childhood so sweet? And can we, as adults, ever recapture that feeling? The answer lies in one key ingredient: financial security.
When you’re a child, you don’t think about money. You don’t worry about bills, rent, or how to put food on the table. Those responsibilities fall on your parents or guardians. If they’re financially stable, they can provide not just the basics—like a roof over your head and meals on the table—but also the extras that make childhood memorable: toys, vacations, birthday parties, and the freedom to pursue hobbies and interests.
Financial security in a family creates a stable environment. It removes the stress and anxiety that come with financial struggles, allowing children to thrive emotionally and mentally. When money is out of the equation, kids can focus on what really matters: building relationships, learning, and enjoying life.
As we grow older, life gets more complicated. Responsibilities pile up, and financial pressures often take center stage. Bills, debts, and the cost of living can weigh heavily on our minds, making it hard to feel the same carefree joy we experienced as children.
But here’s the good news: financial security in adulthood can bring back that sweetness.
When you have enough money to cover your needs and some of your wants, life becomes less about survival and more about living. Financial security gives you the freedom to:
- Pursue your passions: Whether it’s traveling, starting a business, or diving into a creative hobby, having financial stability allows you to focus on what brings you joy.
- Reduce stress: Just like in childhood, when money isn’t a constant worry, you can breathe easier and enjoy the present moment.
- Build meaningful relationships: Financial security gives you the time and resources to invest in your relationships, creating a support system that mirrors the love and stability of a good family.
- Plan for the future: Knowing you’re financially secure allows you to dream big and set goals, just like you did as a kid.
If financial security is the key to recapturing the sweetness of childhood, how do we get there? Here are a few steps to start:
1. Budget wisely: Track your income and expenses to ensure you’re living within your means.
2. Save and invest: Build an emergency fund and invest for the future to create a safety net.
3. Increase your income: Look for ways to grow your earnings, whether through a side hustle, career advancement, or passive income streams.
4. Live intentionally: Focus on what truly matters to you and avoid unnecessary spending that doesn’t align with your values.
A happy childhood is a gift, but it doesn’t have to be a one-time experience. By achieving financial security as an adult, you can recreate that sense of stability, freedom, and joy. It’s not about being rich—it’s about having enough to live comfortably and pursue what makes you happy.
So, if you’ve been feeling weighed down by the pressures of adulthood, remember: the sweetness of a carefree life isn’t just a childhood memory. With the right mindset and a solid financial plan, it can be your reality once again.
What steps are you taking to achieve financial security? Share your thoughts in the comments—I’d love to hear your story!
P.S. If you’re looking for more tips on building financial security, stay tuned for my next post where I’ll dive deeper into budgeting, saving, and investing!
Why AdSense is for Lazy Content Creators (and Why Affiliate Marketing is the Real Deal)
Let’s be honest: the internet is flooded with content. Blogs, videos, social media posts—everyone’s trying to make a buck online. And when it comes to monetization, two names dominate the conversation: Google AdSense and Affiliate Marketing. But here’s the truth: AdSense is for lazy content creators, while real hustlers go for affiliate marketing.
Now, before you grab your pitchforks, hear me out.
AdSense is the go-to for beginners, and for good reason. It’s simple. You slap some ads on your website, and boom—you’re making money. No partnerships, no negotiations, no deep dives into analytics. Just sit back, watch the traffic roll in, and hope the clicks add up.
But here’s the catch: AdSense rewards volume, not value. You need massive traffic to make any real money. And even then, the payout per click is often laughable. Unless you’re running a viral site with millions of visitors, AdSense is more of a pocket-change generator than a sustainable income stream.
Worse yet, AdSense encourages lazy content creation. Why? Because it doesn’t matter if your content is life-changing or low-effort fluff. As long as people click the ads, you get paid. This leads to a race to the bottom, where creators prioritize quantity over quality, churning out shallow posts just to game the algorithm.
Now, let’s talk about affiliate marketing. This is where the real content creators shine. Affiliate marketing isn’t about slapping ads on your site and hoping for the best. It’s about building trust, providing value, and strategically promoting products or services that align with your audience’s needs.
Here’s why affiliate marketing is the superior choice:
Higher Earnings Potential
With affiliate marketing, you’re not limited to pennies per click. You can earn commissions ranging from 5% to 50% (or more) on every sale you drive. If you’re promoting high-ticket items, a single sale could net you hundreds of dollars.
Quality Over Quantity
Affiliate marketing forces you to create content that actually helps your audience. You can’t just throw together a 300-word blog post and call it a day. You need in-depth reviews, tutorials, and guides that genuinely solve problems. This builds trust, which translates into higher conversions.
Long-Term Passive Income
Unlike AdSense, where your earnings stop the moment traffic drops, affiliate marketing can generate income long after you hit “publish.” A well-optimized affiliate post can continue driving sales for years, creating a steady stream of passive income.
Creative Freedom
With AdSense, you’re at the mercy of Google’s rules and algorithms. One wrong move, and your account could get banned. Affiliate marketing, on the other hand, gives you full control. You choose the products, the messaging, and the strategy.
AdSense is the easy route, but it’s also the lazy one. It rewards low-effort content and offers minimal returns for most creators. Affiliate marketing, on the other hand, is for those who are serious about building a sustainable online business. It requires more work, more strategy, and more creativity—but the rewards are infinitely greater.
So, if you’re serious about being a content creator, ditch the AdSense mindset and start thinking like an affiliate marketer. Build trust, provide value, and focus on creating content that truly serves your audience. That’s how you turn your passion into a paycheck.
What’s your take? Are you team AdSense or team Affiliate Marketing? Let’s discuss in the comments!
P.S. If you’re ready to dive into affiliate marketing but don’t know where to start, stay tuned for my next post where I’ll break down the step-by-step process to get started!
How I Finally Became Fluent in JavaScript (With GitHub Copilot as My Sensei)
For years, JavaScript and I had an… awkward relationship. You know that friend you occasionally run into at a party, exchange polite smiles with, but deep down, neither of you know how to keep the conversation going? That was me and JavaScript. I’d write a little here, tweak a bit there, but never fully committed to understanding its quirks.
Fast forward to these final years of development (don’t worry, I’m not retiring—yet), and guess what? JavaScript and I are on speaking terms now! The credit? GitHub Copilot.
At first, I wasn’t sure if Copilot was going to be a mentor or just a slightly smarter autocomplete. But oh boy, it turned out to be my sensei. It patiently walked me through JavaScript's weirdness—those callback pyramids, asynchronous antics, and occasional existential crises ("undefined is not a function" anyone?).
Here’s the thing: Copilot doesn't judge. It doesn’t roll its eyes when you Google "how to loop through an array in JavaScript" for the umpteenth time. Instead, it’s like that overachieving classmate who just whispers the right answers during a quiz.
Before Copilot, writing JavaScript felt like trying to build a house of cards in a wind tunnel. Now? It's still chaos, but at least I’ve got an AI partner holding the cards steady while whispering, “Try Array.map()
here; trust me.”
So here I am, officially declaring that JavaScript and I have buried the hatchet. It’s no longer the frenemy I side-eye during projects. It's become... a collaborator. And while I’d love to say I’ve mastered it all by myself, the truth is that Copilot deserves an honorary degree in mentoring lost developers like me.
To my fellow coders who’ve ever battled with JavaScript and come out the other side: I salute you. And for those still in the trenches? Get yourself a Copilot. You’ll still pull your hair out, but at least now you’ll do it with some guidance.
Who knew that in my final years of development, I'd find a friend in JavaScript? Okay, maybe "friend" is too strong. Let’s just say we’re on civil terms—and I owe it all to my AI mentor.
I recently stumbled upon a rather heartwarming (and slightly hilarious) sight just outside my home. A dog, in the middle of a ruined house near ours, decided it was time to become a mom. And what a mom! She gave birth to a handful of adorable puppies who, despite being blind for the first couple of months, managed to figure out how to survive. Yes, those tiny furballs have been living their best life for two months—without sight! If that doesn’t make you respect the resilience of puppies, I don’t know what will.
It got me thinking... a human child, on the other hand, takes two decades to truly learn how to live. And some... well, some never quite make it. I mean, sure, we have more complex emotions, a penchant for existential crises, and the need for more fancy things like education and healthcare—but two decades? It's almost like the puppies skipped the "getting lost in the store" phase and went straight to “I got this.”
By the time they're old enough to run around, they know where the food is, how to navigate the world with a certain "I’m the boss" attitude, and they’ve probably developed a level of street smarts that most grown humans wish they had. Meanwhile, humans are still working on finding their keys. And don’t even get me started on trying to find meaning in life.
So, here’s my lesson for the day: maybe we should all take a page from the puppies' book. It’s okay if life is a bit of a mess at first. They were blind for the first couple of months, and yet, they learned what they needed to survive and thrive. Maybe we, too, need a little more blind optimism and a bit less overthinking.
As for me, I’ll be out there with my “I got this” puppy mentality. And if I get lost? Well, at least I’ll look cute doing it.
When we think of a song, the first person that comes to mind is the lead singer. Their voice carries the melody, their face is on the album cover, and their performance takes center stage. But behind every great song lies a team of unsung heroes—lyricists, composers, sound engineers, producers, instrumentalists, and countless others—each playing a vital role in creating the magic we enjoy.
The world of software development is surprisingly similar. At first glance, the frontend developer seems like the "lead singer" of a digital project. After all, they create the visual interface that users see and interact with. It’s their work that gets the applause when a website or app feels sleek and intuitive.
But, just as with music, the frontend is only one part of a much larger ensemble. Behind the scenes, backend developers design and maintain the systems that power everything, database administrators ensure that data flows seamlessly, designers craft the aesthetic vision, QA testers meticulously hunt for bugs, and project managers hold it all together. Every line of code, every design tweak, every test scenario—these are the hidden layers that allow the frontend to shine.
Yet, in the eyes of many, it’s the "lead singer" of development—the frontend—that receives the bulk of the credit. This isn’t to diminish the frontend developer’s role; their work is vital and challenging. But it’s worth taking a moment to appreciate the unseen contributions that make the magic possible.
So, whether you're marveling at a beautifully crafted website or tapping your foot to your favorite song, remember the team behind the scenes. The spotlight might miss them, but their work is the foundation of everything you admire.
As someone who’s spent years in development, I’ve seen this dynamic play out time and again. It’s a reminder to celebrate collaboration, share credit, and never forget the power of teamwork. Because whether it’s in music or code, the magic happens when we all play our part.