Book 11: Highest highs, lowest lows ($50,000/month, year 7)
Author: Alex West
Date: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Not Business Advice

How I made a million from my personal projects

Book 11:Highest highs, lowest lows

($50,000/month, year 7)

Table of contents

Introduction

Part 1: Making my first million

1. Making my first dollar

2. Celebrating the little things

3. Calculator

4. Reaching the summit

5. Short term happiness vs long term fulfillment

6. Hotels, backpacks and hangovers

Part 2: Maps and compasses

1. Helping an old friend

2. The days after the launch

3. Consulting calls

4. Maps

5. Compasses

6. Navigating

Part 3: Highest highs and lowest lows

1. Everyone has their own Odyssey

2. Same lives, different times

3. You have to mythologize yourself

4. Ugly scar

5. Little crab

6. Comedies and tragedies

7. Younger brother

8. Edo Japan

9. Imaginary kids

10. Broken dreams

Appendix

1. What's next

2. Time travel

Introduction

That's it. It's done. I just made my first million.

To be honest, I don't even know what to say. Or how to feel.

Sometimes I wonder what would happen if I went back in time and sat next to myself while building my first projects.

Tell myself that everything will come true.

That it will way longer than I think. That it will always be hard. And that I will always feel lost.

That nothing will go according to plan. And yet, everything will.

I think I would break down crying.

Part 1: Making my first million

Ok. It's June 1st.

I'm back in my hometown, visiting my family for the week.

I woke up extra early today. I've been looking forward to this.

I have Gumroad, PayPal, all my bank accounts and all of my Stripe accounts open. Typing numbers into the calculator app.

Every single dollar I've made since I started this journey.

I think today is the day.

Making my first dollar

Let's rewind the tape and travel back in time.

It's June 1st, 2018.

I'm in exactly the same spot. In my hometown. And I recently launched the premium version of GitGardener for $5/month.

I was so excited I even told my father about it. I usually never tell my family or anyone else what I'm up to.

"Remember that product I told you I have hundreds of free users for? Well now I've added a $5/month plan, so let's see what happens!
"

My father's reply killed me.

"Alex.. have you thought of finding a job?"

I go to my room because I have a weird feeling in my stomach. I want to check my Stripe dashboard again.

I open the dashboard and find my 2 first customers for $5/month each.

"I knew it.. destiny.."

Celebrating the little things

Every year, on June 1st, I remember that moment.

It's my "first dollar" anniversary.

But it's not just June 1st. I have many dates that I know by heart and celebrate every year like anniversaries.

January 1st, 2018. Started indie hacking. May 13th, 2018. First successful launch. June 1st, 2018. Made my first dollar.

January 4th, 2020. Moved to Milan. February 14th, 2020. Launched CyberLeads. April 22nd, 2020. First time blowing up on Twitter.

July 27th, 2020. Surpassed my salary. January 6th, 2021. First day of self employment. March 22nd, 2021. Moved to Sicily.

November 1st, 2021. Discovered the service. February 1st, 2022. Started the service. June 1st, 2024. Made my first million.

I also know every date of every one of my fights. Every date I hired people. And so on.

I believe it's important to celebrate the little things.

Even if they mean nothing. Even if they are insignificant.

They mean something to you. So they are important.

Calculator

Ok, back to the calculator. I hit enter. And boom.

"$1,001,490"

There it was. The magic number with the two commas. Staring at me.

"So.. I guess I did it. Not only a few days before my big birthday. Not only on my first dollar anniversary. But also sitting in the same room and the same chair."

It felt kinda poetic. But beyond that, I didn't know how to feel.

Should it feel like nothing? Or should it feel like everything?

All I know is I want to go for a walk. And I don't want to work today.

Reaching the summit

As I'm walking down the sea front, the same place I dreamt about everything, I cannot help but wonder.

Did I actually achieve my goal? The reality is that my goal was to reach $1M/year by the time I'm 30.

I didn't do that. Technically, I didn't even come close.

I made $1M a few days before my 30th birthday. In revenue. Not even in profit or income. Those should happen in a few months.

But the truth is that I'm happy. Even though I didn't reach my goal.

For the first time in my life leading up to a birthday, all my anxieties about my age, the future and my accomplishments are gone.

I am not envious of anyone. I would not trade my life with anyone. And I don't want anything from anyone. I have everything.

I don't care if you have money. I don't care if you're famous. And I don't care if you're a big deal.

You can shove all that up your ass.

All I care about is if you're kind, authentic, and fun to be around.

How do you treat the waiter. The doorman. The taxi driver. Can we have a deep conversation about something other than business, investments and money. Can we find something stupid to laugh about.

For the first time in my life, I finally feel enough. I did it.

I managed to climb and see the summit, even for a split second.

Short term happiness vs long term fulfillment

For some reason, I asked myself this question.

"Will this moment matter in a day from now? A month from now? A year from now? Will this matter on June 1st, 2025?"

I usually ask myself this question when something negative or bad has happened. But I felt like asking myself again today.

Almost always, the answer is no. Most things come and go. And you forget all about them in the blink of an eye.

But even though this actual moment felt anticlimactic and bland, I have a strong feeling that it will matter to me and give me fulfillment for a very long time.

Some things give you a spike of happiness but it's fleeting. Like exercise, swimming, food, or sex.

But other things give you a slow release of fulfillment. Like my fighting journey in the past. Or my entrepreneurship journey now.

I think I want both.

Sometimes I want to be a grasshopper. Live completely for the day. Do the minimum for my work and business. Work for 2 hours per day and indulge in pleasures and the simplest, fleeting things of life.

Other times I want to be an ant. Live completely for the future. Work all day and dedicate myself completely to a fulfilling project.

I don't think these are contradicting. I think they are complementary. And people confuse the two.

Many people chase fleeting happiness only to find out that they don't feel fulfilled. Or chase big goals only to realize they didn't make them happy. It's obvious that you need both.

Maybe it's the same with traveling. Maybe it's the same with everything. Maybe you need both the big and the little things.

Maybe we need some contrast in our lives.

I think it's the most beautiful part of being human too. Being strong, yet kind. Being successful, yet humble. Being humble, yet confident. Being disciplined, yet spontaneous. Being stoic, yet feel emotions deeply. Begin refined, yet simple. Being serious, yet childish.

But, at the same time, I don't think it's not about designing some psychotically engineered "balance", every day, week, month or moment. I try to let life swing naturally. And take me where it takes me.

After all, it's called work-life balance. Not work-day balance.

I just want to be conscious of the phase I'm in. Feel zero guilt for it. And realize that not everything can be postponed forever.

If there's something I really want to do, maybe I should do it now.

Hostels, backpacks and hangovers

I never did the whole 18 year old backpacking, staying at hostels thing. I always told myself that life is long, and that the world would always be there and waiting for me.

And even though I was correct in that the world was indeed there waiting for me a few years later, I wasn't there anymore.

I had changed. By the time I started traveling, I was 25 years old, had a business and wanted different things.

I didn't want to backpack and live with another 20 people in bunk beds. I didn't want to live in chaos, go out and drink every night.

I wanted a nice apartment, a nice routine and to work on my business. And I wanted to wake up every morning with a fresh body and mind.

So I actually never got to experience that dream.

Which is scary. Because the reality is that whatever you don't experience today, you might never experience.

Not because the opportunity will be gone. But because you will.

You might decide you don't want it anymore. Or you might go and experience it but not like it now.

It's easy to underestimate how much you will change in some ways, and how little we will change in others.

Part 2: Maps and compasses

Obviously, this is not a guide on how to make your first million.

And it's definitely not a guide on how to live your life.

Ironically, I find myself recommending this path to less and less people as the years go by.

Even though, back in the day I wouldn't shut up and stop telling people to do exactly the same thing as me.

Helping an old friend

I am always reminded of how difficult this was whenever I try to help others. I recently helped a friend of mine launch a new product.

I posted it on Product Hunt from my own personal account that has tens of thousands of followers.

I posted it on my Twitter that gets millions of views. I posted it on my newsletter that has 5,000 businesses.

I helped him run email campaigns almost identical to the ones I ran for clients and helped them make millions.

And consulted him for hours on end, trying to improve his idea, his offer and product, telling him exactly what I would do.

The result? Crickets. Zero clients. Zero customers.

The days after the launch

The days after the launch, we kept talking over the phone.

My friend went from excited.

"Yo we launched! When can we expect the first customers?"

To neutral.

"Ok.. still no results.. is this normal?"

To disappointed.

"Ok.. what does this mean and what do I do now?"

After everything was done, and we had both given it our all, the only advice I could give him was this.

"Well, welcome to the real world, my friend. This is how it goes. As you can see, there are no recipes. I don't know what you should do. But you have to keep trying, either with this or another idea, until you figure it out. I know it sucks, but try to find the beauty in it, and remember that you only have to figure it out once to change your life. For reference, it took me 20 tries."

My goal was to be real, sound cool and get him inspired.

But maybe I made him feel lost.

Consulting calls

Recently, a client of mine insisted that I should meet with his business coach. And introduced me to him.

In his words, this is what he told me.

"Man, this guy is the real deal. Trust me. He used to run a massive business and with his help I managed to transform my own."

I am usually skeptical of these things, but I accepted. And booked a couple of calls to see what it's all about.

To be honest, it felt like founder therapy. He was mostly asking me if I'm stressed. If I exercise. What my goals are. If I'm hiring. And if I know how to delegate.

His ideas on how to grow CyberLeads were all things I had thought a million times before. Other things that I had tried already. Or other things that were just plain stupid or irrelevant.

And I don't blame him. How could he know everything about my business in 2 hours, when I've been working on it, and looking at it from every different angle, for half a decade, every single day?

I do the same when I'm trying to help others. I just think out loud and throw shit at the wall.

These conversations can change your life. Sure. That's how I discovered the service. So I see the value in it.

But it's never one person giving a precise map to the other. It's mostly just thinking out loud and talking about each others experiences.

Maps

It's easy to forget what it's like starting from scratch. Let alone without a platform, experience, network or audience.

I don't want to become the person who becomes successful and suddenly thinks that it’s easy and that anyone can do it. And anyone who can't, it's because they are lazy or stupid.

It's fucking hard. I am very lucky. And the terrain is changing all the time. My advice and experience from what I did 5 years ago might not apply anymore.

Giving advice feels like drawing a treasure map.

I can tell you what I did and how I made my first million, but it doesn't mean that the map is correct.

I might remember things wrong. Forgotten important things. Or confused luck for skill, and skill for luck.

And even if my treasure map was perfect, it almost probably won't align perfectly with the terrain in front of you.

Especially as time goes on. Because the terrain is always changing.

Some things might be timeless and solid advice.

For example, don't camp at night near water, because large animals go to drink water from there and you might be in danger.

But other advice may be outdated and even dangerous.

For example, at the tall oak tree, I took a left turn and I found this amazing path that took me all the way to the top of the mountain.

Maybe the oak tree doesn't exist anymore. The path has disappeared. Or it now leads to a lake with crocodiles.

Compasses

I always used to try to navigate the world with maps.

Guess the position I'm in. Decide where I want to go. And then start looking for maps on the topic and learn from experts.

Because, after all, I couldn't trust myself. I had no experience, and I was full of cognitive biases that would sabotage me.

I believed that I had to rely on my brain. And that I had to ignore my instincts, intuition and anecdotal experiences.

So I would learn mental models. Apply decision making frameworks. Follow playbooks. And read didactic work.

How to become a millionaire. The 5 laws of marketing. The 3 best business models. The ultimate guide to hiring.

They helped me a lot. This worked. Especially early on.

But as time went on, it started backfiring.

My situation started becoming more and more unique. And it was becoming harder and harder for someone else's map to match it perfectly.

I slowly had to admit that making decisions and learning based on my own experiences and instincts worked better.

I had to start relying on my own intuition. My own internal compass.

Navigating

I believe that the earlier you are in your journey within a specific domain or subject, the more you have to rely on external knowledge. Other peoples maps.

But the more experience you gain within a specific domain or subject, the more you should trust your own intuition and experience. Your own internal compass.

Maps are extremely accurate and explicit. But they are hard to match with your own specific circumstances, especially as time goes on.

Compasses are inaccurate and vague. And they are directionally correct at best. But they can be applied to a vast amount of cases.

You don't burn the maps or throw them in the bin. And you also don't follow your compass blindly.

Like a real captain, you consult them both.

Part 3: Highest highs and lowest lows

How I got here following broken maps and broken compasses, I don't know. But I'm here now. And I'm happy.

I decided to call my mother and my sister. I wanted to share this huge milestone with them.

They are some of the people I call when I'm on a walk and bored.

I told my sister everything about it, in detail.

The fact that it happened on my "first dollar anniversary". The fact that it was like a birthday present for my 30th birthday. And the fact that it happened in our hometown, where it all began.

She congratulated me. Said that she was proud of me. And two seconds later she switched the conversation.

She just started working at her dream job. And she is dealing with some issues there. She's stressed about it.

I then talked to my mother.

She congratulated me for 2 seconds. Then switched the topic.

She's excited because she's going on a holiday. But she is also stressed because her husband is scheduled for an operation.

Same experience with my father. My brother. And my best friend.

Everyone has their own Odyssey

Of course. It's so obvious. Why am I even surprised. Everyone has their own story. And everyone is the hero of their own life.

And that's the beauty. We are all the heroes of our own lives.

My father has his own Odyssey.

He left his village in Greece at 18 to go study in Italy, not knowing a single word of Italian. He graduated and returned, went to the army, then worked as an architect for a couple of years, hated it, and finally started his own business at 28, the same business he's still happily running at 70 today. He discovered his life philosophy at 33, and designed his whole life around that. He had kids. Registered his own patent for a medical device. Won photography awards. He makes furniture. Plays the guitar. Won the senior player of the year award at his local tennis club. And writes songs and poems from time to time.

My mother has her own Odyssey too.

She was the first of her family to go to university. The first of her family to move abroad. And the first of her family to travel the world. At 21, she waved goodbye to her parents at Victoria station in London, and took the magic bus to go to a random city in Greece she couldn't even pronounce. No phones. No nothing. She was gone. A few years later, she wanted to travel more. So she became an airhostess. After that, at my age now, at 30, she ended up for 15 years with two kids, alone, in a foreign country. She met her life partner at 45, and they have been traveling together ever since.

My sister has her own Odyssey too.

Always studied extremely hard. Primary school. High school. Bachelors. Masters. Graduated everything with honors. And built an artificial human organ to complete her PhD. But even after that, things were not easy for her. She was in between jobs and career paths. Living out of a suitcase for years. And had to apply for her dream job for many years until she finally got it. She is a Doctor and a Diplomat now. She has traveled to almost every single country in Europe. Ran a marathon. And has done almost everything she wanted to do before at around 30 too. She's a fighter at heart.

My Greek grandfather had his own Odyssey too.

Fought and survived World War II, in the special forces. Took care of his wife with cancer for years. Worked in coal mines. And finally returned from Germany back to Greece for his final years.

My British great-grandfather had his own Odyssey too. Although his was cut short.

He died in World War II and is buried at the military graveyard in Malta. I don't know much about him. Just that he was 26 years old.

Same lives, different times

It's funny. In some ways I am an exact blend of my parents.

My father was an entrepreneur. My mother was a traveler. And I am a traveling entrepreneur. How original.

The difference is that my mother had to become an airhostess to travel. Whereas I could build an online business.

And my father had to hire and train people to build a business. Whereas I could use code, automations and AI.

In some ways, our lives are different. But the dreams are somewhat similar and universal. Just adapted to our different times and circumstances.

Because, I believe, in every era, people wanted to travel. To be successful. To impress others. To hear their parents say that they are proud of them. To build a family. To be happy.

They just went about it in different ways, constrained by their time and options.

In the deep past, people became sailors to travel the world. My mother became an airhostess. I built an online business. And in the deep future, people might take rockets or teleport to visit other planets.

In the deep past, people exploited peasants so they could work less. My dad hired and delegated. I used code and automations. And in the deep future, people might have robots doing everything for them.

Maybe we are all living similar lives under different conditions. And not just on a personal level, but on a global level too.

Today we have NATO. Back in the day we had the Delian League, the Alliance of Greek City States. Today we have oil as the ultimate resource, in the deep past it was grain. Today we have computer chips for information technology, in the deep past it was papyri scrolls.

We still have love. We still have war. We still have humanity at it's best and at it's worse.

Many times I wonder how different the world is going to be in 1,000 years from now. And it saddens me that I won't be able to know.

But the more I think about it, the more I relax.

Technology will change dramatically. Society will change a lot. But biology will barely change.

So the world will be very different in some ways. But in some ways, the important ways, it will be exactly the same.

You have to mythologize yourself

Regardless of the era or time you live in, I believe you have to mythologize yourself while on your own Odyssey.

If you are to be crushed by the waves and randomness of life, it's better to feel like a little ant that is being tested by the gods, on it's quest for glory, than just feel bad for yourself.

I remember when I was a kid, I had somehow fractured both of my heels.

My mother took me to doctors and put soles in my shoes, but I still felt pain, no matter what we did or tried.

After a year of complaining, the pain was still there.

Eventually, I realized that it was a million times easier to tell myself I am Achilles than make the pain magically go away.

The embarrassing thing is that I always did this. I still do this. And I'll probably still do this as an old man.

Because life can get ugly. And things can go wrong. Even if you have an easy life like I did.

A broken back. An injured sternum that clicks and pops. A broken nose. A dropped eyebrow. A cut tendon. A broken rib.

More than 100 stitches. Attacked and slapped around by gangs. Saying goodbye to my mother at 15 to go live with my father. Heartbreaks.

Hospitalized from a street fight at 13. Three motorbike crashes from 15 to 18. And multiple fights from 19 to 21.

There is nothing glorious about these, by the way. If I could snap my fingers and take them all away, I would.

But they happened. And since they happened, I prefer to own them instead of complaining and feeling bad about myself.

One of my good friends, Moch, who is probably reading this, grew up in a warzone and was shot in the leg at 7. He lost his mother, father, brother and uncle to the war.

My best friend's father walked from Albania to Greece, on foot, through the mountains, nine times.

Everytime he got his face smashed and his teeth knocked out by the police and sent back home. And one time he almost drowned off the coast of Italy because the authorities sank their boat.

His life philosophy is this.

"If I have food to eat, I have everything".

Ugly scar

Damn. I never expected that I would write about this when I started writing these books. But here we are.

I almost died in that street fight at 13.

I got headbutted, fell on the concrete and fainted. Then I was punched countless of times in the head while everyone watched and laughed.

I ended up in the hospital with internal bleeding in my brain.

If we were not so young but older, the doctors told us that I could've been dead or a vegetable in a wheelchair.

Absolutely everyone in my family, neighborhood, school and little world knew exactly what happened. And I lost every single ounce of street credit and self respect I had.

No matter how much I tried, I couldn't find anything heroic about it.

My only salvation was moving to the big city, to my father's house, a couple of years later and starting my life from scratch.

This is my ugly scar. I hid this from everyone for years.

Little crab

My solution was to pretend to be tough. I started training Muay Thai. Getting into fights. Smoking. And riding motorbikes.

I hated my real nature.

Because I blush easily. I smile and nod. And I give up my seat to old people on the bus.

I hold the door open for people. I stand up when I shake peoples hands. And I try to pay the bill.

I pick up trash from the street. I try to buy food for homeless people to eat. And I say good morning to random people while walking.

I was an angel in primary school. I remember my mother couldn't stop crying because my school teacher said in front of all the parents that I was the best kid she had ever had in her 20 year career.

I hated all these things about me. So I hid in a tough shell.

Comedies and tragedies

I try to be careful when I write about my personal life. Because I can make it sound way harder than it actually was.

I believe that for the sad person, life can be a terrible tragedy. And for the happy person, life can be a wonderful comedy. Even under the exact same circumstances.

For example, I could write about growing up with a single mom. That we were immigrants. That we claimed benefits. That we didn't have a car for many years. That my clothes were second hand. Or that my room was so small that I didn't even have enough space to do pushups.

And that would all be true. But it would also be missleading.

Because the reality is that I had everything I wanted. And my childhood is filled with nothing but beautiful memories.

Playing outside with my friends every day. Climbing trees. My mom shouting my name from the balcony to come back home and eat.

I could also write about how hard the transition was going to live with my father, his wife and my brother.

But the reality is that it was ok. I went from a school where it was cool to break noses and steal motorbikes, to a school where it was cool to be smart and a good student.

I started studying. I started picking up and reading philosophy books from my father's library. And I started thinking bigger too.

All of my life, with my friends we used the term "rich kid" as a slur. Turns out I was a rich kid all along.

Younger brother

I was recently talking to my younger brother, who is currently finishing university and living his best life.

I was trying to persuade him to continue having fun, but also to set a big goal and chase it.

I was telling him that it doesn't matter what it is. It could be anything. It could be having lines on your stomach.

Just say who you want to be. And then go become that person.

And it doesn't matter what your motivations are either. It could be to get girls or look good naked.

I started Muay Thai because I got beaten up. And I started building businesses because I wanted to prove to everyone around me and to myself that I'm better.

What matters is that you start. From anywhere. Towards any direction. And that you improve over time and adjust your sails.

Because a great story can start from anywhere.

What I find fascinating is that the first word of one of the greatest stories of all time, The Iliad, is "Rage".

Specifically, these are the first words of Western literature.

"Rage! Goddess, sing of the rage of Peleus' son Achilles, murderous, doomed.."

I asked my brother if he felt rage too. Because I did at his age. I felt a silent, invisible, abstract rage when I returned to my father's home after university.

I was 23 years old. Over 6 feet tall. Almost 200 pounds. Had fought and knocked people out. And was a fully grown man.

I had a beard. I had a girlfriend. And I even had baby fever.

Yet, even though I was fully mature from a biological standpoint, from a societal standpoint, I was completely useless.

And that tension tortured me and killed me inside. I felt useless. Even though I felt I wasn't. And I was angry at the whole world.

Something was off. But I just couldn't prove it.

I towered over my father, yet he was feeding me every day. I felt like a coockoo bird, living in a nest I don't belong in anymore.

My brother didn't get it. And in that moment it made me wonder if all the stories we tell ourselves are an illusion.

Like Don Quixote. Maybe I was fighting windmills and imaginary enemies that were all in my head.

Edo Japan

The reason I don't think it matters what you pick, is because if you take anything to great depths, it will teach you things about the rest of the world too.

Because many skills are transferable and universal. They don't live in a vacuum or in arbitrary categories humans have come up with.

They are connected. And you'll be able to draw parallels and transfer knowledge from one domain to another.

I cannot help but constantly draw parallels between fighting, business, photography, writing and traveling.

Ironically, one of the best ways to go deep into a subject is to dive into a new subject. It might give you a fresh perspective.

Musashi describes this perfectly in the Book of Five Rings.

He wrote this book 400 years ago. When he was old and beaten down. He was 60 years old. He had more than 60 duels under his belt. And he was undefeated. Otherwise he wouldn't have written this book, since many duels were to the death.

If I was to summarize it in one sentence, it would be the following.

"Learn the rules. Abide by the rules. Break the rules.".

He calls it "The Way".

But you cannot skip the sequence. You start by studying maps. And switch to your compass overtime.

Whether you want to become a good samurai. A good fighter. A good entrepreneur. Or you want to have lines on your stomach.

Imaginary kids

If I ever have kids and give them the gift of life, this will be the only thing I would wish to teach them.

That, on one hand, life is everything. And life is enough already.

You don't need to do anything. Every breath and beat is a celebration of itself. And everything else is stupid in comparison.

But, at the same time, life is everything. So it deserves for you to give it everything you've got until the very end.

Go grab life by the horns. Set big goals. And try to do everything you want to do. Even if you fail. Go through all the emotions and the rollercoaster of life.

First, be kind to others. And then go live your own adventure. Because everyone deserves their own life adventure.

I love this story from UFC Heavyweight Champion, Frank Mir.

He had 3 kids and 2 world championship belts. And he always said that his regret is that he didn't manage to get a 3rd belt, 1 for each kid.

His oldest daughter turned to him and told him.

"You don't need to get a belt for me, dad. I'll get my own belt."

She is also a fighter. Undefeated. And climbing the ranks fast. She is getting within striking distance of challenging for a world title.

Broken dreams

But, at the same time, you have to be careful.

Just because you set big goals and chase them, it doesn't mean you will necessarily achieve them.

Sometimes you might get close enough, which is great. Other times you might realize that you don't want them anymore, which is also great.

But, sometimes, you might never achieve them and waste years of your precious life.

I recently talked to a good friend of mine from school.

For the past five years, every time I talk to him, he's always one week away from hitting it big and transforming his life.

"This is going to be the one man. For sure."

I'm also guilty of encouraging him. I love optimism and dreaming. It's contagious and I get drunk on it very easily.

"Yes man. This will be the one. I can feel it."

But, every time, it doesn't happen for some reason.

Usually it's something out of his control. But I've also caught him self sabotaging himself a lot.

His entire life on hold. No socializing. No going out. No girls. Only gym and work. Every day. Until the dream comes true.

But we're 30 now. The years are going by. And we're not young anymore.

I recently suggested that he write down exactly what he thinks he would do, feel and experience if all of his craziest dreams came true.

When I did this years ago, I was surprised how little I needed to actually live that life.

Maybe he could find a great remote job, get almost all of the way there and start enjoying life.

He could start traveling, meet friends and make memories. Make a photo album with photos from his travels. Create a music album with lyrics from his life. Direct a short film. Write a book. Learn a new language. Date girls. Or find the love of his life and start a family.

Work isn't the only place you can get fulfillment from.

Appendix

It's funny. And scary.

Just a few months ago, I hit a record month of $50k/month.

Now, my business has began to fall.

But I don't allow myself to complain too much.

I guess this is the life we have chosen.

Fighters. Entrepreneurs. Artists.

We have the highest highs. And the lowest lows.

What's next?

Honestly, I'm not sure.

I'm just trying to figure out what's going wrong.

I hope I can fix this.

Time travel

Hey. This is Alex from the future writing this.

I decided to clean up and re-post my blog posts as free books.

Nothing changed. Even if I disagree with things I said back then.

Regardless of marketing or algorithms, the greatest books have always ended up in my hands through recommendations.

So if you you enjoyed them, you can do the following:

• Share them on X or LinkedIn

• Leave a review on Amazon

• And message me so we can have a chat

Or don't. It's ok.

Thank you for reading.

Wall of love

Thanks to everyone that has been reading for the past years.

• I just finished the mini book series by @alexwestco and it’s awesome. He brings you to his startup journey, and go personal in every stage: from shouting in the void for 2 years, to désillusion, to finally making it. It’s raw and honest. It feels like you’re with him. Much better than most biographies made to be published. The books are free. Go read them!
@marc_louvion

• Got a long day ahead traveling back home so I got myself some nice books to read
@florinpop1705

• Finished all of them in one go. I could not stop. Oh, the pain!! Such an eye opener..
I am on my 3rd (failed) project in 6 months, but now I feel @alexwestco saved me months, possibly years. thanks
@Andrei0Vlad

• The time is never right!!
@thepatwalls

• This is perfect!
@dvassallo

• That is the most inspirational piece of content I read. Bookmarking this for my future references
@tejas3732

• The most honest, powerful and inspiring thing I've read all year. Gives me so much hope to see that I can have a stable life without giving my life to a boring 9-5 desk job. Congratulations man.
@consolerod

• When I was a child I remember reading The Eternaut comic at night I was completely hooked up, waiting for the next night to read again and continue the story.
Yesterday I had the same feeling reading @alexwestco books and I woke up desperately to finish the sixth book.
Looking forward to the rest of the books
@AgustinVqz

• "Most advice is bullshit". I'm sold.
@martinrue

• Reading @alexwestco's third book and it's blowing my mind. His mini books aren't playbooks, but I've learned a ton from them. Really appreciate it.
@dzung_fz

• This is really a great read for aspiring indie hackers. Raw, authentic and super honest. I used to read @alexwestco blogs 4 years ago and this part feels super relatable to me.
Yeah, those cute little side projects.
@ShresthaBheart

• Just started reading Alex's books.
Finished the first 2 today.
So much value + it's FREE.
Thank you so much Alex!!
@HsanC_

• halfway through @alexwestco's book one, and i gotta say im surprised how brutally honest it is.
wish for more books to show the real mess of being an entrepreneur instead of handpicked highlights
@todorovskiognxn

• This is exactly what I needed. Great read.
@Renatello

• this feels like holding a mirror
this isn't some polished picture-perfect fairytale
just a raw, gritty, and accurate depiction of what figuring it out looks and feels like
reminds me that this shit is hard for everyone
@luisgnet

• Book 2 done, on to Book 3
but maybe I should get some work done first
Thanks for sharing all this knowledge Alex.
@lovish888

• I'm currently reading the books of @alexwestco and I had to laugh very loud in public at one part. A lesson every indiehacker/founder has to learn the hard way.
@TweetsOfSumit

• Feels illegal to read all these for free! Amazing stuff, zero BS, great work.
Already waiting for the last two books.
@mysancaktutan

• Been reading @alexwestco books and they are fire. so authentic and real, you feel like he's talking directly to you. Hella inspiring brother, keep going!
@MaximilianDrago

• On to book 3 @alexwestco
This speaks a lot as well to me. Humbling.
"The world is random and chaotic"
I can't go around and making sense of everything.
@cyphorous

• These words from the book 1 of @alexwestco hits different for the perfectionist I used to be.
Reading is a leverage for your actions.
Without action it's just a form of procrastination.
Damn, it's even a good sign, it means you're growing.
@kevin_miguet

• I am only fishing up the book 1 @alexwestco but I can see myself at the very beginning of this journey. Thanks for sharing, it gives me the strength to build and document as well
@YAVIIIN

• Goated quote by @alexwestco.
"Someone holds a gun to your head: "You have to generate revenue online by the end of the week. If you don't, you're dead." Extreme. But effective. All the pretend work goes out of the window.
@byteberserker

• "Life is chaotic. And you shouldn't try to change that. Embrace it's unpredictability and make it work for you. Not against you."
Please, never stop writing man.
Thank you very much for sharing
@luisetelo

• Exited to dive into @alexwestco's second book. I am a total newbie and I find it interesting to read his experience when starting out.
@lastFitStanding

• Yesterday went to the beach, brought the tablet with me to start reading N1, got so hooked, read until 50% of N5 haha
Thanks for such a nice write!
@rrmdp

• I'm reading the first one now.
Great writing and very honest. Love it!
@fisheryeah

• Just finished book 6, tight in time
@rasulkireev

• Loved the book - been reading your tweets for years now, and it was really interesting to hear the whole story. Can't wait for the next one :)
@scalingspencer

• Loved reading this, excited for the next one. Remember reading your blogs from when you were working in Milan. Inspired me to pursue my own thing and very happy I did
@alexanderaeswan

• I read this in one sitting thanks for sharing man.
It is really eye opening the amount of struggle that is required to building something. Thank you for being this honest.
@JacobSchwarz963

• Great work, and great thoughts
@jdnoc

• Can't wait for book 2!
@GlitchPhoton

• Hey Alex, anxiously awaiting the next drop. Didn't see it yesterday. Any idea when we might expect it?
@KevinSidwar

• "It's easier to become 10x luckier by increasing your exposure, than it is to become 10x better at understanding and predicting the world." Love this, man.
@colestriler

• great read. you write very concisely yet cover a lot of ideas. it also shows that you are building mental fortitude to handle anything. congrats!
@swyx

• Mate, at the end of your article "Two Years" I was like: This is so sad, but here comes the happy part about the sales...nothing.
Great read. I'm literally in the exact same spot!
@rubenkenes

• "You can't make people buy. All you can do is keep them in your orbit by showing them what you do and staying top of mind." Love this from @alexwestco
@fredrivett

• Reviewing 300 applications for notJust Incubator, I saw many founders doing the same mistakes we all go through at the beginning
Just read the first book by @alexwestco, and this hits home
@VadimNotJustDev

• Just finished @alexwestco Book 3. Learning Through Scars - a raw, unfiltered journey of building a $3K/month business without selling courses. No fluff, just real talk about failure, luck, and the grind. If you're tired of gurus and want a real story, this one's for you.
Davide Agostini

• Amigos, this is my truth that I have been drowning in for the last five years. Alex's book are a must-read
@Amigov_AI

• Had to add @alexwestco as a case study in my upcoming Solopreneur Masterclass, among other incredible solopreneurs and small business owners we can all get inspiration from!
@flaviocopes

• I've never read a book in my life but I'm halfway on book 1.
It's inspiring and makes me want to start a business.
@bel4dm

• Recently read @alexwestco's two Kindle books. Really is a great reminder that it may seem like everyone knows what they're doing... But we usually see only the successes, not the uncertainty, building + getting no traction, etc
You just gotta keep moving forward + building
@gavin_wiener

• Last Sunday evening downloaded all @alexwestco books
by chance opened the number 6 and started to read it
I couldn't stop until I finished it
such a nice, authentic and hooking reading
a real not BS entrepreneurship story
Nice one Alex.
@rrmdp

• I'm getting a lot of motivation out of these. Seems like all of builder X is reading them right now Alex!
@martinrue

• It seems like everyone is reading them right now!
@MahdiEzz_code

Credits

Finally, special thanks to everyone that inspired and supported me, whether they know it or not.

• Pieter Levels, thank you for building in the open and making this movement happen for all of us. It was your revenue tweets and blog posts that made me realize that I could do the same.

• Courtland and Channing Allen, thank you for building Indie Hackers and putting a name to our little movement. I have read every single post, listened to every single podcast and have day dreamed countless times being on your show.

• Patrick and John Collison, thank you for building the tool that has allowed us all to make a living online. No joke, Stripe changed our lives. In awe of what you're building with Arc Institute. And huge fan of your podcast "Cheeky Pint".

• DHH, thank you for bringing common sense to the tech industry. Reminding us that you don't need to run a VC company and become a billionaire to be successful. And that you can have work life balance.

• Jason Fried, thank you for sharing your contrarian views regarding work. It's inspiring to see how ahead of the culture you were with remote work and SaaS. Your books are awesome too.

• Pat Walls (and Demi), thank you for replying to my emails back in 2021. Also for your awesome daily blog, which definitely inspired me to continue to write daily. Finally, thank you for showing us the power of focusing on one business, which you can adapt and evolve over time.

• Daniel Vassallo, thank you for introducing me to Taleb's books and philosophy, they changed my world view and helped me with my journey. Also for sharing your authentic thoughts and taking a stance, even if it's not popular.

• Stamos Venios, thank you for inspiring me to start this journey and for teaching me that you learn by doing, not studying. Your story inspired me a lot. I've told you this directly, but it's true. You are one of the main reasons I'm here today.

• Sam Parr, thank you for sharing my little business with your audience. Even more importantly, thank you for always being nothing but kind and generous to me. Funnily enough, your show, "My First Million", helped me make my first million.

• Derek Sivers, thank you for having the most awesome blog on the planet. Also for writing all your books and giving everything back to charity. You are awesome.

• Jon Yongfook, thank you for building and failing products at the same time as me, from 2018 to 2020. You launched BannerBear roughly at the same time I found CyberLeads, after roughly the amount number of failures. It was cool to not fail and succeed alone.

• Damon Cheng, thank you for showing us that even indie makers can acquire and grow businesses. Your run from quitting your job till today is legendary.

• Marc Köhlbrugge, thank you for building WIP.chat. Seeing other successful makers public TODOs made me realize that everyone just builds things, fixes bugs and makes mistakes. Like me. This was actually one of my most important realizations. It was frame breaking.

• Danny Postma, thank you for showing us that even indie products can exit to a larger company. And that even after an exit, if you want it bad enough, you can go back to square one and try again and again until you succeed again.

• Jason Cohen, thank you for your amazing blog and talks. Probably the best business blog in the world. And for your talk on boutique bootstrapped businesses. Seriously, that talk helped me niche down, raise my prices and change my life.

• Dru Riley, thank you for running an amazing campaign for CyberLeads together, back in 2020. Those high revenue months were the final push and confidence I needed to quit my job. Thank you my brother. Forever grateful.

• Andreas Klinger, thank you for being a class act and making an effort to help me find a job when I needed one. Also, for always replying to my emails and DMs.

• Vic, thank you for helping me find the next lever of growth for CyberLeads. No joke, you helped me change my life.

• Mubs, thank you for launching 50+ projects in public throughout the years and showing us how fast one can build.

• Andrey Azimov, thank you for your epic 2018 run, becoming Maker of the Year and changing your life. Your scrappiness and determination were infectious.

• Dimitris Raptis, thank you for being one of the very few people from our little hometown that is in our little bubble and industry. Also, thank you for reminding me that working on products you enjoy is more important than the money you make.

• Katerina Limpitsouni, thank you for being the final person from our little hometown that is in our little bubble and industry. I've used your designs and illustrations countless of times. They are awesome.

• Dimitris Kourtesis, Nikos Tsoniotis and Stefanos Tsiakmakis, thank you for accepting me in your startup incubator back when I knew nothing. Thank you for teaching me that killing projects is just as productive as building them. This was one of the biggest lessons I ever learned.

• Justin Jackson, thank you for your essays and podcasts regarding the importance of markets. You might not know it, but they were super impactful to me and helped me end up in the lead generation market, which helped me find CyberLeads and change my life.

• Josh Pigford, thank you for being one of the first people to show your complete list of failed products before your big success. I remember seeing the list and preparing mentally to go through the same. I built 19 failed products, then the 20th changed my life. Thank you.

• Nathan Barry, thank you for being one of the few people continuing to share revenue numbers after reaching millions in revenue. We have small businesses like myself doing that. We also have huge public companies doing that. It's great to have companies in the middle, like yours, do that too. Also, thank you for showing me the value of niching down and focusing on one segment of the market at a time. It really helped me grow CyberLeads and change my life.

• Ali Salah, thank you for being one of the OGs from 2018 and showing me that slow, consistent growth, in a saturated market, while focusing on product, can actually happen. This hasn't been my own experience and it's another example that anything and everything can work, there are no magic recipes.

• Michael Aubrey, thank you for being another story of hard work. Seeing you try for multiple years before finally achieving success is inspiring. Reminds me of my own journey.

• Reilly Chase, thank you for showing me that you can build a boring business, on top of an existing platform, and grow alongside it. Been inspiring to watch you grow over the years, build a team, a house and a life for yourself and your family.

• Rob Walling, thank you for your books and for your amazing podcast. I've listened to so many episodes over the years and there is always something interesting to take from them, because you and your gueststalk from experience, not theory.

• Jack Butcher, Bilal Zaidi and Trung Phan, thank you for the awesome podcast, the great art and the funny memes you've all been sharing with us for the past many years.

• Nico Jeannen, thank you for showing us that building and exiting multiple little businesses is possible. Also for keeping it real and sharing the good and the bad. There aren't that many people that do that and it's inspiring to see.

• Marc Lou, thank you for setting a new standard on shipping fast. I thought I was prolific for shipping 20 products from 2018 to 2020, but you took it to a whole new level. Respect.

• Peter Askew, thank you for blurring the lines between boring and cool. Selling onions online is simultaneously one of the most boring and one of the coolest businesses in the world.

• John O' Nollan, thank you for inspiring me to build a remote business and travel the world. You were one of the first entrepreneurs I looked up to, and still a massive fan.

• Harry Dry, thank you for showing me the power of storytelling and copywriting. Seeing your Yeezy.Dating saga unfold in real time back in 2018 was awesome and your climb to the top of the copywriting world is inspiring.

• Jordan O' Connor, thank you for your amazing blog. I remember reading every single post, multiple times, as you grew your business from zero to tens of thousands of dollars per month, changing your life for yourself and your ever growing family.

• Sahil Lavingia, thank you for building Gumroad, it helped me make my first $100K online. Also, thank you for challenging the status quo, thinking out of the box, doing things your own way and never being too busy to reply to my DMs back in the day. Truly grateful.

• AJ from Carrd, thank you for showing us that you can build and grow a simple, elegant and useful product by yourself and make great money without charging high prices. Frame breaking.

• Alex Napier Holland, thank you for being real and having authentic thoughts and opinions. Your are one of the very few non BS and non cringe people on my timeline.

• Florin Pop, Mr Purple, thank you for staying humble and ambitious at the same time. It's inspiring to see you set goals and then go after them.

• David Park, thank you for sharing the good and the bad so openly and authentically. Not only in business, but in life too. Your story is inspiring.

• Andrea Bosoni, thank you for showing me the value of being consistent and for being one of my Italian brothers. It's been great your amazing content for all these years, whenever I see your posts I always get a nice feeling of familiarity.

• Flavio Copes, thank you for showing me the value of writing daily, with the simple heuristic of "do stuff, encounter problems, write about the solution". Your website and blog remind me of what the internet was originally made for, real and authentic.

• Lim How Wey, thank you for sharing all of your knowledge around SEO. It was really helpful to me. And thank you for always being kind and supportive, I truly appreciate it.

• Arvid Kahl, thank you for sharing the story of exiting your SaaS business. It's been awesome to see you re-invent yourself and write your books.

• Swyx, thank you for inviting me on your podcast back in the day and for always being kind and supportive. Also for being prolific and constantly working on new things and technologies, it's contagious.

• Dmytro Krasun, thank you for showing me that progress happens slowly, then all at once. Your journey is awesome.

• David Perell, thank you for spreading the benefits of writing and specifically of writing daily. Your essays, podcasts and newsletters are fantastic.

• Noah Kagan, thank you for building AppSumo and for always keeping it real and honest. Seeing you embark on random new side quests like YouTube and being successful is cool to see also.

• Andrew Wilkinson, thank you for showing me that you can build insane wealth with boring businesses. Your essays and books are amazing. It's great to see your progress from being a freelancer, to running a small studio and being afraid to hire people, to managing hundreds of employees, to running a portfolio of companies, to finally going public. Insane.

• Andrew Gazdecki, thank you for building Acquire (formerly MicroAcquire) and helping indies like myself exit our companies and change our lives. Gazdecki style.

• Steph Smith, thank you for all the amazing essays. I remember reading "How to Be Great? Just Be Good, Repeatably" and realizing that I don't have to be fancy, just consistent. Also, every single one of your MFM appearances was great.

• George Mack, thank you for being one of the few, modern, original thinkers, popularizing new terms and expanding the lexicon. Your newsletter is one of the best I've read in my life, your ability to explain concepts is on another level.

• Jonathan Garces, thank you for all the amazing memories working on CyberLeads together. You are the only business partner I've ever had and helped me more than I could even imagine. It was a blast, my favorite business era.

• Lachlan Kirkwood, thank you for all the amazing chats over the years, going through similar milestones and challenges with our very different businesses. I'm really proud of you exiting your business and re-inventing yourself.

• Vytas Bu, thank you for believing in me and trusting me to work together. Even more importantly, I'm grateful to call you a true friend and thank you for treating me like a brother.

• Andreas Asprou, thank you for reminding me what true wealth is and for pushing me to take a break and write these books. I wouldn't have done it without you.

• Max DeMarco, thank you for inspiring me to continue being the main character of my life. You always have main character energy and it's contagious. Seeing you grow and always challenge yourself was amazing. Hope to make it to your next Muay Thai fight.

• Niklas Christl, thank you for being one of the most successful yet humble and honest people I've met. That contrast is amazing and inspiring. Hope to see you soon and catch up again.

• Giuseppe Ettore, thank you for growing side by side since 2020. I still remember showing you CyberLeads when it was just an idea, during lunch break at the office. Time flies. We started our jobs on the same day in Milan, we both quit our jobs since then, have achieved a lot and always support each other. And I believe we always will.

• Justin Gluska, thank you for the amazing chats in New York. I hope to see you again somewhere around the world.

• Eracle, thank you for welcoming me to Las Palmas. We had many amazing chats and nights out. Hope to visit again.

• Nikolas Konstantinou, thank you for welcoming me to the island of Cyprus. You have always helped me when I needed help, without asking for anything in return.

• Dawid Cedrych, thank you for being a dream client and for showing me that true business is a win-win game. I'm forever grateful for your trust in me, for encouraging me to write and for always being humble and real.

• Pete Codes, thank you for featuring me in your awesome newsletter and for being supportive over the years. It was also cool meeting in person a few years back.

• Jonny Ward, Daniel Ward, Doug Ward and David Carter, thank you all so much for being generous enough to invite me one of the impactful coffee/dinners of my life, when you had absolutely nothing to gain from me. I will never forget.

• Mohammad, thank you for giving me perspective on life and how you can continue being happy and positive no matter what happens.

• All the staff and friends at Cafe Nero for giving me free coffee and letting me write my books all day.

• Eneas Lari, for being my best friend in life.

• My family.

And to all the people that have supported me over the years or have shared my books. If I missed you, it's not on purpose.

Constantly updating this list.

Table of Contents

- Book 11 (June 10th 2026)

- Not Business Advice

- How I made a million from my personal projects

- Book 11:Highest highs, lowest lows

- ($50,000/month, year 7)

- Table of contents
- Introduction
- Part 1: Making my first million
- Making my first dollar
- Celebrating the little things
- Calculator
- Reaching the summit

- Short term happiness vs long term fulfillment

- Hostels, backpacks and hangovers
- Part 2: Maps and compasses
- Helping an old friend
- The days after the launch
- Consulting calls
- Maps
- Compasses
- Navigating
- Part 3: Highest highs and lowest lows
- Everyone has their own Odyssey
- Same lives, different times
- You have to mythologize yourself
- Ugly scar
- Little crab
- Comedies and tragedies
- Younger brother
- Edo Japan
- Imaginary kids
- Broken dreams
- Appendix
- What's next?
- Time travel
- Wall of love
- Credits