Reader, Happy New Year's Eve 🎉 Yes, it's finally here. The last day of 2024. Finally, right? Oof, what a year. I just did my annual Year In Review write-up, so scroll to the bottom if that's all you're here for. I encourage you to do one for yourself, too. It's a good way to center yourself for the year ahead. Reflecting on what I achieved often helps me see what I want to shoot for next. Looking back on this year, 1 thing is clear: I grew exponentially in the world of online business, but also as a professional:
I made zero progress on my weight, but my knee has almost fully recovered from the injury I sustained back in May 2022. (Physical therapy's been a long road. Stay safe out there so you don't have to find out what that's like) I've met a ton of people this year, and I'm hopeful for 2025 to bring even more social connection. You know what I want the most from 2025, though? Rest lol. Gosh, I'm tired 😅 I'm ready to dive back into more creative pursuits like playing violin, doing parkour, and even just chill activities like new video games and hanging out with friends more often. Maybe some live-streaming with my 𝕏 friends or trying to make Twitch and YouTube content. Idk, but if I learned one thing this year, is it sucks being lonely and in "monk mode" all the time. It's no way to live long-term. Remember that when you think about massive professional goals for next year. Include family and friends and chill time too. Your mental and emotional health will thank you. I still need to flesh out what my goals are for next year, but I'm prioritizing my health and well-being, physically, mentally, and spiritually. And by "spiritual", I don't mean a faith, I mean taking care of the part of me that enjoys doing things for the fun of it, for the creative impulse, not for material gain or status or anything else. I need to reconnect with my inner child, in other words. For at least the first several months, the only Social QA stuff I'll be doing is helping students through that bootcamp. If you want to be one of them, make sure you watch your inbox tomorrow. I'm only keeping the cart open til the following Wednesday. You've got a week, or until the last 5 seats are gone, whichever comes first. Then I promise you, I will not relaunch until at least after my birthday in April. I'm not gonna have room to be going "heads-down" on anything. Q1 is for me, my family, and the students who paid for my time. Anywho, here's the Year In Review post I wrote. Maybe it'll give you ideas for your own. Happy New Year's Eve, and have fun tonight! Enjoy those last few moments of 2024 while they're here ❤️ It's been a joy writing for you this year. Can't wait to share more in 2025. Cheers, Steven |
Helping software testers increase their authority and influence.
Reader, I was in a Space today on 𝕏 where me and other tech nerds were giving our predictions for AI in 2025. Not how most people spend their lunch break, but I had fun. So it gave me an idea: what do you think will happen? I'd love to know. But first, let me tell you a few of my ideas: Health People will rely more on AI to help them eat right and lose weight. Apps that use AI are already able to auto-calculate your caloric needs customize your workout routines based on prompts.I don't have...
Yo. I didn't think I'd have to send this email for at least a few more days, but here we are. Social QA Bootcamp is full. Sold out. Last seat was taken at 7:06 AM CT today. That said, you better believe I'm already thinking about the relaunch 🔥 If you tried to buy the course after 7:06 AM today, you were met with a waitlist signup page. I just updated it to include information about what's next. >>> Sign up for the next cohort tldr; I'm adding API test automation and test data management with...
Reader, The easiest path into QA is from within That's what I'm going to start telling people who ask me how to get into QA. Yeah, obviously you need the skills too, but that's a given at this point in the game. 2025 is gonna be rough. But remember, I started in Support. After 2 years of learning web development (HTML/CSS/JS/React) and failing to get a web development job. Because I was working as a shift manager at Walgreens. Why should they trust me to do the job? I was barely getting...