What if the impossible dream you had as a teenager wasn’t impossible after all—but just needed a different approach?
When I was 15, I played Rollercoaster Tycoon for the first time, and it blew my mind. Learning it was created by one guy, Chris Sawyer, sparked a dream of following the same path.
That dream lead me to become a software developer. But after years in employment, doubts started creeping in:
- Why am I pouring so much effort into building someone else’s vision?
- Can I imagine spending decades as just another cog in the machine?
Eventually, these questions pushed me to quit my job and take control of my future.
But without the steady stream of engaging development work from my employer, I felt lost. 8 hours daily coding became nothing.
I had unknowingly quit development altogether—until I realised the answer wasn’t to become the next Chris Sawyer. It was to build something uniquely mine.
In this article, I’ll share how I rediscovered my love for coding and started turning that childhood dream into reality—using a strategy any developer can adopt, without becoming a coding genius.
Falling In Love With Coding Again
Coding is a feedback system where you face challenges, overcome them, and get that dopamine reward. But coding itself is just a means to and end.
So what’s the end?
That’s the question I wrestled with after quitting my job. Without a meaningful project to build, I lost the motivation to even open my IDE.
The answer?
Simple. Build a project you’re excited about. Not one that’s assigned to you by a boss, but one that scratches your own itch.
But let’s be honest—not all of us are Chris Sawyer—not yet anyway. The trick is to start small.
Here’s what worked for me. I began writing down the tiniest annoyances I experienced in everyday life. Then, I selected an idea that met three criteria:
It had to be:
- Solvable with code.
- Genuinely exciting to me.
- Within, or just beyond, my skill level.
That’s how I ended up creating a YouTube thumbnail comparison tool. It wasn’t groundbreaking, but it worked—and more importantly, it restored my motivation. Building your own thing helps you learn technical skills faster, but also brings a sense of enjoyment that’s hard to match working on someone else’s product.
Your first step could be as simple as this:
It’s not all plain sailing though. Without an employer, your wins feel personal—and your failures sting even more. But each small success builds momentum. One project leads to the next, and before you know it, you’ve reignited your passion for coding.
Building Software Like Every Second Counts
There’s a software developer who once challenged himself to build 12 startups in 12 months. Pieter Levels coined this phrase in a blog post, and while it sounds catchy, there’s an important message behind it that I’ve tried to weave into my own journey.
“For the next 12 months, I’m launching one startup every month. This includes picking an idea, developing it and launching it to press.”
Pieter Levels
Here’s the thing: we all want our projects to solve a problem, become popular, and make money. But the truth is, that won’t happen with every project.
And that’s OK.
The 12 startups in 12 months challenge highlights something crucial: you can’t know what will resonate with users until you build and release it. Giving yourself a time limit helps you avoid the trap of spending years on one project. By launching multiple projects, you have the best shot at finding something that clicks.
From day one, I knew my perfectionism could hold me back. So for my first project—the thumbnail comparison tool—I made a list of only the features essential to make it work. This is what’s called the Minimum Viable Product (MVP), and it’s usually much more basic than you think.
For example, the first version of my app had no way to login and thumbnails were only saved in the browser—no database. By cutting out unnecessary features, I was able to get the app in front of users faster.
The result? It took me just over a month to build.
My next project, a leaderboard of YouTubers who publish daily, was even simpler. This time, I gave myself just 5 days to build and launch it.
When you set a strict time limit, it’s amazing how your brain comes up with shortcuts to speed up the process and reach your goal.
So if you have a project idea and want to start building, follow these three guidelines inspired by the Pieter Levels approach.
By following this method, I’ve already built three projects, and can’t wait to start the fourth. It might sound like a lot of work, but setting goals and actually achieving them feels amazing.
And as I started releasing my own software projects, I began to gain clarity on what truly matters to me in life. It was through this journey that I saw my dream from all those years ago in a whole new light.
Why Every Developer Must Try This At Least Once
When I worked for a media company in London, anytime someone quit, we’d go to the pub for a goodbye pint. Most people talked about their next job, but one colleague gave a completely different answer.
He said he was leaving to build a product on his own.
Back then, that baffled me. Someone quitting their job to take such a risk? “I’m not that kind of person” I thought.
But that idea stuck with me. Years later, here I am, doing exactly the same thing.
If you’ve ever had even the smallest itch to build your own project, what’s stopping you?
- Is it your technical ability? Today you can learn almost anything online for free.
- Is it time? Even 30 minutes a day, over a month, can add up to something incredible.
Here’s why every developer must build their own software project at least once. Even if it’s not a success, what you learn in the process—about coding, problem solving, and yourself—can change everything. And if you realise it’s not for you, at least you’ll know, instead of spending years wondering “What if?”.
For me, this journey isn’t about the products I’ve built or even the skills I’ve learned. As a shy teenager, my dream wasn’t really to build a video game. What I wanted was to be brave enough to take on a challenge—and see it through.
Now, by building and releasing my own projects, I’m finally becoming that person.
If you’re still reading, there’s clearly something about this that resonates with you. Don’t wait for the perfect time or the perfect plan. Start small, start messy, but just start.
Because you’ll never know how far you can go until you take the first step.