I'm Ryan Waggoner. I build things. I blog about how to work harder and smarter to build the life you want. You should subscribe.

Reader question: what to charge as a freelancer?

02.13.12 Posted in Development, Education, Entrepreneurship, Goals, Posts, Reader Responses by

I got a question last week from a reader named James on how he could start doing freelance web design and development, and how much he should charge. I was pretty brutally honest with him, because I don’t think it’s helpful to sugarcoat things. I’ve posted his question and my answer here, with his URL [...]


Get your advice from the second-best, not the best

02.06.12 Posted in Achievement, Goals, Habits, Posts by

Image by Philo Nordlund There are some side effects of always blogging about your life and your efforts to improve it. Some good, some bad. For instance, I feel like I’m becoming that guy who is always trying some weird lifehack. I’m not quite to Tim Ferris status yet in terms of bizarre behavior for [...]


SignPad is live in the App Store!

01.30.12 Posted in Development, Entrepreneurship, Goals, News, Personal, Posts, Technology by

I’ve been doing web development full-time for the last four or five years, and in 2010 I started learning how to create iPhone and iPad apps. I switched to doing iOS development fulltime in early 2011 and I worked on a number of client apps throughout the year. However, I haven’t released any apps of [...]


Check out the new DailyPath Trail Guide (a daily guide to moving forward)

01.25.12 Posted in Blogging, Entrepreneurship, Goals, Habits, Misc, News, Personal, Posts, Social Media by

Very quick note, just wanted to give you all a heads up that my startup (DailyPath) today launched The DailyPath Trail Guide, which is a blog with short posts on self-learning, productivity, motivation, lifehacking, and moving your life forward. Check out our first post below, and make sure you subscribe! How Cheating Has Opened the [...]


How a Barista and Losing a Quarter of a Million Bucks Taught Me to Ask for What I Want

01.23.12 Posted in Achievement, Finances, Goals, Personal, Posts by

Most people do not know what they want. The other day at Starbucks, I watched the person in front of me get smoothly upsold from a cup of coffee to a $20 tea sampler set. I’m not saying that the guy was pressured into buying it; he wasn’t. I’m not saying that he got ripped [...]


A sunken ship and the absurdity of “goals vs. habits”

01.20.12 Posted in Achievement, Goals, Habits, Posts by

CC Image via Wikimedia Commons There’s a recent guest post on Zen Habits about how you shouldn’t set goals. The headline was intriguing enough to pull me in, and then I was dismayed to find that the author had setup the story as a conflict between goals and habits. And concluded that since people fail [...]


Practice does not make perfect

08.08.11 Posted in Achievement, Education, Goals, Habits, Posts by

Practice does not make perfect. Practice makes permanent. Are you practicing the way you want to perform? Knowing how to learn is one of the most valuable skills you can have, and I think it’s one that most people are worst at. A big part of learning is practice, and how you practice makes a [...]


A little sleep, a little slumber

07.27.11 Posted in Achievement, Goals, Inspiration, Posts, Time management by

I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a [...]


Fly a good approach

07.25.11 Posted in Achievement, Aviation, Goals, Posts by

I had a great morning today; got up early, got in an early run, had a good breakfast, showered, and got to Starbucks right when they opened. Then I had a few hours of really productive work. All in all, a fantastic start to the week. And it was really pretty easy, but not because [...]


Why I believe in personal development

06.23.11 Posted in Goals, Posts by

A friend and I were recently talking about personal development, primarily things like habits, goals, etc. We were discussing the possibility that by attempting to so closely regulate and discipline ourselves, we were missing the bigger picture, or missing some vital opportunity for life and freedom. A popular blogger who shall remain nameless has espoused [...]


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