Messy Truth > Perfect Lie

Relaunching personal blog / sharing the vision for the future / being anti-right

Dec 21, 2024

Start the shit you wanna start. This used to be my go-to motto, accompanied by an old visual whenever I began something new:

The same idea of starting now and saturating later, 3 different iterations

And here I am, starting yet another blog-newsletter. If you're counting (I am), this makes it iteration number seven of my personal blogs, not including various forgotten Substack experiments.

My most successful content project yet

In May 2024, I created Streamlined Engineering, my most successful content project to date. Twenty consecutive issues, never missing a beat, even during vacations! Then came Varstatt Letter, attempting to be a company blog. Both ended up in my personal content project graveyard.

I could probably call myself a serial content project killer. Each venture died for the same reason: it pushed me in directions that didn't feel authentic.

Streamlined Engineering, meant to discuss sophisticated engineering practices (think Accelerate or The Phoenix Project), evolved into generic app-building content with entrepreneurial undertones.

By the 13th issue in July 2024, I was thinking, "WTF am I doing? This isn't me.” and never posted there again.

Starting again, the anti-right content project

But the idea is back this week — I started thinking about relaunching a Substack blog. But with another purpose. I shared the idea with

Janis Ozolins

, and we exchanged ideas.

I wrote (no edit):

this time I don't want the blog be "right", I want it to be mine. And current headline explain why it exists, at least for me

To which he responded (no edit):

the most successfull creators tend to follow this "no fux given" pattern. I respect that a lot and it's something I try to learn and pivot to as well as I am more on the consistancy train bla bla bla

That's when I realized something crucial. I had been obsessing over doing everything "right":

Publishing when the audience is most active
Engaging with replies to build an audience
Finding a strong niche
Publishing with clockwork consistency
Following strict word counts
Implementing countless growth hacks

I'm tired of trying to be right all the time. This blog is deliberately anti-right.

For the first time, I want to launch a personal blog rather than a topic-focused project. I'm a tech guy who worked as a software developer from March 2015 to July 2024 without sabbaticals. Now, I'm self-employed, transforming my corporate development skills into freelance/consulting work.

Done chasing the 'right' way to create content. The magic happens when you embrace your authentic voice.

What to expect from this blog?

Honestly? Nothing.

My main motivation is to use writing as therapy and practice. While my weekdays are for deep work, my weekends are for thinking and writing.

I acknowledge that I’m nobody now, and my opinion most likely doesn’t matter online. But that’s good — I can learn and play while nobody notices.

Randomly sharing my vision

My task is to embrace all the opportunities the world offers. I should say yes to everything, build my name, and start from zero (actually, I’m lucky not to be at complete zero).

But the time will come when I'll say no to 80% of things. I'll finish projects, close deals, and end collaborations. I'll find the 20% of projects that truly motivate and interest me.

When will this happen? I don't know, but it will happen when my income doesn't depend on how much time I work. Until then, I'm doing whatever it takes.

Company brand vs personal brand

Here's the truth: I'm Jurij. I do many things; my life isn't just my work.

I want to make music. I want to write an interesting blog and maybe turn it into a book or podcast. I'm a father, husband, immigrant, dual citizenship holder, and three languages speaker. I love spending time in nature and dreaming of going on expeditions in my Wrangler. I love creative projects, even those not related to tech. I want to make my body fit.

On the other hand, Varstatt is the company I work at (though I own it). Like any company, it goes through phases. Currently, it’s focused on services to cover costs and pay off debts.

But in 10 years, it'll be different — hopefully with 10 revenue-generating products, even if 200 projects end up in the graveyard. There are no services, just a simple page linking to products, signed "Varstatt is an indie software company run by Jurij" with a link to this blog.

What’s next?

This blog will be my only public presence; private messages and email for the rest.

Everything else is scheduled and automated. I believe we will soon receive Instagram's approval and release our content scheduling tool to the public.

You can find me on X, Instagram, Threads, Linkedin, and Bluesky. I sometimes check comments and messages there (but I removed apps from the phone).

But I'm most active here, on Substack, embracing the art of being anti-right.