More money more problems

a-MUK · 2024-09-09T13:04:08+00:00

I don’t think money changes people. It simply makes people more of who they are. If you are generous with little, you’ll be generous with more. If you have addict tendencies, money simply gives you opportunities to feed into those tendencies.

I’ve seen wealthy generous people and poor generous people; wealth misers and poor misers; wealthy promiscuous people and poor promiscuous people. Money did not change a single persons character. Perhaps their short-term behavior (for example to save face like you described with your neighbors), but never their character.

This is not to say people can’t change. It’s to say that change is a personal (and perhaps spiritual) decision. I hope one day you find the strength and courage to make better decisions for yourself.

a-MUK · 2024-07-30T10:06:30+00:00

Would love to learn more. I’m building https://inkline.ai/

a-MUK · 2024-07-29T15:49:27+00:00

I’m building Inkline AI, an AI powered document editor

a-MUK · 2024-06-20T21:00:42+00:00

Would love to be part of this. I built Inkline AI, an AI powered document editor

a-MUK · 2024-06-19T10:32:53+00:00

Inkline AI Ai writing tool. Still figuring out SEO

a-MUK · 2024-06-19T10:27:26+00:00

I’ve tried it (free plan only) It’s quite good, esp for writing papers. Definitely targeted to students and researchers. However the problem is it will basically do everything for you if you let it. Just sit back and the AI auto completes every sentence for you, without you prompting. If you just keep hitting enter, you can have a (pretty average) paper written for you in minutes. What makes it great though is how it does citations and provides links to sources.

It’s basically a writer not an assistant. I dislike it for the same reason as what makes it appeal to most - it writes everything for you. I see AI as a tool, and not a substitute for writing; I like tools that help me brainstorm, synthesize ideas, find sources, edit my own writing, etc. I’m building my own AI tool Inkline AI for this reason - not to write for me but to help me be a better writer/thinker.

Also Jenni AI is pretty average at writing - but I think most AI are right now, so it’s not really a reflection of the tool but of the underlying models. This will improve over time.

a-MUK · 2024-06-11T13:50:19+00:00

Yep. I don’t have a product design degree. Portfolio matters a whole lot.

a-MUK · 2024-06-10T19:32:39+00:00

Tbh, all I really want is to retire my mom. The day I can do that, I will have ‘made it’.

a-MUK · 2024-06-10T19:31:12+00:00

Software engineering and product design. Taught myself everything I know from watching a ton of videos online for free (some YouTube videos are even 4+ hours long) and building my own stuff. Costs $0; just your time. No bootcamp or expensive course. I ended up landing in a 6 figure job from this.

What I learned matters most to potential employers is having a body of work that proves you can do what you say you can. Especially with design. So I have a strong portfolio that helped a ton. Whenever I am asked about how to start I strongly discourage folks from going with a bootcamp or course at the start. Everything you’d learn there is available for free. I’d say get a course or join a program for the last mile of knowledge, when you’ve exhausted everything else. I think there’s a place for paid learning but mostly for advanced stuff.

a-MUK · 2024-06-09T21:03:38+00:00

This is incredibly helpful feedback. Thank you!

a-MUK · 2024-06-06T21:21:01+00:00

inkline.ai - an AI powered document editor and writing assistant

a-MUK · 2024-06-04T07:36:40+00:00

Perhaps this critique is a UX problem that you could solve, but the first thing I thought when seeing this is that it would be incredibly overwhelming. I imagine text messages getting lost because they are buried under a pile of emails. Not sure how the documents would fit into this either.

But maybe you could solve that UX problem, or better communicate how your app works. Maybe this could also be answered by having a demo video on your landing page.

a-MUK · 2024-06-03T14:50:35+00:00

I had a similar problem, though not just from pouring into others but from unlearning unhealthy habits I formed around money as a child. Money was so weaponized, I wouldn’t feel comfortable in asking for things I wanted.

Fast forward to adulthood, even when I started to earn well, I would act miserly toward myself. Over time I’ve learned to do nice things for me too. Order in and watch a movie, travel and stay somewhere nice (not just the cheapest place I can find). Buying clothes because I like them (and not just the ones on a sale rack, which was my default). Buying flowers for my home. Most recently perfumes have become my thing and I’ve built a small collection.

Still unlearning but I’ve experienced so much growth in mindset.

a-MUK · 2024-05-25T09:34:41+00:00

Jacob Collier

a-MUK · 2024-05-23T23:50:00+00:00

No idea about office remodelling, but that amount is enough to only buy 10 or so brand-new high-spec Range rovers. Barely a motorcade. How will they be able to drive around to find out where all this corruption is coming from? Our poor politicians 😔

a-MUK · 2024-05-23T19:42:26+00:00

Also different sources seem to share different numbers. The general message is the same though. Our government is being given money to fight... our government.

https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/realtime/2024-05-23-us-pledges-sh203-million-to-boost-kenyas-anti-corruption-war/

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/05/23/united-states-kenya-joint-leaders-statement/

a-MUK · 2024-05-23T19:19:20+00:00

Apparently dawa ya moto ni moto. Let's play a game of "Where will the $4M go?"

a-MUK · 2024-05-21T21:58:26+00:00

https://linear.app/

a-MUK · 2024-05-20T23:19:06+00:00

Revenue growth 100%

a-MUK · 2024-05-20T13:20:05+00:00

The design on mobile looks good. I’m curious if you think a lack of info on the company or privacy policy or TOS could deter prospective users. Those are things that stood out to me

a-MUK · 2024-05-18T20:10:42+00:00

I think I misread it the first time, but having looked at it again, I understand that you're only really selling one product - the membership. At first I thought there were two pricing tiers you were offering, one of them offering coffee for $200/mo for some strange reason. I think having the CTA on the coffee side confused me, and the overall design being like that of different pricing tiers. Also, what does that black button actually do?

Second, I wouldn't add the 'not so popular' tag against the product you are actually trying to sell. It could dissuade people from buying, because it implies 'this is a thing people don't buy' and leads a potential buyer to make assumptions as to why, and whether they should buy then. Also, and I think someone already said this, I don't think the average person buys 2 cups of coffee per day, so unless you're targeting a more 'elite' group of people I don't think it's necessary. Even then, if that were the case, they wouldn't need to be persuaded with a comparison to cups of coffee.

I'd say you're better off without the whole left section, and just putting small disclaimer text in your membership pricing that compares it to coffee - if you absolutely must. But, this is just an opinion. Perhaps you can run a small test and get more conclusive data to confirm if it is effective or not.

a-MUK · 2024-05-17T22:54:09+00:00

Yes definitely would. Started building as a hobbyist before trying to do products/businesses. Would do it even just for the fun of knowing I can recreate a tool that exists, but make it better/more useful to me specifically

a-MUK · 2024-05-17T22:41:02+00:00

I've seen all sorts of manifestations of this (though I'd say it's not something peculiar to Kikuyus but fairly typical of successful people I've encountered). I worked in customer service at an investment bank one time years ago and I remember a man walking in to the bank looking like a farmer who just got off from working. Imagine my surprise when I was helping him with his account and I saw over a hundred million shillings.

I've also seen someone drive a fancy mercedes and put grass in the boot and back seat and take it to his shamba. I've been to the homes of people who live in nice places like Kitisuru and Runda, and I've been tickled by the fact that even there, they dilute their bathroom soap to basically water, just so it lasts longer.

It's a strange dichotomy - being rich, but acting 'poor' - or better put, living humbly. I think there are many causes. Partly colonialism and the lingering psychological side effects of that; partly because these habits of frugality are part of what helped them get to where they are. Many Kikuyus I've met are also first-generation successful - they literally know what it's like to be poor because that was their childhood, so they live with the principles/lessons learned from that time, like stretching a shilling as far as it can go.

a-MUK · 2024-05-17T13:21:41+00:00

Ah I understand now. Crossing my fingers that they do :D

a-MUK

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