It's just a numbers game

I recently finished one of my projects that I randomly decided to take under my wing again.

This one’s called i-jeepney (i-jeepney.vercel.app) .

It’s basically a real-time jeepney tracking system for the Philippines. Like what Google Maps already does—but since the Philippines is… the Philippines, we don’t really have that working properly.

For context, this was originally just supposed to be her final thesis project. But I liked the idea enough to think it could actually go somewhere. So I decided to push it further and turn it into something bigger—a full SaaS.

I built most of it using AI, specifically Claude Code in my workflow. And yeah, I’m not even going to pretend anymore—I’m not reviewing every single line like before. I’ve fully committed to the vibe coder approach. No shame. I’m already using AI to help me write this anyway, bite me.

But for once, I actually locked in.

Like properly locked in.

And through all of that, I got it to a point where I can say:

MVP-wise, it’s done.

Then right after that, I saw another project.

Same idea. Same execution. Also vibe-coded.

And that genuinely pissed me off.

It felt like someone just beat me to it. Like I did all that work just to realize someone else already took the spotlight. For a moment, I actually felt like just dropping everything.

Then it got worse.

I started noticing more and more people posting their projects everywhere—Twitter, Discord, communities—and suddenly it felt like everyone is doing the exact same thing.

Everyone is using Claude Code.

Everyone is building.

Everyone is shipping.

And that’s when it hit me:

I’m not special.

Like at all.

I started looking at my own skills differently. Things I used to value— personal hobbies, accumulated knowledge, picking things up quickly—started to feel kind of useless. Because realistically, anyone can do those things too. They just need to put in the same time I did.

Anyone can learn:

Software Development

Systems Design

Network Architecture

Cybersecurity

Infrastructures & Frameworks

It’s all learnable.

And that thought really messes with you when it hits at the wrong time.

At one point I vented about it in a Discord channel. And someone just replied:

“chill bro ur just having impostor syndrome”

And yeah.

That was it.

Because he was right.

I always thought I was self-aware enough to catch that kind of thinking early, but apparently not.

The reality is, everything is a trade.

Skills aren’t special. You pay for them.

And what you pay with is time.

Yeah, everyone can get good at something—but that’s only true if they actually put in the work.

Most people don’t.

And the part I didn’t realize at first was this: I was looking at a very specific group of people

doing the same thing as me. Of course it felt like “everyone” was building. That’s just observer bias.

I put myself in an environment where that’s normal.

Outside of that? Most people aren’t doing any of this.

And even within that space, yeah—people will build similar things. Some will ship fast, some

will win, some will get attention off one-shot AI projects.

That’s fine.

Because at the end of the day:

it’s just a numbers game.

I actually like what I’m doing.

I like solving problems.

I like building things.

I like making stuff work and seeing it come to life.

So if something I make fails, I’m not going to take that personally anymore.

I’ll just make another one.

And another.

And another.

Eventually, something’s going to hit.

Some project I make later on is going to be something that the current version of me would look at and think, “yeah, that’s solid.”

And I can say this confidently—I’ve put in the work.

I might not be reviewing every line anymore, but I understand what I’m building. I know the architecture. I know what I want. I’m not just saying “fix it please” and hoping for the best.

There’s a difference between using AI and actually knowing what you’re doing with it.

So yeah.

I’m just going to keep going.

This isn’t some deep realization. It’s actually very obvious.

But sometimes you need to hear it at the right time:

If you want something to work, you have to keep putting in time.

If you actually enjoy it, you’ll naturally outlast most people.

Not because you’re special.

But because you didn’t stop.

So I’m just going to keep building.

Ship more.

Try more.

Make more slop.