https://dragosroua.com// en-us Copyright 2026 Dragos Roua Sun, 11 Oct 2026 03:43:09 GMT Sun, 11 Oct 2026 05:40:59 GMT dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) https://dragosroua.com//images/dragos-avatar.webp https://dragosroua.com// https://dragosroua.com//video-stories-from-the-vibe-coding-trenches-accidentally-overpaid-150-to-cloudflare/ This are real stories from my life as a vibe coder. This one shows how I overpaid $150 on Cloudeflare while vibe coding Flight Lens. Sun, 11 Oct 2026 05:40:59 GMT Sun, 11 Oct 2026 05:41:00 GMT https://dragosroua.com//video-stories-from-the-vibe-coding-trenches-accidentally-overpaid-150-to-cloudflare/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Digital Tools iPhone apps coding lessons learned vibe coding https://dragosroua.com//video-running-liquid-ai-lfm-v2-5-on-my-16-gb-macbookpro/ The 4th video in the series about what models can you realistically run on a 16GB MacoBook tests Liquid AI LFM 2.5. A solid model. Wed, 07 Oct 2026 03:45:26 GMT Wed, 07 Oct 2026 03:45:27 GMT https://dragosroua.com//video-running-liquid-ai-lfm-v2-5-on-my-16-gb-macbookpro/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Digital Tools Financial Resilience ai tools coding money mindset tools vibe coding https://dragosroua.com//video-artificial-intelligence-or-super-intelligence/ Artificial Intelligence might be replaced by Super Intelligence. It's just a word play, for now, but it may shape how we call it too. Tue, 06 Oct 2026 03:45:09 GMT Tue, 06 Oct 2026 03:48:22 GMT https://dragosroua.com//video-artificial-intelligence-or-super-intelligence/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Technology ai tools mindset perspective tools https://dragosroua.com//adulthood-should-come-with-a-user-manual-it-didnt-so-i-made-one/ Adulthood is hard. And it comes without a user manual. So I built an iOS app that fills this gap: from health checks, to money management. Sat, 03 Oct 2026 03:03:37 GMT Sat, 03 Oct 2026 03:06:14 GMT https://dragosroua.com//adulthood-should-come-with-a-user-manual-it-didnt-so-i-made-one/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Meaningful Relationships Parenting Personal Development app store apps money personal story self improvement https://dragosroua.com//video-how-to-set-up-local-ai-on-a-16gb-macbook/ Setting up local AI on a 16GB MacBook involves using optimized binaries for the Metal architecture. Start with MLX-serve. Optionally OpenWebUI Fri, 02 Oct 2026 04:22:12 GMT Fri, 02 Oct 2026 04:22:13 GMT https://dragosroua.com//video-how-to-set-up-local-ai-on-a-16gb-macbook/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Apple and Mac OS X Artificial Intelligence Digital Tools ai tools apps how to mindset tools https://dragosroua.com//what-makes-an-ai-model-a-really-good-ai-model/ At the end of the day, all AI models are the same: statistical approximation machines. A really good AI model is just in the question you ask. Thu, 01 Oct 2026 02:56:34 GMT Thu, 01 Oct 2026 02:56:35 GMT https://dragosroua.com//what-makes-an-ai-model-a-really-good-ai-model/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Digital Tools Financial Resilience ai tools learning mindset resilience self awareness https://dragosroua.com//video-running-xiaomi-mimo-v2-6-qwen-9b-distill-on-my-16-gb-macbookpro/ This week I'm testing Xiaomi MiMo V2.6, Qwen 9b distill, on a 16GB M1 MacBookPro. It works good enough for text generation and light coding Wed, 30 Sep 2026 09:31:49 GMT Wed, 30 Sep 2026 09:37:36 GMT https://dragosroua.com//video-running-xiaomi-mimo-v2-6-qwen-9b-distill-on-my-16-gb-macbookpro/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Digital Tools Financial Resilience ai tools coding money mindset tools vibe coding https://dragosroua.com//pane-shatter-my-first-ios-game-is-live-in-the-appstore/ Pane Shatter is my latest iOS game. A tiny anti stress game where you can launch a steel ball and "break" the screen of your phone. Fri, 25 Sep 2026 04:55:35 GMT Fri, 25 Sep 2026 05:07:46 GMT https://dragosroua.com//pane-shatter-my-first-ios-game-is-live-in-the-appstore/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Apple and Mac OS X iPhone Travel and Fun app store apps coding vibe coding https://dragosroua.com//video-running-google-gemma-4-e4b-on-my-16gb-macbookpro/ This week I'm testing Google Gemma 4 E4B on a 16GB M1 MacBookPro. It works surprisingly well for text generation and even light coding. Fri, 25 Sep 2026 03:29:37 GMT Fri, 25 Sep 2026 03:29:38 GMT https://dragosroua.com//video-running-google-gemma-4-e4b-on-my-16gb-macbookpro/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Digital Tools Financial Resilience ai tools coding money mindset tools vibe coding https://dragosroua.com//video-i-tested-grok-4-7-with-one-simple-job-turn-my-vi-task-files-into-a-bash-agenda/ Grok 4.7 was launched yesterday and I had a chance to test it. It has better prompt adherence, it's more thorough, but also token greedy. Thu, 24 Sep 2026 03:35:52 GMT Fri, 25 Sep 2026 03:07:12 GMT https://dragosroua.com//video-i-tested-grok-4-7-with-one-simple-job-turn-my-vi-task-files-into-a-bash-agenda/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Digital Tools ai tools coding vibe coding https://dragosroua.com//video-a-system-one-ai-doesnt-talk-it-only-decides-and-its-perfect-for-assess-decide-do/ A System One model, like JEV, doesn't output text, it only decides, and that's why is perfect for my Assess Decide Do framework. Tue, 22 Sep 2026 05:44:40 GMT Tue, 22 Sep 2026 05:44:42 GMT https://dragosroua.com//video-a-system-one-ai-doesnt-talk-it-only-decides-and-its-perfect-for-assess-decide-do/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Assess Decide Do Digital Tools ai tools assess decide decision making do https://dragosroua.com//video-running-qwen-3-8-27b-ternary-bonsai-2-on-my-16gb-mac/ This is a brief test of a heavily quantized version of Qwen 3.8 27B, fitting in 7GB on disk. Impressive, but not 98% of the original Qwen. Mon, 21 Sep 2026 04:18:01 GMT Mon, 21 Sep 2026 04:18:02 GMT https://dragosroua.com//video-running-qwen-3-8-27b-ternary-bonsai-2-on-my-16gb-mac/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Digital Tools ai tools coding tools vibe coding https://dragosroua.com//the-ai-agents-took-over-my-blog-traffic-i-made-them-pay-for-that/ 95% of my blog is coming from agents now. They didn't ask for permission, those bots, so I decided to make the AI agents pay. Sat, 19 Sep 2026 05:36:19 GMT Sat, 19 Sep 2026 05:36:20 GMT https://dragosroua.com//the-ai-agents-took-over-my-blog-traffic-i-made-them-pay-for-that/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Blogging Digital Tools ai tools blog monetization how to money mindset https://dragosroua.com//what-open-weights-models-can-you-realistically-run-on-a-medium-laptop-september-2026/ Open source AI is here to stay, so let's see what open weights models you can realistically run on a medium laptop as of September 2026. Wed, 16 Sep 2026 04:08:03 GMT Wed, 16 Sep 2026 04:08:04 GMT https://dragosroua.com//what-open-weights-models-can-you-realistically-run-on-a-medium-laptop-september-2026/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Digital Tools ai tools apps coding vibe coding https://dragosroua.com//good-guys-vibe-code-bad-guys-write-specs/ AI is a great machine, if you treat it like a machine: ask clear outcomes, don't share feelings. Good guys vibe code, bad guys write specs. Tue, 15 Sep 2026 06:09:27 GMT Tue, 15 Sep 2026 06:13:33 GMT https://dragosroua.com//good-guys-vibe-code-bad-guys-write-specs/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Technology ai tools apps coding vibe coding https://dragosroua.com//anthropic-ceo-wants-to-slow-down-ai-ban-open-source/ In a rather disturbing essay, Dario Amodei, Anthropic's CEO, urges to slow down AI dissemination (not training) and ban open source AI. Mon, 14 Sep 2026 05:41:05 GMT Mon, 14 Sep 2026 05:50:29 GMT https://dragosroua.com//anthropic-ceo-wants-to-slow-down-ai-ban-open-source/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Digital Tools Technology ai tools Claude perspective vibe coding https://dragosroua.com//an-app-pocalypse-is-coming-but-does-it-really/ It's very easy to vibe code an entire SaaS these days. But the cost of building going down doesn't mean ALL the apps will disappear. Sun, 13 Sep 2026 07:13:24 GMT Sun, 13 Sep 2026 07:27:41 GMT https://dragosroua.com//an-app-pocalypse-is-coming-but-does-it-really/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Digital Tools Technology ai tools apps coding ios development vibe coding https://dragosroua.com//how-i-became-a-small-business-owner-again-by-partnering-with-ai/ In the age of AI, scaling yourself 100x as a programmer is not enough. You have to do sales and marketing too. You're a full small business. Fri, 11 Sep 2026 06:52:13 GMT Sat, 12 Sep 2026 03:10:51 GMT https://dragosroua.com//how-i-became-a-small-business-owner-again-by-partnering-with-ai/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Business ai tools entrepreneurship financial freedom mindset https://dragosroua.com//iphone-duo-is-the-book-of-the-ai-age/ iPhone Duo has the potential to become the "book" of the AI age. Same form factor, but very different (and rich) way to consume information. Thu, 10 Sep 2026 08:58:13 GMT Thu, 10 Sep 2026 09:06:49 GMT https://dragosroua.com//iphone-duo-is-the-book-of-the-ai-age/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence iPhone ai tools app store apps ios development https://dragosroua.com//what-is-this-agi-anyway/ What is this AGI, that everybody talks about? Artificial General Intelligence isn't vibe coding, it's solving problems we haven't solved yet. Thu, 10 Sep 2026 04:36:09 GMT Thu, 10 Sep 2026 04:36:10 GMT https://dragosroua.com//what-is-this-agi-anyway/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Technology ai tools coding perspective vibe coding https://dragosroua.com//the-complete-vibe-coding-toolkit-for-lazy-creative-people/ Vibe coders are not coders. And that might be their unfair advantage. For these lazy, creative people I built a vibe coding toolkit. Wed, 09 Sep 2026 07:10:16 GMT Wed, 09 Sep 2026 07:19:49 GMT https://dragosroua.com//the-complete-vibe-coding-toolkit-for-lazy-creative-people/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Digital Tools ai tools apps how to ios development https://dragosroua.com//ai-api-tokens-prices-are-not-real-theyre-aspirational/ Neolabs like Anthropci and OpenAI sell inference at a certain price per token. Only the price per token is not real, it's aspirational. Sun, 06 Sep 2026 09:39:52 GMT Sun, 06 Sep 2026 09:39:53 GMT https://dragosroua.com//ai-api-tokens-prices-are-not-real-theyre-aspirational/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Technology ai tools entrepreneurship investing perspective https://dragosroua.com//anthropic-and-openai-chase-trillion-dollar-ipos-but-google-meta-and-xai-already-have-users-compute-and-data-heres-why-the-quiet-giants-may-still-win/ A one-trillion-dollar valuation is no joke. Anthropic and OpenAI are both at this level, and they are both preparing for IPOs. Of course, expectations are high. Many people will bet insane amounts of money on these two companies. But are they even in a good position to win the AI race? I try to... Fri, 04 Sep 2026 04:02:49 GMT Fri, 04 Sep 2026 04:02:50 GMT https://dragosroua.com//anthropic-and-openai-chase-trillion-dollar-ipos-but-google-meta-and-xai-already-have-users-compute-and-data-heres-why-the-quiet-giants-may-still-win/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Technology ai tools coding entrepreneurship investing perspective https://dragosroua.com//you-can-now-share-your-grok-bots-and-soon-you-could-sell-them/ You can now share your Grok bots. I had early access to the feature and I published my own before they went live. I explain how in the video. Sat, 29 Aug 2026 05:17:46 GMT Sat, 29 Aug 2026 05:18:35 GMT https://dragosroua.com//you-can-now-share-your-grok-bots-and-soon-you-could-sell-them/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Digital Tools iPhone ai tools coding how to vibe coding https://dragosroua.com//grok-bot-is-the-iphone-moment-for-ai-agents-quick-review/ Grok Bot quick review: it looks simple, but at the same time useful, just like the first iPhone. Agents talking to each other feels magical. Fri, 28 Aug 2026 05:50:20 GMT Fri, 28 Aug 2026 05:50:21 GMT https://dragosroua.com//grok-bot-is-the-iphone-moment-for-ai-agents-quick-review/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Digital Tools ai tools coding vibe coding https://dragosroua.com//how-i-use-grok-build-to-run-free-models-on-top-of-grok-4-6/ Use Grok Build with local and OpenRouter free models alongside Grok-4.6. Copy-paste config.toml for Gemma, Qwen, and GLM — same harness, switch with /model. Tue, 25 Aug 2026 04:57:59 GMT Tue, 25 Aug 2026 05:32:03 GMT https://dragosroua.com//how-i-use-grok-build-to-run-free-models-on-top-of-grok-4-6/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Digital Tools ai tools coding experiment how to https://dragosroua.com//video-how-to-choose-an-open-weights-model-episode-4/ In the final episode I talk about open weight model harnesses, or how to actually talk to your local AI. From llama-cpp chat to Pi, or Hermes Sun, 23 Aug 2026 06:17:08 GMT Sat, 03 Oct 2026 03:06:10 GMT https://dragosroua.com//video-how-to-choose-an-open-weights-model-episode-4/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Digital Tools ai tools tools vibe coding https://dragosroua.com//video-how-to-choose-an-open-weights-model-episode-3/ In this episode I talk about running an open weights model locally. Two main hardware lines: Apple Silicon and NVIDIA, both good. Sat, 22 Aug 2026 05:14:39 GMT Thu, 27 Aug 2026 03:24:00 GMT https://dragosroua.com//video-how-to-choose-an-open-weights-model-episode-3/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Digital Tools ai tools tools vibe coding https://dragosroua.com//video-how-to-choose-an-open-weights-model-episode-2/ Episode 2 of the mini series about how to choose an open weights model, this time how to choose an open weights model provider. Fri, 21 Aug 2026 04:48:29 GMT Thu, 17 Sep 2026 05:18:47 GMT https://dragosroua.com//video-how-to-choose-an-open-weights-model-episode-2/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Digital Tools ai tools tools vibe coding https://dragosroua.com//video-how-to-choose-an-open-weights-model-episode-1/ How to choose and open weights model: the difference between slow, dumb and laggy - and state of the art inference, like Claude or Grok. Wed, 19 Aug 2026 15:12:46 GMT Thu, 27 Aug 2026 03:25:59 GMT https://dragosroua.com//video-how-to-choose-an-open-weights-model-episode-1/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Digital Tools ai tools Claude tools vibe coding https://dragosroua.com//how-ai-watermarking-works-can-it-be-removed/ AI watermarking is not baked into model weights, it works at the generation level, by sampling different tokens, paired with a private key. Tue, 18 Aug 2026 09:56:40 GMT Thu, 27 Aug 2026 03:26:44 GMT https://dragosroua.com//how-ai-watermarking-works-can-it-be-removed/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Digital Tools ai tools Claude tools vibe coding https://dragosroua.com//why-china-will-not-win-the-ai-race-spoiler-it-already-did/ China is already way ahead in the AI race, more than the Western media make it look. This is an account from an actual visit there. Sun, 16 Aug 2026 11:26:28 GMT Mon, 17 Aug 2026 03:51:49 GMT https://dragosroua.com//why-china-will-not-win-the-ai-race-spoiler-it-already-did/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Travel and Fun ai tools asia digital nomad travel https://dragosroua.com//ai-can-follow-you-everywhere-now-unless-you-outsmart-it/ "AI watermarking now traces Claude text back to you. Learn why it survives copy-paste, how it locks you in, and two ways to keep your writing untracked. Thu, 13 Aug 2026 07:37:42 GMT Thu, 13 Aug 2026 07:37:43 GMT https://dragosroua.com//ai-can-follow-you-everywhere-now-unless-you-outsmart-it/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Digital Tools ai tools Claude writing https://dragosroua.com//singularity-and-the-chevalier-in-the-supermarket/ We're not in the Singularity yet. The chevalier-in-the-supermarket test shows what real Singularity would feel like—and why AGI hype falls short. Sat, 01 Aug 2026 06:28:22 GMT Sat, 01 Aug 2026 06:28:23 GMT https://dragosroua.com//singularity-and-the-chevalier-in-the-supermarket/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Technology ai tools change mindset perspective https://dragosroua.com//video-software-engineering-is-dead-is-it-really/ I’m fortunate enough to have witnessed a few key moments in our recent tech history. One of them is web 3, the dot com revolution. Back then, having a website was considered peak flex (in modern slang). I see something similar happening with AI agents, now, it seems equally fashionable. And,... Sun, 26 Jul 2026 04:05:33 GMT Sun, 26 Jul 2026 04:11:41 GMT https://dragosroua.com//video-software-engineering-is-dead-is-it-really/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Technology ai tools app store apps coding vibe coding https://dragosroua.com//the-poor-guy-guide-to-fable-level-vibe-coding-for-80-month/ See how to combine entry-level AI subscriptions and free models for Fable-level vibe coding, solid limits, and high productivity on an $80 monthly budget. Sat, 18 Jul 2026 10:43:22 GMT Sat, 18 Jul 2026 10:43:23 GMT https://dragosroua.com//the-poor-guy-guide-to-fable-level-vibe-coding-for-80-month/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Digital Tools ai tools Claude coding vibe coding https://dragosroua.com//introducing-app-store-release-agent-automating-my-app-store-pipeline/ Publishing ten apps in four months sounds good. And it is good. It means the bottleneck is no longer building the app. With AI-assisted coding, small utilities, focused experiments, and niche apps can go from idea to App Store submission in days, sometimes hours. But there is a second part that can... Fri, 10 Jul 2026 06:33:20 GMT Fri, 10 Jul 2026 06:33:21 GMT https://dragosroua.com//introducing-app-store-release-agent-automating-my-app-store-pipeline/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence iPhone ai tools app store apps automation coding vibe coding https://dragosroua.com//vibe-coding-for-people-over-50/ Pre-digital childhood gave you patterns younger developers never learned. Now AI removes the syntax barrier. Here's how to turn 50+ into your unfair advantage. Fri, 03 Jul 2026 05:12:15 GMT Fri, 03 Jul 2026 05:12:16 GMT https://dragosroua.com//vibe-coding-for-people-over-50/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Personal Development ai tools entrepreneurship mindset vibe coding https://dragosroua.com//switching-from-claude-code-to-grok-same-interface-different-model/ I kept the Claude Code interface I like and routed Grok's model underneath it via proxy. Same workflow, video generation included, $35/month instead of $100. Here's how. Tue, 30 Jun 2026 06:13:12 GMT Tue, 30 Jun 2026 06:13:13 GMT https://dragosroua.com//switching-from-claude-code-to-grok-same-interface-different-model/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Digital Tools ai tools Claude coding https://dragosroua.com//how-to-manage-ai-cognitive-overload-lessons-after-9-apps-shipped-in-4-months/ I shipped 9 iOS apps in 4 months with AI—and learned how to manage AI cognitive overload. Here are 3 actions that keep AI-assisted development sustainable long-term. Mon, 22 Jun 2026 06:01:29 GMT Mon, 22 Jun 2026 06:01:30 GMT https://dragosroua.com//how-to-manage-ai-cognitive-overload-lessons-after-9-apps-shipped-in-4-months/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Productivity and Effectiveness ai tools burnout focus habits ios development https://dragosroua.com//running-local-private-ai-models-how-and-why/ Running local private AI models is now realistic, affordable, and urgent. Here's what hardware to use, which open-source models are ready, and why you shouldn't wait. Wed, 17 Jun 2026 05:46:16 GMT Wed, 17 Jun 2026 05:46:17 GMT https://dragosroua.com//running-local-private-ai-models-how-and-why/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Digital Tools ai tools Claude how to mindset tools https://dragosroua.com//attention-harvesting-what-you-do-while-your-llm-works/ Harvesting attention isn't just for big tech. Learn how AI wait times created a new micro-pause — and why you should claim it before someone else fills it. Fri, 12 Jun 2026 06:03:13 GMT Fri, 12 Jun 2026 06:03:14 GMT https://dragosroua.com//attention-harvesting-what-you-do-while-your-llm-works/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Productivity and Effectiveness ai tools Claude focus mindfulness side projects https://dragosroua.com//i-stopped-prompting-my-agents-i-write-agentic-loops-instead-heres-why/ I stopped prompting my AI agents and started writing loops instead. Here's what a 50-line Python audit loop taught me about trust, failure, and where humans still belong. Tue, 09 Jun 2026 11:03:42 GMT Fri, 12 Jun 2026 04:09:00 GMT https://dragosroua.com//i-stopped-prompting-my-agents-i-write-agentic-loops-instead-heres-why/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Digital Tools ai tools Claude coding https://dragosroua.com//leaving-claude-code-opus-4-8-behind-switching-to-minimax-3/ After using Claude (Opus 4.6 to 4.8) for roughly 5 months, I'm experiencing with MiniMax 3. A full month to decide which is best for coding. Thu, 04 Jun 2026 04:46:42 GMT Thu, 04 Jun 2026 04:56:14 GMT https://dragosroua.com//leaving-claude-code-opus-4-8-behind-switching-to-minimax-3/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Artificial Intelligence Digital Tools ai tools Claude coding https://dragosroua.com//the-price-of-illusions-16-years-later/ In 2010 I asked if you were living in an illusion. In 2026 that question is harder — the price of illusions, now that they have industrial infrastructure, have grown exponentially. Sun, 31 May 2026 06:23:48 GMT Sun, 31 May 2026 06:23:49 GMT https://dragosroua.com//the-price-of-illusions-16-years-later/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Personal Development Spirituality and Beliefs mindset personal story resilience self awareness https://dragosroua.com//are-you-the-best-version-of-yourself-checking-in-after-16-years/ In 2010 the OS metaphor for self-improvement was an analogy. In 2026 it's literal — AI tools actually run as cognitive extensions. Here's what that changes. Sat, 30 May 2026 06:07:09 GMT Sat, 30 May 2026 06:07:10 GMT https://dragosroua.com//are-you-the-best-version-of-yourself-checking-in-after-16-years/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Personal Development Productivity and Effectiveness ai tools lessons learned mindset personal story self awareness https://dragosroua.com//the-2026-definition-of-success-10-years-after-i-first-tried-my-first-one/ I had 9 definitions of success in 2016 and was split between all of them. 10 years later, here's what I actually learned about enough, alignment, and flow. Fri, 29 May 2026 06:41:45 GMT Fri, 29 May 2026 06:41:46 GMT https://dragosroua.com//the-2026-definition-of-success-10-years-after-i-first-tried-my-first-one/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Motivation and Inspiration Personal Development lessons learned mindset personal story purpose https://dragosroua.com//frustration-as-a-growth-signal-revisiting-after-15-years/ I wrote 33 ways to overcome frustration in 2010. 15 years later: most of them work, but only for one type. The other type just needs acceptance. Thu, 28 May 2026 07:10:35 GMT Thu, 28 May 2026 07:10:36 GMT https://dragosroua.com//frustration-as-a-growth-signal-revisiting-after-15-years/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Motivation and Inspiration Personal Development lessons learned mindset resilience self awareness self discipline https://dragosroua.com//still-learning-to-say-no-17-years-after-first-writing-about-it/ I wrote about saying no in 2009. The technique was right but incomplete. 17 years later, here's what I missed: the permission problem is harder than choosing your words. Wed, 27 May 2026 11:00:50 GMT Thu, 28 May 2026 06:28:50 GMT https://dragosroua.com//still-learning-to-say-no-17-years-after-first-writing-about-it/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Personal Development Relationships and Society boundaries communication lessons learned personal story self awareness https://dragosroua.com//the-ancestor-syndrome-revisiting-inherited-money-beliefs-10-years-after/ I wrote about the ancestor syndrome in 2016. Ten years of crypto cycles and economic shocks have tested that thesis hard. Here's what held up and what changed. Tue, 26 May 2026 06:20:13 GMT Tue, 26 May 2026 06:20:14 GMT https://dragosroua.com//the-ancestor-syndrome-revisiting-inherited-money-beliefs-10-years-after/ dragos@dragosroua.com (Dragos Roua) Crypto Financial Resilience financial habits money money mindset personal story