This is the first post in a series where I’ll teach you how to code. My friends and I anyhow. We’re gonna take you from zero to hero. Ready?

Before we start conquerring the world with code, increasing our income by three-digit-per-cents and becoming more athletic, let’s start at the beginning – before the beginning:

Why

Simon Sinek says you should start with why. Like Apple. When Steve Jobs was alive, anyhow. So why should you code? What do you want to code? No, wait – start with why:

The intention of your coding project. What do you want to achieve? What is the core belief of the business you’re about to embark on? Start with why – right after you’ve watched Simon’s video (he’s at TED-talks – so he’s a part of the inner circle – right?)

Now that you’ve become a believer in why, just for kicks, let’s say out core value is:

Make people’s work life more meaningful and less exposed to financial stress

How

The thing of it is: We work – earn money – spend money – go to start. However, how can we relate to work and money in a way that takes some of the stress off the income part. How can we help people in a way that makes them stand ahead of their peers and at the same time bring meaning and value to their work life?

Remember our core value? We want to make people’s work life more meaningful and less exposed to financial stress. We want to make people more able to produce value than their peers (no, not just better than Peer). How can we do this? I think I’ve got an idea! Check this out:

Make people stand ahead of their peers by raising their skill set to a level where they can deliver a far higher value.

What

Now that we know the why and the how, let’s find out what we’re gonna make. We’re taking code here, right? So my suggestion is that we make:

A web based learning platform with an accompanying cross platform mobile app

Sounds good? We – obviously – don’t know anything about coding, programming, web development, nada, zip, so we have to start at the very bottom.

A digression

Ever heard about the horse that had fallen into a rather deep ditch?

The owner did what he could to pull the horse out, but the ditch was too deep and the horse was too heavy. After a few days, he decided it was better to end the poor animal’s misery quickly than to let it die from thirst.

He decided to bury the animal (alive) and started shoveling dirt into the ditch. As the dirt hit the horse, it shook the dirt off and stomped it down under it’s feet. As the man continued shoveling dirt, the horse continued shaking it off and stomping it down – being lifted a few millimeters at a time – until it was finally able to leap out of the ditch.

You might feel as though I’m going to throw piles of dirt at you, trying to bury you alive. But take heart, my friend. The dirt will be what helps you learn, master and conquer a programmer’s skill. Just like the horse. It must have been a unicorn.

In Part 2, we’re going to talk about prototyping and mocking. Stay tuned, unicorn!