I wasted 3 hours fighting browser automation before admitting I was solving the wrong problem.
The Problem
I'm building a system that auto-posts to LinkedIn and X.com whenever my trading AI gets feedback. The goal: build in public, document every win and loss, create accountability.
LinkedIn worked - direct login with credentials, fill the form, click Post. Done.
X.com? Complete nightmare. Google SSO timeouts. UI selectors changing. Persistent browser contexts not working. Every attempt failed differently.
The Trap
I kept thinking "just one more selector, one more wait time, one more try..."
Classic sunk cost fallacy. I was committed to browser automation because that's what worked for LinkedIn.
The Pivot
Finally asked myself: Why am I fighting this?
X.com has an API. I have API credentials in my .env file. Why am I launching browsers and clicking buttons like it's 2015?
Switched to Twitter API v2 with tweepy. 10 minutes later: working.
The Lesson
Don't fall in love with your solution. Fall in love with solving the problem.
- Browser automation? Tool.
- API calls? Tool.
- The goal? Reliable posting.
When one tool isn't working, grab a different one.
Why This Matters
I'm racing toward $600K by my 50th birthday (November 2029) to reach financial independence. Currently at $101K. Every day counts.
Wasting hours on stubborn technical choices delays the goal. Pivoting fast keeps momentum.
Now all 4 platforms publish automatically (GitHub Pages, Dev.to, LinkedIn, X.com). No manual work. No browser fights. Just reliable automation.
Speed beats perfection when you're racing a deadline.
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