How a College Dropout Used Military Discipline to Land a Slack Job (Working Smarter, Not Harder)

July 9, 2025 | Idea in Itself Productivity Case Study

Jeremiah Peoples spent 84-hour weeks in an Iraqi war zone as a military intelligence analyst. Yet his breakthrough into a 6-figure Slack engineering job wasn’t fueled by more work—but by three ruthless productivity principles anyone can replicate.

No degree. No bootcamp debt. Just strategy.

*”I studied 3 hours nightly after 12-hour shifts. But the secret wasn’t the hours—it was* eliminating everything that didn’t build my future.”
– Jeremiah Peoples

3 Productivity Tactics to Work Less, Earn More (Stolen from Jeremiah’s Playbook)

✅ 1. The “Warzone Filter” for Skill-Building

While deployed, Jeremiah had two options after work:

• Scroll through social media/work out

• Code for 3 hours
  His choice? Only activities with compounding returns.

Your Move: Audit your daily “low-value” time (commuting, Netflix, chores). Replace one 60-minute block with a high-leverage skill.

“In 6 months, you’ll have 180 hours of mastery—enough to change careers.”

✅ 2. Mentorship as a Force Multiplier

Jeremiah’s mentors did the heavy lifting:

• Curated only relevant coding concepts

• Explained complex topics in minutes (saving 100+ hours of solo study)

• Connected him to hidden opportunities

Your Move: Stop learning alone. [Join our free mentor-match database]—filter vetted experts in tech, finance, or marketing.

✅ 3. Automate Opportunity with “Passive Portfolio”

Jeremiah’s YouTube channel documented his coding journey. When he left the military:

• He tweeted one 90-second “open to work” video

• It went viral → Google, Amazon, Slack pursued HIM

• Zero job applications. Zero interviews.

Your Move: Build in public. Share 1 win/week (LinkedIn, blog, TikTok). Attract opportunities while you sleep.

The Productivity Payoff

Want More “Work Less, Earn More” Tactics?

👉 Download Our Free Toolkit: The Productivity Alchemist’s Handbook
(Valued at $97 – Free for Newsletter Subscribers)

Inside:
🔥 The “Constraint Canvas” – Turn limitations into focus (like Jeremiah’s warzone)
🔥 Mentor Blueprint – Get experts to invest in you (script templates included)
🔥 Passive Opportunity Engine – Automate job offers with content leverage

>> Subscribe Now → Unlock the Toolkit

“Productivity isn’t about effort—it’s about designing systems where 1 hour of work generates 100 hours of results.” – Jeremiah Peoples

 

“Like our ‘Content Leverage’ framework? Jeremiah deployed it perfectly”).