How much sooner do you think youâd arrive at what success is to you if there were no consequences on you or your family for your actions? Not having to worry about providing, about health, about anything â how much sooner would you arrive at success? Maybe youâd say in 3-6 months, compared to the several years otherwise. Your reluctance to behave in that sort of ârecklessâ fashion is whatâs called fear. Thus conquering fear allows you to accelerate your progress. The act of conquering your fears as applied to daily life is called âtaking risksâ. Taking risks accelerates your progress byâŚ
Itâs liberating to realize that thereâs no such thing as any one specific âhealthyâ or superfood, but rather that your best odds at living a healthy life is to eat as many diverse not unhealthy things as possible, and hope you did it right ten years from now.
This isnât a great solution, and it would be great if we received more timely feedback and positive/negative reinforcement from our bodies (then again, maybe our bodies donât plan very far ahead anyway). But until we figure out a better solution, thereâs no sense in obsessing over making sure you take your daily dose of gojiâŚ
In recently attempting to understand the intuition behind basic probability theory, I found myself unable to think past the tangible reality of what it all meant. You flip a coin a couple times, and you see mixed results. You try to guess its next move, but it always outwits you. Youâve flipped the coin twenty times now, and you donât see a pattern. You get heads a couple times, followed by tails five times, then heads three times and tails six more times. There just doesnât seem to be a pattern here.
But probability theory says that over a large enough number of coin flips, eventually, theâŚ
Update: I have since learned that the conclusion I make in this post is incorrect, and as a science hobbyist, quantum mechanics is still far too difficult for me to understand. I leave this article published as a thumbtack in the history of my foolishness, and also as a way to hopefully instill curiosity of the subject in the reader. (See footnote for brief explanation.)
Several weeks ago, a friend of mine called me with some troubling news: the world of physics is in total disarray. âThe best definition we have for how things work, at the quantum level, is magic,â he explained. There wasâŚ
In the course of a week, there may be at most one or two events in which we donât know the self-morally correct decision for a given situation. In most cases, the difference between right and wrong is clear. The difficulty lies not in recognizing which of the two is is better aligned with our values and goals, but in choosing the right path.
I struggle with a certain lack of discipline in various areas of my life, and in an attempt to control and mold myself into the kind of ideal person I wish to be, I try to set up rules for myself that would take place in a future setting: when faced inâŚ
When you begin to ask questions like âwhyâ, crazy things happen. When it comes to our daily routine, however, âwhyâ is the least asked question of all. We figure that we must have arrived at our current routine by gradual evolution; by tinkering and tweaking until weâve found something agreeable. We then live on by this standard flow for as long as possible, sometimes years. And yet while we sit here judging and questioning articles, people, and events, our daily flow slips by undetected and unquestioned, as if it were an immediately trusted and familiar face. Our daily flow dictates ourâŚ
Is it possible to hit deadlines while remaining friendly?
If youâre like me, you always choose shipping over chatting. The result is hit deadlines and finished products; the price, neglected relationships and unfinished interactions.
I often find myself asking, am I a mean person? Is it unreasonable that I ask not to be interrupted so that I can be more productive? Am I mean for being abrupt and pithy with my statements, when my intention is understandable and perhaps even noble? To accomplish more work and be more productive: is this not the embodiment of the modern human being?
EvenâŚ
On Friday, June 13th of 2014, I quit my job without an idea of what to do next. Two days later, I found myself on a plane to Peru. The thought of going to South America came to me only the day before, and I booked my flight that same night. I wanted to explore culture: to figure out what part of me was human, and what part American. The only way to do that was through contrast.
I didnât book a hotel beforehand, nor did I plan out what I would do for the week that I was there. I decided it would be funner to figure it out as I go. I traveled light, with only a book bag, so that I wasnât tiedâŚ
There are days, such as today, when I have absolutely nothing to write about, but in want of expressing myself or feeling productive, I sit at my computer and stare at an empty page and a blinking cursor. âWhat can I possibly write about?â I ask myself pessimistically. I scan my mind for possible ideas, things which might have happened today, notes I may have written down that might lead to a potential post. Nothing. I sit staring at the document for a few more minutes, reluctant to give up, when finally I accept the fate of the situation: there is nothing to be written. I close the documentâŚ
Boredom is that overwhelming state of emotion one feels when faced with so many possible things to do coupled with the lack of desire to do any of them. More than anything, itâs a lack of discipline. I sometimes wonder whether it was possible, perhaps thousands of years ago, for one to have felt bored. The fact of the time was that you could either work, read, socialize, or sleep, and faced with this ultimatum of no choices, I could not imagine that one could have gotten bored, but rather accepted the fate that the activities of the day had come to an end. The paradox of choice, as it hasâŚ
Paulo Coelho (author of The Alchemist) writes:
At first, Theo Wierema was merely a very persistent individual. For five years, he kept sending letters to my office in Barcelona, inviting me to give a talk in The Hague, in Holland.
For five years, my office replied that my diary was full. My diary was not, in fact, always full, but a writer is not necessarily someone who speaks well in public. Besides, everything I need to say is in the books and articles I write, which is why I always try to avoid giving lectures.
Theo found out that I was going to record a programme for a DutchâŚ
My first app to the App Store back in 2010 made it to the number one position in the US Productivity category. How, I do not know. I did not advertise it nor did I really make a big deal of it publicly. It was more of an experiment than anything else. I hadnât even known it was top in its category until I was randomly browsing the productivity category to see what else was on there, and lo and behold, my app sat gloriously on its lucky throne. Since that day, I have been on a wild goose chase to recreate this success, with all but little luck.
On Christmas of 2013, I wrote and submitted anâŚ
I recently read Dustin Curtisâ rant on the new Amazon Echo, how Amazon has no idea what theyâre doing and how their new product is misguided and âsucksâ. My reaction was a bit different. When I first saw the commercial for Echo, I was in tears. It was so beautifully done and natural that you felt the family was real and lively. Letâs set aside branding for now and focus on the meat: the actual product. I think the Echo is wonderful.
I just recently purchased my own home, and I couldnât be more excited to move in. Having only rented in the past, I never had the comfort nor peace of mind inâŚ
There is an illusion of science in the success of tech companies, and those who have made large exits wear the white coats. Most people believe in luck when it comes to failure, as in, âI was unlucky to have failedâ, but believe that success is the product of strategy; of science. But give a successful entrepreneur enough time to launch his next product, and youâll see that even he will choke on the baffling currents of fashion and time. It is no coincidence that some of the most successful startups have come from nobodies â naive teens tinkering ignorantly with the tools they have beforeâŚ