Peter Thiel has [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18050143-zero-to-one] a 2x2 matrix: indefinite vs. definite, and optimist vs. pessimist. I want to be a definite optimist: imagine a better future and work to build it. Recently, I've been more of an indefinite optimist. * Hoping that startup inspiration hits, without a concrete plan to make
Early this year, I noticed I'd put on some lockdown-weight. I wasn't super worried but wanted to get back to my typical, healthier weight level. My first intuition in this situation was, "let me go on a diet." Diets can work. But they are expensive: you spend willpower every day on avoiding the
This is a hidden gem: Estonia's pitch as a startup country, almost 30 years ago. As far as I know, it hasn't been on the Internet yet. This video (and an accompanying paper publication) was distributed in 1993 by the Estonian Privatisation Agency to invite foreign investors to Estonia. A few highlights: * "Estonia has in
You could separate work from life. As in the phrase "work-life balance", work versus life. They can be separate buckets with separate goals, time slots, people, and emotions. Separation definitely makes sense. Work lets us pay for rent and groceries, but might not be fulfilling. Time with friends, hobbies, reading, side-projects -- it's all enjoyable
The single biggest thing that made me a better friend, partner, colleague, and mentor came from an unexpected place. Two years ago, I was working through a breakup and rethinking how I approach all relationships. At a conference in Berlin, I happened to participate in a Circling workshop. It's is easy to experience but hard to verbalize. Like.
As an employee, startup stock options are hard. I'm feeling pretty confident by now, but only because I've seen my friends get burned and been burned myself. What's so hard? 1. At one company, my option contract was to be signed "at a future date", not together with my employment contract. In
I'm both a millennial and a startup founder and both of these groups are often considered flaky perhaps, unable to commit. They seem like they're, flip-flopping between startup ideas or between jobs, between relationships. And I think all of this comes from different expectations to commitment. So I want to explore commitment. Some of the
How do you end up with an outlier success? I guess the common advice would be to "leave your comfort zone". That's hard to do. In the comfort zone, everything makes sense. Things work. Clients are using the product. You might even be growing slightly. It would be stupid to mess with something that works, right?
My nervous system is in a civil war over my actions. The dopamine-seeking side keeps winning. Dopamine itself is crucial: it's a neurotransmitter driving you to achieve external goals. The bad part is being driven to the easiest, least meaningful ones. I try not to feed the enemy. Soft-blocking addictive websites and subsections like recommendations helps.
There's an abrupt life transition almost everyone goes through: school to job. You might go from middle school to manual labour, or PhD to teacher. But regardless of details, a more gradual shift would be better. Most entry-level jobs could be apprenticeships that mix education and work. Why mix them? Trying to do a job well gives
