For years I’ve said that starting a business is like jumping off of a cliff and learning to fly. Somehow I flew. Rent wasn’t cheap. It was 2008, and I was living in New York City. I was in my early thirties, single and stupid enough to leap off of a cliff without a parachute.…More
Dream Big, Do Small
Often many of us have big dreams. But we don’t know how to achieve them. They seem…well, too big. Big dreams are daunting. But—they aren’t unachievable. One factor we often overlook is this. Time. Most of us have years, decades of life before us. That affords us the optionality to attempt this or that, try…More
Create: One of the Most Powerful Ways to Start a Business
Creating is one of the greatest acts you can do when starting a business. It has the power to kickstart your venture, show your potential customers the value you can generate, and markets your abilities. And when I say “create,” what I mean is that you’re making something that can be of use to someone…More
To Be Focused or Not in Your Career
I used to think being unfocused in my career was bad. But I was wrong. Let me tell you about what I learned. Years ago, I heard a story about when Bill Gates and Warren Buffett first met. They were asked, “What do you think made you successful?” And they simultaneously answered, “focus.” I wanted…More
To Increase Your Power, Do One Simple Thing: Take Responsibility
Do you feel powerless? Do you have problems you feel like you can’t overcome? Well, you need to know this. No one is powerless. You always have a choice. Yes, you are powerful. You just don’t know it yet. And it starts with taking responsibility. He survived the Holocaust by taking responsibility Victor Frankl survived…More
How I stay fit in my forties
(Before I start, I should emphasis that what I share in this post is about how I stay fit. Some of what I do is a bit extreme and probably shouldn’t apply to you.) Staying fit when you’re older can be harder than getting fit. There are temptations and weird mind games we play with…More
Finding satisfaction
Satisfaction is elusive. Most days, I feel I could be better at work, more fit, or have more money. And, there is a benefit to that. I’m constantly trying to improve myself and the world around me. But there’s also a negative side to that mentality. It’s this: I’m rarely satisfied. The thirst is never…More
Longevity: thoughts about living a long life from Ikigai
Do you want to live longer, you know, have longevity? Me too. So I read Ikigai, by Hector Garcia, Francesc Miralles. Here are highlights I found most helpful. To understand longevity, the writers studied blue zones, which are areas in the world where the greatest concentrations of centenarians live. The highest ranking one is Okinawa, Japan.…More
An overdue post and thought on dealing with uncertainty
It’s been too long since I last posted. I could give you excuses like I’ve been writing a novel or a commercial property we own had some serious sewer line issues (raw sewage was seeping into the basement, and our tenants were texting me every other day), or that I’ve been busy with this, that,…More
The problem with avoidance
What are you avoiding today? Is it a conflict, a hard conversation you need to have, dealing with a work situation, disciplining your child consistently—that thing about yourself? You know what it is. It’s been bothering you—nagging, really. But you keep burying it. But like a zombie that won’t die and keeps crawling back out…More
The difference you can make
Being different is the difference that makes you stand out. See, many of us hate being different. It makes us feel alone, ostracized, alienated. I know. I remember being one of the few Asians in my elementary school class. And, yes, people made fun of me for being different. It hurt. I cried. But later,…More
John Pa 