John Pa

Getting Older Sucks (Sort Of)

I’m getting older. I used to have perfect vision, but now I wear glasses. I used to sleep like a baby, now I wake up a least once a night, often to pee. I used to be fearless; now, I’m often afraid of something happening to my children or aging parent or my health. Maybe…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

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