Author: Herbert Lui

• The privilege and point of writing 

  Last weekend, my good friend showed me how I could train an LLM to write blog posts just like me. The LLM generously assessed my voice and tone (which made me feel understood!), and then spat out a blog post that could’ve been a first draft for me. While I felt curious about it, I…

  Herbert Lui

  April 9, 2025

  Creativity, Creator Confidential, Turning Stories

• Do you borrow from your future to pay for the present and past?

  A ponzi scheme takes place when the schemer uses cash from later investors to pay returns to early investors.  My friend Peter makes the case that when an entrepreneur borrows from their business’s future to pay off present and past obligations, they are operating it like a ponzi scheme. Peter’s framing of the situation resonated…

  Herbert Lui

  April 8, 2025

  A Matter of Time, Creator Confidential, Expectations, Turning Stories

• Why you feel lost, what to do next

  The story of The Courage to Be Disliked is told mostly in dialogue, between a student and a philosopher. Spoiler alert: While the student starts off opposing the philosopher, hellbent on proving the philosopher and their school of thinking—Adlerian psychology—wrong, he starts to come around.  By the end of the book, the student’s intention has…

  Herbert Lui

  April 7, 2025

  Creativity, Life, Turning Stories

• Commit first, plan later

  My former colleague at Figma, Claire Butler, recently wrote a really great post about what she learned working at Figma. The lesson that stood out to me most was this one, “When you’re stuck, commit to action. Strategy will follow.”  In other words, if you’re making something new, planning too far ahead will likely just…

  Herbert Lui

  April 6, 2025

  Creativity, Creator Confidential, Expectations, Figma, Turning Stories

• How replaceable is your work?

  If you drive for Uber, you work in a software supply chain. The software facilitates a bunch of people’s requests for the service, and decides when you—the driver—get to do a ride. The only reason you’re driving is because Uber’s software can’t drive the car itself yet. The second Uber invents a self-driving car, you’re…

  Herbert Lui

  April 5, 2025

  Creativity, Creator Confidential

• Professionalism and pressure

  The person who holds the world record for basketball free throws shot over 2,000 consecutive baskets in a row. But if you put them in a stadium and a tight score between the teams, they might not have been able to shoot two. The main difference between playing basketball in a rec league and playing…

  Herbert Lui

  April 4, 2025

  Creator Confidential, Expectations

• Progress ebbs and flows

  This was a lesson one of my bosses shared with me: most people don’t improve consistently every quarter. Instead, progress ebbs and flows.  Sometimes—maybe many times—you might feel like you’re going through a plateau. Many other people would quit. If you remain confident you’re heading in the right direction, then you need to stick with…

  Herbert Lui

  April 3, 2025

  A Matter of Time, Creativity, Life, Turning Stories

• Top of mind

  My partner, my cat, and I once missed a connecting flight due to a luggage hiccup. The staff got us replacement tickets for another flight 12 hours later. Maybe we could catch an earlier flight if there was space, they said. That was a possibility we were eager to explore. So I walked to the…

  Herbert Lui

  April 2, 2025

  Creator Confidential, Life, Promotion

• Don’t fight back, fight forward with forgiveness

  A restaurateur speaks up publicly for what he thinks is right. The people who think he’s wrong take action. They vandalize his restaurant. Glass is shattered. Mirrors broken. Furniture destroyed. He had invited his father to town to dine at the restaurant. That can’t happen now that the restaurant is in such bad shape. He…

  Herbert Lui

  April 1, 2025

  Life, Turning Stories

• Letting go of the scene

  I live in downtown NYC. I wouldn’t consider FiDi a particularly cool neighborhood. Geographically speaking, I could probably be further from the scene—I’m not in the burbs!—but socially speaking, I haven’t broken in. To be honest, I could not be less interested.  Yes, there is occasional FOMO. While I moved here for work, when I…

  Herbert Lui

  March 31, 2025

  A Matter of Time, Creativity, Turning Stories