Category: Creativity
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A matter of size
Like many days, I struggled to find an idea that was the right size for my blog post today. I’d scheduled half an hour to type, and the idea I found energizing needed much more than that. I looked and looked, and all of them did. So I started pecking away at the keyboard for…
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Celebrating the debut of Home Room
A few years ago, Jonnie Park started his podcast, Fun With Dumb (a play on his rap name, Dumbfoundead). I remember listening to episode nine when it came out several years ago and really enjoying it. With Jonnie at the helm, the podcast went on for over 300 episodes and gathered a loyal fanbase. Along…
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Evening constitutional
Even during the winter, one of my favorite times of day is going for a stroll with my wife after dinner. It’s very helpful for digestion, so it’s known as a “constitutional,” or more crudely as a, “fart walk.” In Chinese, the term is, “散步.” I remember my grandparents doing this every night. If you…
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Manage your energy, not just your time
Focus your life on doing things that make you feel a personal lift. I used to think that meant chasing excitement. The definition has expanded. For example, I’ve realized I feel a personal lift when I do things I used to avoid—whether it’s an ordinary task that makes me healthier, a task where I can…
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Five
Five ideas. Five items. Five original sentences. Three’s a trend, and a party, and five is—quantitatively—rowdier than that. Five is a movement, a celebration. For me, five brings a sense of confidence that something exists and is worth sharing. There’s a reason that top five is a thing. It’s one of the liberating rules of…
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Five books I’ve enjoyed recently
If you ever fall into a funk with reading—like I do!—it helps to find a book that is enjoyable, light, and easy to read. Here are some books I’ve enjoyed recently: I Deliver Parcels in Beijing: A working memoir of a man’s working life in China, told through dozens of odd jobs and gigs. Very…
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Three early career plays
In my junior year at university, I really shifted focus toward finding a job. I knew it wasn’t going to be something that my school program took care of for me; it all fell on my shoulders. Along the way, I developed some plays that made a lot of impact for me. I wanted to…
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Publish once before making it perfect the second time
In American football, teams score when they reach the end zone and make a touchdown. It’s rare for a team to go straight for the touchdown right away, because the decision is risky; instead, the team approaches the touchdown through running and passing short distances. With each next checkpoint they make, they buy more regulation…