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Chatter vs. inspiration
For many years, whenever my brain had an idea, I felt a compulsion to write it down. What started out as bursts of inspiration slowly—and, eventually, quickly—transformed into a habit driven by anxiety. I didn’t want to let any idea “get away from me.” I felt like if I forgot, I could be missing a…
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Books and lifestyle
The Starfield Library in Seoul is a beautiful, vast, library. It reminds me of the short visit I had to Singapore’s library@orchard. It fits in with a pattern I notice in Asia, which is the rise of these incredibly glamorous spaces for books. They’re usually bookstores (I mentioned some briefly before here). One possible reason…
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Read your journals like they’re books or articles
Yesterday, I left a meeting at work and made dinner plans to meet a friend. I found myself with an hour to spare in midtown Manhattan. I kept it simple, though. I decided to go to the restaurant, and they seated me. As I settled in, I remembered that I brought my journal. I opened…
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Where you work changes how you work
My first internship was at Virtual Team Builders, a company that helped companies work remotely. I had no idea this was even possible. I would go on to work remotely, or in a hybrid workplace, for most of my career. Working remotely doesn’t necessarily mean working from home. Getting out of the house can feel…
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3.15.20
Five years ago, there was precious little to look forward to. And then, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, Donald Glover released his fourth album as Childish Gambino, 3.15.20. It was surprising, because Donald’s best known for his rollouts. Because the Internet’s rollout was accompanied by listening parties, a nationwide tour, and a short…
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“Football is life”
This is the motto of Dani Rojas, a football player in the TV show Ted Lasso. It usually comes out when Dani gets to play football, because he feels really happy. He’ll run around kicking the ball, chanting, “Football is life!” One day, something bad happened to the team. The owner traded away their best…
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20 lessons from 2 years in New York City
Two years ago, I moved to New York City with my wife and our cat. I’d first visited nearly a decade before, and it had always been a dream of mine—one I’d talked myself out of many times. I’m Canadian and I wasn’t sure how I’d figure out a way to stay. Working visas felt…