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The time will pass anyway
There’s something meaningful that you want to do. The only problem is it’s going to take a long time to do it. Maybe it’s schooling of some sort, or chipping away at a big project. Yes, it’s going to take a time horizon of years, maybe even decades. The time will pass anyway, though. Or…
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Surrender, control, and anxiety
What do you think you’re in control of? What’s not in your control? Where do you decide to draw the line? “You are afraid of surrender because you don’t want to lose control,” Elizabeth Gilbert writes (via Oliver Burkeman). “But you never had control; all you had was anxiety.” When you can clearly accept what’s…
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A place for feelings that interfere
“Did you ever tap into something that you feel is bad in you to win?” That’s a question Donald Glover asks in this interview, before confessing that he made one of his most popular songs because he felt a drive to prove somebody wrong. In response, LeBron James says that he not only uses negative…
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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…