The Pre-packaged Life

The Pre-packaged Life

Readymade solutions most likely serve someone else’s interests more than they serve yours. For, how can they account for your highly personal needs? Do you really want to outsource the most important parts of your life? This is the trap of the pre-packaged life.  The...
Understanding what people value

Understanding what people value

Understanding what people value is crucial to effective interactions, both personal and professional. For, if you really get what is important to someone, you will be in a better, more-informed place. You are less likely to waste time in misunderstandings and to get...
Needing something to look forward to

Needing something to look forward to

Iron Maiden’s 17th album will be out in September and I found myself really looking forward to it. I mean, it has been 6 years since their last! This also made me think about the case of constantly needing something to look forward to. How it is a sure sign of unease...
The relevance of degrees

The relevance of degrees

Paul Graham shared something recently, which I feel is an excellent heuristic for considering the relevance of degrees. “Avoid getting degrees in subjects whose best practitioners rarely have such degrees. E.g. many mathematicians have degrees in math, but an MFA...
Don’t be the smartest person in the room

Don’t be the smartest person in the room

Don’t be the smartest person in the room, instead be the freest person in the room. Free in your mind, free with your time, free to live in your own way, on your own terms. In fact, I’m not sure this can be bettered.  What is smart anyway?  People tend to think of...