Daily Update: 6/15/21
I learned the difference between a plan vs making a plan. Also, lost 10 lbs in the past week-ish
Readi met a billionaire
i met Austin Russell, founder and ceo of Luminar Technologies (a self-driving car tech company). according to Forbes, he's currently the world's youngest self-made billionaire.
Readdon't solve problems, dissolve them
I really liked this concept from The System Thinker blog. The obvious thought is to try and solve a problem when it arises. But the better, non-obvious action to take is to dissolve the problem by redesigning the environment or system in which the problem arises.
ReadI Sold My First Business
Earler this week, I sold 3 products to a PE firm based in San Francisco.
ReadHaving Enough Liquid Cash Is Important
Trying to find a balance between having money invested and having cash on hand.
ReadWhat Need Are You Filling For Your Audience?
I listened to the latest episode of the Morning Brew CEO's podcast. It made me rethink how I'm providing value to the people that read my stuff.
ReadI Just Want To Post And Not See The Results
Joe Rogan voiced something that I've felt for so long: I just want to release things and not look at the results.
ReadPodcasts With Jason Fried
From time to time, I take interest in an entrepreneur and their ideas. Then, I go on an listening frenzy of their recent podcast appearances. Recently, that person is Jason Fried — CEO & Founder of Basecamp
ReadHow I Built This: Tony Xu (DoorDash)
A great podcast episode I listened to today — Tony Xu talks about how he built DoorDash.
ReadDon't Look At Your Stock Price
Today I saw that my newsletter count dropped a bit. For a second, I felt bad. But then I remembered that Jeff Bezos doesn't even look at Amazon's daily stock price.
ReadHow To Get Your First 10 Customers
I found some good resources on this topic - bookmarking them here!
ReadPick A Method & Stick With It
Practicing code is like practicing basketball. There's a dozen ways to do one thing. Eventually, you realize you really only need to know one good way to do any specific thing.
ReadMonopoly (The Board Game)
I played my first full game of monopoly yesterday. Its allusions to real life investing principles are poetic.
ReadSchool Starts Tomorrow
School starts back up tomorrow. It'll be my 2nd semester of my senior year at NYU.
ReadGameStonks
GameStop's stock ($GME) is up over 1,600% in the past 3 months. It's up over 450% in the past week alone.
ReadGoal For Tomorrow: Eat Better
Haven't been eating the best lately. But I'm going to start fighting temptation and get back on my healthy eating habits.
ReadMoney In The Bank
Life has been great lately. I've been aggressively long-term investing (stocks and art). And I have more money in the bank than ever before. And it's done wonders for my mental wellbeing.
ReadToday I Became An Art Investor
I invested in my first art piece using a new platform called Masterworks. Super excited about this!
ReadTwo Lessons From Shape Up by Basecamp
Lately, I've been reading (and loving) Shape Up by Basecamp. And there are 2 simple, yet powerful, concepts in it that I think will help you create better products.
ReadReader's Block
Chris Rock said something in a Netflix interview that I really agree with. He said he doesn't believe in 'writer's block' but he believes that there's 'reader's block.'
ReadFavorable Winds
I've been thinking about this tweet for the past 24 hours. It's about the need for having a direction in life.
ReadYou Won't Get Rich Renting Out Your Time
This Naval tweet has echoed in my head for the past 3 years.
ReadA Must-Have Leadership Trait
A core part of leadership is being able to take an unclear task and make it clear.
ReadLots of People Have Visited This Blog Lately
Someone on Twitter pointed out to me that if you Google “The meaning of the Fish story from Soul” then I’m one of the top results!
ReadGive Yourself A Break Sometimes
You don’t have to be on “go” all the time. Today, I ate a huge breakfast and then I bought a game controller to play games on my iPad.
ReadWriting Is A Superpower
Today, I gave a UX research presentation to my boss. I didn't have a slide-deck but I had some notes I took throughtout my research. They saved the day.
ReadHow I Use My iPad For Work
I use an iPad Pro as my main work machine. It's great, but it's way too fun. Here are a few pro tips I've learned on how to not get distracted if you also use your iPad for work.
ReadGrinding Stones With My Girlfriend
My girlfriend and I are 5,000 miles apart. Today we Facetimed and played our favorite mobile game together.
Read2021 Goal: I Will Write Everyday
On Christmas Eve, I made a bet with myself: to write everyday. Since then, I've written 10 blog posts (including this one). With this momentum, I'm making it an official goal for 2021.
ReadThere Will Always Be Uncertainty
A big reason why people are afraid to start is because they're unsure of what will happen. There will always be uncertainty. The trick is to dive in and reduce the uncertainty yourself.
ReadDoing Nothing Is Hard
Sometimes, when I set big goals, I get anxious when I haven't completed them yet. But I've learned that I have to be patience and wait and just stick with the plan. Action for the sake of action is usually not a good idea.
ReadBlueberry Pancakes
I felt like taking a walk this morning. So I picked a random diner on Google Maps and went there. Then I had blueberry pancakes for the first time in years. (The little things in life are the sweetest)
ReadThis Still Surprises Me
It still surprises me that just sharing my thoughts on the internet can reach and touch anyone in the world.
ReadMy Thoughts on The Fish Story from Pixar's Soul
In Pixar’s latest film, Soul, there’s a parable that I didn’t understand until I woke up this morning. (No spoilers)
ReadEndings Are Okay
It's 7am and I just helped my girlfriend get into an Uber so she could get back home to Hawaii for Christmas.
ReadI'm More Lil Wayne Than Steve Jobs
After watching an episode of Netflix's Hip Hop Evolution, I've gained new heroes to look up to alongside Steve, Bill, Jeff, and Elon.
ReadRun Your Newsletter Like A TV Network
On Thursday, I went to a Substack-hosted meetup for writers. One of these writers, Walter Hickey, gave an interesting keynote. He broke down how to run a newsletter like a TV Network. I've sharing what I've learned with you.
ReadCreate More Than You Consume
As an artist, as a creator, as a maker of things —You shouldn’t use social media less because it’s “bad” for you. You should use it less because there comes a point when you begin to consume more than you create.
ReadHow To Get Underpriced Attention To Your Products
A summary of a 23-page Harvard Working Paper titled “The Rising Cost of Consumer Attention: Why You Should Care, and What You Can Do About It” by Thales S. Teixeira.
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