Blog by Suraj

I love the idea of building my presence. I hate the idea of building my audience. 

Steven Pressfield was right — it never gets easier. 

The Problem: Pilotitis

Surprisingly, those four words are my magic escape from non-essential intellectual arguments.

My recent post on how social change is hard — and personal change even harder — might just be a textbook example of confirmation bias.  

I never expected social change to be easy. But in the early days of my career in the sector, I was confident that I could easily pick up the skills needed to create social change. And with my middle-class dreams of seeing the world, I imagined moving from place to place, creating meaningful cha...

Today ended up being an incredibly busy day. Now, at the end of it, I am out of steam staring at a blank Writer document   — still determined to keep my commitment to publishing daily. But as the minutes pass, stress builds. 

Using Linux daily on my MacBook Air is like taking a cold shower  - a small act of discomfort that builds confidence. It's too early to say if my knowledge of computer systems is improving, but I can see my confidence soaring. Every morning is a pleasant reminder that I am choosing to...

Since Sunday, I have been mulling on this quote by Edward Gibbon - "Conversation enriches the understanding, but solitude is the school of genius."

Paul Graham's essay Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule is one of my all time favourites. It put into words something I had always felt but never fully articulated - to myself or my colleagues. I am a Maker....

I almost dismissed one of the best teachers I've ever met - before she even said a word. 

I had a 229-day streak on Duolingo, yet my Spanish barely improved. That's when I realized - streaks alone just don't work for me.