Blog tagged as notes to self
From CrossFit to CoolCoach: Rethinking Fitness for Real Life
Why I'm Learning Search Engine Optimization?
Book Review - Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer
From Roark to Real: Learning to Show My Work
Austin Kleon's book, Show Your Work! is a small and short book, but it has had an outsized impact on me. Discovering Austin's book seemed like the literal manifestation of the quote — when the student is ready, the teacher appears — often attributed to Buddhism.
I have always leaned towards th...
Building My Presence, Not My Audience
I love the idea of building my presence. I hate the idea of building my audience.
Among other things, the Internet and the World Wide Web created an o...
The Joys of Building
Why I Write Without a Comments Section
The Resistance Never Leaves. But Neither Do I.
Steven Pressfield was right — it never gets easier.
Another night. I'm staring at my screen, willing myself to come up with something worth writing. I'm tired, but I get the sense that my mind is making me feel more tired than I actually am. I can already hear the voice in my head offering me a...
You might be right!
Surprisingly, those four words are my magic escape from non-essential intellectual arguments.
As someone who is curious, I've grown comfortable with my ignorance on a variety of topics. Even in areas that interest me, I'm most excited by what I don't know.
A couple of years ago, I came across a&...
On Bias, Belief, and Building a Social Venture
Social Change is Hard. Personal Change is Harder
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...
Two Quotes, One Realization
From FocusWriter to Focused Writer
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...
Maker's Schedule
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....
The Knowing-Doing Gap
I want to write regularly, but I struggle with it.
James Clear is clear about the key to building lasting habits. It has to start with the identity. Stephen King says identity is not sufficient; you need to show up and write daily. Seth Godin encourages you to publish (blog) daily. And if you ever f...
The BIG Shift - Consumption to Creation of Knowledge
Over the years, I have built a voracious appetite to consume books, articles, blogs, videos, and off late, podcasts & audio books. Consuming has always been easy for me but creation (writing in my case) has not. My father has been trying to persuade me to write for a while bu...
Increasing Entitlement, Reducing Appreciation
I didn't want to be part of "The Development Set"
I left my job as a software engineer in late 2005 to join the development sector. Almost a decade later, I made another big change in my life, I decided to start my own (social) entrepreneurial journey. One of the reasons to make this change was I felt that I was increasingly becoming part of The De...