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Source: https://sivers.org/en.atom

  1. <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
  2. <feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
  3.  xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">
  4.  <author>
  5.    <name>Derek Sivers</name>
  6.  </author>
  7.  <id>https://sive.rs/en.atom</id>
  8.  <title>Derek Sivers blog</title>
  9.  <updated>2000-01-01T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  10.  <entry>
  11.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  12. I’ve asked my favorite musicians if, when they’re done writing a new song, they feel it’s the best song ever.
  13. All of them said yes.
  14. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15. I’ve asked my favorite authors if, when they’re done writing a new book, they feel it was the best book ever.
  16. All of them said no.
  17. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  18. I don’t know why the two groups are so different.
  19. Do you?
  20. (Please post your thoughts, below, if so.)
  21. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  22. As for me?
  23. &lt;strong&gt;
  24. I think the best book ever written is “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/h&quot;&gt;How to Live&lt;/a&gt;”.
  25. &lt;/strong&gt;
  26. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  27. If I did nothing else with my life but write that book, it would have been a worthy life.
  28. It’s not ego.
  29. It’s not that I think &lt;em&gt;I’m&lt;/em&gt; so special.
  30. But that book is definitely something very special.
  31. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  32. I spent thousands of hours writing everything I ever learned, from the 400+ books I’ve read, and the 50+ years I’ve lived.
  33. Rough draft: over 1300 pages.
  34. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  35. Then I spent thousands of hours editing it down to 112 poetic pages.
  36. Not a single unnecessary word.
  37. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  38. Every now and then, I hear someone quote it.
  39. When they do, I think it’s the most beautiful quote I’ve ever heard.
  40. Then I remember I wrote it.
  41. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  42. I feel I’m not supposed to admit all of this.
  43. But it’s honest.
  44. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  45. Why don’t more writers feel this way?
  46. &lt;/p&gt;
  47. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/h&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/DerekSivers-cover-HowToLive-400x640.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;How to Live book cover&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;</content>
  48.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl00</id>
  49.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl00"/>
  50.    <title>the best book ever written</title>
  51.    <updated>2024-04-12T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  52.    <dc:date>2024-04-12T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  53.  </entry>
  54.  <entry>
  55.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  56. I just got the call from the super-connected &lt;a href=&quot;https://inmusicwetrust.com/about.html&quot;&gt;Alex Steininger&lt;/a&gt; that our mutual friend Ben&amp;nbsp;Kihnel died in his sleep.
  57. He was only 48.
  58. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  59. Ben was employee #2 of CD Baby.
  60. (#1 was the great &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnsteup&quot;&gt;John Steup&lt;/a&gt;.)
  61. John hired Ben the day we moved the company to Portland, Oregon.
  62. I don’t even know how we met Ben.
  63. Then all of the early employees at CD Baby were Ben’s friends, so Ben was really the start and the heart of everything for us in Portland.
  64. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  65. Ben was one of my favorite people.
  66. Such a warm, open, empathetic guy.
  67. Such a great conversationalist.
  68. People often talk insincerely — echoing cliché phrases, or saying one thing but meaning another.
  69. But even Ben’s shortest communications were really sincere and engaged — fully listening, understanding, and sharing.
  70. He was always great at getting to the heart of things.
  71. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;
  72. I hope I remember to tell people how I appreciate them when they’re alive.
  73. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  74. So sad he died so young.
  75. We last talked a year or two ago, and he was wonderful as ever.
  76. I’ll always remember him fondly.
  77. He was a really special person — an exceptional soul.
  78. The world was a better place with him in it.
  79. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  80. Ben was the one who told me to post the &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/232&quot;&gt;“232 sand dollars” story&lt;/a&gt; on my website, because he thought it defined me.
  81. That’s why many of &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/232#comments&quot;&gt;the comments on that page&lt;/a&gt; from 2011 are thanking Ben.
  82. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  83. I don’t take many photos, so the only two I have of him are from 2002: on the phone at work, and at a New Year’s Eve party.
  84. But I can hear his voice clearly in my head.
  85. &lt;/p&gt;
  86. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/ben-kihnel-1.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Ben Kihnel&quot; title=&quot;Ben Kihnel&quot;&gt;
  87. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/ben-kihnel-2.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Ben Kihnel&quot; title=&quot;Ben Kihnel&quot;&gt;</content>
  88.    <id>https://sive.rs/ben-kihnel</id>
  89.    <link href="https://sive.rs/ben-kihnel"/>
  90.    <title>Ben Kihnel</title>
  91.    <updated>2024-03-28T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  92.    <dc:date>2024-03-28T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  93.  </entry>
  94.  <entry>
  95.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  96. In Harry Potter, there’s a magic mirror that reflects the viewer’s desire.
  97. What Harry sees in that mirror is very different than what Dumbledore or Ron sees, because their desires are all different.
  98. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  99. Imagine if there was something similar that shows you &lt;strong&gt;what you most need to believe right now&lt;/strong&gt;.
  100. It shows proof to support whatever perspective would most benefit you.
  101. Upon seeing it, you instantly believe it, internalize it, and act upon it.
  102. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  103. Someone feeling sadly disconnected might see proof that everyone is connected.
  104. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  105. Someone trying to create something might see proof that people will love it.
  106. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  107. Someone feeling stuck by the seriousness of life might get un-stuck by the proof that our universe is actually a computer simulation.
  108. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  109. Someone with a terminal illness might see proof of a wonderful afterlife with loved ones waiting — to feel joy in their final days.
  110. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  111. We don’t have to imagine this magic device.
  112. We already do this in real life.
  113. We find proof to support the perspective we need.
  114. Then we believe it.
  115. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  116. We don’t have to argue what’s in the magic mirror, which viewpoints are &lt;strong&gt;true or not&lt;/strong&gt;, because everyone needs different beliefs for their different situations.
  117. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  118.    <id>https://sive.rs/n2b</id>
  119.    <link href="https://sive.rs/n2b"/>
  120.    <title>It shows what you need to believe</title>
  121.    <updated>2024-03-12T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  122.    <dc:date>2024-03-12T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  123.  </entry>
  124.  <entry>
  125.    <content type="html">&lt;mark&gt;UPDATE:
  126. My metaphor was too distracting, so &lt;strong&gt;this post has been replaced&lt;/strong&gt;.
  127. Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/n2b&quot;&gt;click here to read the new post instead&lt;/a&gt;.
  128. Both have the same intention but that one says it with less distraction.
  129. &lt;/mark&gt;
  130. &lt;p&gt;
  131. Your personal AI knows you inside-out.
  132. It’s local-hosted and securely encrypted on your phone, so you’re safe to tell it your secrets.
  133. You let it see all your texts, emails, photos and videos.
  134. It asks your thoughts each day, and you tell it what’s on your mind.
  135. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  136. Your AI filters the news for you, showing you only what you will do something about.
  137. It removes all advertising.
  138. Nobody but you can influence what it shows.
  139. Its incentives are fully aligned with yours.
  140. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  141. One day, you wake to huge headline news.
  142. Everything in the world, including inanimate objects, has consciousness!
  143. It’s been conclusively proven.
  144. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  145. This blows your mind.
  146. You step out into a new world, feeling connected to and responsible for everything you see.
  147. You’re like a new parent, determined to be a great one.
  148. You spend the next few rapturous days carefully taking care of and improving everything you can.
  149. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  150. You bump into an old friend and start talking excitedly about the big news, and how this changes everything.
  151. She’s just as excited as you, but then gets confused.
  152. Her AI showed her different big news — that we’re all living in a computer simulation.
  153. She spent the past week fully liberated, doing all the things she always wanted to do, since it’s all just a game.
  154. Her news was just what she needed to hear.
  155. She grabs you, kisses you, licks your ear, then runs off singing.
  156. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  157. Your neighbor’s front windows are open, and he’s there watching four screens at once - a real information junkie.
  158. You ask if he’s heard the big news.
  159. He looks at you with a blank face and says, “What? No.”
  160. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  161. An old man is walking towards you, so you ask him.
  162. He says “Oh yes!” with a big smile, and says now he’s so excited to die.
  163. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  164.    <id>https://sive.rs/ainews</id>
  165.    <link href="https://sive.rs/ainews"/>
  166.    <title>AI gives the news you need</title>
  167.    <updated>2024-03-11T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  168.    <dc:date>2024-03-11T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  169.  </entry>
  170.  <entry>
  171.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  172. Since I &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/prog&quot;&gt;mentioned&lt;/a&gt; that I learned JavaScript, people have asked me how and what I recommend.
  173. So here’s my experience and best advice for 2024.
  174. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;
  175. Learn plain JavaScript
  176. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  177. First, it’s important to &lt;strong&gt;learn plain JavaScript&lt;/strong&gt;.
  178. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  179. Don’t depend on a library of shortcuts.
  180. JavaScript will be around for many years, while libraries and frameworks come and go every year.
  181. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;
  182. How to begin
  183. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  184. Don’t just learn from little bits of tutorials, tips, or tricks online.
  185. Instead, you want a real foundation and solid understanding.
  186. Then all your future learning will be so much faster.
  187. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  188. Start with the book: “&lt;a href=&quot;https://eloquentjavascript.net/&quot;&gt;Eloquent JavaScript&lt;/a&gt;”.
  189. &lt;/strong&gt;
  190. It’s free to read there on his website.
  191. It’s deep and thorough.
  192. A great start-to-finish JavaScript tutorial.
  193. Relax.
  194. Focus.
  195. Do it in order.
  196. You’ll know more than most once you get to the end.
  197. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  198. Do &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.freecodecamp.org/learn/javascript-algorithms-and-data-structures-v8/&quot;&gt;Free Code Camp&lt;/a&gt;.
  199. &lt;/strong&gt;
  200. Someone who had 600 JavaScript learners &lt;a href=&quot;https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11048409&quot;&gt;said&lt;/a&gt; Free Code Camp had the best results.
  201. Do it at the same time as you’re reading books and articles.
  202. Learning sticks better when coming through different senses.
  203. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;
  204. Make it stick
  205. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  206. I highly recommend you &lt;strong&gt;write down every new thing you learn&lt;/strong&gt;, ideally into a flashcard program, &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/srs&quot;&gt;like this&lt;/a&gt;.
  207. It’s a lot to digest, so you’ll have to remind yourself of what you’ve learned, or you’ll immediately forget.
  208. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;
  209. Avoid the shortcuts
  210. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  211. When solving a problem, everyone will point you to some pre-made solution.
  212. “Use jQuery! Use React! Use this library and save yourself some typing!”
  213. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  214. But no!
  215. Not yet!
  216. Do it the hard way.
  217. Solve everything yourself with plain JavaScript.
  218. &lt;/strong&gt;
  219. It’s the best way to learn.
  220. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;
  221. What next?
  222. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  223. If you had a web app in mind, start building it now.
  224. After you wrestle with using plain “vanilla” JavaScript, then learn &lt;a href=&quot;https://react.dev/&quot;&gt;React&lt;/a&gt; to see the shortcuts it gives you.
  225. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  226. If you want a good-paying job, you can &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/gethired&quot;&gt;get hired&lt;/a&gt; almost anywhere.
  227. Since you know the real JavaScript foundations more than most people, you’re very valuable.
  228. You can quickly learn whatever framework they’re using.
  229. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;
  230. Any other suggestions?
  231. What worked for you?
  232. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  233. Please share any other suggestions or experiences, here:
  234. &lt;/p&gt;
  235. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/js.png&quot;&gt;</content>
  236.    <id>https://sive.rs/learn-js</id>
  237.    <link href="https://sive.rs/learn-js"/>
  238.    <title>How to learn JavaScript</title>
  239.    <updated>2024-03-08T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  240.    <dc:date>2024-03-08T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  241.  </entry>
  242.  <entry>
  243.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  244. Some people have asked, so here is how I do my backups.
  245. It takes me about &lt;strong&gt;ten seconds per day&lt;/strong&gt; and &lt;strong&gt;five minutes per month&lt;/strong&gt; to maintain.
  246. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  247. It works well for me, but I’m always open to suggestions.
  248. Just &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/contact&quot;&gt;email me&lt;/a&gt; with any ideas or questions.
  249. &lt;/p&gt;
  250.  
  251. &lt;h2&gt;every-day documents (~40 GB)&lt;/h2&gt;
  252. &lt;p&gt;
  253. Files I use and change every day: documents, emails, code, diary, ideas, website, accounts, etc.
  254. &lt;/p&gt;
  255. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  256. I have a desktop and a laptop, so I keep this ~40 GB directory cloned with rsync every day or so between them.
  257. Whenever I turn on one computer, I sync it from the other.
  258. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  259. Daily rsync to an encrypted Linux USB stick attached to the desktop.
  260. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  261. Daily rsync to an encrypted MacOS USB stick attached to the laptop.
  262. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  263. Daily rsync to an encrypted ZFS SSD inside the desktop.
  264. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  265. Daily rsync to OpenBSD remote attached storage at vultr.com as &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/ti&quot;&gt;described at my “Tech Independence” page&lt;/a&gt;.
  266. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  267. &lt;p&gt;
  268. I’ve written shortcuts for these rsync commands so it’s really as simple as me typing &lt;code&gt;bkz&lt;/code&gt; or &lt;code&gt;bkstick&lt;/code&gt; in the terminal as I’m working anyway.
  269. I do it a few times a day, especially if I’ve just made or saved something of value.
  270. And always right before I shut down the computer, which I do almost any time I step away from it for more than a few minutes.
  271. That’s why I say it’s like ten seconds a day, just typing that command occasionally.
  272. &lt;/p&gt;
  273.  
  274. &lt;h2&gt;keepsakes (~3 TB)&lt;/h2&gt;
  275. &lt;p&gt;
  276. Rarely-accessed files I want to keep forever: videos and photos of my kid, music and film collection.
  277. &lt;/p&gt;
  278. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  279. Three different external 4TB 2.5&amp;quot; drives, in three different formats: ZFS, OpenBSD, MacOS.
  280. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  281. Every month or so, I connect them via USB cable, and rsync everything to each of them, bringing one down to a safe deposit box downtown, and taking out the one that was there from my last visit.
  282. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  283. 5TB at &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.hetzner.com/storage/storage-box&quot;&gt;Hetzner Storage Box&lt;/a&gt;, I rsync remotely.
  284. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  285. 4TB at &lt;a href=&quot;https://zfs.rent/&quot;&gt;ZFS.rent&lt;/a&gt;, a ZFS encrypted clone.
  286. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  287. &lt;p&gt;
  288. So that’s five copies of my keepsakes in four different locations.
  289. Each one also has a recent copy of my every-day documents from above.
  290. So a few minutes a month to connect the USB drives, and I only do the safe deposit box when I’m going that way anyway, and only takes a couple minutes.
  291. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  292. In the days of spinning-platter hard drives, they used to die surprisingly often, so I like the security of many copies.
  293. But it also helps to have some deliberately behind others, so on the rare case where I’ve deleted something, then rsynced my dailies and even my monthly, then realized I need that thing I deleted, then I know the drive in the safe deposit box has it since I haven’t updated that one in a couple months.
  294. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  295.    <id>https://sive.rs/backup</id>
  296.    <link href="https://sive.rs/backup"/>
  297.    <title>How I backup</title>
  298.    <updated>2024-02-27T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  299.    <dc:date>2024-02-27T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  300.  </entry>
  301.  <entry>
  302.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  303. This is a lukewarm little story with a few connected bits, but it might be interesting or even helpful.
  304. Follow the links in it, for full effect.
  305. &lt;/p&gt;
  306. &lt;h2&gt;
  307. Esperanto start
  308. &lt;/h2&gt;
  309. &lt;p&gt;
  310. For decades, I’ve wanted the experience of carrying on a conversation in another language.
  311. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  312. My language-teaching polyglot friend &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_Lewis&quot;&gt;Benny Lewis&lt;/a&gt; said that if you’ve never really spoken another language, then the best strategy is to start with the easiest possible language to learn, which is &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto&quot;&gt;Esperanto&lt;/a&gt;.
  313. His advice is to spend just a few weeks learning and having conversations in Esperanto, so that you can feel the experience of detaching from your mother tongue.
  314. Then you’ll be better-prepared to go learn the language you really want to learn.
  315. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  316. A few years ago, during Christmas holidays, when the world expects less of us, and I actually had spare time, I procrastinated something by thinking, “I should look into Esperanto.”
  317. I sat down mid-afternoon and checked out &lt;a href=&quot;https://lernu.net/&quot;&gt;lernu.net&lt;/a&gt;, which seemed to be the most popular Esperanto-learning site.
  318. And oh my god!
  319. It’s fascinating!
  320. The language is so well designed!
  321. Everything made sense and with each new thing I learned, I thought “That’s brilliant!”, and wanted to learn more.
  322. I was so riveted that I didn’t realize it had gotten dark, and by the time I got out of that chair it was 10pm.
  323. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  324. So I decided to learn Esperanto to a conversational level.
  325. It was December, and there was an annual Esperanto conference in Seoul Korea in July, so I signed up to attend the conference and made that my deadline for fluency.
  326. I found an &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.frenchfluency.net/&quot;&gt;Esperanto teacher&lt;/a&gt;, signed up for live conversation practice, and started learning for one to three hours a day.
  327. I was a keen and diligent student, and had Esperanto books shipped from overseas, which I read slowly, learning new vocabulary.
  328. I watched &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/@Evildea&quot;&gt;videos in Esperanto&lt;/a&gt; made by a funny Australian dude.
  329. I used &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.ankiweb.net/&quot;&gt;Anki&lt;/a&gt; flashcards, and wrote my own command-line dictionary for quick reference of every word I’d learned.
  330. I was so into it that my friend &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.storyo.co.nz/about&quot;&gt;Elina&lt;/a&gt; got annoyed and asked if I could please stop talking about it so much.
  331. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  332. After six months of study, I was able to have conversations in Esperanto.
  333. I was able to say almost anything I wanted to say, and understand almost anything someone said.
  334. &lt;/p&gt;
  335. &lt;h2&gt;
  336. Toki Pona
  337. &lt;/h2&gt;
  338. &lt;p&gt;
  339. I was on my way to Seoul Korea for that Esperanto conference, but stopped for a few days in Singapore.
  340. There’s an &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amikumu&quot;&gt;app&lt;/a&gt; (made by the funny Australian dude) that helps you find other Esperanto speakers in your area that are willing to meet up and talk in Esperanto.
  341. So I turned it on in Singapore.
  342. It said that just a mile away from me was an Esperanto speaker named Sonja Lang.
  343. Wait a minute…
  344. I know that name…
  345. Oh my god it’s her!
  346. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  347. You’ve heard of the &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_relativity&quot;&gt;Sapir-Whorf hypothesis&lt;/a&gt;?
  348. It suggests that the structure of the language you speak affects the &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrival_(film)&quot;&gt;way you think&lt;/a&gt;.
  349. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  350. Sonja Lang, a brilliant linguist and translator, was inspired by Taoist philosophy, and found she felt best when she simplfied her thoughts and concentrated on basic things.
  351. So she decided to apply the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis and created a new language that has only 137 words.
  352. With so few words to communicate everything, you have to simplify your thoughts and concentrate on the basic essence.
  353. She called it &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toki_Pona&quot;&gt;Toki Pona&lt;/a&gt;.
  354. I had heard of it for years, found the idea fascinating, and even read a little book about it.
  355. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  356. So I texted Sonja Lang through the Esperanto app, and asked if she would meet up with me.
  357. She said yes, but only if we speak only Esperanto.
  358. We met up the next day at a restaurant in Singapore.
  359. She’s like a rock star to me, so I was nervous and excited, and I’d sometimes break into English to tell her something.
  360. But she patiently responded in Esperanto, and spoke only Esperanto for two hours with me that evening.
  361. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  362. I wanted to stay friends with her, but we only connected through that app, and only that one time.
  363. Still, I was starstruck, and count it in my top ten celebrity encounters.
  364. &lt;/p&gt;
  365. &lt;h2&gt;
  366. Esperanto conference
  367. &lt;/h2&gt;
  368. &lt;p&gt;
  369. I’d always wanted to go to Korea, and this was my first time.
  370. So excited to be there, and excited for this Esperanto conference.
  371. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  372. OK so this is why I said this story is “lukewarm”: because I have mixed feelings about what I’m going to say next, and I’m going to trash something (maybe myself) in a way I usually don’t.
  373. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  374. I went into the conference, and was immediately disappointed.
  375. The average age of the attendees around me was probably 55.
  376. They were disheveled and unkempt.
  377. They had signs saying we could have world peace if everyone spoke Esperanto.
  378. They were singing sappy songs with acoustic guitars and hand-drums about Zamenhof, the linguist who invented Esperanto in 1888.
  379. I cringed.
  380. It’s hippie Klingon.
  381. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  382. I talked with &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/@Evildea&quot;&gt;the funny Australian&lt;/a&gt; (in Esperanto, of course), after watching so many hours of his videos, that was cool to meet him.
  383. But everyone else?
  384. Eh.
  385. I realized I had no desire to talk with these people.
  386. And then I felt bad for my lack of interest.
  387. I’ve attended many conferences about the Ruby programming language, and really loved nerding out on those conversations with fellow enthusiasts.
  388. But I just didn’t like these Esperanto people.
  389. I felt like a bad person for not being more interested in them.
  390. So I forced myself to have a few more Esperanto conversations with strangers, but I still didn’t like it.
  391. And so I left and never spoke Esperanto again.
  392. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  393. I feel bad saying that I liked the language but not its speakers.
  394. I feel like it’s my fault.
  395. They’re all probably really interesting people, and the problem is me, which makes me feel worse.
  396. &lt;/p&gt;
  397. &lt;h2&gt;
  398. Esperanto conclusion?
  399. &lt;/h2&gt;
  400. &lt;p&gt;
  401. I realize that I lost the plot and didn’t do what Benny had suggested.
  402. I was supposed to spend just a few weeks on Esperanto, have a few conversations in it, then move on.
  403. But I was just so intrigued with the language itself that I dove all the way in.
  404. So I’m left with a feeling of regret.
  405. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  406. Esperanto is interesting but almost useless.
  407. Almost nobody speaks it, and they all speak English and other languages too.
  408. So I can’t ever feel the joy of using it to communicate with someone who I couldn’t otherwise.
  409. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  410. I spent over 400 hours practicing Esperanto, and I wish I had spent that time learning a more useful language.
  411. For an English speaker like me, Spanish, French or Portuguese would have been almost as easy.
  412. A year later, I moved to Portugal, and deeply felt that regret.
  413. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  414. So now it’s just something I nerded-out on for six months, and have a lingering admiration for how well it’s designed.
  415. &lt;/p&gt;
  416. &lt;h2&gt;
  417. Indonesian and Swahili
  418. &lt;/h2&gt;
  419. &lt;p&gt;
  420. Linguist &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McWhorter&quot;&gt;John McWhorter&lt;/a&gt; has a &lt;a href=&quot;https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/john-mcwhorter/&quot;&gt;lot to say about language&lt;/a&gt;.
  421. I’ve spent probably 50 hours listening to his &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.thegreatcourses.com/professors/john-mcwhorter/&quot;&gt;great courses&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;https://slate.com/podcasts/lexicon-valley&quot;&gt;podcast&lt;/a&gt; about languages.
  422. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  423. He said that if he could have chosen a language, instead of English, to be the world’s shared second language, then it would be Swahili or colloquial Indonesian.
  424. He said both of these languages have been learned by millions of people as their second language, so all the weird edge-cases have worn away, and they are as smooth and beautiful as a river stone.
  425. No weird grammar.
  426. No weird tones.
  427. No exceptions.
  428. In all of his studies of hundreds of languages, he said Indonesian is the closest thing to an ideal language he has ever encountered.
  429. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  430. I still want to learn to speak another language to a conversational level.
  431. I’m very tempted to learn Indonesian or Swahili, to experience what he loves about them.
  432. Like learning to play a song that an expert says is the most beautiful song ever written.
  433. And each one could connect me to millions of native speakers that don’t speak English.
  434. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  435. I daydream about what it would have been like if, instead of Esperanto, I learned Swahili and went to &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zanzibar&quot;&gt;Zanzibar&lt;/a&gt; (birth place of the language) to speak nothing but Swahili for a week.
  436. Or learned this ideal language of colloquial Indonesian, and instead of going to a hippie nerd conference I would have talked with people around the Indonesian islands.
  437. These scenarios are much more inspiring to bridge the communication gap.
  438. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  439. But for me, still, the language with the greatest unlocking power is clearly Mandarin Chinese.
  440. Over one billion speakers that don’t speak English, from a rich and admirable culture with its own thing going on.
  441. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  442. Some day.
  443. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  444.    <id>https://sive.rs/esperanto</id>
  445.    <link href="https://sive.rs/esperanto"/>
  446.    <title>Esperanto, Toki Pona, Swahili, Indonesian</title>
  447.    <updated>2024-02-26T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  448.    <dc:date>2024-02-26T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  449.  </entry>
  450.  <entry>
  451.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  452. &lt;a href=&quot;https://kk.org&quot;&gt;Kevin Kelly&lt;/a&gt; invited me to walk 100 kilometers (62 miles) through northern Thailand for seven days, ending in Chiang Mai.
  453. Walking with us were ten other smart interesting people, including five other authors whose work I’ve loved for years.
  454. It’s a “Walk and Talk”.
  455. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  456. One of the walkers lives in Thailand, speaks Thai, and made all the local arrangements, scoping the track in advance.
  457. Two of the walkers had done this many times before, in Uzbekistan, Spain, Japan, and China.
  458. The rest of us were in good hands, going with the flow of the unknown.
  459. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  460. A sweet wild dog joined our pack halfway through, walking and sleeping with us for four days and 70km, until we brought him to a vet at the end, and found him a good permanent home.
  461. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  462. Read the write-ups by &lt;a href=&quot;https://danwang.co/2023-letter/&quot;&gt;Dan Wang&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;https://craigmod.com/ridgeline/175/&quot;&gt;Craig Mod&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;https://kottke.org/23/12/where-do-you-call-home&quot;&gt;Jason Kottke&lt;/a&gt;, and &lt;a href=&quot;https://bobulate.com/2023/12/expanding-home/&quot;&gt;Liz Danzico&lt;/a&gt;, who were also on this walk, and go into more depth than I do here.
  463. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  464. &lt;strong&gt;
  465. I highly recommend this activity and format.
  466. &lt;/strong&gt;
  467. You can start one yourself.
  468. It goes like this:
  469. &lt;/p&gt;
  470. &lt;p style=&quot;background-color: yellow&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;UPDATE:&lt;/strong&gt;
  471. Kevin Kelly and Craig Mod released their &lt;a href=&quot;https://kk.org/thetechnium/files/2023/12/howtowalkandtalk.pdf&quot;&gt;“Walk and Talk: Everything We Know” PDF&lt;/a&gt; which is much more thorough and helpful than my brief overview, below.  &lt;a href=&quot;https://kk.org/thetechnium/files/2023/12/howtowalkandtalk.pdf&quot;&gt;Download it here&lt;/a&gt;.
  472. &lt;/p&gt;
  473. &lt;hr&gt;
  474. &lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  475. Choose &lt;strong&gt;where&lt;/strong&gt; to walk — somewhere with lodging for 8 people every 15 km — where someone else can drive everyone’s bags from place to place.
  476. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  477. Someone (local person or business) &lt;srong&gt;walks it all in advance&lt;/strong&gt; to make sure it’s actually good.
  478. This person is the navigator.
  479. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  480. Make a shared document of details of where to meet and what to bring, a group chat for questions, and a shared place to upload photos afterwards.
  481. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  482. Invite a &lt;strong&gt;diverse group of conversationalists&lt;/strong&gt; — ideally eight.
  483. Walkers send money to the local navigator to pre-pay for the lodging and meals.
  484. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  485. Meet at the initial hotel for dinner and introductions.
  486. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  487. &lt;strong&gt;Walk together for the next 6-7 days&lt;/strong&gt; — ideally without phones — about &lt;strong&gt;3-5 hours of walking per day&lt;/strong&gt;, led by the navigator, with long breaks every two hours.
  488. Everyone naturally goes in and out of little 2-3 person conversations while walking.
  489. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  490. Every night over a private dinner, the entire group has &lt;strong&gt;a single conversation around one subject&lt;/strong&gt;, which the group chose the night before.
  491. Everyone stays involved in this one conversation, exploring one topic to exhaustion.
  492. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;
  493. &lt;p&gt;
  494. During this Thailand walk, our nightly conversation topics were:
  495. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  496. How do you stay motivated?
  497. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  498. What do you escape or resist?
  499. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  500. What does home mean to you?
  501. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  502. Shocking solutions to public problems.
  503. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  504. Tell us about a failure.
  505. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  506. Frameworks to make big decisions.
  507. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  508. What is your health regime?
  509. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  510. How do you use lists?
  511. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  512. What do you believe that your heroes do not?
  513. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  514. &lt;p&gt;
  515. Some people spout their thoughts as soon as they come to mind.
  516. Other people need to be persuaded to share.
  517. It helps to &lt;strong&gt;moderate the conversation&lt;/strong&gt; to keep the contributions balanced.
  518. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  519. More than half of the conversations were during the day, one-on-one, while walking or resting.
  520. It’s wonderful that you can come back to something someone said a day or two before, and share more thoughts or questions that came to you overnight.
  521. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  522. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done.
  523. &lt;strong&gt;
  524. Very healthy for your brain, body, and friendships.
  525. &lt;/strong&gt;
  526. I highly recommend it for anyone.
  527. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  528. I plan to host some in the future.
  529. &lt;strong&gt;If you know a good place to do a “walk and talk”&lt;/strong&gt;, (see criteria #1 above), please leave a suggestion in the comments here.
  530. &lt;/p&gt;
  531.  
  532. &lt;figure&gt;
  533. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/thaidog-2.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Thai dog photo by Craig Mod&quot;&gt;
  534. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/thaidog-1.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Thai dog photo by Craig Mod&quot;&gt;
  535. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/thaidog-3.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Thai dog photo by Craig Mod&quot;&gt;
  536. &lt;figcaption&gt;
  537. This is the wild dog that adopted us.
  538. I love him and miss him.
  539. Photos by &lt;a href=&quot;https://craigmod.com/&quot;&gt;Craig Mod&lt;/a&gt;.
  540. &lt;/figcaption&gt;</content>
  541.    <id>https://sive.rs/wt</id>
  542.    <link href="https://sive.rs/wt"/>
  543.    <title>walk and talk</title>
  544.    <updated>2023-12-12T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  545.    <dc:date>2023-12-12T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  546.  </entry>
  547.  <entry>
  548.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  549. When I was 17, I was driving recklessly and crashed into an oncoming car.
  550. I found out that I broke the other driver’s spine, and she’ll never walk again.
  551. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  552. I carried that burden with me everywhere, and felt so horrible about it for so many years that at age 35 I decided to find this woman to apologize.
  553. I found her name and address, went to her house, knocked on the door, and a middle-aged woman answered.
  554. As soon as I said, “I’m the teenager that hit your car eighteen years ago and broke your spine”, I started sobbing - a big ugly cry, surfacing years of regret.
  555. She was so sweet, and hugged me saying, “Oh sweetie, sweetie! Don’t worry. I’m fine!”
  556. Then she walked me into her living room.
  557. Walked.
  558. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  559. Turns out I had misunderstood.
  560. Yes she fractured a couple vertebrae but it never stopped her from walking.
  561. She said “that little accident” helped her pay more attention to her fitness, and since then has been in better health than ever.
  562. Then she apologized for causing the accident in the first place.
  563. Apologized.
  564. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  565. I said, “Well, no, it was my fault for ignoring the yield sign.”
  566. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  567. She said, “No, it was my fault because I was eating while driving and not watching the road. You didn’t hit me. I hit you.”
  568. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  569. Seems we had both thought the accident was our fault, and had spent eighteen years feeling bad about it.
  570. This time she started crying, sniffled, grabbed a tissue to wipe her eyes and said, “It’s so &lt;em&gt;stupid&lt;/em&gt; - these stories.”
  571. &lt;/p&gt;
  572. &lt;hr&gt;
  573. &lt;p&gt;
  574. Aim a laser pointer at the moon, then move your hand the tiniest bit, and it’ll move a thousand miles at the other end.
  575. The tiniest misunderstanding long ago, amplified through time, leads to piles of misunderstandings in the present.
  576. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  577. We think of the past like it’s a physical fact - like it’s real.
  578. But the past is what we call our memory and stories about it.
  579. Imperfect memories, and stories built on one interpretation of incomplete information.
  580. That’s “&lt;em&gt;the&lt;/em&gt; past”.
  581. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  582. &lt;strong&gt;
  583. You can change your history.
  584. &lt;/strong&gt;
  585. The actual factual events are such a small part of it.
  586. Everything else is perspective, open for re-interpretation.
  587. The past is never done.
  588. &lt;/p&gt;
  589. &lt;figure&gt;
  590. &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.flickr.com/photos/ashclements/290493334/&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/crashedcar.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;crashed car photo by Ashley Jonathan Clements&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
  591. &lt;figcaption&gt;photo by &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.flickr.com/photos/ashclements/290493334/&quot;&gt;Ashley Jonathan Clements&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  592. &lt;/figure&gt;</content>
  593.    <id>https://sive.rs/pnt</id>
  594.    <link href="https://sive.rs/pnt"/>
  595.    <title>The past is not true</title>
  596.    <updated>2023-07-20T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  597.    <dc:date>2023-07-20T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  598.  </entry>
  599.  <entry>
  600.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  601. People search for their passion or purpose.
  602. But “purpose” and “passion” are words we use when we’re not working.
  603. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  604. When we’re actually engaged in the flow of fascinating work, we don’t think in these terms.
  605. &lt;strong&gt;
  606. The task at hand fills our mind.
  607. &lt;/strong&gt;
  608. The task itself is what keeps us up all night, not some extracted story of purpose.
  609. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  610. Imagine you put a GPS tracker on a dog, then you set him free to run in the countryside.
  611. He dashes.
  612. He digs.
  613. He stops to sniff.
  614. He romps with another dog.
  615. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  616. Later, when you map his recorded GPS data, you see that he generally went north-east.
  617. But would you say that going north-east is his passion and purpose?
  618. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  619. You are like the dog.
  620. Don’t seek a story of purpose to guide or label your fascinations.
  621. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  622. When we announce something, we have a social need to be congruent.
  623. If you say that your purpose or passion is to go north-east, but then you get interested in something to the south-west, you might ignore that interest and limit your play to what fits the narrative.
  624. Don’t do this to yourself.
  625. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  626. &lt;strong&gt;Focus on what fascinates you&lt;/strong&gt;, no matter how uncharacteristic.
  627. &lt;strong&gt;
  628. There is no purpose because there is no line connecting moments in time.
  629. &lt;/strong&gt;
  630. There is no plot.
  631. You are not a story.
  632. &lt;/p&gt;
  633. &lt;figure&gt;
  634. &lt;a href=&quot;https://flickr.com/photos/fineplan/9422857350/&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/pdog.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Crazy Face Pup&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
  635. &lt;figcaption&gt;photo by &lt;a href=&quot;https://flickr.com/photos/fineplan/9422857350/&quot;&gt;fine_plan&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  636. &lt;/figure&gt;</content>
  637.    <id>https://sive.rs/pdog</id>
  638.    <link href="https://sive.rs/pdog"/>
  639.    <title>dashing dog, searching for purpose</title>
  640.    <updated>2023-06-30T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  641.    <dc:date>2023-06-30T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  642.  </entry>
  643.  <entry>
  644.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  645. I sell my books directly through my website, &lt;a href=&quot;https://sivers.com/&quot;&gt;sivers.com&lt;/a&gt;, for a few important reasons.
  646. &lt;/p&gt;
  647. &lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  648. Direct communication with the readers.
  649. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  650. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/bp&quot;&gt;Considerate pricing&lt;/a&gt;.
  651. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  652. Including all digital formats (MP3, EPUB, PDF, HTML, etc) with every sale.
  653. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  654. Giving &lt;strong&gt;all&lt;/strong&gt; profits to charity.
  655. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;
  656. &lt;p&gt;
  657. My business is set up so that &lt;strong&gt;not a single dollar ever comes to me&lt;/strong&gt;.
  658. (It’s a C-corp owned by a foundation, and I take no salary.)
  659. Whatever isn’t necessary for running the business (like paying for printing the next book) is given to whatever charity is saving the most lives.
  660. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  661. Direct sales helped give &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.againstmalaria.com/YourPage.aspx?email=derek_at_sivers.org&amp;key=899C98A3-92FF-44FC-893D-E75C4EBDC0A7&quot;&gt;$475,000&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; to the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.againstmalaria.com/&quot;&gt;Against Malaria Foundation&lt;/a&gt; which protected over 471,000 people from Malaria.
  662. See &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/250k&quot;&gt;my previous post about that&lt;/a&gt;.
  663. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  664. Last year’s sales generated &lt;strong&gt;$100,000&lt;/strong&gt; for &lt;a href=&quot;https://noorahealth.org/&quot;&gt;Noora Health&lt;/a&gt;, a nonprofit that helps mothers take care of newborn babies.
  665. &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.audaciousproject.org/grantees/noora-health&quot;&gt;Read more about Noora Health here&lt;/a&gt;.
  666. That $100K should save the lives of 80 babies.
  667. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  668. If you were thinking of getting one of my books, whether audiobook, ebook (Kindle), or paper, &lt;strong&gt;please buy directly from &lt;a href=&quot;https://sivers.com/&quot;&gt;sivers.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;.
  669. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  670. Thank you.
  671. &lt;/p&gt;
  672. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/Sivers-hardcovers-2021.webp&quot; alt=&quot;Derek Sivers books&quot;&gt;</content>
  673.    <id>https://sive.rs/575k</id>
  674.    <link href="https://sive.rs/575k"/>
  675.    <title>$575K of books sold. $575K to save lives.</title>
  676.    <updated>2023-05-18T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  677.    <dc:date>2023-05-18T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  678.  </entry>
  679.  <entry>
  680.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  681. My band was playing a gig in Oslo, Norway, when I struck up a conversation with a woman who was staring at me.
  682. Turns out we had read many of the same books, and we were super-attracted to each other.
  683. We talked all night, but just as things got physical in my hotel room, house-keeping came knocking on the door saying we needed to check out now.
  684. Right now.
  685. Damn.
  686. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  687. I checked out of my hotel at 10am, but my ferry to Denmark didn’t leave until 4pm.
  688. She and I sat in the park, swooning over each other, both wishing out loud that we could have some more physical time together.
  689. But then I noticed that this park was surrounded by hotels.
  690. So I suggested something that felt kind of naughty.
  691. &lt;strong&gt;
  692. “Why don’t we get a hotel room for a few hours?”
  693. &lt;/strong&gt;
  694. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  695. She was pleasantly shocked, and said OK.
  696. But Oslo is a small city, and she had just broken up with her ex a week before.
  697. She didn’t want people to see us going in or out of a hotel together.
  698. So she suggested this plan:
  699. &lt;strong&gt;
  700. I would check in first, then text her the room number once I was inside, and she’d come up afterwards.
  701. &lt;/strong&gt;
  702. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  703. I walked into a nice hotel and said I needed a room for the night.
  704. The very polite and proper man at the front desk gave me a room, and told me where breakfast would be served.
  705. I thanked him and went into my room.
  706. She came up a few minutes later.
  707. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  708. A few hours later, we left separately.
  709. I left first, and went to the same man at the front desk to say I’m checking out early.
  710. He asked if something was wrong, but I said, “No no, I’m happy to pay full price. Just a change in plans. I’m catching the 4pm ferry.”
  711. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  712. After charging my card, &lt;strong&gt;he noticed her walking out of the elevator and out the door&lt;/strong&gt;.
  713. Apparently he had also noticed her walk in a few minutes after me.
  714. &lt;strong&gt;
  715. Suddenly he got really angry, thinking she was a prostitute and I was her client.
  716. &lt;/strong&gt;
  717. He yelled at me, scolding me, saying, “I do NOT like this! No! This is a respectable hotel! This is not some kind of pay-by-the-hour place! How dare you?!”
  718. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  719. I couldn’t stop smiling.
  720. He had already charged my card.
  721. I had done nothing wrong.
  722. Nobody was hurt.
  723. They were paid for their room.
  724. I hadn’t broken the law or even the rules.
  725. &lt;strong&gt;
  726. I didn’t need to appease him!
  727. &lt;/strong&gt;
  728. I smiled and left.
  729. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  730. There was something so &lt;strong&gt;emancipating&lt;/strong&gt; about this!
  731. We grow up fearing getting in trouble.
  732. First from our parents, then teachers.
  733. Authorities.
  734. So when you come into a certain age and power yourself, it’s liberating to realize &lt;strong&gt;you don’t have to please these people&lt;/strong&gt; anymore.
  735. Especially in business situations, where you’ve done a fair transaction and you’re not breaking any laws.
  736. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  737. &lt;strong&gt;
  738. We’re not actually bound to social norms.
  739. &lt;/strong&gt;
  740. We don’t need permission.
  741. We don’t need to please everyone.
  742. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  743. There are &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/villain&quot;&gt;a few people&lt;/a&gt; around the world that don’t like me because I’ve done something that goes against their wishes.
  744. But if I haven’t harmed anyone, haven’t broken the laws, and haven’t violated my own principles, then I’m totally OK with that.
  745. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  746. Even if people say I’m a bad person, it’s &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/u&quot;&gt;not true&lt;/a&gt;.
  747. They’re just saying I did something they don’t like.
  748. It’s OK to let a misunderstanding stay misunderstood, and move on.
  749. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  750. So that moment, walking out of a hotel in Oslo Norway, was a major milestone in my life.
  751. &lt;strong&gt;
  752. I had never felt so liberated.
  753. &lt;/strong&gt;
  754. And that feeling has stayed with me since.
  755. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;
  756. (See also: “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/villain&quot;&gt;Happiness is letting someone make you the villain&lt;/a&gt;”.)
  757. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  758. &lt;figure&gt;
  759. &lt;a href=&quot;https://flickr.com/photos/mariorm/34386901630/&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/Vigeland.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Vigeland by Mario RM&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
  760. &lt;figcaption&gt;photo from Frogner Park in Oslo Norway by &lt;a href=&quot;https://flickr.com/photos/mariorm/34386901630/&quot;&gt;Mario RM&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  761. &lt;/figure&gt;</content>
  762.    <id>https://sive.rs/nor</id>
  763.    <link href="https://sive.rs/nor"/>
  764.    <title>The joy and freedom of harmlessly upsetting social norms</title>
  765.    <updated>2023-04-21T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  766.    <dc:date>2023-04-21T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  767.  </entry>
  768.  <entry>
  769.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  770. I forbid myself from anything too tempting or addicting.
  771. I keep no cookies in my home.
  772. To prevent myself from falling off the wagon, I strap myself to the mast.
  773. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  774. I was born in California, and lived the first forty years of my life in America.
  775. But I wanted to challenge myself to live in the rest of the world - to get to know it deeply - so that many countries would feel like home.
  776. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  777. It was a nice idea, but as soon as times abroad got a little tough, I’d move back to my comfort zone.
  778. &lt;strong&gt;
  779. America felt like an addiction.
  780. &lt;/strong&gt;
  781. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  782. So I decided to ban myself from returning - to burn the ships.
  783. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  784. There’s a legend of a military leader with a hundred men in a few ships that landed on enemy shores.
  785. But waiting on land were a thousand enemy soldiers.
  786. So as soon as his men disembarked, the leader ordered them to &lt;strong&gt;burn the ships, to prevent retreat&lt;/strong&gt;.
  787. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  788. For years I thought about this story and the idea of letting go of my U.S. citizenship as a way of burning my ships and preventing my retreat.
  789. Eventually I followed my life’s motto of “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/scares&quot;&gt;whatever scares you, go do it&lt;/a&gt;”, then showed up to the U.S. embassy in Singapore, filled out the forms, and became an ex-citizen.
  790. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  791. If you suspect I was doing it for tax reasons, no.
  792. My taxes went up, not down, since all of my income is from the U.S.
  793. The IRS gets at least 30% of everything I earn, and will for the rest of my life.
  794. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  795. I really was just forcing myself forward into the world.
  796. And it’s worked.
  797. New Zealand, Singapore, England, and India are my legal and emotional homes now.
  798. Hopefully more to come.
  799. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  800. Since I left in 2010, I’ve only visited America for a few days.
  801. I don’t have the right to enter.
  802. There’s always a chance I might never see my family again.
  803. Because of that, &lt;strong&gt;I often regret it&lt;/strong&gt;.
  804. It’s usually best to keep options open.
  805. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  806. I’ve kept this a secret for twelve years because I didn’t want to be attacked by those who might mistake my adventuring as insult.
  807. But now it seemed better to just explain.
  808. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;
  809. For another side to this story, see “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/left&quot;&gt;Why I left America&lt;/a&gt;”.
  810. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  811. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/DerekSivers-passport.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Derek Sivers passport&quot;&gt;</content>
  812.    <id>https://sive.rs/xus</id>
  813.    <link href="https://sive.rs/xus"/>
  814.    <title>Why I let go of my U.S. citizenship</title>
  815.    <updated>2023-04-20T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  816.    <dc:date>2023-04-20T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  817.  </entry>
  818.  <entry>
  819.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  820. In 2020, I was about to move to New York City.
  821. I wanted to get to know all of its ethnic enclaves, like visiting the whole world in one city.
  822. But I know I have a tendency to stay at home, immersed in my work.
  823. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  824. So I made a rule for myself.
  825. If I move to New York, I must not be home between the hours of 9am to 5pm.
  826. I would do all of my writing and reading in public places as a way of keeping myself out in the world.
  827. But that meant thousands of hours of sitting in cafés, museums, libraries, and such.
  828. &lt;strong&gt;
  829. I might not be very welcome, unless I looked high-class.
  830. &lt;/strong&gt;
  831. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  832. I had been meaning to get nicer clothes anyway.
  833. I &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/wds&quot;&gt;saw myself on stage&lt;/a&gt; and realized my appearance no longer matched my self-image.
  834. My friend &lt;a href=&quot;https://cyber.harvard.edu/people/mwong&quot;&gt;Meng Weng Wong&lt;/a&gt; had made a great argument in favor of &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/led&quot;&gt;wearing a great suit&lt;/a&gt;.
  835. Now I had two reasons.
  836. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  837. Actually I had three reasons, because I was living near London at the time, and realized this was my one-and-only chance to have a custom suit made on the famous &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savile_Row&quot;&gt;Savile Row&lt;/a&gt;, just to have that once-in-a-lifetime experience.
  838. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  839. So I nerded out for a week, spending a few hours a day reading books on the subject and watching a great YouTube channel called &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/@SARTORIALTALKS&quot;&gt;Sartorial Talks&lt;/a&gt;.
  840. Its creator, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.parisiangentleman.com/&quot;&gt;Hugo Jacomet&lt;/a&gt;, is passionate and fascinating on the subject of well-made clothing.
  841. He (and others) said that the best tailor in all of London is a man that used to work on Savile Row, but has surpassed it.
  842. That’s the great &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.michaelbrowne.eu/&quot;&gt;Michael Browne&lt;/a&gt;.
  843. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  844. I contacted Michael but he didn’t reply.
  845. So I contacted Hugo Jacomet, and he very kindly introduced me to Michael, who agreed to see me the following week.
  846. Michael asked me about who I am, what I do, my self-image, my audience, my plans, and more.
  847. Then he picked a style and fabric and got to work.
  848. It took six visits over six months before the suit was done.
  849. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  850. He asked what shirt I’d be wearing with it, and I said, “Whatever shirt you think I should wear.”
  851. He told me to get &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.johnsmedley.com/&quot;&gt;John Smedley&lt;/a&gt; roll necks in sea island cotton, so I did.
  852. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  853. He asked what shoes I’d be wearing, and I said, “Whatever shoes you think I should wear.”
  854. He told me to go to &lt;a href=&quot;https://uk.linkedin.com/in/daniel-wegan-07006499&quot;&gt;Daniel Wegan&lt;/a&gt; of &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.instagram.com/catellashoemaker/&quot;&gt;Catella Shoemaker&lt;/a&gt;, so I did.
  855. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  856. We did all of these fittings during the first round of Covid lockdowns, early 2020.
  857. It was amazing to be in central London while it was completely empty, meeting at his atelier office, spending hours talking while he worked.
  858. When the suit was all done, he made a duplicate in a different fabric, so now I have two.
  859. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  860. Anyway, due to Covid and family things, we didn’t move to New York City at all.
  861. Moved back to New Zealand instead.
  862. So now I just wear my suits whenever I’m in public.
  863. &lt;/p&gt;
  864. &lt;figure&gt;
  865. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/MichaelBrowne.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Michael Browne&quot;&gt;
  866. &lt;figcaption&gt;photo of Michael Browne from &lt;a href=&quot;https://robbreport.com/style/menswear/michael-brown-bespoke-tailor-london-2865718/&quot;&gt;Robb Report&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  867. &lt;/figure&gt;</content>
  868.    <id>https://sive.rs/suits</id>
  869.    <link href="https://sive.rs/suits"/>
  870.    <title>the Michael Browne suits</title>
  871.    <updated>2023-04-15T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  872.    <dc:date>2023-04-15T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  873.  </entry>
  874.  <entry>
  875.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  876. I’m pretty bad at bowling and frisbee.
  877. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  878. I roll the ball or throw the disc straight at the target, but away it curves.
  879. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  880. After this happens a couple times, I adjust.
  881. I stop aiming straight, since that’s not working.
  882. &lt;strong&gt;
  883. If it always curves to the left, I aim to the right.
  884. &lt;/strong&gt;
  885. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  886. It feels wrong to aim away from the target.
  887. But it curves back to the center.
  888. It works.
  889. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  890. Same with thoughts.
  891. I try to think straight.
  892. But sometimes my thoughts miss.
  893. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  894. I would under-estimate how long a project would take.
  895. So now I double my estimate - &lt;em&gt;(aim to the right)&lt;/em&gt; - which brings it closer to the truth.
  896. It feels wrong, because I really do think it will take a month, but out loud I say “two months”.
  897. Now my estimates hit the target.
  898. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  899. I tend to believe my memories are correct.
  900. But I learned from experience that they’re fabricated.
  901. So now I try to assume that all my memories are false.
  902. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  903. Aiming your thinking away from the target &lt;strong&gt;feels wrong but makes it right&lt;/strong&gt;.
  904. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  905. Another definition of the word “true” means straight and accurate.
  906. And the word “bias” means angled or curved.
  907. So we can &lt;strong&gt;choose beliefs that are not true&lt;/strong&gt;, because they are useful &lt;strong&gt;to compensate&lt;/strong&gt; for our bias.
  908. &lt;/p&gt;
  909. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/bowler.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;man bowling&quot;&gt;</content>
  910.    <id>https://sive.rs/aim</id>
  911.    <link href="https://sive.rs/aim"/>
  912.    <title>Curve into the target</title>
  913.    <updated>2023-03-09T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  914.    <dc:date>2023-03-09T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  915.  </entry>
  916.  <entry>
  917.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  918. When you think something nice about someone, you should tell them.
  919. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  920. People don’t hear enough compliments.
  921. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  922. &lt;strong&gt;
  923. Even well-known people.
  924. &lt;/strong&gt;
  925. We assume they must hear it too much.
  926. But famous people often say the thanks from the public is &lt;strong&gt;the best part of the job&lt;/strong&gt;.
  927. They work really hard to spread their creations widely.
  928. They could just sit home and keep their thoughts to themselves, but instead they do the hard labor of turning their ideas into something digestable, then brave public critique in the media, all for the generous act of sharing their work with the world.
  929. It’s not for the money, since they could make more as a banker.
  930. It’s for the deeper happiness of making a difference in people’s lives.
  931. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  932. So I think of it as my &lt;strong&gt;duty&lt;/strong&gt;, when someone has made a difference in my life, to &lt;strong&gt;let them know&lt;/strong&gt;.
  933. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  934. Recent examples:
  935. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  936. Emailed &lt;a href=&quot;https://shrutiraj.com/&quot;&gt;Shruti Rajagopalan&lt;/a&gt; to say I’m a fan of her work, and I met two of her mutual friends in India.
  937. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  938. Contacted &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.duarte.com/&quot;&gt;Nancy Duarte&lt;/a&gt; after six years to say I’m still using her &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.duarte.com/resources/books/resonate/&quot;&gt;Resonate&lt;/a&gt; framework of presentation, and I’m glad we met ten years ago.
  939. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  940. Emailed &lt;a href=&quot;https://austinkleon.com/&quot;&gt;Austin Kleon&lt;/a&gt; to let him know that three different people referenced him last month in India.
  941. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  942. Found the email address for professor &lt;a href=&quot;https://philpeople.org/profiles/sharon-kaye&quot;&gt;Sharon Kaye&lt;/a&gt; after reading her book, &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/PhilosophyCI&quot;&gt;Philosophy: a Complete Introduction&lt;/a&gt;, to tell her that she is the clearest writer I’ve ever read.
  943. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  944. Emailed &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russ_Roberts&quot;&gt;Russ Roberts&lt;/a&gt; to say how much I love &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.econtalk.org/&quot;&gt;his podcast&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/WildProblems&quot;&gt;new book&lt;/a&gt;.
  945. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  946. Texted my friend &lt;a href=&quot;https://ie.linkedin.com/in/laura-clesceri/en&quot;&gt;Laura Clesceri&lt;/a&gt; to tell her I appreciate our conversations.
  947. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  948. Texted &lt;a href=&quot;https://markmanson.net/&quot;&gt;Mark Manson&lt;/a&gt; a photo of my cinema ticket after seeing &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12380422/&quot;&gt;his movie&lt;/a&gt;.
  949. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  950. Told the guy at the cafe that I loved his shirt with the &lt;a href=&quot;https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&amp;q=atari+adventure+dragon&amp;iax=images&amp;ia=images&quot;&gt;Atari Adventure dragon&lt;/a&gt;.
  951. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  952. ... and complimented three adorable dogs (to their owners) while out on my walk in the forest today.
  953. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  954. These examples took a combined total of about fifteen minutes of my life.
  955. By text or email, I send &lt;strong&gt;just two or three sentences&lt;/strong&gt;.
  956. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  957. As soon as I feel the feeling of appreciation, I flip over to my email app, &lt;em&gt;tap tap tap send&lt;/em&gt;, and get back to what I was doing.
  958. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  959. &lt;strong&gt;
  960. There really is no better use of my time, or yours.
  961. &lt;/strong&gt;
  962. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  963. &lt;em&gt;
  964. Side note: Only about half of them reply.
  965. But that’s OK, since I’m not doing it for the reply.
  966. &lt;/em&gt;
  967. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  968.    <id>https://sive.rs/nice</id>
  969.    <link href="https://sive.rs/nice"/>
  970.    <title>Thinking something nice about someone? Tell them.</title>
  971.    <updated>2023-03-07T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  972.    <dc:date>2023-03-07T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  973.  </entry>
  974.  <entry>
  975.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  976. &lt;strong&gt;February 13 through 21, 2023&lt;/strong&gt;, I went to Chennai and Bengaluru, India.
  977. My sole purpose was to meet new friends.
  978. I’m an “&lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_Citizenship_of_India&quot;&gt;Overseas Citizen of India&lt;/a&gt;” and my son is half-Indian (Tamil).
  979. I will always have ties to India.
  980. I wanted to deepen those ties and make new connections.
  981. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  982. So I scheduled &lt;strong&gt;fifty one-hour conversations with fifty interesting people over seven days&lt;/strong&gt;.
  983. Back-to-back meetings from 9am to 10pm every day.
  984. It was one of &lt;strong&gt;the most intense and fascinating&lt;/strong&gt; (and heart-warming and educational) things I’ve ever done in my life.
  985. I recorded almost every conversation into a little voice recorder, then had it transcribed.
  986. When I got home to New Zealand I spent 30 hours reading through the transcriptions to help me remember what we talked about, then made a tiny summary, below.
  987. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  988. My conversations there were some of the best I’ve ever had, immediately open-hearted, honest, and intellectual.
  989. I also hosted two parties but owe an apology to my guests, because I thought I could have quality conversations in that environment but I just couldn’t.
  990. I’m really a one-to-one conversationalist.
  991. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  992. Maybe-embarrassing thing I’ll admit:
  993. Before my arrival, I hired a man in Chennai to make an audio recording of him slowly and clearly reading the names of the fifty people I was to meet with.
  994. Then I put those recordings into &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.ankiweb.net/&quot;&gt;Anki&lt;/a&gt; flash cards, with the written name on the front, and the audio recording on back, so I could &lt;strong&gt;practice pronouncing everyone’s name correctly&lt;/strong&gt; when we met.
  995. Names like Arunsathyaseelan Palanichami and Thiyagarajan Maruthavanan became little melodies that stuck in my head.
  996. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  997. India has &lt;strong&gt;changed so much&lt;/strong&gt; in the last 10 years since my last visit.
  998. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  999. The new &lt;a href=&quot;https://duckduckgo.com/?q=vande+bharat&amp;ia=images&amp;iax=images&quot;&gt;Vande Bharat&lt;/a&gt; train from Chennai to Bangalore is as nice as any train in Europe, and the four-hour journey costs 1100 Rupees - about $13 - including a nice meal service.
  1000. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1001. The new &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Payments_Interface&quot;&gt;UPI&lt;/a&gt; cashless payment system is amazing.
  1002. Instant free bank transfers for every bank account in India, no fee, just by scanning a QR code.
  1003. Everybody and every roadside vendor now has it, so it’s thoroughly practical even for little payments of 40 rupees (50¢).
  1004. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1005. The new &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aadhaar&quot;&gt;Aadhaar&lt;/a&gt; government ID is impressive, and has enabled anyone to open a bank account, which created the ubiquity of UPI.
  1006. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1007. One downside is the current political climate which had my friends literally looking over their shoulders and speaking in hushed tones when the subject came up.
  1008. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1009. And WhatsApp is practically the sole mode of communication.
  1010. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1011. &lt;strong&gt;Bangalore&lt;/strong&gt; in particular has become a wonderful creative hub.
  1012. &lt;strong&gt;It feels like the new San Francisco&lt;/strong&gt;, with creative ambitious people moving there from all over India.
  1013. A super-casual California-style culture, free from the formality and materialism of Delhi and Mumbai.
  1014. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1015. Bangalore is such a great place to live - (good weather, culture, people) - that the money made in Bangalore is staying in Bangalore instead of fleeing overseas like it used to, so this feeds the local arts and culture scene, making it an even better place to live.
  1016. I loved it so much that I wanted to cancel my return flight and just live there now.
  1017. Instead, it’s now my second home, in my heart, and I’ll be returning often.
  1018. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1019. I agree with &lt;a href=&quot;https://shrutiraj.com/&quot;&gt;Shruti&lt;/a&gt; that &lt;a href=&quot;https://srajagopalan.substack.com/p/why-everyone-should-pay-more-attention&quot;&gt;everyone should pay more attention to India&lt;/a&gt;.
  1020. &lt;/p&gt;
  1021.  
  1022. &lt;style&gt;div.meeting img {float: right; margin-left: 1em} hr {clear: both}&lt;/style&gt;
  1023.  
  1024. &lt;h1&gt;CHENNAI&lt;/h1&gt;
  1025. &lt;h2&gt;MONDAY&lt;/h2&gt;
  1026. &lt;hr&gt;
  1027. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/306253.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Kiruba Shankar&quot;&gt;
  1028. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.kiruba.com/&quot;&gt;Kiruba Shankar&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1029. We met 12 years ago at INK.
  1030. He founded the Professional Speakers Association of India focuses on the business side of public speaking, whereas Toastmasters focuses on the craft of speech.
  1031. Speakers and rappers who can dissect what they’re doing as they’re doing it.
  1032. When doing a paid talk, (versus a free talk), the speaker has to do their homework, know the audience and their objective, write the script, and practice hard.
  1033. He has taught digital marketing for 21 years, and runs a marketing company called Breathe Digital.
  1034. Everyone who takes his course must have their own website by the time the course finishes.  Many students have been accepted to colleges and jobs because having their own website set them apart.
  1035. Instead of waiting to be invited to a super-achievers event, just create and organize a super-achievers event.  Better to be the host than a guest.
  1036. His meet-up is called Cerebrate.
  1037. Instead of hiring strangers through a help-wanted ad, speak/write/teach in public, then hire the people that approach you afterwards.  Natural filter.  You don’t try to attract people.  These people are already attracted.
  1038. His first speaking gig was to a girl’s college.  His boss was supposed to speak but couldn’t make it, so sent Kiruba instead.
  1039. His 90-year-old grandmother runs a farm stay, and could use a database for their guests, to know them better. 13 acres of organic farm. So many people come stay collectively, bonding, isolated away from distractions, so they really interact with each other, staying in one building. All booked word-of-mouth. No AirBNB or other portals.
  1040. The 3rd-most-popular bucket list wish is to own a farm. People long for the rural life.
  1041. &lt;/div&gt;
  1042.  
  1043. &lt;hr&gt;
  1044. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/324799.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Dr. Mani Sivasubramanian&quot;&gt;
  1045. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://MoneyPowerWisdom.com&quot;&gt;Dr. Mani Sivasubramanian&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1046. He and I have been emailing regularly for 13 years!
  1047. His daughter finished medical school and she’s going to become a Rhodes Scholar this year - doing her PhD at Oxford.
  1048. Dr. Mani is his identity as a writer online.
  1049. Dr. Subramanian is his identity as a heart surgeon.
  1050. He specialized in pediatric cancer because it was challenging and nobody else was doing it.
  1051. The biggest problem in India isn’t the facilities or patient load, but that 99% of the patients can’t afford the cost of treatment.
  1052. So even though he’s a surgeon, he found the best solution is to support Devi Shetty in Bangalore, who is doing the most affordable treatments because he’s taken a radical new approach, lowering costs by 80%.  Trains women to do the mechanical steps needed instead of only hiring nurses with ten years’ training.
  1053. Patients who can afford full price go into the corporate suite and he uses those profits to subsidize the patients who can’t afford it. Keeps the profit margin at 5% instead of maximum.
  1054. When Dr. Mani said that his ebooks are sold to fund operations, response rate sales went from 2% to 18%.  People aren’t reading the book as much as supporting the cause.
  1055. He spent so much time with his daughter that she said when she grows up she wants to be a pediatric heart surgeon since they clearly have so much free time. That’s his biggest compliment in life.
  1056. &lt;/div&gt;
  1057.  
  1058. &lt;hr&gt;
  1059. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/396473.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Ramkumar Venkataraman&quot;&gt;
  1060. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://github.com/ramkumarvenkat&quot;&gt;Ramkumar Venkataraman&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1061. While being paid to do a simpler tech job (CSS) he studied the deeper tech of fraud prevention at that same company.
  1062. He and his wife moved back to India from Singapore for better health care for their babies.
  1063. A minute after he and his wife walked from living room to kitchen, the living room ceiling completely collapsed. It would have killed them.  This inspired him to quit his job and do something he’s proud of.
  1064. Got into smart contracts and following supply chain of coffee beans in Indonesia. Making sure funds are safe. Risk management.
  1065. Incorporated in Delaware &amp;amp; funded by Y Combinator. Silicon Valley Bank. India banks require round tripping.
  1066. &lt;/div&gt;
  1067.  
  1068. &lt;hr&gt;
  1069. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/437520.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Soundarya Balasubramani&quot;&gt;
  1070. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://curiousmaverick.com/&quot;&gt;Soundarya Balasubramani&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1071. Her brother called her Pooja as a girl, and it stuck, so everyone calls her Pooja.
  1072. Emailed 2500 immigrants to say she’s writing a book on immigration, so what are your top three questions? Open rate was 80% and she got hundreds of responses in the first two days. People are frustrated with the system. Book is called Unshackled.
  1073. Brad Feld at Techstars suggested she do a crowdfunding campaign. She raised $50K.  Emergent Ventures granted another $50K.
  1074. Got her masters at Columbia in NYC. Living in California but came back to Chennai to finish the book.  Not sure where she’ll live next.
  1075. People don’t realize how much discrimination a place has until they leave it and discover new freedoms.  Even little things like wearing a dress.
  1076. Examples of men being sexist, some deeply seated mindsets, not realizing they’re being insensitive.
  1077. To truly help someone, you need to be invested. It takes a lot of time. Can’t happen in a rushed manner.
  1078. &lt;/div&gt;
  1079.  
  1080. &lt;hr&gt;
  1081. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/437902.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Senthil Kumar Muthamizhan&quot;&gt;
  1082. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.linkedin.com/in/senthilkumarmuthamizhan/&quot;&gt;Senthil Kumar Muthamizhan&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1083. Meeting people is richness, real rich - not just money in the bank.
  1084. Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu is a significant auspicious place.
  1085. In India, kids are gods.
  1086. This box of cookies might have great meaning to someone who has eaten from that shop with their family for the last 25 years, but means nothing to someone else. London’s WC1 means a lot to you, but nothing to someone else.
  1087. Kural - Tirukkuṟaḷ - திருக்குறள் - very important book - wise through means - it’s how to live
  1088. North Indian culture slowly gets diluted, while South Indian culture resisted influence.
  1089. As a South Indian, Delhi is a nightmare, because of the food and the whole thing.
  1090. Lived in Netherlands and Manchester and Singapore. Europeans were annoying for wanting to be on time. Creativity is not on time. Coding is creativity.
  1091. He uses Ruby and Rails.
  1092. His company CultureMonkey delivers bad news to companies to let them know when their internal culture is bad.
  1093. The human body is a shirt the soul is wearing. It drops every time you die and are born again.
  1094. Every soul goes through four phases: pleasure, engagement, meaning, serving god.
  1095. &lt;/div&gt;
  1096.  
  1097. &lt;hr&gt;
  1098. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/384063.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Sainath Rajagopal&quot;&gt;
  1099. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://isstiaung.me/&quot;&gt;Sainath Rajagopal&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1100. Sainath taught me how to eat the thali.
  1101. He did “Entrepreneur First” in Singapore - 100 people from around the world put together in a place to start companies.
  1102. When he pitched his education finance idea in Singapore, he got a meeting with the Minister of Education immediately. The accessibility in a small country is surprising coming from India.
  1103. Bangalore - vs Chennai - is more experimental, trying silly things. Bangalore has a migrant population. People move there for the startups, and that has a rolling effect on the culture of the place.
  1104. He’ll stay in Chennai to help be a good influence for his younger brother. His fiancée will work for the Indian Foreign Service.
  1105. Whether to have kids, and if that makes a more or less fulfilling life.
  1106. &lt;/div&gt;
  1107.  
  1108. &lt;hr&gt;
  1109. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/387923.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Shaizil Sheriff&quot;&gt;
  1110. &lt;h2&gt;Shaizil Sheriff&lt;/h2&gt;
  1111. Grew up in Kerala, and only after leaving realized how great it is.  Lives in NC, USA now.
  1112. North Kerala people go to Gulf countries.  South Kerala people go to US, US, Canada.
  1113. Kerala’s high literacy rate is because it was the first elected communist government, and they promoted a lot of social welfare, building schools, paying teachers.
  1114. With communism, the achievers can’t climb as high, but the people at the bottom are protected.
  1115. The religious texts don’t know the smallest things like atoms, or the biggest things like the earth is round, but they claim they know everything.
  1116. He’s atheist, from a Muslim family, and married a Hindu woman. Hasn’t brought her home to Kerala because of the current political tensions.
  1117. Being Indian is secondary to being Malayali, Tamil, Kanada or a Telugu, because those roots run deep.
  1118. &lt;/div&gt;
  1119.  
  1120. &lt;hr&gt;
  1121. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/410426.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Martin Jeffery&quot;&gt;
  1122. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.instagram.com/martin_writes16/&quot;&gt;Martin Jeffery&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1123. He grew up in Madurai. Lost his dad at age 12. Dad’s family blamed his mother. Probably moving to Victoria, Australia, soon.
  1124. Tamil Nadu was ruled by three kings. That’s why when the British came, they were able to divide and conquer. There was no unity.
  1125. Most people in India don’t choose their careers. Careers are decided by the parents at age 15-16.
  1126. Uses Selenium for app testing.
  1127. Into dancing and choreography.
  1128. &lt;/div&gt;
  1129.  
  1130. &lt;h2&gt;TUESDAY&lt;/h2&gt;
  1131. &lt;hr&gt;
  1132. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/395564.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Srikumar K. S.&quot;&gt;
  1133. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://sriku.org&quot;&gt;Srikumar K. S.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1134. Kumar and I met 12 years ago in Singapore through our dear friend Pete Kellock.
  1135. The new translation of the Kural: translating poetry is hard.
  1136. Kumar created a popular system of Carnatic music notation.
  1137. He explained the difference between Hindustani and Carnatic music.
  1138. His PhD was a study in human musicology.
  1139. Neither of us can let music be in the background.
  1140. It’s almost a crime to not be vocal about politics these days. South India resisted colonization.
  1141. A date is not actually a time but a place, since dates are what we call our position in orbit around the sun. But Earth never comes back to the same spot, so it’s not exact.
  1142. He explained quantum computing - something he’s working with now.
  1143. Scheme/Lisp, Functional programming, Quantum mechanics: these things change the way you think forever.
  1144. Look into Julia because of multiple dispatch. Julia’s libraries work together amazingly well.
  1145. &lt;/div&gt;
  1146.  
  1147. &lt;hr&gt;
  1148. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/437568.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Chandhana Sathish Kumar&quot;&gt;
  1149. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/chandhana01&quot;&gt;Chandhana Sathish Kumar&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1150. Chandhana is one of the most impressive people I’ve ever met. Age 17 now.
  1151. She was in a program called The Knowledge Society, exposed to gene editing, nanotechnology, quantum computing, then got into neuroscience, fetal brain research, memory development research.
  1152. Now into bioplastics - biodegradable plastic - edible plastic made from seaweed for less than a dollar - working on this at home for the past week, just by reading papers and experimenting.
  1153. Emergent Venture winner.
  1154. Born in America. She switches between an Indian accent and American accent, depending on who she’s talking with.
  1155. Family speaks Telugu, so she had to learn Hindi and Tamil on her own.
  1156. Learned at a Montessori school and always followed whatever seems fun. Parents never forced learning. But also encouraged her to not quit.
  1157. She did stand-up comedy and won a competition.
  1158. I have the opposite of imposter syndrome: I think it’s cooler to be resourceful and uncredentialed.
  1159. She does everything in her head working solo, so she can work 8x faster than a team would, since they have to communicate and document everything.
  1160. &lt;/div&gt;
  1161.  
  1162. &lt;hr&gt;
  1163. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/364195.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Santhosh Sundararaman&quot;&gt;
  1164. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.flickr.com/photos/santhoshsram&quot;&gt;Santhosh Sundararaman&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1165. Moved to the US in 2004: Kansas then California.  Moved to Pune India in 2017.
  1166. Pune has good monsoons: less waterlogging.
  1167. Difficult moving back because everything had changed, so they didn’t know how to do anything like set up utilities.
  1168. Spending time out from career being a full-time dad to toddler and baby.
  1169. Reading Sapiens changed his mind about religion.
  1170. Maharashtra have strong pride in their culture: statues of Shivaji like a demigod.
  1171. Tamil Nadu in the 90s: signs were in Tamil, Hindi, English. People were blacking-out the Hindi, protesting Hindi in Tamil Nadu.
  1172. He told me about the Vande Bharat Express train from Chennai to Bangalore, then booked it for me. It was great.
  1173. &lt;/div&gt;
  1174.  
  1175. &lt;hr&gt;
  1176. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/437633.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Mayur Vamanan&quot;&gt;
  1177. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.brindavanschools.org/&quot;&gt;Mayur Vamanan&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1178. Didn’t take golf scholarship to U Michigan, and always wonders about that path not taken.
  1179. Moved back to India for his kids to grow up around their grandparents.
  1180. His grandfather set up Brindavan Schools around Tamil Nadu, now Mayur as returned to run them.
  1181. Polytechnic schools help kids get practical skills - working right away.
  1182. Grandfather and dad used to do road shows to find new students, now it’s all on social media.
  1183. Challenge is to make it a top-notch school for parents who care about more than test scores.
  1184. Schools should teach consideration for others and the environment.
  1185. &lt;/div&gt;
  1186.  
  1187. &lt;hr&gt;
  1188. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/437558.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Akash Chinnaiah&quot;&gt;
  1189. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://akashchinnaiah.com/&quot;&gt;Akash Chinnaiah&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1190. Full-time professional writer for magazines, and memoir books.
  1191. Moving to Goa.
  1192. We talked a lot about writing.
  1193. &lt;/div&gt;
  1194.  
  1195. &lt;hr&gt;
  1196. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/437609.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Manivannan Sadasivam&quot;&gt;
  1197. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/MirrorOfMySelf&quot;&gt;Manivannan Sadasivam&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1198. Tea leaves grow in chilly places: that’s why they’re on hill stations here.
  1199. He grew up on a hill station because his dad ran the tea factory after Sri Lanka.
  1200. He is his brother’s keeper. Brother is a film maker who wrote a poetic book.
  1201. Mani is a copy writer.
  1202. &lt;/div&gt;
  1203.  
  1204. &lt;hr&gt;
  1205. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/392860.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Saravanan Sampath Kumar&quot;&gt;
  1206. &lt;h2&gt;Brothers &lt;a href=&quot;https://sridhar.co&quot;&gt;Sridhar Raj&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;https://sarav.co/&quot;&gt;Saravanan Sampath Kumar&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1207. Really cool hearing their stories of growing up and how they influenced each other, and getting into tech.
  1208. They taught me about Hindu mythology.
  1209. Unfortunately I met them at the end of my second night when I was really jet-lagged, so I don’t remember most of our conversation.
  1210. I wish I had a recording of it.
  1211. &lt;/div&gt;
  1212.  
  1213. &lt;h2&gt;WEDNESDAY&lt;/h2&gt;
  1214. &lt;hr&gt;
  1215. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/419606.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Prahalad Rajkumar&quot;&gt;
  1216. &lt;h2&gt;Prahalad Rajkumar&lt;/h2&gt;
  1217. Bridge (the card game) expert. Loves the problem solving, the beautiful positions, unspeakable joy.
  1218. Told me about Om Swami, millionaire turned monk, he’s been following since 2014.
  1219. Arranged marriages work because even if it’s the devil, it’s your devil.
  1220. He taught me so many examples and perspectives of making any marriage work.
  1221. Sending kids to “The School” - surrounded by nature - started by J. Krishnamurti.
  1222. He and his dad run the back-office for a doctor in Florida.
  1223. &lt;/div&gt;
  1224.  
  1225. &lt;hr&gt;
  1226. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/438794.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Mukesh Amaran&quot;&gt;
  1227. &lt;h2&gt;Mukesh Amaran&lt;/h2&gt;
  1228. Mukesh created a musicians’ collective in Chennai, to help promote Tamil music.
  1229. Mumbai’s Bollywood exports India culture worldwide, but doesn’t promote the local Maharashtra culture.  Whereas Kollywood - the local Tamil film industry - promotes Tamil culture.
  1230. His model is to get musicians together to collaborate on a project, then he owns the rights to that project only, to recoop costs, helping to raise the profile of all musicians involved.
  1231. &lt;/div&gt;
  1232.  
  1233. &lt;hr&gt;
  1234. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/254116.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Lakshmi Pratury&quot;&gt;
  1235. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ixoraamedia.com/&quot;&gt;Lakshmi Pratury&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1236. Rode together on the 6-10am train from Chennai to Bangalore.
  1237. She taught me about parenting, bringing your child around to meetings, differences between San Francisco and Bangalore, fundraising.
  1238. Effective altruism is fine but other charities also need people who can realize their benefits, like music education for example.
  1239. She lives in Whitefield, and we passed her home on the train from Chennai.
  1240. &lt;/div&gt;
  1241.  
  1242. &lt;hr&gt;
  1243. &lt;h1&gt;BANGALORE&lt;/h1&gt;
  1244. &lt;hr&gt;
  1245. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/437905.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Ricky Kej&quot;&gt;
  1246. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.rickykej.com/&quot;&gt;Ricky Kej&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1247. QR-code-only menu: asked waiter to scan and show him the menu.
  1248. Amazing memory: able to list out all of his upcoming projects and details off the top of his head.
  1249. Went to a Christian/Protestant school and said he recommends it since the Christians perfected education.
  1250. Atheism is tabboo in America, but common in India.
  1251. Likes “Hindu Atheist” because it reveres all life equally vs Old Testament style “dominion of man” over all living things.
  1252. We bonded over a love of Peter Gabriel’s music, especially Passion soundtrack.
  1253. Negotiating for the UN.  Kiribati.  Greta Thunberg hasn’t seen India.
  1254. No major riots in Gujarat since the 2002 riots.
  1255. What to do with all the gifts, especially portraits.
  1256. Amazing story of Kalyan Akkipeddi and his Proto Village where cows eat millet, chickens eat the cow poop, chickens poop into a pond feeding the fish, and people eat the fish.
  1257. Chanakya University is aiming to be world-class best.
  1258. &lt;/div&gt;
  1259.  
  1260. &lt;h2&gt;FRIDAY&lt;/h2&gt;
  1261. &lt;hr&gt;
  1262. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/431393.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Sindhu Shivaprasad&quot;&gt;
  1263. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sindhushivaprasad.com/&quot;&gt;Sindhu Shivaprasad&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1264. Raised in Abuja Nigeria and loved it. People express themselves loudly, free, spontaneous. Teachers there cared for her well-being outside of school.
  1265. Returning to India was culture shock. Needing permission to go to and return from the restroom in school.
  1266. This self-consciousness made her retreat into her mind, still to this day.
  1267. Lived in Dubai for 5 years. Family loved being away from relatives in India, beyond judgement and involvement.
  1268. Lived in Sheffield, relished her independence.
  1269. Talked about norms: Nigeria norms, Dubai norms, England norms, India norms. Third culture kid.
  1270. She taught me how to put sugar in my tea.
  1271. Bought her own home now since this will always be home base.
  1272. Go to Himalayas to write a book? Or make her new home have the same placebo triggers to be a place of creative writing?
  1273. She’s Kannadiga - a Kannada speaker - rare in central Bangalore now. Taxi drivers speak in Hindi to her and are thrilled when she replies in Kannada.
  1274. Tamils protect their culture stronger than Kannada/Karnatakans have.  We’re more accepting of others’ culture than others are of ours.  To our detriment.  Karnataka has great prolific writers and artists, but the culture is not as strong since we haven’t protected it as fiercely as the Tamils.
  1275. South Bangalore is more conservative, people who are from here.
  1276. Loves the balance of tradition and modernity in Japan.
  1277. To be an outsider in a culture is the best because you can reap its benefits, but not be bound by its restrictions.
  1278. &lt;/div&gt;
  1279.  
  1280. &lt;hr&gt;
  1281. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/399145.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Ayush Jain&quot;&gt;
  1282. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.ayushjain.net/&quot;&gt;Ayush Jain&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1283. Grew up in a small town in Rajasthan where students come from all over to prepare for exams, super-high-pressure, but his parents never pushed that, and he got way into basketball!
  1284. Parents encouraged him to leave India to get more experience. Spent a year in Singapore, year in Dubai, and two years in Sydney.
  1285. Did Techstars.
  1286. Family has cloud kitchen business in Bangalore making Rajasthan cuisine, though Covid paused that for two years. Brings down staff and houses them.
  1287. Weather in Bangalore is so much better.
  1288. Now doing learning design, finding subject matter experts, creating courses on various subjects. Nigeria is their biggest market.
  1289. Just spent 4 months in Nairobi and loves it, wonderful, everyone so talkative. Some daytime petty crime.
  1290. Flying India to Nairobi is cheaper than Nairobi to Rwanda just 40 minutes away.
  1291. &lt;/div&gt;
  1292.  
  1293. &lt;hr&gt;
  1294. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/389970.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Ranjana TN&quot;&gt;
  1295. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://ranjanatn.com/&quot;&gt;Ranjana TN&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1296. Ranjana is one of the most open people I’ve ever met, telling me very personal matters within minutes of meeting.
  1297. Very broad-minded Hindu Brahmin family opted out of the surname signifier.
  1298. Studied dance. MBA in Chennai.
  1299. We talked about polyamorous relationships and our past relationships.
  1300. Left the startup she co-founded when she disagreed with its direction.
  1301. Published an ebook on PCOS.
  1302. Spent months in Peru, US, Canada, where she has family.
  1303. Steve Pavlina mentioned me in his group. I loved his book. She didn’t.
  1304. &lt;/div&gt;
  1305.  
  1306. &lt;hr&gt;
  1307. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/410499.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Pavitra Gurumurthi&quot;&gt;
  1308. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.pavitraguru.com/&quot;&gt;Pavitra Gurumurthi&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1309. She lived in Wellington for 11 years, so we bonded on that.
  1310. Returned to India last year after 20 years of being away.
  1311. She has a deep connection to the ocean, love and fear combined, but can’t swim yet.
  1312. &lt;/div&gt;
  1313.  
  1314. &lt;h2&gt;SATURDAY&lt;/h2&gt;
  1315. &lt;hr&gt;
  1316. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/437587.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Udhay Shankar N&quot;&gt;
  1317. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://digeratus.com/&quot;&gt;Udhay Shankar N&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1318. Been in the tech startup scene since 1992, before they were called startups.
  1319. 3D graphics cards in 1993, brought back from Singapore in luggage. Got a modem &amp;amp; didn’t know what to do with it.
  1320. Early internet, easy to make friends with people like John Perry Barlow. You could email anyone.
  1321. Early mailing list called Silk, and unconference in Goa.
  1322. Certain parts of Bangalore, things move faster than Silicon Valley.
  1323. He advises startups to help point out where they might fail, having been there himself. Just does it for the intellectual interest.
  1324. &lt;/div&gt;
  1325.  
  1326. &lt;hr&gt;
  1327. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/418710.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Shreyas Prakash&quot;&gt;
  1328. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.shreyasprakash.com/&quot;&gt;Shreyas Prakash&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1329. The language of Kerala is Malayalam. Similar to Tamil. Kannada is quite different.
  1330. Working with Noora Health helping them scale the program across Indonesia and Bangladesh.
  1331. Doing voice prompts to help bridge digital divide: usable on feature phones. IVR = Interactive Voice Response.
  1332. Before this he helped set up maker spaces in rural areas in Maharashtra and Auroville.
  1333. Castes have community halls, so they use those. Tools for wood and metal, and a computer. But without upkeep they get repurposed.
  1334. Worked with UV sterilization inside hospitals, at IIT Madras. Moved to Bangalore a year and a half ago.
  1335. Making a community of builders. Side projects. $100 startups. Online &amp;amp; worldwide.
  1336. Mumbai has the big business, but Bangalore if for startups, the Silicon Valley of India.
  1337. All startup conversations happen at Third Wave coffee chain in Bangalore.
  1338. &lt;/div&gt;
  1339.  
  1340. &lt;hr&gt;
  1341. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/421294.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Trisha Reddy&quot;&gt;
  1342. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://trishareddy.in/&quot;&gt;Trisha Reddy&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1343. Got an iPad and started drawing during lockdown, now writing on Substack thanks to Write of Passage.
  1344. Taking a 6 month break now before starting her MBA in Chicago in August.
  1345. Someone told her she’ll always be a second-class citizen in America. I suggested that’s an advantage not disadvantage, to be an outsider. She said, “It’s all Plato’s cave.”
  1346. Doing yoga teacher training just to improve her yoga, not to actually teach it.
  1347. Bangalore is more into fitness and way more active than other Indian cities.
  1348. Did a swimathon then a relay swim from Bandra Worli Sea Link to Gateway of India.
  1349. Reading Existential Kink, book about dissolving existing beliefs, making subconscious conscious.
  1350. Stories turn off our defenses.
  1351. &lt;/div&gt;
  1352.  
  1353. &lt;hr&gt;
  1354. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/437936.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Pradarshan&quot;&gt;
  1355. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://pradologue.com/&quot;&gt;Pradarshan&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1356. Backpacked around India for a year and a half, and has written 300-500 pages about it, but never published.
  1357. Helps startups with growth and marketing, getting developers.
  1358. Everyone wants to come to Bangalore. The quality, the freedom to build, the quality of the conversation, is different than anywhere else.
  1359. Favorite book is Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Duran.
  1360. &lt;/div&gt;
  1361.  
  1362. &lt;hr&gt;
  1363. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/409470.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Kaushal Shah&quot;&gt;
  1364. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/kaushalvshah&quot;&gt;Kaushal Shah&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1365. Ahmedabad has worse weather than Bangalore but better infrastructure: more reliable electricity, drainage, wiring.
  1366. People from Gujarat are known for their entrepreneurial business spirit.
  1367. One reason Bangalore became the startup city is that Gujarat is a dry state.
  1368. He splits his time between New York, Ahmedabad, and Bangalore.
  1369. People don’t say anything political even in private encrypted WhatsApp chats.
  1370. Meditation and comedians made him question his religious upbringing. Bill Burr’s great bit laughing at Scientology but is it really more ridiculous than what we’re taught growing up? We just don’t laugh at the things taught to us as kids.
  1371. In India we substitute academic excellence for character. He was a great student, so his teacher treated him like he could do no wrong. One day during cricket he hit another kid and didn’t get in trouble. Years later in vipassana meditation this all came back to haunt him.
  1372. We agree about Yuval Noah Harari, meditation credibility, and his three books.
  1373. Out of 500 non-fiction books he’s probably finished 3 of them. He gets the gist and moves to the next.
  1374. &lt;/div&gt;
  1375.  
  1376. &lt;hr&gt;
  1377. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/339997.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Kartik Isvarmurti&quot;&gt;
  1378. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.vmgbpo.com/&quot;&gt;Kartik Isvarmurti&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1379. Kartik was the first person I ever met in India, back in 2008. We are the same age.
  1380. Agriculture background. Started a magazine about ag business and distributed it in fancy hotels in Bangalore. Built a website for it in 1998.
  1381. Saw the book World is Flat and jumped right into the VA/BPO business that week. Created a profile on Elance and got immediate clients.
  1382. Lots of live chat monitoring. Now 300 people part-time.
  1383. He splits his time between Coimbatore and Bangalore, but officially lives and votes in Coimbatore.
  1384. Says if I want to live in Bangalore, I should live in Mysore instead. Better quality of life, and close enough.
  1385. He builds relationships on LinkedIn, even if they’re not hiring now.
  1386. Modern companies are avoiding customer service by just doing instant refunds if you declare there’s any problem at all.
  1387. &lt;/div&gt;
  1388.  
  1389. &lt;hr&gt;
  1390. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/406623.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Nikhil Jois&quot;&gt;
  1391. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/nikhiljoisr&quot;&gt;Nikhil Jois&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1392. A just-in-time book is a book you get for an immediate need, like how to sell, or Deep Work to focus.  A just-in-case book is wisdom.
  1393. Some get books to display as a status symbol. The book itself is a reminder of the message.
  1394. You can train GPT/LLModels on just one book or selection of text, including the Gita.
  1395. Tried to get schools to buy his product, but decisions were made too slowly and conservatively.
  1396. So he went there and started teaching in colleges: how to have a clean resume, how to do interviews, how to do group discussions. That worked.
  1397. In his family, Chandigarh &amp;amp; Hyderabad, if you’re 22 and haven’t migrated to the U.S., you’re a failure. But he stayed and when friends and relatives came back to India to get married, they would call on him to help make things happen. Then he learned to automate those things. Then created a company around it, and tried to partner with a matrimony site, assuming they know when people get married, but they don’t.
  1398. Got into IoT for oil rigs - to determine when an oil rig’s parts might break down so that they can do maintenance in time. Funded by Techstars, who moved them to Texas, but it was too early for that market.
  1399. Went to California, met 143 people in 45 days. Mentor madness. Always did his homework before meeting with each person, to know as much as he could about them. That alone set him apart.
  1400. Worked to prevent fraud in Indian market, like SIM card bonuses. He got 6 months free Uber rides by gaming the system, then preventing others from doing it.
  1401. India affords me lifestyle upgrades like a chauffeur-driven car for under $600/month, and a cleaner and a cook who come every day.
  1402. Friend lived in a hotel in Bangalore for under $2000/month, including food and everything.
  1403. Long sweet conversation about how he met his wife, and how they made a framework for conflict resolution, both little and big things. The importance of being coachable. Avoid relationships between a reacher and a settler.
  1404. &lt;/div&gt;
  1405.  
  1406. &lt;hr&gt;
  1407. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/408912.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Arunsathyaseelan Palanichami&quot;&gt;
  1408. &lt;h2&gt;Arunsathyaseelan Palanichami&lt;/h2&gt;
  1409. His passport just says “P” not Palanichami, but foreign visa people kept challenging it, so put in his father’s full name.
  1410. His parents named him Arun so he’d be called first in class, alphabetically.
  1411. His daughter’s name is Haiku.
  1412. He and his wife have been through a lot, he gave her a lot of trauma, she was so patient with him, and he’s so thankful.
  1413. My son is Gen Alpha.
  1414. Gave me some wonderful books about Tamil culture.
  1415. Went to a school for military training, but didn’t go into the military. Smith School of Business in Kingston Ontario Canada.
  1416. Worked for ITC for 2 years in supply chain department. Current company is software that compiles info. He’s bridge between India product team and US sales.
  1417. He loves Bangalore, opportunities, going to shows, Museum of Art and Photography, meeting international people.
  1418. People in South India are a bit more humble. People in the North are very aggressive. Even just in the middle of the corporate ladder they would drive a Benz because for them the show is more important. Whereas here the CEO will drive a Honda.
  1419. In Tamil Nadu the arts have played a significant role all along. Musicians play a huge role in dealing with sadness, grief, happiness, marriages, festivals, everywhere. Music is a part of our life. And similarly, cinema is a huge part of life.
  1420. &lt;/div&gt;
  1421.  
  1422. &lt;hr&gt;
  1423. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/362744.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Thiyagarajan Maruthavanan&quot;&gt;
  1424. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://mtrajan.com/&quot;&gt;Thiyagarajan Maruthavanan&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1425. Tamil, grew up in Delhi, school in Hyderabad, now living in Bangalore. Feels both North and South Indian.
  1426. Delhi: “Do you know who my father is?!” (because of the politicians)
  1427. Mumbai: “Do you know where I live?!” (because South Bombay is so rich)
  1428. Bangalore: “Do you know a front-end developer?”
  1429. Compared to Bangalore, Mumbai has more extremes of wealth and poverty next to each other.
  1430. In Mumbai, everyone is always pressed for time. Bangalore is more laid-back.
  1431. Bangalore is “live and let live” culture. Party people next to prayer people. Chennai meddles and judges.
  1432. Bangalore is so humble, it’s sometimes overplayed. Who can be more humble.
  1433. Good thing Bangalore has bad traffic otherwise everyone would move here.
  1434. Koramangala (“mangla”) is where all the startups are. He lives south of Electronic City.
  1435. We talked almost entirely about locations. Great stuff.
  1436. &lt;/div&gt;
  1437.  
  1438. &lt;h2&gt;SUNDAY&lt;/h2&gt;
  1439. &lt;hr&gt;
  1440. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/437169.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Ayushi Mukhi&quot;&gt;
  1441. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/ayushimukhi&quot;&gt;Ayushi Mukhi&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1442. From Delhi but moved around a lot, Kolkata, Bhopal.
  1443. She was top of her class, #1 out of 60, so everyone was happy, dad treated her best.
  1444. Both her names are given names, not family names.
  1445. Rich people in Delhi have more cars than people in the house.
  1446. Says she’s from NCR: National Capital Region, even though it’s got a bad reputation, because she aims to bust the stereotype.
  1447. Moved to Bangalore last year.
  1448. Bangalore is run by folks from Delhi and Mumbai.
  1449. Service workers in Bangalore are so casual it’s almost rude. Not putting on manners.
  1450. Went to one of the best colleges in the country, now feels she can be herself. Plans to get an MBA to run a business.
  1451. Going to one of these colleges is solid proof that you went through so much and you came out alive. And you are definitely capable of handling the pressure that comes with handling a business. You are capable of making good decisions and you have the frameworks and the background knowledge of how a business operates, because that’s that’s what they taught for two years. So it’s just a very quick way of building credibility.
  1452. She’s trying to balance writing with work. Just started Substack issue #0. We talked about the muse: pursuing or waiting.
  1453. Her achiever friends, all around age 24, are generally not happy.
  1454. &lt;/div&gt;
  1455.  
  1456. &lt;hr&gt;
  1457. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/344392.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Ritesh Nagpal&quot;&gt;
  1458. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/ritesh_nagpal&quot;&gt;Ritesh Nagpal&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1459. Created a bedtime story book for kids. First the Hindi version then translated to English.
  1460. Grew up in Kota, Rajasthan, 250km from Jaipur.  Got his masters at Purdue, Indiana.
  1461. Product manager at Amazon.
  1462. Kids are now six and one. The six-year-old is suddenly organized, keeping a clean room, now that the one-year-old tries to get into his stuff.
  1463. His mother died suddenly with him at home. Feels guilty for what he could have done, even though he knows it’s nothing.
  1464. Told me the story of the Gita, the cousins fighting - 5 vs 100 - and one decides not to fight, so Vishnu tells him the contents of the Gita.
  1465. Vision for a company is Useful Not True.
  1466. Taught me about UPI - unified payment interface - how it works - and that everyone has it now - all in the last 5-6 years.
  1467. PayTM Sound Box can tell vendors when someone has paid - speaks it in any language, how much was received.
  1468. Bangalore has nothing outdoorsy to do. Hyderabad has many things to do.
  1469. Joke about divorce: There was a city with no rain for many years. The priest said tomorrow we’ll pray for rain. When everybody gathered for the prayers, he said, first thing first, how many brought an umbrella?
  1470. &lt;/div&gt;
  1471.  
  1472. &lt;hr&gt;
  1473. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/437569.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Siddharth V. Rao&quot;&gt;
  1474. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.sequoiacap.com/india/people/siddharth-rao/&quot;&gt;Siddharth V. Rao&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1475. Parents instantly moved to Seychelles for a job, so he grew up there from 1986 to 1995.
  1476. Shipped off at age 8 to Rishi Valley residential school in India, run by Krishnamurti Foundation, because of complications with his mom and younger brother.
  1477. Went to law school in Hyderabad, as a tool to implement systemic change.
  1478. Early 2000s, working hard as a lawyer, but this was before Blackberry, so you’d leave work at 6 and be done for the day.
  1479. Started working with Sequoia Capital, eventually became the general counsel.
  1480. Whiskey is the most popular drink in India.
  1481. &lt;/div&gt;
  1482.  
  1483. &lt;hr&gt;
  1484. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/353570.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Anish Raju&quot;&gt;
  1485. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/anishraju&quot;&gt;Anish Raju&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1486. Parents from Kerala. Dad was in the army so they moved around a lot. Learned most Indian languages.
  1487. Did an MBA in human resources.
  1488. Became a certified fitness trainer. Coach.
  1489. Nomad at heart but not in fact.
  1490. Since his kids were little, he’s been telling them that at age 18 it’s time for them to go out into the world.
  1491. They use the Montessori system.
  1492. &lt;/div&gt;
  1493.  
  1494. &lt;hr&gt;
  1495. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/393785.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Nirant Kasliwal&quot;&gt;
  1496. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://nirantk.com/&quot;&gt;Nirant Kasliwal&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1497. One of the most fascinating educational conversations I’ve ever had. I asked him why the south has such a different culture than the north and he said, “Actually I know the answer. I studied sociology of North and West India”, then told me all about it.
  1498. His parents are from Rajasthan. He grew up in a coastal town called Sura, in Gujarat.
  1499. Bangalore is the only city in India with any meaningful quantities of new money.
  1500. North and West India has a lot of old money. So there’s a lot of emphasis on dressing.
  1501. In Jaipur, the famous Golden Triangle, there’s a lot more emphasis on conspicuous display of wealth because most wealth is inherited and it feeds into everything. The opportunities you get to grow professionally and socially are dependent on that display of wealth. Wealth and status are very closely tied.
  1502. On the other hand, in western India, where I grew up, the display, the clothing will still be very casual. So you could see somebody dressed in boxers, for instance, getting out of a Mercedes, and that guy would eat from a roadside place, because there the display of wealth is less tied to inherited wealth.  It’s tied more to what you have accomplished. So it’s more about what you can do with that wealth. Sponsoring schools.
  1503. North India signals strength and wealth - the ability to protect what you love - because until the 1950s India was always under attack from our neighbors. The threat was real. India didn’t have enough money to buy weapons or ammo so they’d send volunteers to collect jewelry and gold to buy ammo to defend our borders. People donated out of free will. Some degree of social pressure.
  1504. People often start a school or they donate to a temple, depending on how religious they are and how much money they have, because it’s often cheaper to donate to a temple because legally speaking, schools in India cannot discriminate between students if they are run by a religious institution. So donating to a temple can make a school through the temple which can discriminatingly educate your children.
  1505. Jainism’s main prayer starts with, “I bow down to those who have conquered all their senses”.
  1506. We both noticed the similarity of the words “war ship” and “worship”.
  1507. The hotel I chose (ITC Gardenia) is intimidating.
  1508. India in terms of just cultural diversity is probably richer than Europe.
  1509. Bangalore had a Ghazal night - my favorite form of music - inspired by Sufi - romantic poetry. Tabla, harmonium, now guitar since the 90s, and they have their own spin on it in Bangalore. Taking tradition forward, and keeping culture alive.  A performance of Urdu poetry tonight in Bangalore.  None of these existed 5-6 years ago.
  1510. As money came into Bangalore, it stayed here, which was not the case through the 90s. So now it’s supported its own litrary arts culture scene.
  1511. Urdu poetry gives you some other degree of flexibility. For instance, there’s a word called Ghulam, which has the same origin word as Ghazal. The first sound is very similar to honeysuckle. So in the same root, same Ghulam means slave. And there are very interesting use of this in poetry because most of very famous ghazal traditions, traditions came when India was slave country. So people would write entire poems on how they’re enslaved. And the entire poem would be of great joy that I’m taking joy in slavery. And then the last two lines of that same poem would indicate that actually, they’re enslaved to their lover.
  1512. Sufism was Islam’s answer to changing our relationship with God or fear to something a God which is approachable, a God which you can listen to instead of being forced to listen to.
  1513. &lt;/div&gt;
  1514.  
  1515. &lt;hr&gt;
  1516. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/424416.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Kartikeya Bhardwaj&quot;&gt;
  1517. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/kartike_ya&quot;&gt;Kartikeya Bhardwaj&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1518. Age 24. From north India - Shimla, Dehradun, Jaipur, and Hyderabad for college - but moved to Bangalore because he got into AI a couple years ago.
  1519. Trained as mechanical engineer but hated it. Skipped exams.
  1520. Father works for Indian Railways and fingerprint attendance systems were banned because of Covid touching shared surfaces.  So Kartikeya came up with Raspberry Pi facial recognition thing, very simple, to replace it.  Worked well for this and other offices, until someone found they could spoof it with a photo instead of live face.  So he figured out an AI to tell the difference between a real face and photo face.  So now he focuses on just that: anti-spoof technology that attendance software systems can use.  SpoofSense.ai
  1521. Moved to Bangalore because not a lot of places that have this kind of culture &amp;amp; connectivity. Crazy stuff happens here. Folks here are at the cutting edge of everything, culturally, technologically, very liberal, very early adopters.
  1522. He’s the first person to ever ask about the guitar chords at the start of my podcast and audiobook chapters.
  1523. Uses FL Studio + Akai MPK Mini to make music, producing for a bunch of rappers in India. The hip-hop scene in Mumbai and Delhi is amazing and magical. Everyone wants to be the next Divine.  He’s very connected with the music community here.
  1524. He’s in three bubbles: tech, music, and filmmaking.
  1525. &lt;/div&gt;
  1526.  
  1527. &lt;hr&gt;
  1528. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/437900.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Srikanthan Kumarasamy&quot;&gt;
  1529. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://coachsrikanth.com/&quot;&gt;Srikanthan Kumarasamy&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1530. He coaches people to help get past trauma and to their goals.
  1531. Often people in companies hire him to help deal with inter-personal situations at work.
  1532. Minimalist. No car. His son is now in the coaching business with him.
  1533. &lt;/div&gt;
  1534.  
  1535. &lt;hr&gt;
  1536. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/401650.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Apoorve Singhal&quot;&gt;
  1537. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.tersho.com/&quot;&gt;Apoorve Singhal&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1538. Grew up in Rajasthan. College in Kolkata.
  1539. Studied AI, self-driving cars, machine learning. Decided against master/PhD because he doesn’t like the incentive structure of research: to keep publishing papers.
  1540. When Covid hit, booking appointments was nearly impossible as the time slots would be booked up within minutes of release, so he made an app that did it automatically and gave that app away for free. Just UPI donation QR code. Thousands using it per day. But then government called asking too many questions, so he shut it down.
  1541. Last year made a free course to teach Python and spread the message among friends in tier-2/3 colleges. Free to test its effectiveness. Google Sheets back-end.
  1542. Y Combinator met with them &amp;amp; suggested that this path won’t work.
  1543. So instead of teaching Google Sheets, used GPT to turn plain-language requests into Google Sheets results. Business intelligence without all the menus and formulas.
  1544. Now using GPT to give insights before needed.
  1545. He makes a mental model of the authors he likes.
  1546. &lt;/div&gt;
  1547.  
  1548. &lt;h2&gt;MONDAY&lt;/h2&gt;
  1549. &lt;hr&gt;
  1550. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/437952.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Saurav Arya&quot;&gt;
  1551. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://justshipit.club/&quot;&gt;Saurav Arya&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1552. Grew up in North India, then West Bengal Kharagpur to study engineering.
  1553. Worked in Italy steel industry for three years when wine was cheaper than water. Read 4HWW there.
  1554. 2012 lived every day like it was Sunday. Lived ten years that year. Travelled the world.
  1555. Lamu Kenya is like time travel. Donkeys are main transportation.
  1556. Rwanda doesn’t get the tourism it deserves. Lake Kivu bordering Congo is amazing.
  1557. His dad is a retired professor of philosophy and often joined him on his travels.
  1558. Runs an experiential place in Bangalore called Small World.
  1559. Nagaland is like going to Papua New Guinea.
  1560. He helps people transition from 9-5 to nomadic life.
  1561. &lt;/div&gt;
  1562.  
  1563. &lt;hr&gt;
  1564. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/434288.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Jesvin Mathew&quot;&gt;
  1565. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://jesvinmathew.gumroad.com&quot;&gt;Jesvin Mathew&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1566. Pentecostal family from Kerala but grew up in Bahrain from age 0-6, then boarding school alone in Kerala age 6-11, then back to Bahrain age 11-17.
  1567. We talked the whole time about family stuff, parenting, honesty, emotions, and other personal things.
  1568. Drummer Benny Greb opened his mind about drumming, and now he’s doing a series of 100 books about drummers.
  1569. &lt;/div&gt;
  1570.  
  1571. &lt;hr&gt;
  1572. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/437539.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Moina Abdul&quot;&gt;
  1573. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.moinaabdul.com/&quot;&gt;Moina Abdul&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1574. Great illustrator — “visualizer” — turning ideas into simple visual representations. I’m a fan of her work.
  1575. From Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. Graduated in Chennai, did MBA in communication management in Pune.
  1576. Dad got her my book and Austin Kleon. Got really into Bookstagram.
  1577. Took Janis Ozolins’ course and thrived.
  1578. She’s been collaborating a lot online, and doing international projects, but looking to get more involved in the Bangalore scene.
  1579. &lt;/div&gt;
  1580.  
  1581. &lt;hr&gt;
  1582. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/429458.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Srijan Mahajan&quot;&gt;
  1583. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://srijanmahajan.com/&quot;&gt;Srijan Mahajan&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1584. Such a cool dude. We bonded on music and motorcycles. Doing pause.family
  1585. Creative technologist. Talked Delhi, vitamins, Seth Godin, and more.
  1586. &lt;/div&gt;
  1587.  
  1588. &lt;hr&gt;
  1589. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/437521.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Kaustubh Maske Patil&quot;&gt;
  1590. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/n1kochiko&quot;&gt;Kaustubh Maske Patil&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1591. Fellow programmer. We talked tech the whole time, and it was wonderful.
  1592. He’s nudging me to try Haskell, teaching me about its combinators.
  1593. &lt;/div&gt;
  1594.  
  1595. &lt;hr&gt;
  1596. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/401388.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Saurabh Mithal&quot;&gt;
  1597. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.passionatelycurious.in/&quot;&gt;Saurabh Mithal&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1598. Grew up in Delhi. Did “all the typical Indian stuff”: a degree in engineering, and an MBA. Then JP Morgan investment banking.
  1599. Went to a forest in Madhya Pradesh to meditate 8 hours a day for three months. We talked a lot about meditation.
  1600. He’s written a daily blog for 800+ days now.
  1601. Worked with Seth Godin on Carbon Almanac, and really internalized all of Seth’s work.
  1602. We talked about a lot of personal stuff, divorce, etc. And American lemonade stands.
  1603. &lt;/div&gt;
  1604.  
  1605. &lt;h2&gt;TUESDAY&lt;/h2&gt;
  1606. &lt;hr&gt;
  1607. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/376117.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Alicia Souza&quot;&gt;
  1608. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.aliciasouza.com/&quot;&gt;Alicia Souza&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1609. Famous illustrator, but keeps the focus on her work not her persona.
  1610. She laughs easier than anyone I’ve ever met. She’s always smiling.
  1611. She said it’s because she works alone so much that when she does emerge she has so much pent-up energy.
  1612. Born and raised in Abu Dhabi, then Melbourne, then Bangalore in 2009. She didn’t know crime was real.
  1613. She’s fascinated by how I manage all my emails.
  1614. Her husband George Seemon is young but looks old with a long all-white beard, which works great for him as an architect.
  1615. Family from Goa, so she wants to learn Portuguese. Embarrassed that she only knows English.
  1616. Goa was the party place, cheap alcohol, but since Covid has become much more expensive. It’s European in how everything closes for a few hours in the afternoon.
  1617. Had a fun conversation about religion, Catholic upbringing, Da Vinci Code, and why she baptized her son.
  1618. &lt;/div&gt;
  1619.  
  1620. &lt;hr&gt;
  1621. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/402511.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Yogesh Nachnani&quot;&gt;
  1622. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://yogeshnachnani.github.io/&quot;&gt;Yogesh Nachnani&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1623. I loved that he uses a Debian Linux laptop. Nerd bonding. He uses grep.
  1624. Talked tech, and PostgreSQL functions. Told me WhatsApp has a back-end API.
  1625. Worked at Flipkart, now at Google.
  1626. We talked a lot about journaling.
  1627. His GP is Ricky Kej’s dad.
  1628. He’s thinking of buying some land past the BLR airport, but land is much cheaper in Andhra Pradesh.
  1629. Taught me about the Aadhaar card.
  1630. In India you can dictate your expenses. You can live dirt-cheap or expensive. Your choice. Whereas in San Francisco for example it’s forced upon you.
  1631. Companies in India have economies of scale.
  1632. &lt;/div&gt;
  1633.  
  1634. &lt;hr&gt;
  1635. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/302363.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Arif Vakil&quot;&gt;
  1636. &lt;h2&gt;Brothers &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.facebook.com/mavakil&quot;&gt;Arif Vakil&lt;/a&gt; and Ali Vakil&lt;/h2&gt;
  1637. They make the wonderful Sufi Comics.
  1638. Grew up in Dubai, family from Gujarat so always Indian citizens.
  1639. We talked about the amplifying effect of the internet, limiting our kids’ access to YouTube, and lots about parenting after age 11, manners, discipline, boundaries, Jordan Peterson, Neil Postman, being a monster versus a rabbit.
  1640. The Quran says that in this book there are verses that are clear and decisive and there are verses that are allegorical.
  1641. &lt;/div&gt;
  1642.  
  1643. &lt;hr&gt;
  1644. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/437531.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Ganesh K&quot;&gt;
  1645. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.growthstory.in/&quot;&gt;Ganesh K&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1646. Ganesh is a “parallel entrepreneur” now after years of being serial. Venture builder platform.
  1647. Taught me about the value of attention, body language, and eye contact.
  1648. Taught me about community health care, agriculture, turmeric superfoods
  1649. Taught me how the Aadhaar card saved banks from doing KYC so that’s why any Indian with the Aadhaar can open a bank account now, free, online.
  1650. Aadhaar is like a digital locker so he doesn’t need to carry a wallet or driver’s license anymore.
  1651. Taught me how UPI works, and just today Singapore announced they’re adopting India’s UPI.
  1652. UPI has no fees, so people can pay each other even like 50¢ and it’s worth it. Every roadside vendor takes UPI.
  1653. Six years ago, only 10% of Indians had a bank account, now it’s 80%.
  1654. &lt;/div&gt;
  1655.  
  1656. &lt;hr&gt;
  1657. &lt;div class=&quot;meeting&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/438224.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of Jyothirmayee JT&quot;&gt;
  1658. &lt;h2&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://in.linkedin.com/in/jyothirmayee&quot;&gt;Jyothirmayee JT&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  1659. Jyothirmayee taught me about the cultural differences between the different parts in India.
  1660. The bursting creativity of Bengal, aggression of Delhi, money-focus of Mumbai, casual Bangalore, independence of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
  1661. The mindset of delegation.
  1662. There was much more but unfortunately I had packed my bags for the airport, so I didn’t record the conversation.
  1663. &lt;/div&gt;</content>
  1664.    <id>https://sive.rs/meet-chbg</id>
  1665.    <link href="https://sive.rs/meet-chbg"/>
  1666.    <title>50 conversations in Bangalore and Chennai</title>
  1667.    <updated>2023-03-02T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  1668.    <dc:date>2023-03-02T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  1669.  </entry>
  1670.  <entry>
  1671.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  1672. Explorers poke through the unknown, experimenting, trying many little dead-ends.
  1673. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1674. Explorers meander, constantly changing directions based on hunch, mood, and curiosity.
  1675. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1676. &lt;strong&gt;
  1677. Explorers are hard to follow.
  1678. &lt;/strong&gt;
  1679. It’s better to let them wander alone, then hear their tales.
  1680. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1681. Explorers occasionally find a great place that would make a better home for many people.
  1682. So that makes a job for a leader.
  1683. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1684. Leaders are easy to follow.
  1685. Leaders say, “Here’s where we’re going. Here’s why this will improve your life. Here’s how we’re going to get there. Let’s go.”
  1686. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1687. Leaders sell the dream.
  1688. Leaders describe the destination clearly and simply so it’s easy to understand and repeat.
  1689. Even someone in the back of the pack, that can’t hear the leader, can follow along.
  1690. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1691. &lt;strong&gt;
  1692. Leaders go in a straight line.
  1693. &lt;/strong&gt;
  1694. Leaders simplify.
  1695. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1696. Explorers are bad leaders.
  1697. &lt;/p&gt;
  1698. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/exled.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;old map of a harbor&quot;&gt;</content>
  1699.    <id>https://sive.rs/exled</id>
  1700.    <link href="https://sive.rs/exled"/>
  1701.    <title>Explorers are bad leaders</title>
  1702.    <updated>2023-02-09T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  1703.    <dc:date>2023-02-09T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  1704.  </entry>
  1705.  <entry>
  1706.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  1707. When I was 21, I moved to New York City.
  1708. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1709. An old friend travelled many hours and came to stay with me for a couple days.
  1710. It was his first time in New York.
  1711. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1712. I said, “Do you want to see the Statue of Liberty?  Empire State Building?  Central Park?  A Broadway show?”
  1713. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1714. He said, “I don’t care what we do.  I just came to see you!”
  1715. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1716. I said, “Ha ha.  Very sweet, but no, seriously.  What would you like to do for the next couple days?”
  1717. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1718. He said, “Dude.  I’m serious.  I really don’t care about any of that stuff.  I came here to see you, hang out with you, talk with you.  That’s honestly the only reason I’m here.  You don’t have to take me anywhere or show me anything.”
  1719. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1720. &lt;strong&gt;
  1721. It was one of the most touching moments in my life.
  1722. &lt;/strong&gt;
  1723. Someone spent hundreds of dollars and days of their life to travel to an exciting place, not to see the place, but just to see me.
  1724. &lt;/p&gt;…&lt;p&gt;
  1725. Many years later, when I ran a music distribution company, I became wary of meeting people, because I (wrongly) thought that everyone wanted something from me.
  1726. So I started travelling secretly.
  1727. I went to many countries without telling anyone and without meeting anyone.
  1728. I would walk around and experience the landmarks, food, museums, and events, but barely speak unless necessary.
  1729. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1730. One day, after a month in India, I decided to cautiously break my rule, since it was my last day before flying back to America, I thought even if someone wanted too much from me, I would escape the next day.
  1731. So I emailed a musician in my database that lived in Kolkata, and asked if he was free to meet up.
  1732. He came to my hotel and graciously walked me around Kolkata for most of the day, teaching me so much about his home town, so many insights into culture and life.
  1733. Also, people kept asking him for his autograph.
  1734. That was &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amit_Chaudhuri&quot;&gt;Amit Chaudhuri&lt;/a&gt;.
  1735. I didn’t know he was a famous author.
  1736. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1737. When I think back to that month in India, &lt;strong&gt;I remember almost nothing but that conversation&lt;/strong&gt;.
  1738. Landmarks, food, museums, and events are a blur, but one &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/led&quot;&gt;interesting conversation&lt;/a&gt; can linger in the mind forever.
  1739. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1740. Sometimes we connect with a place, but usually we connect with people.
  1741. &lt;strong&gt;
  1742. Yet people connect us to a place.
  1743. &lt;/strong&gt;
  1744. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1745. So, learning from my past mistakes, now &lt;strong&gt;my main purpose of travel is meeting people&lt;/strong&gt;.
  1746. When they offer to take me to the landmarks, I say, “I don’t care what we do.  I just came to see you!”
  1747. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  1748.    <id>https://sive.rs/travp</id>
  1749.    <link href="https://sive.rs/travp"/>
  1750.    <title>Travelling just for the people</title>
  1751.    <updated>2023-02-06T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  1752.    <dc:date>2023-02-06T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  1753.  </entry>
  1754.  <entry>
  1755.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  1756. Because of my &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/contact&quot;&gt;open inbox&lt;/a&gt;, I meet a lot of strangers.
  1757. I love it.
  1758. Almost everyone tells me who and where they are in the world.
  1759. &lt;strong&gt;
  1760. If they don’t, I wonder.
  1761. &lt;/strong&gt;
  1762. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1763. Am I talking with someone from Australia? Philippines? Brazil?
  1764. Are they 20 or 60?
  1765. Male or female?
  1766. It doesn’t really matter, but the brain can’t help wondering.
  1767. It’s human nature to want to know who’s speaking.
  1768. &lt;strong&gt;
  1769. If they don’t say, it creates a mystery.
  1770. &lt;/strong&gt;
  1771. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1772. Films do that to deliberately engage curiosity.
  1773. A voiceover on a black screen says, “It took me a long time to get here.”
  1774. You immediately wonder, “Who is ‘me’? Get where? What happened?”
  1775. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1776. Once people start wondering, they need to know.
  1777. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/mystery&quot;&gt;
  1778. Mysteries are intriguing.
  1779. &lt;/a&gt;
  1780. They’re unsettling.
  1781. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1782. &lt;strong&gt;
  1783. That’s a problem if you really want to be anonymous.
  1784. &lt;/strong&gt;
  1785. If you defiantly refuse to say who you are, it can make people angry that you’re upsetting social reciprocity.
  1786. You know who they are, but they don’t know who you are.
  1787. It feels rude.
  1788. An obsessive personality might make it their damn mission to figure out who you are!
  1789. You don’t want that.
  1790. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1791. So for real anonymity, don’t create a mystery.
  1792. &lt;strong&gt;
  1793. Create a believable persona.
  1794. &lt;/strong&gt;
  1795. Then nobody will wonder.
  1796. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1797. If you don’t want any attention, just pick a &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.verymanynames.com/which-name-is-most-common-in-the-world/&quot;&gt;very common name&lt;/a&gt; like &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.facebook.com/public/Mary-Kim&quot;&gt;Mary Kim&lt;/a&gt; or &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.facebook.com/public/Adam-Johnson&quot;&gt;Adam Johnson&lt;/a&gt;.
  1798. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1799. Use an &lt;a href=&quot;https://duckduckgo.com/?q=this+person+does+not+exist&quot;&gt;AI face generator&lt;/a&gt; to create a completely believable face to match your new name.
  1800. Download it once and use it everywhere.
  1801. Run it through &lt;a href=&quot;https://duckduckgo.com/?q=ai+face+aging&quot;&gt;face aging software&lt;/a&gt; to use this same persona for the rest of your life.
  1802. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1803. Pick a city and say it’s your location, to avoid that question too.
  1804. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1805. For email, &lt;a href=&quot;https://mailbox.org/&quot;&gt;Mailbox.org&lt;/a&gt; is great, and doesn’t care who you are.
  1806. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1807. Create social media profiles with your new name, email, city, and face.
  1808. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1809. &lt;strong&gt;
  1810. Nobody will wonder who you are if you answer that question.
  1811. &lt;/strong&gt;
  1812. Instead of block and battle, deflect and settle.
  1813. That’s better anonymity.
  1814. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1815. But &lt;strong&gt;if you want to be both anonymous and &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/publicu&quot;&gt;famous&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;, pick a name that is rare but believable.
  1816. Cool but not too cool.
  1817. Tom Kahlo.
  1818. Keaton Carolina.
  1819. Miles Wenley.
  1820. Pick a name that has &lt;a href=&quot;https://porkbun.com/products/domains&quot;&gt;the .com domain&lt;/a&gt; available, so you can really brand it.
  1821. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1822. Now you can create anything online freely, and nobody will doubt your identity.
  1823. Create and post a back-story to answer (instead of avoid) the frequently asked questions.
  1824. Then, instead of wondering who you really are, they can focus on what you’re really saying.
  1825. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  1826.    <id>https://sive.rs/anon</id>
  1827.    <link href="https://sive.rs/anon"/>
  1828.    <title>Want anonymity? Make a persona not a mystery.</title>
  1829.    <updated>2023-02-02T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  1830.    <dc:date>2023-02-02T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  1831.  </entry>
  1832.  <entry>
  1833.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  1834. My favorite moments in life are when someone shows me a new perspective — a way of thinking I had never considered.
  1835. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1836. Ideally it’s something I opposed, but they help me understand why it works for them.
  1837. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1838. The sex worker explains why she loves her job.
  1839. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1840. The Singaporean in the three-piece-suit explains why clothing is like the SMTP protocol.
  1841. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1842. The Hindu explains why poverty doesn’t upset her.
  1843. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1844. The Muslim explains why Islamic law is a perfect recipe for peace.
  1845. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1846. The hedonist justifies her partying, and tells me the most heart-warming explanation for her ugly tattoo.
  1847. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1848. These conversations are the most memorable — the most life-changing — because I get a personal introduction to &lt;strong&gt;a mindset — a walk-through of a thought process&lt;/strong&gt;.
  1849. I get to understand their reasoning.
  1850. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1851. Then those people I thought were wrong, stupid, or crazy suddenly make sense.
  1852. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1853. Thinking that people are &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/ss&quot;&gt;stupid&lt;/a&gt; is not thinking.
  1854. Understanding them is.
  1855. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1856. &lt;strong&gt;
  1857. I never want to debate, but if I had to, I would hope to lose.
  1858. &lt;/strong&gt;
  1859. I don’t want to convince anyone of my existing perspective.
  1860. I would rather be convinced of theirs.
  1861. It’s more interesting to assume that they are right.
  1862. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  1863.    <id>https://sive.rs/led</id>
  1864.    <link href="https://sive.rs/led"/>
  1865.    <title>I want to lose every debate.</title>
  1866.    <updated>2023-01-31T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  1867.    <dc:date>2023-01-31T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  1868.  </entry>
  1869.  <entry>
  1870.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  1871. &lt;a href=&quot;https://conversationswithtyler.com/&quot;&gt;Tyler Cowen&lt;/a&gt; is my favorite interviewer of all-time.
  1872. His interviewing style has spoiled me for all others.
  1873. He creates a tasting feast for the mind.
  1874. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1875. First he finds brilliant accomplished people that he wants to learn from — people that are not too famous so they are not too polished in their answers.
  1876. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1877. Then he does a ton of research in advance of each interview, reading all of their books and all of their previous interviews, searching for interesting topics that haven’t been explored enough.
  1878. So he knows that when he asks the Portuguese economist about the food in Djibouti, or the novelist about French versus Russian ballet, that they&#39;ll have an interesting opinion.
  1879. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1880. He’s asking questions for himself, not us.
  1881. Because he doesn’t pander down to the audience, we get to rise up.
  1882. He’ll dive straight into a question about the Saramaccan language of Suriname, or the location of every Hieronymus Bosch painting, without stopping to explain.
  1883. If the question and answer interests you, you can find out later what that was about.
  1884. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1885. He encourages his guests to answer succinctly so they can have time to cover many subjects.
  1886. So it&#39;s never a whole conversation about Irish history or the synthesis of Spinoza and Sufism or any one topic.
  1887. He jumps right into the next surprisingly specific question, always keeps it moving, and skips the conversational fluff.
  1888. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1889. As an example, here are a few of my favorite conversations, and just a few of the topics they cover.
  1890. &lt;/p&gt;
  1891. &lt;h3&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/dana-gioia/&quot;&gt;Dana Gioia&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  1892. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1893. the best art museum you’ve never heard of
  1894. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1895. the optimism of the Beach Boys
  1896. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1897. the Jungianism of Star Trek
  1898. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1899. why narrative is necessary for coping with life’s hardships
  1900. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1901. why we stopped building cathedrals
  1902. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  1903. &lt;h3&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/katherine-rundell/&quot;&gt;Katherine Rundell&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  1904. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1905. the thrills and dangers of rooftop walking
  1906. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1907. why children should be more mischievous
  1908. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1909. what it’s like to eat tarantula
  1910. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1911. the power of memorizing poetry
  1912. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1913. the Kafka book she gives to toddlers
  1914. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  1915. &lt;h3&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/john-mcwhorter/&quot;&gt;John McWhorter&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;
  1916. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1917. Indonesian should be the world’s universal language
  1918. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1919. why Mandarin won’t overtake English as the lingua franca
  1920. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1921. circumstances that create Creole languages
  1922. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1923. the decline of American regional accents
  1924. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1925. why Shakespeare needs an English translation
  1926. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  1927. &lt;p&gt;
  1928. These conversations inspired me to read The Odyssey, the &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/bible&quot;&gt;Bible&lt;/a&gt;, a &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/OpenBorders&quot;&gt;great comic book about immigration&lt;/a&gt;, and many other books on my reading queue now.
  1929. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1930. These conversations made me want to learn Swahili and Indonesian, try the vegetables in Chennai, and probably twenty other actions I’ve taken from their various topics.
  1931. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1932. If you like to broaden your horizons, you’re going to love this.
  1933. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1934. &lt;strong&gt;
  1935. Go to &lt;a href=&quot;https://conversationswithtyler.com/&quot;&gt;ConversationsWithTyler.com&lt;/a&gt; and subscribe to the podcast.
  1936. &lt;/strong&gt;
  1937. Or click “&lt;a href=&quot;https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/&quot;&gt;all episodes&lt;/a&gt;” at the top of the page to browse the archive.
  1938. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1939. I also like his blog, “&lt;a href=&quot;https://marginalrevolution.com/&quot;&gt;Marginal Revolution&lt;/a&gt;”, and his books, “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/StubbornAttachments&quot;&gt;Stubborn Attachments&lt;/a&gt;”, and “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/InnerEconomist&quot;&gt;Discover Your Inner Economist&lt;/a&gt;”.
  1940. &lt;/p&gt;
  1941. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/tyler.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Conversations with Tyler logo&quot;&gt;</content>
  1942.    <id>https://sive.rs/tyler</id>
  1943.    <link href="https://sive.rs/tyler"/>
  1944.    <title>Conversations with Tyler Cowen</title>
  1945.    <updated>2023-01-29T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  1946.    <dc:date>2023-01-29T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  1947.  </entry>
  1948.  <entry>
  1949.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  1950. I like going to the source.
  1951. Like finding musicians’ influences, and getting to know that music too.
  1952. Same with film, art, philosophy, and technology.
  1953. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1954. I also like doing what people I admire recommend.
  1955. And a few people I really admire suggest we read the entire Bible.
  1956. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1957. So to go to the source of western culture, and do what the wise people say, last year I read the &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible&quot;&gt;Bible&lt;/a&gt;, start to finish.
  1958. Every sentence very thoroughly.
  1959. It took months.
  1960. It was frustrating, fascinating, and very enlightening.
  1961. (I took a ton of &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book&quot;&gt;book notes&lt;/a&gt; while reading, to help me remember everything, but I won’t be publishing them.)
  1962. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1963. If you’re thinking of reading it all, I have two bits of advice:
  1964. &lt;/p&gt;
  1965. &lt;h3&gt;
  1966. Sample many different translations.
  1967. &lt;/h3&gt;
  1968. &lt;p&gt;
  1969. I started with one called “&lt;a href=&quot;https://archive.org/details/bibledesignedtob012390mbp/page/n5/mode/2up&quot;&gt;The Bible: Designed to be Read as Living Literature, the Old and the New Testaments in the King James Version&lt;/a&gt;”.
  1970. I assumed I needed to read the legendary &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_James_Version&quot;&gt;King James version&lt;/a&gt;, since that’s the one that influenced so much English literature.
  1971. But it was &lt;em&gt;so&lt;/em&gt; tough to get through.
  1972. Almost every sentence took extra work to understand, even after two hundred pages.
  1973. Some people love it, but just I didn’t.
  1974. So &lt;em&gt;huge&lt;/em&gt; thanks to &lt;a href=&quot;https://kk.org/&quot;&gt;Kevin Kelly&lt;/a&gt;, who recommended I try other translations.
  1975. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1976. I bought four different versions, and spent a couple hours reading the same passages in each one.
  1977. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;
  1978. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_International_Version&quot;&gt;New International Version&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  1979. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Living_Translation&quot;&gt;New Living Translation&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  1980. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Standard_Version&quot;&gt;English Standard Version&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  1981. &lt;li&gt;and &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Message_(Bible)&quot;&gt;The Message&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;
  1982. &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1983. I chose the &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Living_Translation&quot;&gt;New Living Translation&lt;/a&gt;, and started from the beginning again.
  1984. Some day I’ll read a very different version for a different experience.
  1985. &lt;/p&gt;
  1986. &lt;h3&gt;
  1987. Watch the &lt;a href=&quot;https://bibleproject.com/explore/&quot;&gt;BibleProject videos&lt;/a&gt;.
  1988. &lt;/h3&gt;
  1989. &lt;p&gt;
  1990. I didn’t discover these videos until after I was 500 pages in, often confused, and searched the web for explanations.
  1991. I wish I would have watched them first because they were &lt;strong&gt;so helpful&lt;/strong&gt;!
  1992. So well done.
  1993. So interesting, clearly explained, and visually captivating.
  1994. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  1995. I highly recommend you:
  1996. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1997. Watch an hour or two of their introduction videos at &lt;a href=&quot;https://bibleproject.com/explore/&quot;&gt;BibleProject.com&lt;/a&gt;.
  1998. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  1999. Pick a translation and begin reading.
  2000. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  2001. Before or after each chapter (actually book), go back and watch their &lt;a href=&quot;https://bibleproject.com/explore/book-overviews/&quot;&gt;overview video for that book&lt;/a&gt; to help understand it better.
  2002. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2003. I ended up watching almost every video on their site, at least ten hours’ worth, and found it almost as enlightening as the reading itself.
  2004. A friend who has never read the Bible (and doesn’t want to) watched a few hours with me, and found them fascinating too.
  2005. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2006. I’m really glad I did this huge project, and I’m curious to learn more.
  2007. &lt;/p&gt;
  2008. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/bibles.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;stack of bible versions&quot;&gt;</content>
  2009.    <id>https://sive.rs/bible</id>
  2010.    <link href="https://sive.rs/bible"/>
  2011.    <title>Reading the Bible start to finish</title>
  2012.    <updated>2023-01-27T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  2013.    <dc:date>2023-01-27T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  2014.  </entry>
  2015.  <entry>
  2016.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  2017. Kids scream, “Monster in the hallway!”, and hide behind the couch.
  2018. They stack up cushions for protection, and plan their defense.
  2019. They know it’s not &lt;em&gt;true&lt;/em&gt; — there’s not &lt;em&gt;really&lt;/em&gt; a monster in the hallway — but it’s exciting to feel the adrenaline of panic, then make a shelter and feel safe.
  2020. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2021. One kid yells, “The floor is hot lava!”
  2022. The familiar room transforms into islands among danger.
  2023. Leaping between furniture is a fun physical challenge.
  2024. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2025. One slips and wails, “Help! I’m falling! Save me! Save me!”
  2026. This new scenario lets one kid feel cared for and protected, while the other kid gets to be the rescuing hero.
  2027. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2028. Mom calls, “pancakes are ready!”, and all stories stop when the kids run into the kitchen.
  2029. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2030. Kids believe anything fun for a while.
  2031. It’s called “make believe” because they’re making up beliefs.
  2032. Each belief gives them a new situation, and lets them adopt a new role like protector or inventor.
  2033. “Make believe” has a purpose.
  2034. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2035. But when people grow up, they won’t believe anything unless they’re convinced that it’s true.
  2036. (Or they insist that it’s true &lt;em&gt;because&lt;/em&gt; they believe it.)
  2037. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  2038. “The world is going to hell so I need to prepare my bunker to survive.”
  2039. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  2040. “I would be creatively prolific and super-productive if I could quit my job.”
  2041. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  2042. “My evil ex dumped me even though I was perfect so that’s why I can never love again.”
  2043. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2044. None of these statements are true.
  2045. But we like the way they &lt;em&gt;feel&lt;/em&gt; to believe.
  2046. We can be the hero of an exciting or romantic story.
  2047. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2048. Following a religion improves your daily actions, feels wonderful, and connects you to a worldwide community.
  2049. These are better reasons than insisting it’s absolutely true.
  2050. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2051. Same with philosophies, nationalities, norms, and concepts like loyalty, destiny, and identity.
  2052. None of these are true.
  2053. But they &lt;em&gt;are&lt;/em&gt; useful.
  2054. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2055. Adopt them for their purpose, while knowing they are make believe.
  2056. &lt;/p&gt;
  2057. &lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/couchjump.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;kids jumping on couch&quot;&gt;&lt;figcaption&gt;photo © &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.flickr.com/photos/donnieray/19938005828/&quot;&gt;Donnie Ray Jones&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;</content>
  2058.    <id>https://sive.rs/mb</id>
  2059.    <link href="https://sive.rs/mb"/>
  2060.    <title>Make believe</title>
  2061.    <updated>2022-10-30T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  2062.    <dc:date>2022-10-30T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  2063.  </entry>
  2064.  <entry>
  2065.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  2066. In my previous post, “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/run&quot;&gt;a daily run&lt;/a&gt;” — (please &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/run&quot;&gt;read it first&lt;/a&gt;) — &lt;strong&gt;running was a metaphor for whatever actions you take in your life.&lt;/strong&gt;
  2067. The story is about how we choose beliefs because they’re &lt;strong&gt;useful, not true&lt;/strong&gt;.
  2068. &lt;/p&gt;
  2069.  
  2070. &lt;h2&gt;
  2071. Beliefs make emotions.
  2072. Emotions make actions.
  2073. &lt;/h2&gt;
  2074. &lt;p&gt;
  2075. Actions come from emotions.
  2076. Emotions come from beliefs.
  2077. &lt;strong&gt;
  2078. So choose whatever belief makes you take the action you want.
  2079. &lt;/strong&gt;
  2080. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2081. Picturing one future makes you quit.
  2082. Picturing another future makes you jump out of bed, full of inspiration and action.
  2083. A single thought can exhaust you or motivate you.
  2084. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2085. One belief makes you act selfish.
  2086. Another belief makes you act generous.
  2087. One thought makes you do something stupid.
  2088. Another thought makes you do something smart.
  2089. &lt;strong&gt;
  2090. What matters is the action they create.
  2091. &lt;/strong&gt;
  2092. So choose the thought that works for you.
  2093. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2094. In &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/run&quot;&gt;the story&lt;/a&gt;, picturing a pot of gold, or a tiger, or hot coals, made real improvements in the runner’s actions.
  2095. &lt;/p&gt;
  2096.  
  2097. &lt;h2&gt;
  2098. Adopt beliefs for your current needs only.
  2099. &lt;/h2&gt;
  2100. &lt;p&gt;
  2101. What works for others might not work for you.
  2102. What you needed yesterday might not be what you need today.
  2103. Life is nuanced.
  2104. Choose your goals and beliefs only for how they help you &lt;strong&gt;now&lt;/strong&gt;.
  2105. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2106. Last week, my over-confidence was getting in the way of my learning.
  2107. So I chose to believe &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/below-average&quot;&gt;I’m bad at this&lt;/a&gt; and have a lot to learn.
  2108. This week it’s time to perform, so to summon the courage, I choose to believe I’m &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/AlterEgoEffect&quot;&gt;great at this&lt;/a&gt;.
  2109. Neither belief is true, but I adopted them because they helped me take the right actions.
  2110. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2111. Drop beliefs that aren’t helping you anymore.
  2112. Ignore social pressure to be the way you used to be.
  2113. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2114. In &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/run&quot;&gt;the story&lt;/a&gt;, picturing a pot of gold didn’t work well in the past, but later worked great during a different situation.
  2115. &lt;/p&gt;
  2116.  
  2117. &lt;h2&gt;
  2118. Adopt beliefs just for fun, to try different ways of being.
  2119. &lt;/h2&gt;
  2120. &lt;p&gt;
  2121. Don’t over-focus on the usual goal.
  2122. Take your eyes off the prize and look around.
  2123. Creative experiments, curiosity, and adventures are fun.
  2124. &lt;strong&gt;
  2125. Fun is always a legitimate and underrated goal.
  2126. &lt;/strong&gt;
  2127. &lt;/p&gt;
  2128.  
  2129. &lt;h2&gt;
  2130. Different beliefs serve different goals.
  2131. &lt;/h2&gt;
  2132. &lt;p&gt;
  2133. Gurus and pundits prescribe their beliefs.
  2134. But their prescription might only apply if you have a very specific situation and destination.
  2135. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/advice&quot;&gt;Advice&lt;/a&gt; should come with this disclaimer.
  2136. &lt;/p&gt;
  2137.  
  2138. &lt;h2&gt;
  2139. Don’t care whether something is true — only whether it works for you.
  2140. &lt;/h2&gt;
  2141. &lt;p&gt;
  2142. When you declare a belief to be &lt;strong&gt;true&lt;/strong&gt;, it closes minds, cements identities, and leads to tribal fights with anyone who doesn’t find that belief to be true &lt;em&gt;for them&lt;/em&gt;.
  2143. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2144. &lt;strong&gt;
  2145. Beliefs are a means to improve actions.
  2146. &lt;/strong&gt;
  2147. To say that one belief is the best — that one is right and others are wrong — is ignorant of the purpose of beliefs, and the nuanced differences in people’s current needs.
  2148. &lt;/p&gt;
  2149. &lt;hr&gt;
  2150. &lt;p&gt;
  2151. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject, and how the explanation could be improved.
  2152. This will probably be the topic of my next book.
  2153. &lt;/p&gt;
  2154. &lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/run.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;trail through forest&quot;&gt;&lt;figcaption&gt;photo © &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.flickr.com/photos/72616463@N00/38672745471/&quot;&gt;Josephine Stenudd&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;</content>
  2155.    <id>https://sive.rs/run2</id>
  2156.    <link href="https://sive.rs/run2"/>
  2157.    <title>Daily run, part two</title>
  2158.    <updated>2022-10-28T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  2159.    <dc:date>2022-10-28T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  2160.  </entry>
  2161.  <entry>
  2162.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  2163. If you have a static HTML website, but you want to include comments, here’s an interesting way to do it using PostgreSQL’s NOTIFY and LISTEN.
  2164. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2165. The big idea is to &lt;strong&gt;write the comments as static HTML, only when comments change&lt;/strong&gt;, instead of doing a database query to display them every time.
  2166. This prevents the “hug of death” if you get a burst of traffic.
  2167. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2168. I’ve been doing it this way for over six years, and it works great.
  2169. Here’s the recipe, using Ruby as the glue, though you could use any scripting language.
  2170. &lt;/p&gt;
  2171. &lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  2172. PostgreSQL database table for comments
  2173. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  2174. Ruby receives form posts, inserts into database
  2175. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  2176. When comments change, PostgreSQL trigger sends NOTIFY
  2177. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  2178. Ruby runs PostgreSQL LISTEN, exporting updated comments to HTML
  2179. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  2180. JavaScript on static page includes HTML
  2181. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;
  2182.  
  2183. &lt;h2&gt;
  2184. PostgreSQL database table for comments
  2185. &lt;/h2&gt;
  2186. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  2187. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;create table comments (
  2188.  id integer primary key generated by default as identity,
  2189.  uri text,
  2190.  created_at date default current_date,
  2191.  name text,
  2192.  email text,
  2193.  comment text
  2194. );
  2195. create index on comments(uri);
  2196. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/comments-table.sql&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  2197. &lt;/div&gt;
  2198.  
  2199. &lt;h2&gt;
  2200. Ruby receives form posts, inserts into database
  2201. &lt;/h2&gt;
  2202.  
  2203. &lt;p&gt;
  2204. Put this on any HTML page where you want comments:
  2205. &lt;/p&gt;
  2206. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  2207. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;&amp;lt;section id=&amp;quot;comments&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/section&amp;gt;
  2208. &amp;lt;script src=&amp;quot;/comments.js&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/script&amp;gt;
  2209. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/comments.html.txt&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  2210. &lt;/div&gt;
  2211.  
  2212. &lt;p&gt;
  2213. Put this next code in your Nginx config, to send /comments to localhost.
  2214. &lt;/p&gt;
  2215. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  2216. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;location = /comments {
  2217.  proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:4567;
  2218. }
  2219. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/comments.nginx.conf&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  2220. &lt;/div&gt;
  2221.  
  2222. &lt;p&gt;
  2223. Ruby Sinatra receives form posts.
  2224. &lt;/p&gt;
  2225. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  2226. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;require &amp;#39;pg&amp;#39;
  2227. require &amp;#39;sinatra&amp;#39;
  2228. DB = PG::Connection.new(dbname: &amp;#39;test&amp;#39;, user: &amp;#39;tester&amp;#39;)
  2229.  
  2230. post &amp;#39;/comments&amp;#39; do
  2231.  DB.exec_params(&amp;quot;insert into comments
  2232.    (uri, name, email, comment)
  2233.    values ($1, $2, $3, $4)&amp;quot;,
  2234.    [params[:uri], params[:name], params[:email], params[:comment]])
  2235.  redirect to(request.env[&amp;#39;HTTP_REFERER&amp;#39;])
  2236. end
  2237. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/comments-route.rb&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  2238. &lt;/div&gt;
  2239.  
  2240. &lt;p&gt;
  2241. Run that in a terminal on the server, and it should default to listen on port 4567.
  2242. &lt;/p&gt;
  2243.  
  2244. &lt;h2&gt;
  2245. When comments change, PostgreSQL trigger sends NOTIFY
  2246. &lt;/h2&gt;
  2247. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  2248. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;create function comments_changed() returns trigger as $$
  2249. begin
  2250.  perform pg_notify(&amp;#39;comments_changed&amp;#39;, new.uri);
  2251.  return new;
  2252. end;
  2253. $$ language plpgsql;
  2254. create trigger comments_changed after insert or update on comments
  2255. for each row execute procedure comments_changed();
  2256. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/comments_changed.sql&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  2257. &lt;/div&gt;
  2258.  
  2259. &lt;p&gt;
  2260. Load that function into the PostgreSQL database that has your comments table.
  2261. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2262. It sends the listener (below) a notification that comments for &lt;strong&gt;this URI&lt;/strong&gt; have changed.
  2263. Then the listener will re-output comments just for this URI, instead of all.
  2264. &lt;/p&gt;
  2265.  
  2266. &lt;h2&gt;
  2267. Ruby runs PostgreSQL LISTEN, exporting updated comments to HTML
  2268. &lt;/h2&gt;
  2269. &lt;p&gt;
  2270. Make a directory in your web root called /commentcache/, to hold the static comments.
  2271. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2272. Then keep this Ruby script running in a terminal to listen for database changes, and write the updated comments to disk as HTML.
  2273. &lt;/p&gt;
  2274. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  2275. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;require &amp;#39;pg&amp;#39;
  2276. DB = PG::Connection.new(dbname: &amp;#39;test&amp;#39;, user: &amp;#39;tester&amp;#39;)
  2277. BASEDIR = &amp;#39;/var/www/htdocs/commentcache/&amp;#39; # directory in your web root
  2278.  
  2279. # a single comment list entry, used in ol map, below
  2280. def li(row)
  2281.  &amp;#39;&amp;lt;li&amp;gt;&amp;lt;cite&amp;gt;%s (%s)&amp;lt;/cite&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;%s&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/li&amp;gt;&amp;#39; %
  2282.    [row[&amp;#39;name&amp;#39;], row[&amp;#39;created_at&amp;#39;], row[&amp;#39;comment&amp;#39;]]
  2283. end
  2284.  
  2285. # top-level map of database rows into HTML list
  2286. def ol(rows)
  2287.  rows.inject(&amp;#39;&amp;#39;) {|html, row| html += li(row) ; html}
  2288. end
  2289.  
  2290. # write comments to disk for this URI
  2291. def save_comments(uri)
  2292.  rows = DB.exec_params(&amp;quot;select name, created_at, comment
  2293.    from comments where uri = $1 order by id&amp;quot;, [uri]).to_a
  2294.  File.open(BASEDIR + uri, &amp;#39;w&amp;#39;) do |f|
  2295.    f.puts ol(rows)
  2296.  end
  2297. end
  2298.  
  2299. # first write them all
  2300. DB.exec(&amp;quot;select distinct(uri) from comments&amp;quot;).each do |r|
  2301.  save_comments(r[&amp;#39;uri&amp;#39;])
  2302. end
  2303.  
  2304. # listen for changes. re-write when changed
  2305. DB.exec(&amp;#39;listen comments_changed&amp;#39;)
  2306. while true do
  2307.  DB.wait_for_notify do |event, pid, uri|
  2308.    save_comments(uri)
  2309.  end
  2310. end
  2311. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/comments-listen.rb&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  2312. &lt;/div&gt;
  2313.  
  2314. &lt;h2&gt;
  2315. JavaScript on static page includes current HTML when viewed
  2316. &lt;/h2&gt;
  2317. &lt;p&gt;
  2318. Use JavaScript to show the form to post a comment, and load the list of comments from the /commentcache/ path.
  2319. &lt;/p&gt;
  2320. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  2321. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;function showForm(uri) {
  2322.  document.getElementById(&amp;#39;comments&amp;#39;).innerHTML = `
  2323. &amp;lt;header&amp;gt;&amp;lt;h1&amp;gt;Comments:&amp;lt;/h1&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/header&amp;gt;
  2324. &amp;lt;form method=&amp;quot;post&amp;quot; action=&amp;quot;/comments&amp;quot;&amp;gt;
  2325. &amp;lt;input type=&amp;quot;hidden&amp;quot; name=&amp;quot;uri&amp;quot; value=&amp;quot;${uri}&amp;quot;&amp;gt;
  2326. &amp;lt;label for=&amp;quot;name&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Your Name&amp;lt;/label&amp;gt;
  2327. &amp;lt;input type=&amp;quot;text&amp;quot; name=&amp;quot;name&amp;quot; id=&amp;quot;name&amp;quot; required&amp;gt;
  2328. &amp;lt;label for=&amp;quot;email&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Your Email&amp;lt;/label&amp;gt;
  2329. &amp;lt;input type=&amp;quot;email&amp;quot; name=&amp;quot;email&amp;quot; id=&amp;quot;email&amp;quot; required&amp;gt;
  2330. &amp;lt;label for=&amp;quot;comment&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Comment&amp;lt;/label&amp;gt;
  2331. &amp;lt;textarea name=&amp;quot;comment&amp;quot; id=&amp;quot;comment&amp;quot; cols=&amp;quot;80&amp;quot; rows=&amp;quot;10&amp;quot; required&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/textarea&amp;gt;
  2332. &amp;lt;input type=&amp;quot;submit&amp;quot; value=&amp;quot;post comment&amp;quot;&amp;gt;
  2333. &amp;lt;/form&amp;gt;
  2334. &amp;lt;ol id=&amp;quot;commentlist&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/ol&amp;gt;`;
  2335. }
  2336.  
  2337. function getComments(uri) {
  2338.  try {
  2339.    const xhr = new XMLHttpRequest();
  2340.    xhr.open(&amp;#39;get&amp;#39;, &amp;#39;/commentcache/&amp;#39; + uri);
  2341.    xhr.send(null);
  2342.    xhr.onload = function() {
  2343.      if (xhr.status === 200) {
  2344.        document.getElementById(&amp;#39;commentlist&amp;#39;).innerHTML = xhr.responseText;
  2345.      }
  2346.    };
  2347.  } catch(e) { }
  2348. }
  2349.  
  2350. // /blog/topic/page.html uri = &amp;#39;blog_topic_page.html&amp;#39; for filesystem
  2351. const uri = location.pathname.substring(1).replace(/\//g, &amp;#39;_&amp;#39;);
  2352. showForm(uri);
  2353. getComments(uri);
  2354. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/comments.js&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  2355. &lt;/div&gt;
  2356.  
  2357. &lt;p&gt;
  2358. That’s all.
  2359. I’ve simplified it a bit from my real usage, where I have constraints and checks that would have distracted from the core point of this example.
  2360. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2361. There are other ways to do it.
  2362. The NOTIFY and LISTEN isn’t necessary.
  2363. The Ruby Sinatra route that receives the posted comment could just write the HTML to disk immediately.
  2364. But I have other scripts that delete and update comments, and I like how &lt;strong&gt;the combination of NOTIFY trigger and LISTEN script always keeps them updated&lt;/strong&gt; on disk.
  2365. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2366. Another interesting approach would be to write the comments into each HTML file directly, instead of in a separate file, so you wouldn’t need JavaScript at all.
  2367. &lt;/p&gt;
  2368.  
  2369. &lt;h2&gt;
  2370. Optional upgrade: NOTIFY on delete
  2371. &lt;/h2&gt;
  2372. &lt;p&gt;
  2373. I simplified the PostgreSQL trigger for the example, but with a few more lines of code, you can use the same trigger to notify of deleted comments, too.
  2374. The value of a deleted row is in “old”, whereas inserted and updated is in “new”, so we have to make a uri variable, and an if/then/else to know which to use.
  2375. &lt;/p&gt;
  2376. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  2377. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;create or replace function comments_changed() returns trigger as $$
  2378. declare
  2379.  uri text;
  2380. begin
  2381.  if tg_op = &amp;#39;DELETE&amp;#39; then
  2382.    uri = old.uri;
  2383.  else
  2384.    uri = new.uri;
  2385.  end if;
  2386.  perform pg_notify(&amp;#39;comments_changed&amp;#39;, uri);
  2387.  return old;
  2388. end;
  2389. $$ language plpgsql;
  2390. create trigger comments_changed after insert or update or delete on comments
  2391. for each row execute procedure comments_changed();
  2392. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/comments_changed2.sql&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  2393. &lt;/div&gt;
  2394. </content>
  2395.    <id>https://sive.rs/shc</id>
  2396.    <link href="https://sive.rs/shc"/>
  2397.    <title>Static HTML comments</title>
  2398.    <updated>2022-10-08T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  2399.    <dc:date>2022-10-08T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  2400.  </entry>
  2401.  <entry>
  2402.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  2403. Every day you go on a long run through the forest.
  2404. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2405. You picture a &lt;strong&gt;pot of gold&lt;/strong&gt; at the end.
  2406. It helps you finish when you feel like quitting.
  2407. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2408. One day you pretend there’s a &lt;strong&gt;tiger&lt;/strong&gt; right behind you.
  2409. It makes you much faster, so you keep using this approach.
  2410. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2411. A running expert suggests you try acting like you’re running on &lt;strong&gt;hot coals&lt;/strong&gt;, to keep you on the front of your feet.
  2412. You try it, and it improves your stamina and energy.
  2413. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2414. Sometimes, to shake things up, you try running barefoot, or with your eyes closed, or with your arms out like an airplane.
  2415. Every time you hear or think of a new way to run, you try it to see how it &lt;strong&gt;works&lt;/strong&gt; and how you &lt;strong&gt;feel&lt;/strong&gt;.
  2416. The variety is fun.
  2417. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2418. Eventually you realize you could make this path better for others, so you bring a &lt;strong&gt;shovel&lt;/strong&gt; to smooth out bumps and fill in holes.
  2419. You imagine future runners being thankful for whoever did this.
  2420. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2421. One day, when filled with money frustrations at home, you run while picturing that &lt;strong&gt;pot of gold&lt;/strong&gt; again, and are surprised to find it now makes you run faster than ever.
  2422. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2423. A new book declares that the single best way to run, after hundreds of scientific experiments by the experts, is, in fact, to act as if a &lt;strong&gt;tiger&lt;/strong&gt; is behind you.
  2424. Millions of readers (they call themselves “tigerists”) are happy that tigerism has the answer.
  2425. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2426. So, can we say that one of these ways to run is &lt;strong&gt;true&lt;/strong&gt;?
  2427. &lt;strong&gt;
  2428. Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/run2&quot;&gt;read part two&lt;/a&gt; now.
  2429. &lt;/strong&gt;
  2430. &lt;/p&gt;
  2431. &lt;figure&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/run.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;trail through forest&quot;&gt;&lt;figcaption&gt;photo © &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.flickr.com/photos/72616463@N00/38672745471/&quot;&gt;Josephine Stenudd&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/figcaption&gt;&lt;/figure&gt;</content>
  2432.    <id>https://sive.rs/run</id>
  2433.    <link href="https://sive.rs/run"/>
  2434.    <title>Daily run, part one</title>
  2435.    <updated>2022-09-28T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  2436.    <dc:date>2022-09-28T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  2437.  </entry>
  2438.  <entry>
  2439.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  2440. We all confabulate without realizing it.
  2441. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2442. To confabulate is to create an explanation that you believe to be true.
  2443. “Con” means together, and “fabula” means story or fable, so: to put together a story.
  2444. Confabulate.
  2445. To fabricate.
  2446. When you don’t know why you did something, your subconscious invents &lt;strong&gt;an explanation that you think is a fact&lt;/strong&gt;.
  2447. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2448. The clearest example comes from people who have a disconnect between the left and right hemispheres of their brain.
  2449. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2450. A researcher shows a patient a message in his right eye, saying, “Please close the window.”
  2451. The patient gets up and closes the window.
  2452. Then the researcher shows a question to that patient’s left eye, “Why did you close the window?”
  2453. The patient says he chose to do it because he was cold.
  2454. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2455. A researcher says, to only one ear, “Please walk.”
  2456. The patient starts walking.
  2457. Then they ask the other ear, “Why did you walk?”
  2458. The patient says she was walking because she felt like getting a drink.
  2459. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2460. The patients don’t think they are inventing explanations.
  2461. &lt;strong&gt;
  2462. They completely believe that those are the real reasons.
  2463. &lt;/strong&gt;
  2464. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2465. That’s confabulating.
  2466. Similar to rationalizing: to justify and explain with a rational-sounding reason.
  2467. We all do it all the time.
  2468. &lt;strong&gt;
  2469. We think our reasons are true.
  2470. &lt;/strong&gt;
  2471. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2472. Considering this, what should we do?
  2473. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2474. Stop asking people for explanations, and ignore the ones given.
  2475. Since our reasons are unknowable, focus on actions.
  2476. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2477. Doubt your own reasons, no matter how true they seem.
  2478. Get curious about what your other hidden explanations may be.
  2479. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2480. &lt;strong&gt;
  2481. What else?
  2482. &lt;/strong&gt;
  2483. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  2484.    <id>https://sive.rs/confab</id>
  2485.    <link href="https://sive.rs/confab"/>
  2486.    <title>Your explanations are not true</title>
  2487.    <updated>2022-09-20T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  2488.    <dc:date>2022-09-20T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  2489.  </entry>
  2490.  <entry>
  2491.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  2492. Here’s a story about my shortest date, and ketchup.
  2493. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2494. I was dating in New York City, and matched with someone named Kelly.
  2495. We agreed to meet, so I called her to decide where.
  2496. She had a miserable voice, creaky and weary, but I tried not to judge.
  2497. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2498. I suggested we meet at a bar at 35th Street and 8th Avenue.
  2499. Although she’s from New York, she didn’t know where that is.
  2500. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2501. I said, “You really don’t know where 35th Street and 8th Avenue is?”
  2502. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2503. She said, “No.”
  2504. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2505. I said, “Well, just ask anyone. Everyone else knows.”
  2506. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2507. OK, now I’m judging.
  2508. Miserable voice.
  2509. Doesn’t know the basic layout of the city she lives in.
  2510. Two red flags.
  2511. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2512. I started to add her to my phone, so I said, “I have two friends named Kelly. Can you tell me your last name?”
  2513. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2514. She said, in her weary voice, “I’m not going to tell you my last name. You could be a serial killer.”
  2515. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2516. What the …?
  2517. OK.
  2518. Fine.
  2519. Three red flags.
  2520. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2521. So a couple days later we met at the bar at 35th Street and 8th Avenue.
  2522. She looked good.
  2523. We said hello.
  2524. I asked if she’d like a beer.
  2525. She said yes.
  2526. I brought two beers back to the table.
  2527. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2528. On the table is a bottle of ketchup.
  2529. Huh.
  2530. “Ketchup.”
  2531. I never really noticed that word before.
  2532. Where is it from?
  2533. It doesn’t look Latin, French, or Germanic.
  2534. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2535. So the first thing I say is, “Where do you think the word ketchup is from?”
  2536. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2537. She looked at me with disgust, and said, just sneering the whole time, “What? What kind of question is that? Who cares? Why would anyone care about that?”
  2538. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2539. I looked at her and thought for a second.
  2540. Miserable voice.
  2541. Doesn’t know her city.
  2542. Assumes I’m a murderer.
  2543. And now doesn’t have the slightest bit of curiosity about anything — no willingness to engage in the tiniest bit of wonder.
  2544. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2545. I decided I didn’t want to know her.
  2546. I got up and said, “I’m gonna go now.”
  2547. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2548. She said, “But you haven’t even had a sip of your beer!”
  2549. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2550. I said, “Take care,” and left.
  2551. Shortest date ever.
  2552. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2553. Years later, I’m living in Singapore, which is next to Indonesia, so I’m reading a book about Indonesian history.
  2554. It says there is &lt;strong&gt;only one word in English that comes from the Indonesian language&lt;/strong&gt;.
  2555. Ketchup.
  2556. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2557. I was amazed.
  2558. I laughed.
  2559. Question answered.
  2560. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2561. My instinct was right to walk out on that date.
  2562. Little interesting things are all around us.
  2563. But the uncurious will never know.
  2564. &lt;/p&gt;
  2565. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/ketchup.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;bottle of ketchup&quot; title=&quot;ketchup photo by Betsssssy&quot;&gt;
  2566. &lt;div class=&quot;small&quot;&gt;ketchup photo by &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.flickr.com/photos/betsssssy/6995478191/&quot;&gt;Betsssssy&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content>
  2567.    <id>https://sive.rs/ketchup</id>
  2568.    <link href="https://sive.rs/ketchup"/>
  2569.    <title>Shortest date, and ketchup</title>
  2570.    <updated>2022-09-12T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  2571.    <dc:date>2022-09-12T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  2572.  </entry>
  2573.  <entry>
  2574.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  2575. Today I’m releasing something I’ve been working on since 2019.
  2576. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2577. It’s a full-length animation for my book “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/m&quot;&gt;YOUR MUSIC AND PEOPLE&lt;/a&gt;”.
  2578. 2½ hours long, it contains &lt;strong&gt;the entire audiobook, animated&lt;/strong&gt; throughout.
  2579. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2580. &lt;strong&gt;Hand-drawn&lt;/strong&gt; by the great &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Smith_(artist)&quot;&gt;Patrick Smith&lt;/a&gt; over the last two years.
  2581. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2582. &lt;strong&gt;Translated&lt;/strong&gt; (by native speakers) into Catalan, Chinese, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Tagalog, Tamil, Thai, Turkish, and Ukrainian.
  2583. The video has all the subtitles.
  2584. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2585. It’s available for &lt;strong&gt;instant streaming on my site&lt;/strong&gt;, or an &lt;strong&gt;MP4 download&lt;/strong&gt; (3GB) to keep forever and play on any device.
  2586. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2587. &lt;strong&gt;
  2588. All you have to do is &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/m&quot;&gt;buy “YOUR MUSIC AND PEOPLE” through me&lt;/a&gt; at &lt;a href=&quot;https://sivers.com/&quot;&gt;sivers.com&lt;/a&gt;.
  2589. &lt;/strong&gt;
  2590. Because any book bought directly from me, for $15, includes all formats: ebook, audiobook, and now videobook.
  2591. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2592. See them all at &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN980LTHwAY&amp;list=PLcE0XVmYoKM9Vh4mhROixMBFMcoUyDvF9&quot;&gt;this YouTube playlist&lt;/a&gt;.
  2593. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  2594.    <id>https://sive.rs/ymap</id>
  2595.    <link href="https://sive.rs/ymap"/>
  2596.    <title>full-length videobook for “Your Music and People”</title>
  2597.    <updated>2022-09-08T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  2598.    <dc:date>2022-09-08T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  2599.  </entry>
  2600.  <entry>
  2601.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  2602. In 2011, I got a phone call from a number I didn’t recognize.
  2603. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2604. “Hello?”
  2605. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2606. “Derek. It’s Seth Godin.”
  2607. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2608. “Wow! Hi Seth!”
  2609. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2610. “I’m starting a new publishing company, so I want you to write a book.  Short, like a manifesto.  Will you do it?”
  2611. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2612. “Uh, sure!”
  2613. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2614. “Great.  I look forward to it.”
  2615. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2616. “Thanks!”
  2617. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2618. Over the next eleven days, I wrote the lessons I’d learned from starting, growing, and selling my company.
  2619. He liked it, named it “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/a&quot;&gt;Anything You Want&lt;/a&gt;”, and a few weeks later it was for sale.
  2620. My first book.
  2621. Simple as that.
  2622. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2623. To me, it was no big deal - just &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/obvious&quot;&gt;telling my tale&lt;/a&gt;.
  2624. But a lot of small business owners said my book helped them remember their purpose, and get re-excited about their business.
  2625. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2626. Penguin bought Seth’s publishing company and re-released my book on Penguin Portfolio.
  2627. But I wanted to self-publish.
  2628. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2629. I want to own the rights to my books so I can do what I want with them: give them away, let people &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/fp&quot;&gt;translate them&lt;/a&gt;, or sell them how I like.
  2630. I’m thinking long-term.
  2631. I’ve got many books to come, and I want them to be a matching set.
  2632. &lt;strong&gt;
  2633. So I bought back the rights from Penguin.
  2634. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2635. I improved many chapters in “Anything You Want”, and &lt;strong&gt;added eight new chapters&lt;/strong&gt; that were missing — points that people kept asking about over my last ten years of talking about this book — better explanations — better stories.
  2636. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2637. Then I gave it &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/a&quot;&gt;a new cover&lt;/a&gt; to match all of my other books.
  2638. (White, to represent its innocent naïveté.)
  2639. I recorded the &lt;strong&gt;new audiobook&lt;/strong&gt;, better than before.
  2640. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2641. And now, &lt;strong&gt;it’s finally available, in its third and final edition, directly from me&lt;/strong&gt;.
  2642. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2643. “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/a&quot;&gt;ANYTHING YOU WANT: 40 lessons for a new kind of entrepreneur&lt;/a&gt;”
  2644. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  2645. Get it at &lt;a href=&quot;https://sivers.com/&quot;&gt;sivers.com&lt;/a&gt;.
  2646. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2647. There are only 5000 limited-edition linen hardcovers printed, so get that version while they last.
  2648. Even if you already read it, consider getting this as the permanent edition.
  2649. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2650. The first copy is $19, which is &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/bp&quot;&gt;$15 for the content, and $4 for the paper itself&lt;/a&gt;.
  2651. &lt;strong&gt;
  2652. All future copies cost only the price of the paper: $4.
  2653. &lt;/strong&gt;
  2654. Paper books include all digital formats for free.
  2655. As before, I’m &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/250k&quot;&gt;giving all profits to charity&lt;/a&gt;.
  2656. &lt;/p&gt;
  2657. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/a&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/DerekSivers-cover-AnythingYouWant-400x640.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;book cover of Anything You Want&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;</content>
  2658.    <id>https://sive.rs/a3</id>
  2659.    <link href="https://sive.rs/a3"/>
  2660.    <title>Anything You Want — third edition for 2022</title>
  2661.    <updated>2022-08-25T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  2662.    <dc:date>2022-08-25T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  2663.  </entry>
  2664.  <entry>
  2665.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  2666. I used to scoff at those people who had panic attacks.
  2667. “The cake is late! Oh no! I’m freaking out! I can’t breathe!”
  2668. Ridiculous.
  2669. Hysterical.
  2670. Over-reacting.
  2671. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2672. I was &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.dive.is/dive-courses/padi-beginner-dive-courses&quot;&gt;learning scuba diving&lt;/a&gt;, and went on my first practice dive.
  2673. While I was 15 meters underwater, I felt a sudden need to get out of there.
  2674. My heart raced.
  2675. Alarms in my brain.
  2676. My body filled with terror.
  2677. I raced up to the surface and pulled off my mask.
  2678. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2679. &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.dive.is/about-us/dive-is-behind-the-scenes/our-people/tobias-klose&quot;&gt;The instructor&lt;/a&gt; came up, so I told him, “I need to go. I hate this. I’ll just wait on the shore.”
  2680. He calmly looked at me for a few seconds and said, “Here. Wait. Look around. See that mountain? What a nice day. Everything is OK. You’re safe. Let’s just relax here together.”
  2681. It worked.
  2682. After a while, I felt better, and finished our dive.
  2683. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2684. Later I realized I had a panic attack.
  2685. This messed with my self-identity.
  2686. I thought only weak, dramatic, hysterical people did that.
  2687. &lt;strong&gt;
  2688. But now I had, and it was involuntary.
  2689. &lt;/strong&gt;
  2690. Hmm.
  2691. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2692. The next day, I went on my first real &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.dive.is/diving-snorkeling-tours/diving-day-tours/silfra-diving-day-tour&quot;&gt;dive&lt;/a&gt; with a group of ten tourists, including a German couple that bragged about how many dives they had done.
  2693. Underwater, I felt no fear — just joy.
  2694. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2695. Down deep at 20 meters, I saw the German girl, and gave her the hand signal for “OK?” — a common diver courtesy.
  2696. She replied back with the hand signal for “NOT OK! SOMETHING WRONG!”, and gave me a panicked look.
  2697. Her boyfriend was not around.
  2698. I followed the training I had just learned, and brought her slowly to the surface.
  2699. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2700. She pulled off her mask and said, in a panic, “I hate this. Too cold. Too much. No no. I need to go now.”
  2701. I recognized this!
  2702. This was exactly how I had felt the day before.
  2703. I remembered how my instructor had calmed me down, so &lt;strong&gt;I imitated my instructor exactly&lt;/strong&gt;.
  2704. I said, “Here. Wait. Look around. See that mountain? What a nice day. Everything is OK. You’re safe. Let’s just relax here together.”
  2705. After a while, her boyfriend arrived, so I went back to my dive.
  2706. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2707. Those two days taught me two kinds of empathy.
  2708. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2709. You might categorize a type of person that’s so unlike you — a type of person that you will never ever be.
  2710. Depressed.
  2711. Disabled.
  2712. Fat.
  2713. Divorced.
  2714. Bankrupt.
  2715. Homeless.
  2716. Addict.
  2717. But these categories are usually involuntary.
  2718. Don’t judge.
  2719. &lt;strong&gt;
  2720. Some day, they might be you.
  2721. &lt;/strong&gt;
  2722. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2723. You might also categorize another type of person that you think you will never be.
  2724. Rescuer.
  2725. Leader.
  2726. Athlete.
  2727. Boss.
  2728. Millionaire.
  2729. Even these categories can be involuntary — someone just responding to a situation.
  2730. But &lt;strong&gt;you can deliberately step into a role through imitation&lt;/strong&gt;.
  2731. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2732. We’re not so different.                                              
  2733. &lt;/p&gt;
  2734. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/dive.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Iceland Silfra underwater&quot;&gt;
  2735. &lt;div class=&quot;small&quot;&gt;(Note: originally posted 2021-11-17, then rewritten, simplified, on 2022-07-26.)&lt;/div&gt;</content>
  2736.    <id>https://sive.rs/dive</id>
  2737.    <link href="https://sive.rs/dive"/>
  2738.    <title>Scuba, panic, empathy</title>
  2739.    <updated>2022-07-26T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  2740.    <dc:date>2022-07-26T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  2741.  </entry>
  2742.  <entry>
  2743.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  2744. My advice to anyone who writes:
  2745. Try writing one sentence per line.
  2746. I’ve been doing it for twenty years, and it improved my writing more than anything else.
  2747. &lt;p&gt;
  2748. New sentence?
  2749. Hit [Enter].
  2750. New line.
  2751. &lt;p&gt;
  2752. Not &lt;em&gt;publishing&lt;/em&gt; one sentence per line, no.
  2753. &lt;strong&gt;
  2754. Write like this for your eyes only.
  2755. &lt;/strong&gt;
  2756. HTML or Markdown combine separate lines into one paragraph.
  2757. &lt;p&gt;
  2758. Why is it so useful?
  2759.  
  2760. &lt;h3&gt;
  2761. It helps you judge each sentence on its own.
  2762. &lt;/h3&gt;
  2763. We sometimes write sentences that don’t need to exist.
  2764. Hidden in a paragraph, we might not notice.
  2765. Standing on their own, we notice.
  2766. Delete any sentence not worthy of its own line.
  2767.  
  2768. &lt;h3&gt;
  2769. It helps you vary sentence length.
  2770. &lt;/h3&gt;
  2771. We need to &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/WritingTools&quot;&gt;vary the lengths of our sentences&lt;/a&gt;.
  2772. Sometimes short.
  2773. Sometimes long.
  2774. Yes it really helps to read it out loud, but it’s even clearer to see it on the page like this.
  2775. &lt;p&gt;
  2776. ***********&lt;br&gt;
  2777. ***&lt;br&gt;
  2778. ***&lt;br&gt;
  2779. ***************
  2780.  
  2781. &lt;h3&gt;
  2782. It helps you move sentences.
  2783. &lt;/h3&gt;
  2784. When all sentences are stacked in a column, they’re easier to rearrange.
  2785. Cut three lines.
  2786. Paste them up above.
  2787. It’s easier to move your best sentence to the beginning or end of a paragraph.
  2788.  
  2789. &lt;h3&gt;
  2790. It helps you see first and last words.
  2791. &lt;/h3&gt;
  2792. First words punch.
  2793. Last words linger.
  2794. Seeing your sentences vertically helps you notice your beginnings and endings.
  2795. Chop the weak beginnings, like “I think” and “Whether or not”.
  2796. Start with powerful subjects and verbs.
  2797. &lt;p&gt;
  2798. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/1s.png&quot; alt=&quot;screenshot of text with one sentence per line&quot;&gt;</content>
  2799.    <id>https://sive.rs/1s</id>
  2800.    <link href="https://sive.rs/1s"/>
  2801.    <title>Writing one sentence per line</title>
  2802.    <updated>2022-06-20T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  2803.    <dc:date>2022-06-20T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  2804.  </entry>
  2805.  <entry>
  2806.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  2807. Growing up in America, I didn’t know much about other cultures.
  2808. &lt;p&gt;
  2809. When I was 25, my band got some gigs in Europe — my first time there.
  2810. It was 1995.
  2811. The European Union was new.
  2812. &lt;strong&gt;
  2813. I heard a street performer in Copenhagen tell this joke:
  2814. &lt;/strong&gt;
  2815. &lt;p&gt;
  2816. “The EU will be a success if …
  2817. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  2818. the British are the police
  2819. &lt;li&gt;
  2820. the French are the chefs
  2821. &lt;li&gt;
  2822. the Italians are the lovers
  2823. &lt;li&gt;
  2824. and the whole thing is organized by the Germans.”
  2825. &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2826. “The EU will be a disaster if …
  2827. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  2828. the British are the chefs
  2829. &lt;li&gt;
  2830. the French are the police
  2831. &lt;li&gt;
  2832. the Germans are the lovers
  2833. &lt;li&gt;
  2834. and the whole thing is organized … by the Italians.”
  2835. &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2836. The European crowd all laughed.
  2837. They seemed to know the stereotypes in the joke.
  2838. &lt;strong&gt;
  2839. But I was confused.
  2840. &lt;/strong&gt;
  2841. I could figure out the French chef and Italian lover, but the rest were a mystery.
  2842. &lt;p&gt;
  2843. That night I bothered my Danish host for hours, asking him many questions like, “Do the French have bad police? Why are the Germans supposed to be so organized?”
  2844. He was patient and tried to explain.
  2845. The stereotypes had no malice.
  2846. It was an affectionate tolerance, like we are with family members.
  2847. Mom always loses her keys.
  2848. Uncle burns whatever he cooks.
  2849. Maybe it only happens sometimes, but enough to earn a reputation for it, which is enough to be teased for it.
  2850. &lt;p&gt;
  2851. But how can a whole culture earn a reputation?
  2852. &lt;strong&gt;
  2853. Why are some cultures one way, and other cultures another way?
  2854. What makes millions of people in an area have similar behaviors?
  2855. &lt;/strong&gt;
  2856. &lt;p&gt;
  2857. Religion?
  2858. A historical event that changed everyone’s actions and beliefs for a generation?
  2859. Or is it actually just false, and based on one popular movie, like thinking all Australians are Crocodile Dundee?
  2860. &lt;p&gt;
  2861. They say that America is more individualist and China is more collectivist.
  2862. But &lt;em&gt;why&lt;/em&gt;?
  2863. Does the influence of cowboys or Confucius still shape everything?
  2864. Or is that the easy-but-wrong answer?
  2865. &lt;p&gt;
  2866. &lt;strong&gt;
  2867. I have hundreds of questions like this, and I’ve been pursuing the answers ever since
  2868. &lt;/strong&gt;
  2869. — for 27 years now!
  2870. All because of that joke.
  2871. &lt;p&gt;
  2872. The best explanations I’ve found so far are the books “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/AuContraire&quot;&gt;Au Contraire! Figuring out the French&lt;/a&gt;” and “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/WatchingTheEnglish&quot;&gt;Watching the English&lt;/a&gt;”.
  2873. Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/contact&quot;&gt;let me know&lt;/a&gt; of any other great answers.
  2874.  
  2875. &lt;figure&gt;
  2876. &lt;img src=/images/joke.jpg alt=&quot;busker in Copenhagen&quot;&gt;
  2877. &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo of &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.pipermckenzie.info/&quot;&gt;Piper Mckenzie&lt;/a&gt; by &lt;a href=&quot;https://busk.co/blog/busking-in/busking-copenhagen/&quot;&gt;Dawn&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  2878. &lt;/figure&gt;</content>
  2879.    <id>https://sive.rs/joke</id>
  2880.    <link href="https://sive.rs/joke"/>
  2881.    <title>The joke that changed my life</title>
  2882.    <updated>2022-06-19T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  2883.    <dc:date>2022-06-19T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  2884.  </entry>
  2885.  <entry>
  2886.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  2887. If you need a new domain name, and you want a &lt;strong&gt;.com&lt;/strong&gt;, and you don’t want to type random ideas into a registrar search, here’s a way to do it.
  2888. &lt;/p&gt;
  2889. &lt;h2&gt;
  2890. Download the list of all registered .com domains
  2891. &lt;/h2&gt;
  2892. &lt;p&gt;
  2893. First, apply for access to the zone file, using ICANN’s Centralized Zone Data Service (CZDS) at &lt;a href=&quot;https://czds.icann.org/&quot;&gt;https://czds.icann.org/&lt;/a&gt;.
  2894. It’s free, but takes a few days to get approved.
  2895. &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.verisign.com/en_US/channel-resources/domain-registry-products/zone-file/index.xhtml&quot;&gt;Read more about it here&lt;/a&gt;.
  2896. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2897. Once approved, they email you a password to log in and download the file called &lt;strong&gt;com.txt.gz&lt;/strong&gt;.
  2898. &lt;/p&gt;
  2899. &lt;code&gt;&lt;pre&gt;
  2900. $ du -hs com.txt.gz # 4.6GB compressed
  2901. 4.6G    com.txt.gz
  2902. $ gunzip com.txt.gz # uncompress and wait
  2903. $ du -hs com.txt
  2904. 23.0G   com.txt     # 23 gigs uncompressed
  2905. $ wc -l com.txt
  2906. 404261754 com.txt   # 404 million lines
  2907. &lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/code&gt;
  2908.  
  2909. &lt;h2&gt;
  2910. Extract the unique names
  2911. &lt;/h2&gt;
  2912. &lt;p&gt;
  2913. &lt;strong&gt;com.txt&lt;/strong&gt; has 404 million lines like this:
  2914. &lt;/p&gt;
  2915. &lt;code&gt;&lt;pre&gt;
  2916. zombahomes.com. 172800  in      ns      ns2.tierra.net.
  2917. zombai.com.     172800  in      ns      ns1.parkingcrew.net.
  2918. zombai.com.     172800  in      ns      ns2.parkingcrew.net.
  2919. zombaid.com.    172800  in      ns      nsg1.namebrightdns.com.
  2920. zombaid.com.    172800  in      ns      nsg2.namebrightdns.com.
  2921. zombaimmo.com.  172800  in      ns      ns10.lwsdns.com.
  2922. zombaimmo.com.  172800  in      ns      ns11.lwsdns.com.
  2923. zombaimmo.com.  172800  in      ns      ns12.lwsdns.com.
  2924. zombaimmo.com.  172800  in      ns      ns17.lwsdns.com.
  2925. zombaio.com.    172800  in      ns      ns-1073.awsdns-06.org.
  2926. &lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/code&gt;
  2927. &lt;p&gt;
  2928. Domains usually have more than one entry.
  2929. You need to extract the unique entries.
  2930. And you only need the part before the “.com”.
  2931. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2932. Here’s a Ruby script that loops through com.txt, gets the part before .com, skips it if duplicate, and outputs it if unique.
  2933. &lt;/p&gt;
  2934. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  2935. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;domain = &amp;#39;&amp;#39;
  2936. File.open(&amp;#39;com.txt&amp;#39;, &amp;#39;r&amp;#39;) do |infile|
  2937.  File.open(&amp;#39;domains.txt&amp;#39;, &amp;#39;w&amp;#39;) do |outfile|
  2938.    while line = infile.gets
  2939.      temp = line[0...(line.index(&amp;#39;.com&amp;#39;))]
  2940.      next if temp == domain
  2941.      domain = temp
  2942.      outfile.puts domain
  2943.    end
  2944.  end
  2945. end
  2946. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/domain-parse.rb&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  2947. &lt;/div&gt;
  2948. &lt;p&gt;
  2949. “domains.txt” should now be about 162 million lines - (about 2.2GB) - that look like this:
  2950. &lt;/p&gt;
  2951. &lt;code&gt;&lt;pre&gt;
  2952. zombahomes
  2953. zombai
  2954. zombaid
  2955. zombaimmo
  2956. zombaio
  2957. &lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/code&gt;
  2958.  
  2959. &lt;h2&gt;
  2960. Load it into SQLite, and index it.
  2961. &lt;/h2&gt;
  2962. &lt;code&gt;&lt;pre&gt;
  2963. $ sqlite3 domains.db
  2964. sqlite&gt; create table domains(domain text);
  2965. sqlite&gt; .import &quot;domains.txt&quot; domains
  2966. sqlite&gt; create index dd on domains(domain);
  2967. &lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/code&gt;
  2968.  
  2969. &lt;h2&gt;
  2970. Find available dictionary words
  2971. &lt;/h2&gt;
  2972. &lt;p&gt;
  2973. If you’re on Mac, Linux, or &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/openbsd&quot;&gt;BSD&lt;/a&gt;, you should have a dictionary of words at &lt;strong&gt;/usr/share/dict/words&lt;/strong&gt;.
  2974. See which of those words are available:
  2975. &lt;/p&gt;
  2976. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  2977. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;require &amp;#39;sqlite3&amp;#39;
  2978. db = SQLite3::Database.new(&amp;#39;domains.db&amp;#39;)
  2979. query = db.prepare(&amp;#39;select domain from domains where domain = ?&amp;#39;)
  2980. File.readlines(&amp;#39;/usr/share/dict/words&amp;#39;).each do |word|
  2981.  rows = query.execute(word.downcase.strip)
  2982.  puts word unless rows.next
  2983. end
  2984. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/domain-word.rb&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  2985. &lt;/div&gt;
  2986. &lt;p&gt;
  2987. Run that, and you’ll have a list of 93,000 dictionary words that are available with the .com extension.
  2988. Congratulations!
  2989. Go to &lt;a href=&quot;https://porkbun.com/&quot;&gt;porkbun.com&lt;/a&gt; (a great little registrar) to register yours.
  2990. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  2991. You’ll find that some are not actually available because that “com.txt” file doesn’t list domains on hold, pending deletion, or without name servers.
  2992. &lt;/p&gt;
  2993.  
  2994. &lt;h2&gt;
  2995. Combine short dictionary words
  2996. &lt;/h2&gt;
  2997. &lt;p&gt;
  2998. If you are not excited that “electrotelethermometer.com” or “counterexcommunication.com” is available, maybe you would like a combination of two short words?
  2999. Select only dictionary words up to four letters, then search for the combination.
  3000. &lt;/p&gt;
  3001. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  3002. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;require &amp;#39;sqlite3&amp;#39;
  3003. words = File.readlines(&amp;#39;/usr/share/dict/words&amp;#39;).map(&amp;amp;:strip)
  3004. words.select! {|w| w.size &amp;lt;= 4}
  3005. db = SQLite3::Database.new(&amp;#39;domains.db&amp;#39;)
  3006. query = db.prepare(&amp;#39;select domain from domains where domain = ?&amp;#39;)
  3007. words.each do |word1|
  3008.  words.each do |word2|
  3009.    combo = (word1 + word2).downcase
  3010.    rows = query.execute(combo)
  3011.    puts combo unless rows.next
  3012.  end
  3013. end
  3014. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/domain-words.rb&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  3015. &lt;/div&gt;
  3016.  
  3017. &lt;h2&gt;
  3018. Narrow it down to good words
  3019. &lt;/h2&gt;
  3020. &lt;p&gt;
  3021. If you ran that last script, you’ll get tens of millions of available domains like “knabtuik.com” because there are many unknown, ugly, and useless short words.
  3022. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3023. So make a new file called “&lt;strong&gt;goodwords.txt&lt;/strong&gt;” of only three and four letter words, using grep:
  3024. &lt;/p&gt;
  3025. &lt;code&gt;&lt;pre&gt;
  3026. $ grep &quot;^...$&quot; /usr/share/dict/words &gt;&gt; goodwords.txt
  3027. $ grep &quot;^....$&quot; /usr/share/dict/words &gt;&gt; goodwords.txt
  3028. &lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/code&gt;
  3029. &lt;p&gt;
  3030. Edit that file by hand, deleting every word you would never want.
  3031. (The less you keep, the better.)
  3032. Then run that Ruby script again, combining just the good words:
  3033. &lt;/p&gt;
  3034. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  3035. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;require &amp;#39;sqlite3&amp;#39;
  3036. words = File.readlines(&amp;#39;goodwords.txt&amp;#39;).map(&amp;amp;:strip)
  3037. db = SQLite3::Database.new(&amp;#39;domains.db&amp;#39;)
  3038. query = db.prepare(&amp;#39;select domain from domains where domain = ?&amp;#39;)
  3039. words.each do |word1|
  3040.  words.each do |word2|
  3041.    combo = (word1 + word2).downcase
  3042.    rows = query.execute(combo)
  3043.    puts combo unless rows.next
  3044.  end
  3045. end
  3046. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/domain-goodwords.rb&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  3047. &lt;/div&gt;
  3048. &lt;p&gt;
  3049. Much better, right?
  3050. A little time consuming, but worth it.
  3051. This is how I found the name of my new translation service, &lt;a href=&quot;https://inchword.com/&quot;&gt;Inchword&lt;/a&gt;.
  3052. &lt;/p&gt;
  3053.  
  3054. &lt;h2&gt;
  3055. Need it super-short and nerdy?
  3056. &lt;/h2&gt;
  3057. &lt;p&gt;
  3058. One final hack is that there are tons of very-short .com domain names available in the format “letter-number-letter-number”.
  3059. For example: &lt;strong&gt;q7r7.com&lt;/strong&gt; or &lt;strong&gt;e3p3.com&lt;/strong&gt;.
  3060. &lt;/p&gt;
  3061. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  3062. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;require &amp;#39;sqlite3&amp;#39;
  3063. db = SQLite3::Database.new(&amp;#39;domains.db&amp;#39;)
  3064. query = db.prepare(&amp;#39;select domain from domains where domain = ?&amp;#39;)
  3065. (&amp;#39;a&amp;#39;..&amp;#39;z&amp;#39;).each do |a|
  3066.  (&amp;#39;0&amp;#39;..&amp;#39;9&amp;#39;).each do |b|
  3067.    (&amp;#39;a&amp;#39;..&amp;#39;z&amp;#39;).each do |c|
  3068.      (&amp;#39;0&amp;#39;..&amp;#39;9&amp;#39;).each do |d|
  3069.        combo = a + b + c + d
  3070.        rows = query.execute(combo)
  3071.        puts combo unless rows.next
  3072.      end
  3073.    end
  3074.  end
  3075. end
  3076. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/domain-letters.rb&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  3077. &lt;/div&gt;
  3078. </content>
  3079.    <id>https://sive.rs/com</id>
  3080.    <link href="https://sive.rs/com"/>
  3081.    <title>Find a good available .com domain</title>
  3082.    <updated>2022-06-08T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  3083.    <dc:date>2022-06-08T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  3084.  </entry>
  3085.  <entry>
  3086.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  3087. “Once you have a baby, you can’t travel.”
  3088. I’ve heard this so many times, although only from people who haven’t done it.
  3089. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3090. But I took my baby to nine countries before he was one year old.
  3091. Then another ten countries by the time he was eight.
  3092. So I can tell you from experience that &lt;strong&gt;it’s not only easy but great.&lt;/strong&gt;
  3093. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3094. We need to share this with new parents.
  3095. Too many new families are cooped-up, stewing, frustrated, and bored in their home, when it’s actually the best time to get out.
  3096. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3097. Travelling with a baby or young child is &lt;strong&gt;the best way to visit somewhere new, exotic, and interesting.&lt;/strong&gt;
  3098. It’s even &lt;strong&gt;better than travelling alone or as a couple.&lt;/strong&gt;
  3099. Here’s why.
  3100. &lt;/p&gt;
  3101.  
  3102. &lt;h2&gt;
  3103. They help you stop and appreciate.
  3104. &lt;/h2&gt;
  3105. &lt;p&gt;
  3106. When my baby was ten days old, I took him out to a park for the first time, and he saw his first tree.
  3107. I imagined it from his perspective, as if I’d never seen a tree before.
  3108. So complex!
  3109. So beautiful.
  3110. I appreciate trees more since then.
  3111. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3112. Same with the other senses.
  3113. Smelling dirt.
  3114. Touching a caterpillar.
  3115. Listening to birds.
  3116. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3117. Before him, I was often in a hurry, trying to get somewhere else.
  3118. &lt;strong&gt;
  3119. Babies help you stop and pay attention.
  3120. When you travel, this is what you need.
  3121. &lt;/strong&gt;
  3122. Less rushing to a destination.
  3123. More stopping to appreciate everything inbetween.
  3124. &lt;/p&gt;
  3125.  
  3126. &lt;h2&gt;
  3127. You see better through their new eyes.
  3128. &lt;/h2&gt;
  3129. &lt;p&gt;
  3130. &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.drawright.com/&quot;&gt;One way&lt;/a&gt; to teach realistic drawing is to turn an image upside down before drawing it.
  3131. This helps you see what’s actually there instead of what you think &lt;em&gt;should&lt;/em&gt; be there.
  3132. Upside down, you see just lines and shading.
  3133. Draw those, and you get a more accurate result.
  3134. This trains you to see more reality than assumption.
  3135. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3136. Same with your child’s senses.
  3137. Instead of categorizing something — like “tree” — and overlooking it, you can experience it through their eyes to see the wonderful complexity of &lt;strong&gt;what’s actually there&lt;/strong&gt;.
  3138. No names.
  3139. No labels.
  3140. Which leads to the next point…
  3141. &lt;/p&gt;
  3142.  
  3143. &lt;h2&gt;
  3144. No prejudice.
  3145. &lt;/h2&gt;
  3146. &lt;p&gt;
  3147. India, Pakistan, Israel, Brazil, Vietnam, Nigeria, China, Russia.
  3148. You have thoughts about these places.
  3149. You’ve heard people say things about them, and that’s affected your perception.
  3150. You judged them before actually going there.
  3151. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3152. Men in monk’s robes or camouflage.
  3153. Women in burqas or bikinis.
  3154. Eye shape.
  3155. Skin color.
  3156. It’s hard to see past your pre-judgements.
  3157. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3158. &lt;strong&gt;
  3159. Your child has no prejudices.
  3160. &lt;/strong&gt;
  3161. This is my favorite part.
  3162. I often go to places I’m biased against.
  3163. Seeing them through my child’s unbiased perception, and interacting with the people as such, helps me connect, which then helps me expire my old opinions.
  3164. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3165. I wish I could take him with me everywhere, like glasses.
  3166. &lt;/p&gt;
  3167.  
  3168. &lt;h2&gt;
  3169. Nothing (everything) is weird.
  3170. &lt;/h2&gt;
  3171. &lt;p&gt;
  3172. Japan, Peru, and Zanzibar feel exotic to me.
  3173. Strange.
  3174. Super-different.
  3175. Weird.
  3176. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3177. Your home feels normal and right because you spent many years there.
  3178. Then when you go somewhere very different, it feels exotic and even wrong.
  3179. You think of your home as “normal” and the new place as “weird”.
  3180. You keep it at a distance.
  3181. You think “them” not “us”.
  3182. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3183. But to your child, everything is new anyway.
  3184. &lt;strong&gt;
  3185. Everything is equally strange, so nothing is strange.
  3186. &lt;/strong&gt;
  3187. This helps you see it as just another way of doing things.
  3188. Not weird.
  3189. Not wrong.
  3190. This helps bridge the differences, and feel like “us” not “them”.
  3191. &lt;/p&gt;
  3192.  
  3193. &lt;h2&gt;
  3194. Airports are more fun.
  3195. &lt;/h2&gt;
  3196. &lt;p&gt;
  3197. Especially for children, airports are &lt;strong&gt;not just a way to get somewhere else, but their own destination.&lt;/strong&gt;
  3198. Great people-watching.
  3199. So many sounds.
  3200. So many other kids to play with, waiting at gates.
  3201. You learn to get to the airport super-early to leave time for all of this.
  3202. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3203. You get preferential treatment when flying.
  3204. Boarding early.
  3205. Flight attendants extra-friendly.
  3206. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3207. And until my son was three years old, the only time we ever let him watch a screen was on a plane, so he was completely transfixed while flying.
  3208. &lt;/p&gt;
  3209.  
  3210. &lt;h2&gt;
  3211. You don’t need to bring much.
  3212. &lt;/h2&gt;
  3213. &lt;p&gt;
  3214. When you go somewhere exotic, it’s fair to worry that they might not have something you need — like a special part for your electronic thing.
  3215. But packing for kids is easy.
  3216. Baby supplies are everywhere.
  3217. Everywhere has diapers, baby food, and all necessities.
  3218. &lt;strong&gt;
  3219. Pack only for the journey.
  3220. &lt;/strong&gt;
  3221. Get everything else after you arrive.
  3222. &lt;/p&gt;
  3223.  
  3224. &lt;h2&gt;
  3225. Kids aren’t impressed with “impressive”.
  3226. &lt;/h2&gt;
  3227. &lt;p&gt;
  3228. This took me a long time to learn.
  3229. I would travel for hours to take my son somewhere really impressive — some superlative structure or view.
  3230. Once we arrived, he would be thrilled by the tiniest thing.
  3231. “Oooh! Look! Caterpillar!”
  3232. He was never impressed with what was supposed to be impressive.
  3233. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3234. I drove hours to take him to a famous landmark, but we never made it past the entrance because he was so fascinated with a dead log filled with bugs.
  3235. We played with that log for hours until it was time to leave.
  3236. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3237. End result?
  3238. They’re right!
  3239. “Impressive” is for adults.
  3240. “Impressive” is often satisfying a bucket list, but it can make you overlook &lt;strong&gt;what’s actually fun&lt;/strong&gt;.
  3241. Kids help you keep this in perspective.
  3242. &lt;/p&gt;
  3243.  
  3244. &lt;h2&gt;
  3245. Babies bring out the best in people.
  3246. &lt;/h2&gt;
  3247. &lt;p&gt;
  3248. Everybody loves babies.
  3249. It’s like travelling with a puppy.
  3250. Everyone melts.
  3251. Everyone stops to interact.
  3252. &lt;strong&gt;
  3253. Babies connect you with people.
  3254. &lt;/strong&gt;
  3255. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3256. I met with a friend in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
  3257. He’s lived there for ten years.
  3258. We walked around town for an afternoon with my son.
  3259. So many people stopped to interact with my baby, make faces with him, and ask questions about where we were from.
  3260. Afterwards my friend said that more people stopped to talk with us that one afternoon than in his ten years of living there combined.
  3261. &lt;/p&gt;
  3262. &lt;br&gt;
  3263. &lt;p&gt;
  3264. So, yes.
  3265. Dispel the myth.
  3266. Spread the word.
  3267. &lt;strong&gt;
  3268. Travelling with babies or young children is the best.
  3269. &lt;/strong&gt;
  3270. &lt;/p&gt;
  3271.  
  3272. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/tk.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;photo of baby on jackfruit&quot;&gt;</content>
  3273.    <id>https://sive.rs/tk</id>
  3274.    <link href="https://sive.rs/tk"/>
  3275.    <title>Travel is best with young children</title>
  3276.    <updated>2022-05-09T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  3277.    <dc:date>2022-05-09T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  3278.  </entry>
  3279.  <entry>
  3280.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  3281. If you make your own website, consider making short URLs.
  3282. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3283. This is not about a URL shortener.
  3284. This is about making your &lt;strong&gt;original URLs short&lt;/strong&gt; in the first place.
  3285. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3286. Instead of:
  3287. &lt;br&gt;&lt;code&gt;yoursite.com/blog/2022/05/08/short-urls-why-and-how.html&lt;/code&gt;&lt;br&gt;
  3288. … consider just:
  3289. &lt;br&gt;&lt;code&gt;yoursite.com/short&lt;/code&gt;
  3290. &lt;/p&gt;
  3291. &lt;h2&gt;
  3292. Why?
  3293. &lt;/h2&gt;
  3294. &lt;p&gt;
  3295. Short URLs matter for a few reasons:
  3296. &lt;/p&gt;
  3297. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  3298. &lt;strong&gt;
  3299. I can remember my URLs.
  3300. &lt;/strong&gt;
  3301. I can avoid the search engine step.
  3302. (No need to search when I already know the answer.)
  3303. Which means…
  3304. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  3305. &lt;strong&gt;
  3306. I can type it or say it.
  3307. &lt;/strong&gt;
  3308. Whether texting, answering an email, or talking to someone on the phone, I can say, “Go to &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/ff&quot;&gt;sive.rs/ff&lt;/a&gt; for my talk about the first follower.” or “My newest book is at &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/h&quot;&gt;sive.rs/h&lt;/a&gt;.”
  3309. I do this often, so having memorable URLs, &lt;strong&gt;easy to type in full&lt;/strong&gt;, saves me a lot of searching.
  3310. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  3311. &lt;strong&gt;
  3312. They look nicer.
  3313. &lt;/strong&gt;
  3314. They’re aesthetic.
  3315. They show care.
  3316. We should put something of beauty into the world, instead of creating &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/polut&quot;&gt;digital pollution&lt;/a&gt;.
  3317. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  3318. &lt;strong&gt;
  3319. They remove the middle-man.
  3320. &lt;/strong&gt;
  3321. With &lt;em&gt;long&lt;/em&gt; URLs, people use those ugly social share buttons that promote (and further entrench) harmful social media sites, and add visual clutter to your site.
  3322. Short URLs encourage people to copy and paste the URL directly, which lets them share it anywhere, instead of only the sites for which you have a share button.
  3323. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  3324. &lt;strong&gt;
  3325. They’re enough.
  3326. &lt;/strong&gt;
  3327. Using 36 characters (a-z and 0-9):&lt;br&gt;
  3328. 2-character URLs give me 1296 (36²) unique combinations.&lt;br&gt;
  3329. 3-character URLs give me 46,656 (36³) unique combinations.&lt;br&gt;
  3330. 4-character URLs give me 1,679,616 (36⁴) unique combinations.&lt;br&gt;
  3331. I don’t need more than that.
  3332. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  3333. &lt;p&gt;
  3334. That doesn’t mean the shorter the better.
  3335. If I can remember “&lt;code&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/plaintext&quot;&gt;/plaintext&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/code&gt;” easier than “&lt;code&gt;/pt&lt;/code&gt;”, then that’s a better choice.
  3336. &lt;/p&gt;
  3337. &lt;h2&gt;
  3338. How?
  3339. &lt;/h2&gt;
  3340. &lt;p&gt;
  3341. Here’s how I do it:
  3342. &lt;strong&gt;
  3343. Save my HTML file as the URL name, with no extension.
  3344. &lt;/strong&gt;
  3345. Instead of “&lt;code&gt;hi.html&lt;/code&gt;”, I save it as “&lt;code&gt;hi&lt;/code&gt;” in my public web root.
  3346. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  3347. Then, assuming the Nginx web server, add this line to my http block:
  3348. &lt;/p&gt;
  3349. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;&lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;default_type text/html;&lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  3350. &lt;p&gt;
  3351. That’s it!
  3352. That serves my files without extensions as HTML.
  3353. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  3354. If I ever switch to a different system or server, there is always a way to pull up your HTML using a short URL.
  3355. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  3356.    <id>https://sive.rs/su</id>
  3357.    <link href="https://sive.rs/su"/>
  3358.    <title>Short URLs: why and how</title>
  3359.    <updated>2022-05-08T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  3360.    <dc:date>2022-05-08T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  3361.  </entry>
  3362.  <entry>
  3363.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  3364. My Sivers ancestors came from Grantham, Lincolnshire, England on a boat to America in 1849.
  3365. The boat crashed on rocks in the Irish sea, caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean, got pushed off course repeatedly by storms, and finally landed in New Orleans after two months.
  3366. New Orleans was overcome with cholera, so they hopped a steam boat up the Mississippi River to St. Louis.
  3367. Cholera killed nine passengers and the pilot of the boat.
  3368. Days after they arrived in St. Louis, the city caught fire so they escaped in a covered wagon to Glenwood Iowa, finally arriving after three more months.
  3369. In 1890, one of their sons ventured to the wild west of Colorado to pursue an opportunity.
  3370. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3371. Four of my great-grandparents came separately from Sweden to America around 1910.
  3372. Two were poor farmers, two were middle-class urbanites, but all four were ambitious for prosperity abroad.
  3373. They met in Colorado and Oregon, where my grandparents were born.
  3374. After serving in World War Two, my grandparents moved to Portland to pursue an opportunity, with $25 to their name.
  3375. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3376. My parents met in high school in Portland in the 1960s.
  3377. My dad is a particle physicist, but wanted to be more outgoing.
  3378. My mom was homecoming queen, but wanted to be more intellectual.
  3379. I was born in California in 1969, with a temperament somewhere in between.
  3380. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3381. Forty years later, &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/Ikigai&quot;&gt;a friend&lt;/a&gt; asked why I’ve been successful in life.
  3382. I said I’ve just been ridiculously lucky.
  3383. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3384. He said, “No. Your success has come from choices, not luck.”
  3385. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3386. I said, “I disagree! What about being born in America? That wasn’t a choice! That’s luck.”
  3387. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3388. He said, “No!
  3389. Your ancestors left a comfortable place to move to a scary unknown place because they felt it would lead to a better life for their descendants.
  3390. To call your birth place luck is to disregard their foresight and sacrifice.
  3391. Same with their choice of a spouse, how they raised their kids, and whether they saved for their kids’ future, or squandered it on themselves.
  3392. None of that was luck.”
  3393. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3394. OK.
  3395. Good point.
  3396. &lt;strong&gt;
  3397. It’s wrong to say our outcomes are &lt;em&gt;all&lt;/em&gt; luck or &lt;em&gt;no&lt;/em&gt; luck.
  3398. &lt;/strong&gt;
  3399. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3400. I still think most of my success was just luck.
  3401. But it’s nice to acknowledge that &lt;strong&gt;the choices of your ancestors led to the circumstances of your life.&lt;/strong&gt;
  3402. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3403. And the choices you make will affect the lives of your descendants for many generations to come.
  3404. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  3405.    <id>https://sive.rs/ald</id>
  3406.    <link href="https://sive.rs/ald"/>
  3407.    <title>Ancestors, Luck, and Descendants</title>
  3408.    <updated>2022-03-24T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  3409.    <dc:date>2022-03-24T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  3410.  </entry>
  3411.  <entry>
  3412.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  3413. I was living on the beach in Santa Monica, California, and life was perfect.
  3414. I was in paradise, and deeply happy.
  3415. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3416. Friends wanted to travel, but I had no interest.
  3417. I had already lived a few years each in New York City, Boston, Chicago, Portland, and San Francisco.
  3418. Santa Monica was perfect.
  3419. I loved the weather, the people, the lifestyle, the business opportunities, and everything.
  3420. It was the best place on earth.
  3421. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3422. But I always want to learn and grow.
  3423. To grow intellectually, you need to be surprised.
  3424. &lt;strong&gt;
  3425. If we’re not surprised, we’re not really learning.
  3426. &lt;/strong&gt;
  3427. We may add new information, but not really update our understanding of the world.
  3428. No “Wow!”
  3429. No “Aha!”
  3430. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3431. To keep learning and growing, we should always seek out new perspectives.
  3432. Appreciate music, food, and experiences we initially dislike.
  3433. Read about subjects we know nothing about.
  3434. Understand people we disagree with.
  3435. Take on new challenges.
  3436. Avoid routine.
  3437. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3438. I started feeling like my happiness and &lt;strong&gt;comfort&lt;/strong&gt; — my feeling that things here are the way they &lt;strong&gt;should&lt;/strong&gt; be — might make me &lt;strong&gt;stagnate&lt;/strong&gt;, plateau, or atrophy.
  3439. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3440. Yes I could have forced myself to learn and grow from home.
  3441. But I’d be fighting the gravity that pulls me into my comfortable chair and routines.
  3442. &lt;strong&gt;
  3443. I wanted an environment that forces me to grow.
  3444. &lt;/strong&gt;
  3445. Somewhere full of daily surprises, whether I seek them or not.
  3446. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3447. So I forced myself to leave America.
  3448. Leave my comfort zone.
  3449. I considered finding new perspectives inside America, living in Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina, New Mexico, and Alaska.
  3450. But why the artificial boundary?
  3451. Why not Turkey, Nigeria, Finland, Indonesia, Israel, China, and Brazil?
  3452. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3453. Places have a living philosophy.
  3454. I wanted to understand these different approaches to life.
  3455. I wanted them to also feel like home.
  3456. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3457. So I set off into the world, with that goal.
  3458. &lt;strong&gt;
  3459. Move to a place that feels strange, until it feels like home.
  3460. &lt;/strong&gt;
  3461. Constantly learning and growing.
  3462. Then do it again, pursuing discomfort, until the whole world is my home.
  3463. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;
  3464. For another side to this story, read “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/xus&quot;&gt;Why I let go of my U.S. citizenship&lt;/a&gt;”.
  3465. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  3466. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/bigfish.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;scene from the movie Big Fish&quot;&gt;
  3467. &lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;
  3468. (This picture is from the movie “&lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Fish&quot;&gt;Big Fish&lt;/a&gt;”, where at the beginning of the hero’s journey, he finds a paradise, and everyone there begs him to stay, but he says, “I’m sorry, I may never find a place this nice again, but I need to go out into the world and have my adventure.”)
  3469. &lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content>
  3470.    <id>https://sive.rs/left</id>
  3471.    <link href="https://sive.rs/left"/>
  3472.    <title>Why I left America</title>
  3473.    <updated>2022-03-09T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  3474.    <dc:date>2022-03-09T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  3475.  </entry>
  3476.  <entry>
  3477.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  3478. I write almost everything important in my life: thoughts, plans, notes, diaries, correspondence, code, articles, and entire books.
  3479. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3480. They are my extended memory — my noted self — my organized thoughts.
  3481. I refer to them often.
  3482. I search them, update them, and learn from them.
  3483. I convert them into HTML to make websites, or LaTeX to make books.
  3484. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3485. My written words are my most precious asset.
  3486. They are also a history of my life.
  3487. &lt;strong&gt;
  3488. That’s why I only use plain text files.
  3489. &lt;/strong&gt;
  3490. They are the most reliable, flexible, and long-lasting option.
  3491. Here’s why.
  3492. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;
  3493. PORTABLE
  3494. &lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3495. I’ve brought my text files with me since 1990, from Mac to Windows to Linux to BSD, from PCs to laptops to tablets to Android to iOS to a tiny device the size of my thumb, and back again.
  3496. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3497. &lt;strong&gt;
  3498. Every device, including ones long gone, and ones not invented yet, can read and edit plain text.
  3499. &lt;/strong&gt;
  3500. Whether future virtual reality, or a chip you can implant in your earlobe, plain text will be there.
  3501. Will Microsoft Word?
  3502. Evernote?
  3503. Notion?
  3504. Maybe.
  3505. Maybe not.
  3506. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3507. But plain text?
  3508. Always.
  3509. Everywhere.
  3510. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;
  3511. UN-COMMERCIAL
  3512. &lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3513. Every few years a new company says you should use their special format.
  3514. You have to pay them a monthly fee to use it — or keep all of your documents in their care.
  3515. They offer some convenience or features, but at the cost of flexibility, portability, and independence.
  3516. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3517. When you store your writing in one company’s unique format, then you need that program to access it.
  3518. Then the economy takes a turn, they go out of business, and your work is trapped in an unusable format.
  3519. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3520. &lt;strong&gt;
  3521. You will outlive these companies.
  3522. &lt;/strong&gt;
  3523. Your writing should outlive you.
  3524. Depending on companies is not an option.
  3525. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3526. Plain text is un-commercial.
  3527. It removes you from the world of subscriptions and hype.
  3528. There will always be plenty of free, non-commercial software in the public domain for reading and editing text files.
  3529. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;
  3530. OFFLINE
  3531. &lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3532. There are places and times when you can’t get online.
  3533. Don’t depend on any tool that needs an internet connection.
  3534. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3535. &lt;strong&gt;
  3536. There are great benefits to being intentionally offline and unreachable, to focus.
  3537. &lt;/strong&gt;
  3538. It’s a super productivity boost.
  3539. You need to be able to write, and have access to all your writing, during these times.
  3540. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;
  3541. NO DEPENDENCIES
  3542. &lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3543. If you rely on Word, Evernote or Notion, for example, then you can’t work unless you have Word, Evernote, or Notion.
  3544. &lt;strong&gt;
  3545. You are helpless without them.
  3546. &lt;/strong&gt;
  3547. You are dependent.
  3548. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3549. People tell me about more tools I could use in addition to my text files.
  3550. But I don’t need or want anything else.
  3551. &lt;strong&gt;
  3552. Plain text files and a basic text editor are enough.
  3553. This is everything you need for great thinking and writing.
  3554. &lt;/strong&gt;
  3555. (A paper notebook and pencil are enough, too.)
  3556. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3557. If you only use plain text, you can work on any device, forever.
  3558. The less you depend on, the better.
  3559. Peace and focus come when you stop looking for more.
  3560. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;
  3561. EASIEST TO CONVERT
  3562. &lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3563. Plain text can be converted into anything else.
  3564. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3565. HTML, Markdown, JSON, LaTeX, and many other standard formats, are just plain text.
  3566. I’ve written four books and four hundred blog posts in plain text.
  3567. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3568. You can make your own personal formats in your plain text files.
  3569. Maybe in each diary entry, the first two lines are like:
  3570. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;pre&gt;
  3571. date: 2022-02-28
  3572. tags: where-to-live, kids, dog, anxious
  3573. &lt;/pre&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3574. Then it’s easy to use any little scripting language like Ruby, Python, or JavaScript to grab the date and tags, and use them for categorizing, sorting, renaming, archiving, or exporting.
  3575. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3576. Or if you don’t want to do it yourself, then it’s easy to find someone who can.
  3577. Anyone who’s been programming for more than a week should be able to do it easily.
  3578. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;
  3579. NEED HIERARCHY?
  3580. &lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3581. Use directories — also known as folders.
  3582. These are also good for keeping your text together with other files like images and audio.
  3583. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;pre&gt;
  3584. Documents/
  3585. Documents/Diary/
  3586. Documents/Diary/2022/
  3587. Documents/Diary/2022/2022-02-28.txt
  3588. Documents/Thoughts/
  3589. Documents/Thoughts/WhereToLive/
  3590. Documents/Thoughts/WhereToLive/2019-06-30.txt
  3591. Documents/Thoughts/WhereToLive/2020-01-18.txt
  3592. Documents/Ideas/
  3593. Documents/Ideas/MusicalChairs.txt
  3594. Documents/Ideas/NewHouse/
  3595. Documents/Ideas/NewHouse/Design/
  3596. Documents/Ideas/NewHouse/Design/entryway.jpg
  3597. Documents/Ideas/NewHouse/Design/roof.jpg
  3598. Documents/Ideas/NewHouse/Architect/
  3599. Documents/Ideas/NewHouse/Architect/JM_Lim.txt
  3600. Documents/Ideas/NewHouse/Architect/TPS_Inc.txt
  3601. &lt;/pre&gt;&lt;h2&gt;
  3602. NEED VISUALS OR GRAPHICS?
  3603. &lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3604. Need visual mind-mapping with circles and lines?
  3605. Maybe you do.
  3606. &lt;strong&gt;
  3607. But maybe you don’t.
  3608. &lt;/strong&gt;
  3609. Maybe it’s just another distraction, focusing on the tools instead of your thinking.
  3610. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3611. I love that plain text files have no formatting to tinker with.
  3612. A tab key, SHIFT KEY, and vertical line breaks can go a long way, keeping you writing instead of formatting.
  3613. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3614. If you really need graphics, do your drawing using something else.
  3615. Digital drawing into SVG files.
  3616. Paper drawing, scanned into JPGs.
  3617. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3618. Formats that aren’t owned by any company.
  3619. Formats that will outlast you.
  3620. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3621. Keep your graphics files alongside your text files.
  3622. But keep your text as plain text.
  3623. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;
  3624. CONCLUSION
  3625. &lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3626. Reliable, flexible, portable, independent, and long-lasting.
  3627. Plain text files will be readable by future generations, hundreds of years from now.
  3628. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3629. I especially enjoy the tranquility of their offline, non-commercial nature.
  3630. They’re quiet.
  3631. They’re focused.
  3632. (As I aim to be.)
  3633. &lt;/p&gt;
  3634. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/plaintext.png&quot; alt=&quot;screen shot of the text of this post&quot;&gt;</content>
  3635.    <id>https://sive.rs/plaintext</id>
  3636.    <link href="https://sive.rs/plaintext"/>
  3637.    <title>Write plain text files</title>
  3638.    <updated>2022-03-02T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  3639.    <dc:date>2022-03-02T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  3640.  </entry>
  3641.  <entry>
  3642.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  3643. You often need to generate random strings, like for login cookies and unique entry codes.
  3644. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3645. These strings always need to be stored in the database.
  3646. &lt;strong&gt;
  3647. So make your life simpler by generating the random strings directly in the database.
  3648. &lt;/strong&gt;
  3649. Here&#39;s a very handy PostgreSQL function to do it:
  3650. &lt;/p&gt;
  3651. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  3652. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;create function gen_random_bytes(int) returns bytea as
  3653. &amp;#39;$libdir/pgcrypto&amp;#39;, &amp;#39;pg_random_bytes&amp;#39; language c strict;
  3654.  
  3655. create function random_string(len int) returns text as $$
  3656. declare
  3657.  chars text[] = &amp;#39;{0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,X,Y,Z,a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,m,n,o,p,q,r,s,t,u,v,w,x,y,z}&amp;#39;;
  3658.  result text = &amp;#39;&amp;#39;;
  3659.  i int = 0;
  3660.  rand bytea;
  3661. begin
  3662.  -- generate secure random bytes and convert them to a string of chars.
  3663.  rand = gen_random_bytes($1);
  3664.  for i in 0..len-1 loop
  3665.    -- rand indexing is zero-based, chars is 1-based.
  3666.    result = result || chars[1 + (get_byte(rand, i) % array_length(chars, 1))];
  3667.  end loop;
  3668.  return result;
  3669. end;
  3670. $$ language plpgsql;
  3671. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/rand1-1.sql&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  3672. &lt;/div&gt;
  3673. &lt;p&gt;
  3674. Give it a number: the length of the random string you want.
  3675. It will return random alphanumeric text of that length.
  3676. &lt;/p&gt;
  3677. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  3678. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;select random_string(8);
  3679. random_string
  3680. ───────────────
  3681. yBuXga02
  3682.  
  3683. select random_string(8);
  3684. random_string
  3685. ───────────────
  3686. eP3X7yqe
  3687. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/rand1-2.txt&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  3688. &lt;/div&gt;
  3689. &lt;p&gt;
  3690. The chance of random clash is very small.
  3691. &lt;strong&gt;
  3692. But you need to be completely sure that the new random string is unique — not already existing in that column in that table.
  3693. &lt;/strong&gt;
  3694. So here&#39;s a function where you give it the string length, table name, and column name.
  3695. It will return a random string confirmed to be unique — to not exist there already.
  3696. It gets a random string, searches for it in that table and column, and if not found, returns it.
  3697. Otherwise, if it is found, gets a new random string and loops back, trying again until not found.
  3698. &lt;/p&gt;
  3699. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  3700. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;-- return random string confirmed to not exist in given tablename.colname
  3701. create function unique_random(len int, _table text, _col text) returns text as $$
  3702. declare
  3703.  result text;
  3704.  numrows int;
  3705. begin
  3706.  result = random_string(len);
  3707.  loop
  3708.    execute format(&amp;#39;select 1 from %I where %I = %L&amp;#39;, _table, _col, result);
  3709.    get diagnostics numrows = row_count;
  3710.    if numrows = 0 then
  3711.      return result;
  3712.    end if;
  3713.    result = random_string(len);
  3714.  end loop;
  3715. end;
  3716. $$ language plpgsql;
  3717. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/rand1-3.sql&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  3718. &lt;/div&gt;
  3719. &lt;p&gt;
  3720. I used to call functions like this &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/clean1&quot;&gt;using database triggers&lt;/a&gt;, called on any insert.
  3721. But then I found out something surprisingly cool and so much simpler:
  3722. &lt;strong&gt;
  3723. You can call functions as default values directly in table definitions.
  3724. &lt;/strong&gt;
  3725. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3726. Look at this table, calling unique_random as its default value:
  3727. &lt;/p&gt;
  3728. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  3729. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;create table things (
  3730.  code char(8) primary key default unique_random(8, &amp;#39;things&amp;#39;, &amp;#39;code&amp;#39;),
  3731.  name text
  3732. );
  3733. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/rand1-4.sql&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  3734. &lt;/div&gt;
  3735. &lt;p&gt;
  3736. So simple and clear!
  3737. To use it, you just do a regular insert, and it generates the guaranteed-unique default value.
  3738. &lt;/p&gt;
  3739. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  3740. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;insert into things (name) values (&amp;#39;one&amp;#39;) returning *;
  3741.  
  3742.   code   │ name
  3743. ──────────┼──────
  3744. nRSXbVWQ │ one
  3745.  
  3746. insert into things (name) values (&amp;#39;two&amp;#39;) returning *;
  3747.  
  3748.   code   │ name
  3749. ──────────┼──────
  3750. EAS9wGcl │ two
  3751. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/rand1-5.txt&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  3752. &lt;/div&gt;
  3753. &lt;p&gt;
  3754. I&#39;ve found this particularly handy for creating login cookies:
  3755. &lt;/p&gt;
  3756. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  3757. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;create table cookies (
  3758.  person_id int primary key,
  3759.  cookie char(32) unique default unique_random(32, &amp;#39;cookies&amp;#39;, &amp;#39;cookie&amp;#39;)
  3760. );
  3761. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/rand1-6.sql&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  3762. &lt;/div&gt;
  3763. &lt;p&gt;
  3764. Instead of having your client code, your JavaScript, Python, Ruby or whatever, generating the random code, it&#39;s extra-nice to have this in your database directly, not only because it&#39;s cleaner, but because it saves repeated calls between your client code and database, confirming uniqueness.
  3765. One simple insert of the person_id returns the unique and already-saved random cookie string:
  3766. &lt;/p&gt;
  3767. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  3768. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;insert into cookies (person_id) values (1) returning *;
  3769.  
  3770. person_id │              cookie              
  3771. ───────────┼──────────────────────────────────
  3772.         1 │ 0P8Tp4wjXuTqCCh1NCR9XIom20z9IcYv
  3773. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/rand1-7.txt&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  3774. &lt;/div&gt;
  3775. &lt;p&gt;
  3776. Download the code at &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/rand1.sql&quot;&gt;/code/rand1.sql&lt;/a&gt;.
  3777. &lt;/p&gt;
  3778. </content>
  3779.    <id>https://sive.rs/rand1</id>
  3780.    <link href="https://sive.rs/rand1"/>
  3781.    <title>Generate unique random values directly in the database</title>
  3782.    <updated>2022-03-01T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  3783.    <dc:date>2022-03-01T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  3784.  </entry>
  3785.  <entry>
  3786.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  3787. Even smart people can accidently put bad data into a database.
  3788. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3789. We copy text from a web page, then paste it into a form, not realizing it also copied a space, tab, or newline character.
  3790. Then your system thinks someone’s name is not “Jim” but “ Jim\n”.
  3791. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3792. You could use JavaScript to sanitize all form inputs, but what about when you import a CSV file, or get data from an API?
  3793. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3794. No, &lt;strong&gt;the best place for your data-cleaning functions is in the database itself&lt;/strong&gt;.
  3795. So no matter what code is inserting or updating, a database trigger will sanitize it &lt;strong&gt;before saving&lt;/strong&gt;.
  3796. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3797. Here’s a PostgreSQL example.
  3798. Let’s make two tables, people and emails, so you can see how one function can be used by many triggers.
  3799. &lt;/p&gt;
  3800. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  3801. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;create table people (
  3802.  id serial primary key,
  3803.  name text,
  3804.  code text
  3805. );
  3806.  
  3807. create table emails (
  3808.  id serial primary key,
  3809.  person_id integer not null references people(id),
  3810.  email text
  3811. );
  3812. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/clean1-1.sql&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  3813. &lt;/div&gt;
  3814. &lt;p&gt;
  3815. Let’s make two simple functions:
  3816. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  3817. Remove all whitespace, then lowercase.
  3818. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  3819. Remove unwanted whitespace characters like tab and newline.
  3820. Replace them all with a single space.
  3821. Then trim spaces from the front and end.
  3822. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;
  3823. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  3824. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;-- remove all whitespace, then lowercase it
  3825. create function lower_no_space(text) returns text as $$
  3826.  select lower(regexp_replace($1, &amp;#39;\s&amp;#39;, &amp;#39;&amp;#39;, &amp;#39;g&amp;#39;));
  3827. $$ language sql;
  3828.  
  3829. -- replace all whitespace with single space, then trim start and end
  3830. create function no_extra_space(text) returns text as $$
  3831.  select btrim(regexp_replace($1, &amp;#39;\s+&amp;#39;, &amp;#39; &amp;#39;, &amp;#39;g&amp;#39;));
  3832. $$ language sql;
  3833. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/clean1-2.sql&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  3834. &lt;/div&gt;
  3835. &lt;p&gt;
  3836. The function that removes all whitespace then lowercases, is good for email addresses and codes like checksums.
  3837. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3838. The function that removes extra whitespace then trims, is good for many things like names, addresses, email subjects, and anywhere that needs to retain inner spaces.
  3839. So “ New \t Zealand \n” will be “New Zealand”.
  3840. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3841. Now make trigger functions that use your smaller re-usable cleaning functions.
  3842. I find it best to make one trigger per table, sanitizing all fields on any insert or update.
  3843. &lt;/p&gt;
  3844. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  3845. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;create function clean_people() returns trigger as $$
  3846. begin
  3847.  new.name = no_extra_space(new.name);
  3848.  new.code = lower_no_space(new.code);
  3849.  return new;
  3850. end;
  3851. $$ language plpgsql;
  3852. create trigger clean_people
  3853. before insert or update on people
  3854. for each row execute procedure clean_people();
  3855.  
  3856. create function clean_emails() returns trigger as $$
  3857. begin
  3858.  new.email = lower_no_space(new.email);
  3859.  return new;
  3860. end;
  3861. $$ language plpgsql;
  3862. create trigger clean_emails
  3863. before insert or update on emails
  3864. for each row execute procedure clean_emails();
  3865. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/clean1-3.sql&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  3866. &lt;/div&gt;
  3867. &lt;p&gt;
  3868. The language is a little verbose, but oh well.
  3869. The ugliness of the boilerplate code is made up for by the beautiful simplicity of having all of this handled in the database.
  3870. It’s so nice to not have to sanitize form fields!
  3871. Just toss the unwashed inputs at the database.
  3872. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3873. Here, let’s give it some dirty data, and watch it come out clean.
  3874. &lt;/p&gt;
  3875. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  3876. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;insert into people (name, code) values (e&amp;#39; \t \r \n Dr.  \n \r JM \t Lim \r\n&amp;#39;, &amp;#39;   XX o Z &amp;#39;) returning *;
  3877. -- id │    name    │ code
  3878. --────┼────────────┼──────
  3879. --  1 │ Dr. JM Lim │ xxoz
  3880.  
  3881. insert into emails (person_id, email) values (1, e&amp;#39; \r\n \t DR. L @ JM Lim . com \n&amp;#39;) returning *;
  3882. -- id │ person_id │     email      
  3883. --────┼───────────┼────────────────
  3884. --  1 │         1 │ dr.l@jmlim.com
  3885. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/clean1-4.sql&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  3886. &lt;/div&gt;
  3887. &lt;p&gt;
  3888. This approach has made my code much simpler, and data much cleaner.
  3889. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3890. Download the full code example at &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/clean1.sql&quot;&gt;/code/clean1.sql&lt;/a&gt;.
  3891. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3892. Also look at &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/recalc&quot;&gt;using triggers to ensure data integrity&lt;/a&gt;.
  3893. &lt;/p&gt;
  3894. </content>
  3895.    <id>https://sive.rs/clean1</id>
  3896.    <link href="https://sive.rs/clean1"/>
  3897.    <title>Database triggers to clean text inputs</title>
  3898.    <updated>2022-03-01T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  3899.    <dc:date>2022-03-01T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  3900.  </entry>
  3901.  <entry>
  3902.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  3903. When you make a database-backed app, you have some functions that need to run multiple database queries.
  3904. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3905. For example, to move money from one account to another, you have to insert a negative amount into account #1, and a positive amount into account #2.
  3906. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3907. Usually you do in your main code: your JavaScript, Python, Ruby, or whatever.
  3908. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3909. But what if some future code bypasses your crucial “business logic” functions?
  3910. New code could access the database directly, without going through your existing functions.
  3911. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3912. Or what if you need to rewrite some code in a new language?
  3913. You’ll have a lot of data to rewrite if all this data logic was kept in the surrounding code.
  3914. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3915. I felt the pain of this at my last company, when we converted some old PHP code to Ruby.
  3916. I had to rewrite so much of the logic.
  3917. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3918. In hindsight, &lt;strong&gt;data logic should be in the database itself&lt;/strong&gt;.
  3919. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3920. Simple logic that’s always needed to update the data (like the money-moving example) should be &lt;strong&gt;kept in database functions&lt;/strong&gt;.
  3921. Then your surrounding code - your JavaScript, Python, Ruby, or whatever - can just call these database functions, and never need to be rewritten if you change languages to Swift, Kotlin, Elixir, or whatever.
  3922. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;
  3923. Here’s a PostgreSQL example, from &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/recalc&quot;&gt;my previous post&lt;/a&gt;:
  3924. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3925. First, make three simple tables:
  3926. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  3927. Items with prices.
  3928. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  3929. Lineitems with quantities.
  3930. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  3931. Invoices with the total price.
  3932. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3933. Create two example items, a $5 and a $9 item.
  3934. And create invoice #1 for testing.
  3935. &lt;/p&gt;
  3936. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  3937. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;create table items (
  3938.  id serial primary key,
  3939.  price int not null check (price &amp;gt; 0)
  3940. );
  3941.  
  3942. create table invoices (
  3943.  id serial primary key,
  3944.  total int
  3945. );
  3946.  
  3947. create table lineitems (
  3948.  invoice_id int not null references invoices(id),
  3949.  item_id int not null references items(id),
  3950.  quantity int not null check (quantity &amp;gt; 0),
  3951.  primary key (invoice_id, item_id)
  3952. );
  3953.  
  3954. -- example data:
  3955. insert into items (price) values (5);
  3956. insert into items (price) values (9);
  3957. insert into invoices (total) values (0);
  3958. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/recalc-1.sql&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  3959. &lt;/div&gt;
  3960. &lt;p&gt;
  3961. If someone wants to &lt;strong&gt;add an item&lt;/strong&gt; to their cart, you need to first see if it’s in their cart already.
  3962. If it’s not in their cart, &lt;strong&gt;insert&lt;/strong&gt; it.
  3963. But if that Item is in their cart, you need to &lt;strong&gt;update&lt;/strong&gt; it, to add the new quantity to their existing quantity.
  3964. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3965. So wrap all that logic in a simple &lt;strong&gt;function called cart_add&lt;/strong&gt;.
  3966. &lt;/p&gt;
  3967. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  3968. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;create function cart_add(inv int, item int, quant int) returns void as $$
  3969. begin
  3970.  -- does this invoice + item combination already exist?
  3971.  perform 1 from lineitems
  3972.  where invoice_id = inv
  3973.  and item_id = item;
  3974.  if found then  -- yes? add this quantity
  3975.    update lineitems
  3976.    set quantity = quantity + quant
  3977.    where invoice_id = inv
  3978.    and item_id = item;
  3979.  else  -- no? insert
  3980.    insert into lineitems values (inv, item, quant);
  3981.  end if;
  3982. end;
  3983. $$ language plpgsql;
  3984. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/api01-1.sql&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  3985. &lt;/div&gt;
  3986. &lt;p&gt;
  3987. Someone updates their cart, to &lt;strong&gt;change the quantity&lt;/strong&gt; of a Lineitem.
  3988. If they change the quantity to 2, 5, or even 1, no problem, just &lt;strong&gt;update&lt;/strong&gt; the quantity.
  3989. But what if they change the quantity to 0?
  3990. You don’t want a Lineitem hanging around their cart with a quantity of 0.
  3991. No, if the quantity is 0 or below, you want to &lt;strong&gt;delete&lt;/strong&gt; that Lineitem.
  3992. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  3993. So wrap all that logic in a simple &lt;strong&gt;function called cart_set&lt;/strong&gt;.
  3994. &lt;/p&gt;
  3995. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  3996. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;-- update the quantity of an item in the cart
  3997. create function cart_set(inv int, item int, quant int) returns void as $$
  3998. begin
  3999.  if quant &amp;gt; 0 then
  4000.    update lineitems
  4001.    set quantity = quant
  4002.    where invoice_id = inv
  4003.    and item_id = item;
  4004.  else  -- quantity 0 or below? delete
  4005.    delete from lineitems
  4006.    where invoice_id = inv
  4007.    and item_id = item;
  4008.  end if;
  4009. end;
  4010. $$ language plpgsql;
  4011. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/api01-2.sql&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  4012. &lt;/div&gt;
  4013. &lt;p&gt;
  4014. There, now this data logic is where it belongs: with the data itself.
  4015. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4016. Your JavaScript, Python, Ruby, or whatever can just call the functions, like this:
  4017. &lt;/p&gt;
  4018. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  4019. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;select cart_add(1, 1, 3);
  4020. select * from lineitems;
  4021.  
  4022. select cart_add(1, 2, 4);
  4023. select * from lineitems;
  4024.  
  4025. select cart_set(1, 2, 1);
  4026. select * from lineitems;
  4027. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/api01-3.sql&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  4028. &lt;/div&gt;
  4029. &lt;p&gt;
  4030. Imagine if you did it like this for all of the important things you need to do in your database?
  4031. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4032. Then any code, in any language, could just call those functions, knowing the database itself will handle the logic.
  4033. Keeping the data-logic where it should be: with the data.
  4034. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4035. Download the final example file here: &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/api01.sql&quot;&gt;/code/api01.sql&lt;/a&gt;.
  4036. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4037. More on this in future posts.
  4038. Or until then, see my &lt;a href=&quot;https://github.com/sivers/store&quot;&gt;example on Github&lt;/a&gt;.
  4039. &lt;/p&gt;
  4040. </content>
  4041.    <id>https://sive.rs/api01</id>
  4042.    <link href="https://sive.rs/api01"/>
  4043.    <title>Database functions to wrap logic and SQL queries</title>
  4044.    <updated>2022-02-28T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  4045.    <dc:date>2022-02-28T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  4046.  </entry>
  4047.  <entry>
  4048.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  4049. When you make a database-backed app, you write code to ensure data integrity in related fields.
  4050. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4051. If an item is sold, you update the inventory.
  4052. If someone withdraws money, you update their balance.
  4053. You recalcuate the total and update the related field in the database whenever somebody makes a change.
  4054. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4055. Usually this is done in your main code: your JavaScript, Python, Ruby, Java, or whatever.
  4056. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4057. &lt;strong&gt;
  4058. But what if some future code doesn’t use your currently-crucial function?
  4059. &lt;/strong&gt;
  4060. A new back-end interface, API hook, or simple shell script might not use your current code.
  4061. New code will access the database directly, not using your old code.
  4062. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4063. I encountered this exact situation at my last company, and felt the pain from inventory and even finances becoming wrong, all because some new code was accessing the database directly.
  4064. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4065. So that’s why I’m an evangelist now for how important it is to &lt;strong&gt;put your crucial code in the database itself&lt;/strong&gt;.
  4066. This is &lt;strong&gt;data logic&lt;/strong&gt; (not “business logic”) and &lt;strong&gt;should be bound to the data&lt;/strong&gt;.
  4067. Database functions can be triggered, ensuring integrity, no matter what outside code is accessing it.
  4068. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;
  4069. Here’s an example in PostgreSQL, using a shopping cart:
  4070. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4071. First, make three simple tables:
  4072. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  4073. Items with prices.
  4074. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  4075. Lineitems with quantities.
  4076. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  4077. Invoices with the total price.
  4078. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4079. Create two example items, a $5 and a $9 item.
  4080. And create invoice #1 for testing.
  4081. &lt;/p&gt;
  4082. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  4083. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;create table items (
  4084.  id serial primary key,
  4085.  price int not null check (price &amp;gt; 0)
  4086. );
  4087.  
  4088. create table invoices (
  4089.  id serial primary key,
  4090.  total int
  4091. );
  4092.  
  4093. create table lineitems (
  4094.  invoice_id int not null references invoices(id),
  4095.  item_id int not null references items(id),
  4096.  quantity int not null check (quantity &amp;gt; 0),
  4097.  primary key (invoice_id, item_id)
  4098. );
  4099.  
  4100. -- example data:
  4101. insert into items (price) values (5);
  4102. insert into items (price) values (9);
  4103. insert into invoices (total) values (0);
  4104. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/recalc-1.sql&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  4105. &lt;/div&gt;
  4106. &lt;p&gt;
  4107. Now, you want it to re-calculate the Invoice total whenever Lineitems are changed.
  4108. That’s a special function called a &lt;strong&gt;trigger&lt;/strong&gt;.
  4109. First you create the function, then create a trigger that executes the function.
  4110. &lt;/p&gt;
  4111. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  4112. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;-- re-calculate the total of a lineitem&amp;#39;s invoice
  4113. create function recalc() returns trigger as $$
  4114. begin
  4115.  -- update invoice using lineitems&amp;#39;s invoice_id
  4116.  update invoices set total = (
  4117.    select sum(quantity * price)
  4118.    from lineitems
  4119.    join items on lineitems.item_id = items.id
  4120.    where invoice_id = new.invoice_id)
  4121.  where id = new.invoice_id;
  4122.  return new;
  4123. end;
  4124. $$ language plpgsql;
  4125. -- run this function after any change to lineitems
  4126. create trigger recalc
  4127.  after insert or update or delete on lineitems
  4128.  for each row execute procedure recalc();
  4129. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/recalc-2.sql&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  4130. &lt;/div&gt;
  4131. &lt;p&gt;
  4132. Test it by adding Lineitems, and updating their quantities.
  4133. After each change, look at the Invoice.
  4134. It works!
  4135. &lt;/p&gt;
  4136. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  4137. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;insert into lineitems (invoice_id, item_id, quantity) values (1, 1, 1);
  4138. insert into lineitems (invoice_id, item_id, quantity) values (1, 2, 1);
  4139. select * from lineitems; select * from invoices;
  4140.  
  4141. select &amp;#39;Notice new total when you update quantity:&amp;#39; look;
  4142. update lineitems set quantity = 5 where invoice_id = 1 and item_id = 2;
  4143. select * from lineitems; select * from invoices;
  4144.  
  4145. select &amp;#39;But when you delete a line? Oh no. Total is still $50&amp;#39; look;
  4146. delete from lineitems where invoice_id = 1 and item_id = 2;
  4147. select * from lineitems; select * from invoices;
  4148.  
  4149. -- Let&amp;#39;s try again in recalc-4.sql
  4150. drop function recalc() cascade;
  4151. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/recalc-3.sql&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  4152. &lt;/div&gt;
  4153. &lt;p&gt;
  4154. But notice if you delete a Lineitem, it doesn’t update the Invoice!
  4155. What the hell?
  4156. Why not?
  4157. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4158. Ah, that’s because the function refers to a record variable called “new”, passed by the trigger on Lineitems, and uses it to get the invoice_id.
  4159. But when when you delete a Lineitem, the record variable is called “old”, since it refers to a Lineitem that’s already been deleted.
  4160. Damn.
  4161. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4162. You could make two separate triggers, one that uses “new”, called only on update and insert operations, and one that uses “old”, called only on deletes.
  4163. But then you’d be duplicating the calculation of the total.
  4164. So instead, just add one ugly if/then to assign either “new” or “old” to a variable called “r”, and use “r” instead.
  4165. Here’s the updated function:
  4166. &lt;/p&gt;
  4167. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  4168. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;-- re-calculate the total of a lineitem&amp;#39;s invoice
  4169. create function recalc() returns trigger as $$
  4170. declare
  4171.  r record;
  4172. begin
  4173.  -- use &amp;quot;new&amp;quot; lineitems record for insert/update, or &amp;quot;old&amp;quot; if delete
  4174.  if (tg_op = &amp;#39;DELETE&amp;#39;) then
  4175.    r = old;
  4176.  else
  4177.    r = new;
  4178.  end if;
  4179.  -- update invoice using lineitems(now &amp;quot;r&amp;quot;)&amp;#39;s invoice_id
  4180.  update invoices set total = (
  4181.    select sum(quantity * price)
  4182.    from lineitems
  4183.    join items on lineitems.item_id = items.id
  4184.    where invoice_id = r.invoice_id)
  4185.  where id = r.invoice_id;
  4186.  -- must return incoming &amp;quot;new&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;old&amp;quot; record when done
  4187.  return r;
  4188. end;
  4189. $$ language plpgsql;
  4190. -- run this function after any change to lineitems
  4191. create trigger recalc
  4192.  after insert or update or delete on lineitems
  4193.  for each row execute procedure recalc();
  4194. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/recalc-4.sql&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  4195. &lt;/div&gt;
  4196. &lt;p&gt;
  4197. Now test adding, updating, and deleting, and notice they all update the Invoice total:
  4198. &lt;/p&gt;
  4199. &lt;div class=&quot;code&quot;&gt;
  4200. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;insert into lineitems (invoice_id, item_id, quantity) values (1, 2, 1);
  4201. select * from lineitems; select * from invoices;
  4202.  
  4203. select &amp;#39;Notice new total when you update quantity:&amp;#39; look;
  4204. update lineitems set quantity = 5 where invoice_id = 1 and item_id = 2;
  4205. select * from lineitems; select * from invoices;
  4206.  
  4207. select &amp;#39;Notice new total when you delete:&amp;#39; look;
  4208. delete from lineitems where invoice_id = 1 and item_id = 2;
  4209. select * from lineitems; select * from invoices;
  4210. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/recalc-5.sql&quot;&gt;download code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
  4211. &lt;/div&gt;
  4212. &lt;p&gt;
  4213. Cool?
  4214. You get &lt;strong&gt;much more security and peace-of-mind&lt;/strong&gt;, knowing that no matter what code updates your database, the related fields will be updated automatically.
  4215. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4216. Download the final example file here: &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/recalc.sql&quot;&gt;/code/recalc.sql&lt;/a&gt;.
  4217. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4218. After you get this example working, let’s try another example of putting data logic in the database, by &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/api01&quot;&gt;making functions for updating the cart&lt;/a&gt;.
  4219. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4220. Also look at &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/clean1&quot;&gt;using triggers to clean incoming data&lt;/a&gt;.
  4221. &lt;/p&gt;
  4222. </content>
  4223.    <id>https://sive.rs/recalc</id>
  4224.    <link href="https://sive.rs/recalc"/>
  4225.    <title>Database trigger recalculates totals, for data integrity</title>
  4226.    <updated>2022-02-27T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  4227.    <dc:date>2022-02-27T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  4228.  </entry>
  4229.  <entry>
  4230.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  4231. At &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book&quot;&gt;sive.rs/book&lt;/a&gt; I have a collection of my notes from the 320+ books I’ve read since 2007.
  4232. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4233. This page is just to answer some questions about it.
  4234. &lt;/p&gt;
  4235. &lt;h3&gt;
  4236. My notes are not a summary of the book!
  4237. &lt;/h3&gt;
  4238. &lt;p&gt;
  4239. When I’m reading and come across a surprising or inspiring idea, I save it.
  4240. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4241. That’s all my notes are.
  4242. I’m not summarizing the book.
  4243. &lt;strong&gt;
  4244. I’m just saving ideas for myself, for later reflection.
  4245. &lt;/strong&gt;
  4246. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4247. If I’m reading a book about a subject I already know well, I’ll have very few notes, because not much surprised me.
  4248. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4249. I kept these notes private for years, but decided it couldn’t hurt to put them on my site.
  4250. &lt;/p&gt;
  4251. &lt;h3&gt;
  4252. Notes don’t replace the book
  4253. &lt;/h3&gt;
  4254. &lt;p&gt;
  4255. It makes me sad when people email to say thanks for my notes because it saved them time from reading the book.
  4256. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4257. My notes are just some tiny tidbits with no context.
  4258. &lt;strong&gt;
  4259. It’s like reading a punchline without the joke.
  4260. &lt;/strong&gt;
  4261. If you hear an elaborate joke, then the punchline — (“The little piece of rope said, ‘No. I’m a frayed knot!’”) — is all you need to remember the full joke.
  4262. But if you just hear the punchline, without the joke, it makes no sense.
  4263. I just save the punchlines to remind myself what I’ve read.
  4264. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4265. Again: these notes are really just for me but I’m sharing them on my site.
  4266. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4267. If you look through a book’s notes and like the ideas, please go read the whole book.
  4268. It gives so much more context and meaning.
  4269. &lt;/p&gt;
  4270. &lt;h3&gt;
  4271. “How do you choose the rating?”
  4272. &lt;/h3&gt;
  4273. &lt;p&gt;
  4274. My 0-10 rating is &lt;em&gt;not&lt;/em&gt; just how much I liked the book.
  4275. It’s how strongly I would recommend it to almost anyone.
  4276. So I would give a little lower rating to a book I loved about an obscure subject, like the culture of Switzerland, because I wouldn’t recommend it to most people.
  4277. &lt;/p&gt;
  4278. &lt;h3&gt;
  4279. “How do you use these notes?”
  4280. &lt;/h3&gt;
  4281. &lt;p&gt;
  4282. This will always be changing.
  4283. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4284. For the past few years, when I have a few minutes, I’ll just pick some book from the past that might apply to a situation I’m working on now, and re-read all the notes on it.
  4285. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4286. I’ve also used them to research a certain subject, like discipline for example, I’ll go search all notes for any mention of discipline, and re-read the thoughts on that subject.
  4287. &lt;/p&gt;
  4288. &lt;h3&gt;
  4289. “How do &lt;em&gt;you&lt;/em&gt; use your book notes?”
  4290. &lt;/h3&gt;
  4291. &lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  4292. Save the ideas I find most interesting, and worthy of further thought.
  4293. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  4294. Re-read those notes occasionally.
  4295. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  4296. Reflect on one.
  4297. I write the idea at the top of a page, then write at least a page of my own thoughts about this idea.
  4298. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;
  4299. &lt;h3&gt;
  4300. “Why don’t I see __(some book)___?”
  4301. &lt;/h3&gt;
  4302. &lt;p&gt;
  4303. I do read fiction, but I don’t take notes on it.
  4304. For fiction, I prefer audiobook.
  4305. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4306. I also read hundreds of books before 2007, but didn’t start taking notes until I realized I was forgetting what I had read.
  4307. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4308. And ultimately, I only read things that apply to my life or current interests right now.
  4309. I say no to all requests, and publishers asking me to do reviews.
  4310. &lt;/p&gt;
  4311. &lt;h3&gt;
  4312. “Which one should I read?”
  4313. &lt;/h3&gt;
  4314. &lt;p&gt;
  4315. Whichever one seems to apply to your current situation.
  4316. I find books most useful when they solve a problem I’m having now.
  4317. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4318. By default I have &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book&quot;&gt;the list&lt;/a&gt; sorted with my top recommendations up top.
  4319. But really the best one for you is the one that speaks to your current situation.
  4320. &lt;/p&gt;
  4321. &lt;h3&gt;
  4322. “Don’t the authors get mad?”
  4323. &lt;/h3&gt;
  4324. &lt;p&gt;
  4325. No, but this was my biggest surprise!
  4326. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4327. The main reason I didn’t post these for years is because I assumed it was against copyright law.
  4328. But I quietly tried it, without announcing it.
  4329. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4330. Then as the site got more popular, I was scared I’d get in trouble, but instead I got emails of thanks from the authors of those books.
  4331. Maybe especially since I really am trying to get people to go buy the books whose notes they like.
  4332. &lt;/p&gt;
  4333. &lt;h3&gt;
  4334. “Exactly how do you take these notes?”
  4335. &lt;/h3&gt;
  4336. &lt;p&gt;
  4337. When reading a paper book, I just underline or circle the bits I find surprising or useful.
  4338. Then when I’m done reading the book, I type those bits into a text file.
  4339. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4340. On Kindle, I just highlight the bits I find surprising or useful.
  4341. Then when I’m done reading the book, I connect the Kindle by USB, copy the «/documents/My Clippings.txt» file, and edit from there.
  4342. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4343. Either way, I tend to edit a lot, and re-shape the sentences into something that works for me.
  4344. &lt;/p&gt;
  4345. &lt;h3&gt;
  4346. “Hey you might like this other book summary site!”
  4347. &lt;/h3&gt;
  4348. &lt;p&gt;
  4349. No.
  4350. I don’t want to read summaries of books.
  4351. I like reading the whole book!
  4352. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4353. I aim to read even harder books, like “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/HowToReadABook&quot;&gt;How to Read a Book&lt;/a&gt;” describes well.
  4354. &lt;/p&gt;
  4355. &lt;h3&gt;
  4356. “Why are there not more women authors?”
  4357. &lt;/h3&gt;
  4358. &lt;p&gt;
  4359. It’s a good question, and it bothers me too.
  4360. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4361. I’m kind of a feminist.
  4362. Most of my friends are women.
  4363. Most of my favorite musicians are women.
  4364. When hiring, I try to hire only women.
  4365. But yet the authors of the books I read are mostly men.
  4366. Why?
  4367. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4368. It seems the publishing industry is biased that way.
  4369. A female author sent her manuscrupt to twenty publishers, and all twenty rejected it.
  4370. She sent it again to all twenty publishers using a male pen name, and half of them accepted it.
  4371. I suspect that many men will only read books by men, whereas women will read books by men and women.
  4372. So publishers are just meeting the market, expecting male authors to sell better, which then feeds the problem.
  4373. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4374. When I seek a book to solve a current problem or curiosity, I look for a book that seems to be the most highly recommended by the most people, or people I already admire.
  4375. So whether it’s their bias or the publishing industry, these books are too-often by men.
  4376. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4377. But please also read my short article, “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/you-not-them&quot;&gt;The mirror: It’s about you, not them.&lt;/a&gt;”, because ultimately I don’t care who the author is.
  4378. When I read a book, it’s about me, not them.
  4379. &lt;/p&gt;
  4380. &lt;hr&gt;
  4381. &lt;h3&gt;
  4382. Go to &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book&quot;&gt;sive.rs/book&lt;/a&gt; to browse the notes.
  4383. &lt;/h3&gt;
  4384. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/bookstand.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;</content>
  4385.    <id>https://sive.rs/bfaq</id>
  4386.    <link href="https://sive.rs/bfaq"/>
  4387.    <title>About my book notes</title>
  4388.    <updated>2022-01-26T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  4389.    <dc:date>2022-01-26T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  4390.  </entry>
  4391.  <entry>
  4392.    <content type="html">&lt;img src=&quot;/images/duck-bunny.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;duck and bunny&quot;&gt;
  4393. &lt;p&gt;
  4394. Is this a duck or bunny?
  4395. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4396. No.
  4397. This is a duck and bunny.
  4398. &lt;/p&gt;
  4399.  
  4400. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/htl-orchestra.png&quot; alt=&quot;orchestra seating chart&quot;&gt;
  4401. &lt;p&gt;
  4402. This is an orchestra.
  4403. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4404. You are the composer and conductor.
  4405. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  4406.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl28</id>
  4407.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl28"/>
  4408.    <title>How to Live: conclusion</title>
  4409.    <updated>2021-12-28T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  4410.    <dc:date>2021-12-28T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  4411.  </entry>
  4412.  <entry>
  4413.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  4414. All bad things in life come from extremes.
  4415. &lt;br&gt;
  4416. Too much of this.
  4417. &lt;br&gt;
  4418. Too little of that.
  4419. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4420. When we lack balance, we’re upset.
  4421. &lt;br&gt;
  4422. Over-worked, under-loved, over-eating, under-sleeping.
  4423. &lt;br&gt;
  4424. Focused on wealth, but ignoring health.
  4425. &lt;br&gt;
  4426. Focused on the present, but ignoring the future.
  4427. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4428. Even positive traits, when taken too far, become negative.
  4429. &lt;br&gt;
  4430. Like when someone is generous to a fault, or amusing to a fault.
  4431. &lt;br&gt;
  4432. Too much of a specific strength is a weakness.
  4433. &lt;br&gt;
  4434. If you rise to great heights in only one area, you’re a one-legged giant: easily toppled.
  4435. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4436. Notice the similarities in the physical and emotional definitions.
  4437. &lt;br&gt;
  4438. Physical upset: to knock something over.
  4439. &lt;br&gt;
  4440. Emotional upset: to be disturbed.
  4441. &lt;br&gt;
  4442. Physically unstable: likely to fall.
  4443. &lt;br&gt;
  4444. Emotionally unstable: prone to dangerous, impulsive behavior.
  4445. &lt;br&gt;
  4446. All related to a lack of balance.
  4447. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4448. When you’re balanced, you’re unlikely to get stressed.
  4449. &lt;br&gt;
  4450. You’ve got a stronger foundation and a resilient structure.
  4451. &lt;br&gt;
  4452. You can handle surprises, and make time for what’s needed.
  4453. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4454. Virtue is in the balance between extremes.
  4455. &lt;br&gt;
  4456. Between the insecure and the egomaniac: confidence.
  4457. &lt;br&gt;
  4458. Between the uptight and the clown: grace.
  4459. &lt;br&gt;
  4460. Between the coward and the daredevil: courage.
  4461. &lt;br&gt;
  4462. Between selfishness and sacrifice: generosity.
  4463. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4464. So, the way to live is to balance everything.
  4465. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4466. Imagine the different aspects of your life as the spokes in a wheel: health, wealth, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, or however you divide it.
  4467. &lt;br&gt;
  4468. If any of these are lacking, it makes a lopsided, wobbly wheel, causing you to crash.
  4469. &lt;br&gt;
  4470. But if you keep the parts of your life balanced, your wheel is round, and you can roll easily.
  4471. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4472. You have different sides to your personality, with conflicting needs.
  4473. &lt;br&gt;
  4474. Instead of ignoring one, make sure you balance them.
  4475. &lt;br&gt;
  4476. Balance time with others and time alone.
  4477. &lt;br&gt;
  4478. Balance your need for stability with your need for surprise.
  4479. &lt;br&gt;
  4480. Balance input and output, consumption and creation, stability and adventure, body and spirit.
  4481. &lt;br&gt;
  4482. Your opposing needs become each other’s remedy.
  4483. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4484. Work more on your weaknesses.
  4485. &lt;br&gt;
  4486. Someone who’s rich but fat has different needs than someone who’s fit but broke.
  4487. &lt;br&gt;
  4488. Remember the spokes of the wheel.
  4489. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4490. The best tool for a balanced life is the clock.
  4491. &lt;br&gt;
  4492. Like a hunter’s dog, the clock will be your best ally.
  4493. &lt;br&gt;
  4494. It will guard you, keep your impulses in check, and protect what’s important to you.
  4495. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4496. Schedule everything to ensure balance of your time and effort.
  4497. &lt;br&gt;
  4498. Scheduling prevents procrastination, distraction, and obsession.
  4499. &lt;br&gt;
  4500. A schedule makes you act according to the goals of your highest self, not your passing mood.
  4501. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4502. Schedule quality time with dear friends.
  4503. &lt;br&gt;
  4504. Schedule preventative health checkups.
  4505. &lt;br&gt;
  4506. Schedule focused time to learn.
  4507. &lt;br&gt;
  4508. Schedule each aspect of your life, ignoring none.
  4509. &lt;br&gt;
  4510. List what makes you happy and fulfilled, then schedule those things into your year.
  4511. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4512. The balanced schedule protects you from hurting yourself, from getting overwhelmed and ignoring important needs.
  4513. &lt;br&gt;
  4514. You won’t over-work, over-play, or over-indulge.
  4515. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4516. Even creative work needs scheduling.
  4517. &lt;br&gt;
  4518. The greatest writers and artists didn’t wait for inspiration.
  4519. &lt;br&gt;
  4520. They kept a strict daily schedule for creating their art.
  4521. &lt;br&gt;
  4522. A routine triggers inspiration because your mind and body learn that ideas emerge at that time.
  4523. &lt;br&gt;
  4524. The world’s greatest achievements were squeezed into existence by deadlines.
  4525. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4526. Set an alarm to start and stop on time.
  4527. &lt;br&gt;
  4528. Obey your schedule, no matter how you feel.
  4529. &lt;br&gt;
  4530. Schedule every hour of your day.
  4531. &lt;br&gt;
  4532. Distraction steals what’s not locked down.
  4533. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4534. Once you’re living a balanced life, find new layers.
  4535. &lt;br&gt;
  4536. The wheel has infinite spokes.
  4537. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4538. Balance your needs versus the needs of others.
  4539. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4540. Balance your knowledge.
  4541. &lt;br&gt;
  4542. Read books on core subjects you know nothing about.
  4543. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4544. Balance your political opinion.
  4545. &lt;br&gt;
  4546. Talk with smart people in the opposite camp until you’re not opposite anymore.
  4547. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4548. Balance the abilities of your body.
  4549. &lt;br&gt;
  4550. Improve your flexibility, strength, coordination, and ability to perform different types of movements.
  4551. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4552. Balance two languages.
  4553. &lt;br&gt;
  4554. A second language is one of the best things for your brain, and can add a new type of balance, like living half the year in another culture, speaking only your other language.
  4555. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4556. Balance your response to situations.
  4557. &lt;br&gt;
  4558. Do you tend to change yourself, change the environment, or change nothing and leave?
  4559. &lt;br&gt;
  4560. Find which you do too much and which you don’t do enough, then rebalance.
  4561. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4562. Finally, balance the world.
  4563. &lt;br&gt;
  4564. Help lift up those who have been pushed down.
  4565. &lt;br&gt;
  4566. Counterbalance sexism, racism, and religious discrimination.
  4567. &lt;br&gt;
  4568. Feed the hungry.
  4569. &lt;br&gt;
  4570. Balance justice.
  4571. &lt;br&gt;
  4572. Balance human nature.
  4573. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4574. By balancing everything in your life, you postpone nothing.
  4575. &lt;br&gt;
  4576. You won’t postpone happiness, dreams, love, or expression.
  4577. &lt;br&gt;
  4578. You could die happy at any time.
  4579. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4580. Balancing everything is how to live.
  4581. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  4582.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl27</id>
  4583.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl27"/>
  4584.    <title>Here’s how to live: Balance everything.</title>
  4585.    <updated>2021-12-27T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  4586.    <dc:date>2021-12-27T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  4587.  </entry>
  4588.  <entry>
  4589.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  4590. Change the world as much as you can.
  4591. &lt;br&gt;
  4592. All your learning and thinking is wasted if you don’t take action.
  4593. &lt;br&gt;
  4594. People try to explain the world, but the real point is to change the world.
  4595. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4596. If you go through life without changing anything, what have you done?
  4597. &lt;br&gt;
  4598. Just observed?!
  4599. &lt;br&gt;
  4600. The world doesn’t need more audience.
  4601. &lt;br&gt;
  4602. The world needs changing.
  4603. &lt;br&gt;
  4604. What’s broken needs fixing.
  4605. &lt;br&gt;
  4606. What’s OK needs improving.
  4607. &lt;br&gt;
  4608. What’s harmful needs destroying.
  4609. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4610. People dream or complain about how the world should be, but nothing improves without action.
  4611. &lt;br&gt;
  4612. You have to go change things yourself.
  4613. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4614. People say the world is the way it is, and that’s just how it’s going to be.
  4615. &lt;br&gt;
  4616. They’re hopeless, complacent, or entrenched.
  4617. &lt;br&gt;
  4618. They expect life to stay within its current boundaries and rules.
  4619. &lt;br&gt;
  4620. But all progress comes from those who ignore the boundaries, break the rules, or make a whole new game.
  4621. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4622. Don’t accept anything as-is.
  4623. &lt;br&gt;
  4624. Everything you encounter must change.
  4625. &lt;br&gt;
  4626. Preservation is your enemy.
  4627. &lt;br&gt;
  4628. Only dead fish go with the flow.
  4629. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4630. Think of the scientific method.
  4631. &lt;br&gt;
  4632. Someone proposes an idea, then others skeptically and rigorously try to disprove it.
  4633. &lt;br&gt;
  4634. Use this approach on the world.
  4635. &lt;br&gt;
  4636. Assume everything is wrong the way it is.
  4637. &lt;br&gt;
  4638. Doubt it and attempt to change it, to prove it’s not correct.
  4639. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4640. This is how we make progress.
  4641. &lt;br&gt;
  4642. What fails is forgotten.
  4643. &lt;br&gt;
  4644. What works is called innovation.
  4645. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4646. Begin by righting what’s wrong.
  4647. &lt;br&gt;
  4648. Look for what’s ugly: ugly systems, ugly rules, ugly traditions.
  4649. &lt;br&gt;
  4650. Look for what bothers you.
  4651. &lt;br&gt;
  4652. If you can fix it, do it now.
  4653. &lt;br&gt;
  4654. Otherwise, aim lower until you find something you can do now.
  4655. &lt;br&gt;
  4656. Make it how it should be.
  4657. &lt;br&gt;
  4658. Don’t complain.
  4659. &lt;br&gt;
  4660. Just make the change.
  4661. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4662. This gives you a new perspective on work.
  4663. &lt;br&gt;
  4664. Work is whatever you want to change.
  4665. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4666. Remove what needs to die.
  4667. &lt;br&gt;
  4668. Instead of fixing, destroy what was there and replace it with something better.
  4669. &lt;br&gt;
  4670. Sometimes you don’t know what to add, but you know what to remove.
  4671. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4672. Worried you’ll make things worse?
  4673. &lt;br&gt;
  4674. Who’s to say whether the change you’ll make is good or bad?
  4675. &lt;br&gt;
  4676. Only time will tell.
  4677. &lt;br&gt;
  4678. Genghis Khan killed 11% of the world’s population, but he’s seen as having a net-positive influence on the world in the long run.
  4679. &lt;br&gt;
  4680. Yet people with the best intentions can end up doing harm.
  4681. &lt;br&gt;
  4682. So stop judging and start changing the world any way you can.
  4683. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4684. Rearrange and remix.
  4685. &lt;br&gt;
  4686. That’s how nature grows.
  4687. &lt;br&gt;
  4688. A cow is rearranged grass.
  4689. &lt;br&gt;
  4690. All the atoms get reused.
  4691. &lt;br&gt;
  4692. Every time you hear a song, watch a show, or read an idea, think of how you’d change it or combine it with something else.
  4693. &lt;br&gt;
  4694. Keep your tools handy to rearrange, remix, and edit what you encounter.
  4695. &lt;br&gt;
  4696. Then share your alterations.
  4697. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4698. Don’t worship your heroes.
  4699. &lt;br&gt;
  4700. Surpass them.
  4701. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4702. Changing the world includes changing yourself.
  4703. &lt;br&gt;
  4704. Change your beliefs, preferences, acquaintances, hobbies, location, and lifestyle.
  4705. &lt;br&gt;
  4706. Your only constant habit will be looking for what else to change.
  4707. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4708. Change others.
  4709. &lt;br&gt;
  4710. Changing minds and hearts can have more impact than physical change.
  4711. &lt;br&gt;
  4712. A great speech can do the work of a thousand soldiers.
  4713. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4714. Go where there’s a revolution.
  4715. &lt;br&gt;
  4716. That’s where people are questioning old norms, and looking for new solutions.
  4717. &lt;br&gt;
  4718. Creativity comes from shaking things up.
  4719. &lt;br&gt;
  4720. People that were left out of the old game can get in early on the new game.
  4721. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4722. After years of doing this, you’ll be ready to make institutional change.
  4723. &lt;br&gt;
  4724. How?
  4725. &lt;br&gt;
  4726. By using the techniques of lobbyists.
  4727. &lt;br&gt;
  4728. Set up a company or foundation to act through.
  4729. &lt;br&gt;
  4730. Make institutional change anonymously from behind the company, so your personality is not distracting the point.
  4731. &lt;br&gt;
  4732. Call it something generic and impossible to oppose, like “Better World LLC”.
  4733. &lt;br&gt;
  4734. Keep your public profile small.
  4735. &lt;br&gt;
  4736. Be humble and likable.
  4737. &lt;br&gt;
  4738. Prevent the straw man attack.
  4739. &lt;br&gt;
  4740. For each change you seek to make, find someone effective to be the face for the campaign.
  4741. &lt;br&gt;
  4742. Let the company and its contributors make the change.
  4743. &lt;br&gt;
  4744. Stay behind the scenes and quietly pull the strings.
  4745. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4746. Changing culture makes revolution.
  4747. &lt;br&gt;
  4748. But it’s not a revolution if nobody loses.
  4749. &lt;br&gt;
  4750. Someone will have to lose.
  4751. &lt;br&gt;
  4752. People will be furious.
  4753. &lt;br&gt;
  4754. When the bad people are mad, you’re doing it right.
  4755. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4756. In the end, the highest praise of a life is to say that person “made a difference”.
  4757. &lt;br&gt;
  4758. Difference!
  4759. &lt;br&gt;
  4760. Do you hear that word?
  4761. &lt;br&gt;
  4762. Difference refers to what’s changed.
  4763. &lt;br&gt;
  4764. To live a praise-worthy life, to make a difference, you have to make change.
  4765. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  4766.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl26</id>
  4767.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl26"/>
  4768.    <title>Here’s how to live: Make change.</title>
  4769.    <updated>2021-12-26T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  4770.    <dc:date>2021-12-26T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  4771.  </entry>
  4772.  <entry>
  4773.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  4774. You learn best from your mistakes.
  4775. &lt;br&gt;
  4776. This is true.
  4777. &lt;br&gt;
  4778. So you should deliberately make as many mistakes as possible.
  4779. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4780. Try absolutely everything, all the time, expecting everything to fail.
  4781. &lt;br&gt;
  4782. Just make sure that you capture the lessons from each experience.
  4783. &lt;br&gt;
  4784. And never make the same mistake twice.
  4785. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4786. You’ll be extremely experienced.
  4787. &lt;br&gt;
  4788. You’ll get incredibly smart.
  4789. &lt;br&gt;
  4790. You’ll learn more lessons in a day than others learn in a year.
  4791. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4792. Deliberate mistakes are inspiring.
  4793. &lt;br&gt;
  4794. Trying to write a great song is hard.
  4795. &lt;br&gt;
  4796. Trying to write a bad song is easy and fun.
  4797. &lt;br&gt;
  4798. You could do it in one minute, right now.
  4799. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4800. Writers say you should quickly finish a bad first draft, because it gets the idea out of your head and into reality, where it can then be improved.
  4801. &lt;br&gt;
  4802. Live your whole life this way.
  4803. &lt;br&gt;
  4804. Jump into action without hesitation or worry.
  4805. &lt;br&gt;
  4806. You’ll be faster and do more than everyone else.
  4807. &lt;br&gt;
  4808. What takes them a month will take you an hour, so you can do it ten times a day.
  4809. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4810. Do what everyone says not to.
  4811. &lt;br&gt;
  4812. Ignore every warning so you can find out for yourself.
  4813. &lt;br&gt;
  4814. Learn by hands-on experience.
  4815. &lt;br&gt;
  4816. The more mistakes you make, the faster you learn.
  4817. &lt;br&gt;
  4818. Once you’ve made all the mistakes in a field, you’re considered an expert.
  4819. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4820. See, you only really learn when you’re surprised — when your previous idea of something was wrong.
  4821. &lt;br&gt;
  4822. If you’re not surprised, it means the new information fits in with what you already know.
  4823. &lt;br&gt;
  4824. So try to be wrong.
  4825. &lt;br&gt;
  4826. Try to disprove your beliefs.
  4827. &lt;br&gt;
  4828. Never believe something on faith.
  4829. &lt;br&gt;
  4830. Prove it or disprove it.
  4831. &lt;br&gt;
  4832. While other people have one idea that they think might work, you will have thousands you can prove didn’t work, and one you couldn’t make fail.
  4833. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4834. Just keep a log.
  4835. &lt;br&gt;
  4836. A mistake only counts as experience if you learn from it.
  4837. &lt;br&gt;
  4838. Record what you learned, and review it.
  4839. &lt;br&gt;
  4840. Otherwise, it was a waste.
  4841. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4842. Take on big challenges.
  4843. &lt;br&gt;
  4844. Start a company in Silicon Valley.
  4845. &lt;br&gt;
  4846. Ask investors for millions.
  4847. &lt;br&gt;
  4848. Audition for Hollywood movies.
  4849. &lt;br&gt;
  4850. Invite your dream date to dinner.
  4851. &lt;br&gt;
  4852. While everyone else is nervously preparing, you jump right in, unafraid to fail.
  4853. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4854. Create predicaments.
  4855. &lt;br&gt;
  4856. Get into trouble.
  4857. &lt;br&gt;
  4858. Being desperate leads to creative solutions.
  4859. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4860. This gives you emotional stability.
  4861. &lt;br&gt;
  4862. No mistake will upset you.
  4863. &lt;br&gt;
  4864. You’ll never think that a failed attempt means you’re a failure.
  4865. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4866. The people devastated by failure are the ones who didn’t expect it.
  4867. &lt;br&gt;
  4868. They mistakenly think failure is who they are instead of the result of one attempt.
  4869. &lt;br&gt;
  4870. If you’re prepared for endless failures, you’ll never think of yourself as a failure.
  4871. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4872. There’s only one difference between a successful person and a failure.
  4873. &lt;br&gt;
  4874. A failure quits, which concludes the story, and earns the title.
  4875. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4876. Your growth zone is your failure zone.
  4877. &lt;br&gt;
  4878. Both are at the edge of your limits.
  4879. &lt;br&gt;
  4880. That’s where you find a suitable challenge.
  4881. &lt;br&gt;
  4882. Aim for what will probably fail.
  4883. &lt;br&gt;
  4884. If you aim for what you know you can do, you’re aiming too low.
  4885. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4886. It’s easy to make a robot that walks.
  4887. &lt;br&gt;
  4888. It’s hard to make a robot that can’t be knocked down.
  4889. &lt;br&gt;
  4890. Same with people.
  4891. &lt;br&gt;
  4892. People who avoid mistakes are fragile, like the robot that only walks.
  4893. &lt;br&gt;
  4894. Your million mistakes will make you someone that can’t be knocked down.
  4895. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4896. Mistakes are the fountain of youth.
  4897. &lt;br&gt;
  4898. The old and successful get fragile.
  4899. &lt;br&gt;
  4900. They think they know everything.
  4901. &lt;br&gt;
  4902. They over-invest in one solution.
  4903. &lt;br&gt;
  4904. They have only answers, not questions.
  4905. &lt;br&gt;
  4906. If you’re never wrong, you never change.
  4907. &lt;br&gt;
  4908. Keep making mistakes, so you can keep changing, learning, and growing.
  4909. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4910. Share your stories from all your mistakes for the benefit of the world.
  4911. &lt;br&gt;
  4912. Every plane crash makes the next one less likely.
  4913. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  4914.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl25</id>
  4915.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl25"/>
  4916.    <title>Here’s how to live: Make a million mistakes.</title>
  4917.    <updated>2021-12-25T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  4918.    <dc:date>2021-12-25T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  4919.  </entry>
  4920.  <entry>
  4921.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  4922. There’s only one law of nature: if you survive, you win.
  4923. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4924. Be paranoid.
  4925. &lt;br&gt;
  4926. Avoid failure to survive.
  4927. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4928. For something to succeed, everything needs to go right.
  4929. &lt;br&gt;
  4930. For something to fail, only one thing needs to go wrong.
  4931. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4932. Don’t try to be more right.
  4933. &lt;br&gt;
  4934. Just be less wrong.
  4935. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4936. Avoiding failure leads to success.
  4937. &lt;br&gt;
  4938. The winner is usually the one who makes the least mistakes.
  4939. &lt;br&gt;
  4940. This is true in investing, extreme skiing, business, flying, and many other fields.
  4941. &lt;br&gt;
  4942. Win by not losing.
  4943. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4944. Most people die of cancer and heart disease.
  4945. &lt;br&gt;
  4946. So yes, avoid that.
  4947. &lt;br&gt;
  4948. But those who die from accidents die younger, losing more years of potential life.
  4949. &lt;br&gt;
  4950. So try even harder to avoid accidents.
  4951. &lt;br&gt;
  4952. Reduce risks.
  4953. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4954. What do you want out of life?
  4955. &lt;br&gt;
  4956. That’s hard to answer.
  4957. &lt;br&gt;
  4958. What don’t you want?
  4959. &lt;br&gt;
  4960. That’s easy.
  4961. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4962. More than anything, we want a lack of negatives.
  4963. &lt;br&gt;
  4964. A life with no pain, no injury, no regrets, and no disaster is a good life.
  4965. &lt;br&gt;
  4966. It’s easy to find joy in everyday things, if you can just avoid the bad.
  4967. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4968. Bad has more power.
  4969. &lt;br&gt;
  4970. Insults affect you more than compliments.
  4971. &lt;br&gt;
  4972. Injuries affect you more than back rubs.
  4973. &lt;br&gt;
  4974. Poison affects you more than medicine.
  4975. &lt;br&gt;
  4976. A great relationship or reputation built over years can be destroyed by one bad deed.
  4977. &lt;br&gt;
  4978. An otherwise perfect meal can be wrecked by one cockroach on the plate.
  4979. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4980. But a lack of negatives is harder to talk about.
  4981. &lt;br&gt;
  4982. So people focus on having the upsides in life.
  4983. &lt;br&gt;
  4984. Instead, focus on avoiding the downsides.
  4985. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4986. Most of eating healthy is just avoiding bad food.
  4987. &lt;br&gt;
  4988. Most of being right is just not being wrong.
  4989. &lt;br&gt;
  4990. To have good people in your life, just cut out the bad ones.
  4991. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  4992. Don’t waste a single minute.
  4993. &lt;br&gt;
  4994. Life can be long if you use time wisely.
  4995. &lt;br&gt;
  4996. But wasting time brings death quicker.
  4997. &lt;br&gt;
  4998. Time is the only thing that can’t be replaced.
  4999. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5000. Death reminds us that time is limited and precious.
  5001. &lt;br&gt;
  5002. Without death, there would be no motivation.
  5003. &lt;br&gt;
  5004. Death gives value to life — gives us something to lose.
  5005. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5006. Keep your eye on death.
  5007. &lt;br&gt;
  5008. Avoid the mistakes that end life.
  5009. &lt;br&gt;
  5010. Avoid the negatives that wreck life.
  5011. &lt;br&gt;
  5012. Avoid the time-wasting that brings death sooner.
  5013. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  5014.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl24</id>
  5015.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl24"/>
  5016.    <title>Here’s how to live: Don’t die.</title>
  5017.    <updated>2021-12-24T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  5018.    <dc:date>2021-12-24T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  5019.  </entry>
  5020.  <entry>
  5021.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  5022. The most valuable real estate in the world is the graveyard.
  5023. &lt;br&gt;
  5024. There lie millions of half-written books, ideas never launched, and talents never developed.
  5025. &lt;br&gt;
  5026. Most people die with everything still inside of them.
  5027. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5028. The way to live is to create.
  5029. &lt;br&gt;
  5030. Die empty.
  5031. &lt;br&gt;
  5032. Get every idea out of your head and into reality.
  5033. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5034. Calling yourself creative doesn’t make it true.
  5035. &lt;br&gt;
  5036. All that matters is what you’ve launched.
  5037. &lt;br&gt;
  5038. Make finishing your top priority.
  5039. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5040. When most people see modern art, they think, “I could do that!”
  5041. &lt;br&gt;
  5042. But they didn’t.
  5043. &lt;br&gt;
  5044. That is the difference between consumer and creator.
  5045. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5046. Which would you rather be?
  5047. &lt;br&gt;
  5048. Someone who hasn’t created anything in years because you’re so busy consuming?
  5049. &lt;br&gt;
  5050. Or someone who hasn’t consumed anything in years because you’re so busy creating?
  5051. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5052. Don’t wait for inspiration.
  5053. &lt;br&gt;
  5054. Inspiration will never make the first move.
  5055. &lt;br&gt;
  5056. She comes only when you’ve shown you don’t need her.
  5057. &lt;br&gt;
  5058. Do your work every day, no matter what.
  5059. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5060. Suspend all judgment when creating the first draft.
  5061. &lt;br&gt;
  5062. Just get to the end.
  5063. &lt;br&gt;
  5064. It’s better to create something bad than nothing at all.
  5065. &lt;br&gt;
  5066. You can improve something bad.
  5067. &lt;br&gt;
  5068. You can’t improve nothing.
  5069. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5070. Most of what you make will be fertilizer for the few that turn out great.
  5071. &lt;br&gt;
  5072. But you won’t know which is which until afterward.
  5073. &lt;br&gt;
  5074. Keep creating as much as you can.
  5075. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5076. Creativity is a magic coin.
  5077. &lt;br&gt;
  5078. The more you spend, the more you have.
  5079. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5080. Don’t alter your state with alcohol or drugs.
  5081. &lt;br&gt;
  5082. They make the mundane more interesting to you, which then makes you less interesting to others.
  5083. &lt;br&gt;
  5084. They make you think you’re creative when you’re actually boring.
  5085. &lt;br&gt;
  5086. Only creating makes you creative.
  5087. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5088. Embrace what’s weird about you, and use it to create.
  5089. &lt;br&gt;
  5090. Never think you need to be normal or perfect.
  5091. &lt;br&gt;
  5092. Flawless people don’t need to make art.
  5093. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5094. Picasso was asked if he knew what a painting was going to look like when he started it.
  5095. &lt;br&gt;
  5096. He said, “No, of course not. If I knew, I wouldn’t bother doing it.”
  5097. &lt;br&gt;
  5098. Don’t just express yourself.
  5099. &lt;br&gt;
  5100. Discover yourself.
  5101. &lt;br&gt;
  5102. Create questions, not answers.
  5103. &lt;br&gt;
  5104. Explore whatever excites you most.
  5105. &lt;br&gt;
  5106. If you’re not excited by it, your audience won’t be either.
  5107. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5108. Imitate your heroes.
  5109. &lt;br&gt;
  5110. It’s not copying because it won’t be the same.
  5111. &lt;br&gt;
  5112. Your imitation of anything will be unrecognizably warped by your own twisted perspective.
  5113. &lt;br&gt;
  5114. Most creations are new combinations of existing ideas.
  5115. &lt;br&gt;
  5116. Originality just means hiding your sources.
  5117. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5118. Creating is a higher form of communicating.
  5119. &lt;br&gt;
  5120. You join the elite conversation by contributing.
  5121. &lt;br&gt;
  5122. You reference creations from the past to make your own unique addition or combination.
  5123. &lt;br&gt;
  5124. The dialog can span centuries.
  5125. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5126. Creating is telepathy.
  5127. &lt;br&gt;
  5128. You speak directly to people across the world, whether days or decades from now, connecting your mind to theirs.
  5129. &lt;br&gt;
  5130. You send important messages to those who can hear it.
  5131. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5132. When your creation is good enough, let it go.
  5133. &lt;br&gt;
  5134. Release it, so it can go out into the world, without you.
  5135. &lt;br&gt;
  5136. It can join the conversation, and others can improve it.
  5137. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5138. Separate creation and release.
  5139. &lt;br&gt;
  5140. When you’ve finished a work, wait a while before you release it to the world.
  5141. &lt;br&gt;
  5142. By then, you’re on to something new.
  5143. &lt;br&gt;
  5144. The public comments won’t affect you, since they will be about your past work.
  5145. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5146. Consider creating under a pseudonym.
  5147. &lt;br&gt;
  5148. This will help you know that criticism is not about you, just something you made.
  5149. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5150. If you are proud of what you made, it was a success.
  5151. &lt;br&gt;
  5152. The less you please everyone else, the more you please your fans.
  5153. &lt;br&gt;
  5154. Real success comes not from the crowd, but from feeling proud.
  5155. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5156. Live in a city.
  5157. &lt;br&gt;
  5158. Cities are more conducive to creativity.
  5159. &lt;br&gt;
  5160. Geniuses come from cities.
  5161. &lt;br&gt;
  5162. It reminds you of your audience.
  5163. &lt;br&gt;
  5164. Ultimately, you need to connect with people, not trees.
  5165. &lt;br&gt;
  5166. Stay in situations where you’re forced to show your work to others.
  5167. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5168. Collect ideas in a crowd.
  5169. &lt;br&gt;
  5170. Create in silence and solitude.
  5171. &lt;br&gt;
  5172. Like your bedroom, your work space needs to be private.
  5173. &lt;br&gt;
  5174. This is where you dream and get naked.
  5175. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5176. Forget the view outside your window.
  5177. &lt;br&gt;
  5178. Focus on the view inside your head.
  5179. &lt;br&gt;
  5180. Instead of bringing the world in to your mind, bring your mind out to the world.
  5181. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5182. Distribute your work as widely as you can.
  5183. &lt;br&gt;
  5184. Do whatever it takes to call attention to it.
  5185. &lt;br&gt;
  5186. Art needs an audience.
  5187. &lt;br&gt;
  5188. There are no unknown geniuses.
  5189. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5190. Charge money to make sure your creations are going to people who really want them.
  5191. &lt;br&gt;
  5192. People don’t value what’s free.
  5193. &lt;br&gt;
  5194. Charge for their sake as much as yours.
  5195. &lt;br&gt;
  5196. Charge even if you don’t need the money.
  5197. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5198. Incorporate a company.
  5199. &lt;br&gt;
  5200. Name it something you can take seriously.
  5201. &lt;br&gt;
  5202. You own the company, and it owns your creations.
  5203. &lt;br&gt;
  5204. That creates a healthy distance so the company can demand payment for its copyrights.
  5205. &lt;br&gt;
  5206. It can be your guard dog and bill collector, so you can remain a pure artist.
  5207. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5208. Keep a counterweight job.
  5209. &lt;br&gt;
  5210. Something effortless that covers your bills.
  5211. &lt;br&gt;
  5212. Something you can do a few hours per day, but otherwise not think about.
  5213. &lt;br&gt;
  5214. It gives discipline and regularity to your life.
  5215. &lt;br&gt;
  5216. It gives deadlines and freedom to your art.
  5217. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5218. Let the deadline of death drive you.
  5219. &lt;br&gt;
  5220. Create until your last breath.
  5221. &lt;br&gt;
  5222. Let your last spark of life go into your work.
  5223. &lt;br&gt;
  5224. Die empty, so death takes only a corpse.
  5225. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5226. When you’re gone, your work shows who you were.
  5227. &lt;br&gt;
  5228. Not your intentions.
  5229. &lt;br&gt;
  5230. Not what you took in.
  5231. &lt;br&gt;
  5232. Only what you put out.
  5233. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  5234.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl23</id>
  5235.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl23"/>
  5236.    <title>Here’s how to live: Create.</title>
  5237.    <updated>2021-12-23T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  5238.    <dc:date>2021-12-23T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  5239.  </entry>
  5240.  <entry>
  5241.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  5242. Not love, the feeling, but love the active verb.
  5243. &lt;br&gt;
  5244. It’s not something that happens to you.
  5245. &lt;br&gt;
  5246. It’s something you do.
  5247. &lt;br&gt;
  5248. You choose to love something or someone.
  5249. &lt;br&gt;
  5250. You can love anything or anyone you decide to love.
  5251. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5252. Love is a combination of attention, appreciation, and empathy.
  5253. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5254. To love something, first you have to connect with it.
  5255. &lt;br&gt;
  5256. Give it your full attention.
  5257. &lt;br&gt;
  5258. Deliberately appreciate it.
  5259. &lt;br&gt;
  5260. Try this with places, art, and sounds.
  5261. &lt;br&gt;
  5262. Try this with activities and ideas.
  5263. &lt;br&gt;
  5264. Try this with yourself.
  5265. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5266. Many times a day, you have the opportunity to connect.
  5267. &lt;br&gt;
  5268. You can dash through a place, or stop to appreciate it.
  5269. &lt;br&gt;
  5270. You can do an activity absent-mindedly, or pay full attention to every detail of it.
  5271. &lt;br&gt;
  5272. (Work is love in action.)
  5273. &lt;br&gt;
  5274. You can make shallow small-talk, or really get to know someone.
  5275. &lt;br&gt;
  5276. Choose to connect every time.
  5277. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5278. Sharing is connecting.
  5279. &lt;br&gt;
  5280. Share your knowledge.
  5281. &lt;br&gt;
  5282. Share your home.
  5283. &lt;br&gt;
  5284. Share your time.
  5285. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5286. Learning is loving.
  5287. &lt;br&gt;
  5288. The more you learn about something, the more you can love it.
  5289. &lt;br&gt;
  5290. Learn about a place to appreciate it.
  5291. &lt;br&gt;
  5292. Learn about people to empathize with them.
  5293. &lt;br&gt;
  5294. Not just individuals, but cultures, mindsets, and worldviews.
  5295. &lt;br&gt;
  5296. If you are apathetic about or against something, learn more about it.
  5297. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5298. Actively listen to people.
  5299. &lt;br&gt;
  5300. When they’re succinct, ask them to elaborate.
  5301. &lt;br&gt;
  5302. People aren’t used to someone being sincerely interested, so they’ll need some coaxing to continue.
  5303. &lt;br&gt;
  5304. But never try to fix them.
  5305. &lt;br&gt;
  5306. When someone tells you what’s broken, they want you to love the brokenness, not try to eliminate it.
  5307. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5308. Break down the walls that separate you from others and prevent real connections.
  5309. &lt;br&gt;
  5310. Take off your sunglasses.
  5311. &lt;br&gt;
  5312. Don’t text when you should talk.
  5313. &lt;br&gt;
  5314. Avoid habitual comebacks and clichés.
  5315. &lt;br&gt;
  5316. Admit what you’re really feeling, even when it’s uncomfortable.
  5317. &lt;br&gt;
  5318. Keep communicating instead of shutting down.
  5319. &lt;br&gt;
  5320. We think walls protect us from enemies, but walls are what create enemies in the first place.
  5321. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5322. The hardest part of connecting with someone is being honest.
  5323. &lt;br&gt;
  5324. If you say what you think someone wants to hear, you’re preventing a real connection.
  5325. &lt;br&gt;
  5326. Manners are shallow.
  5327. &lt;br&gt;
  5328. Honesty is deep.
  5329. &lt;br&gt;
  5330. Always tell the real truth, or they’ll never know the real you, so you’ll never really feel loved.
  5331. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5332. Honesty is an ideal that’s always a little further away.
  5333. &lt;br&gt;
  5334. It has no finish line.
  5335. &lt;br&gt;
  5336. No matter how honest you are, there’s always more honest.
  5337. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5338. Don’t exaggerate to be more entertaining.
  5339. &lt;br&gt;
  5340. Don’t downplay.
  5341. &lt;br&gt;
  5342. If you downplay your achievements to make someone else comfortable, you’re preventing connection with that person and even with yourself.
  5343. &lt;br&gt;
  5344. Just be honest.
  5345. &lt;br&gt;
  5346. If you’ve done something great, say so.
  5347. &lt;br&gt;
  5348. If you’re not doing well, say so.
  5349. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5350. If you have feelings for someone, and you don’t let that person know, you’re lying with your silence.
  5351. &lt;br&gt;
  5352. Be direct.
  5353. &lt;br&gt;
  5354. It saves so much trouble and regret.
  5355. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5356. You could live with others, pleasing only them.
  5357. &lt;br&gt;
  5358. You could live in solitude, pleasing only yourself.
  5359. &lt;br&gt;
  5360. But ideally, when with others, be the same person you’d be when alone.
  5361. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5362. The more you really connect with people, the more you learn about yourself: what excites you, what drains you, what attracts you, and what intimidates you.
  5363. &lt;/p&gt;
  5364. &lt;hr&gt;
  5365. &lt;p&gt;
  5366. And then there’s romantic love.
  5367. &lt;br&gt;
  5368. You never really regret falling in love.
  5369. &lt;br&gt;
  5370. Do it as much as possible.
  5371. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5372. Flirting and romance is like eating dessert first.
  5373. &lt;br&gt;
  5374. After you come down from the sugar rush, you get to the more nourishing part of the meal.
  5375. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5376. Beware of the feeling that someone completes you or will save you.
  5377. &lt;br&gt;
  5378. You have wounds in your past.
  5379. &lt;br&gt;
  5380. You have needs that were ignored.
  5381. &lt;br&gt;
  5382. You seek someone to fill these gaps — someone that has traits you crave.
  5383. &lt;br&gt;
  5384. But nobody will save you.
  5385. &lt;br&gt;
  5386. You have to fill those gaps yourself.
  5387. &lt;br&gt;
  5388. When you’re going through an unstable time in your life, you latch on to whatever makes you feel stable.
  5389. &lt;br&gt;
  5390. Instant obsessive love is a bad sign that you’re thinking of someone as the solution.
  5391. &lt;br&gt;
  5392. Projecting perfection onto someone is not love.
  5393. &lt;br&gt;
  5394. You say “I love you” but really mean “I love this”.
  5395. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5396. Notice how you feel around people.
  5397. &lt;br&gt;
  5398. Notice who brings out the best in you.
  5399. &lt;br&gt;
  5400. Notice who makes you feel more connected with yourself — more open and more honest.
  5401. &lt;br&gt;
  5402. Don’t worry about anyone’s opinion of you.
  5403. &lt;br&gt;
  5404. Don’t hope that someone is impressed.
  5405. &lt;br&gt;
  5406. Impress yourself.
  5407. &lt;br&gt;
  5408. Be your ideal self.
  5409. &lt;br&gt;
  5410. If that’s not impressive, then nothing would be.
  5411. &lt;br&gt;
  5412. If the relationship isn’t going to work, it’s better to know early, instead of hiding your true self and putting up a façade for a long time before finding out.
  5413. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5414. Between any two people is a third thing: the relationship itself.
  5415. &lt;br&gt;
  5416. Actively nurture it.
  5417. &lt;br&gt;
  5418. If you improve it, it will improve you.
  5419. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5420. Once you’re in a relationship, avoid harming it.
  5421. &lt;br&gt;
  5422. It’s easy to love someone’s best qualities, but it’s work to love their flaws.
  5423. &lt;br&gt;
  5424. Don’t try to change someone, or teach them a lesson, unless they ask you to.
  5425. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5426. When one of you is being childish, the other needs to be the adult.
  5427. &lt;br&gt;
  5428. Like a dance, you can’t both dip at the same time.
  5429. &lt;br&gt;
  5430. One of you has to stay upright to keep the other from collapsing.
  5431. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5432. Unless you are drops of liquid, one plus one never equals one.
  5433. &lt;br&gt;
  5434. You must both be free and able to live without each other.
  5435. &lt;br&gt;
  5436. Be together by choice, not necessity or dependence.
  5437. &lt;br&gt;
  5438. Love your partner, but don’t need your partner.
  5439. &lt;br&gt;
  5440. Need is insatiable.
  5441. &lt;br&gt;
  5442. Need destroys love.
  5443. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5444. If you choose not to love someone, break up with one last boost of love, empathy, and kindness, instead of showing your lack of love.
  5445. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5446. Be wary of marriage.
  5447. &lt;br&gt;
  5448. Don’t make a life-long commitment based on an emotional state.
  5449. &lt;br&gt;
  5450. It’s illegal to sign contracts when drunk, so you shouldn’t sign a marriage contract when drunk on infatuation.
  5451. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5452. Having a child is like being in love.
  5453. &lt;br&gt;
  5454. It’s such a tight bond.
  5455. &lt;br&gt;
  5456. You’re so close.
  5457. &lt;br&gt;
  5458. So much trust.
  5459. &lt;br&gt;
  5460. So much support.
  5461. &lt;br&gt;
  5462. But, just like the other people you love, your child’s interests and values will be different than yours.
  5463. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5464. You don’t love someone to shape their future.
  5465. &lt;br&gt;
  5466. You don’t judge your friendships by how successful your friend becomes.
  5467. &lt;br&gt;
  5468. So don’t love and judge your children that way.
  5469. &lt;br&gt;
  5470. Don’t try to change them.
  5471. &lt;br&gt;
  5472. Just give them a great environment where they can thrive.
  5473. &lt;br&gt;
  5474. Give them the safety to experiment, make mistakes, and fail up.
  5475. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5476. The saddest life is one without love.
  5477. &lt;br&gt;
  5478. The happiest life is filled with love.
  5479. &lt;br&gt;
  5480. Choose to love as much as you can.
  5481. &lt;br&gt;
  5482. Loving is how to live.
  5483. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  5484.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl22</id>
  5485.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl22"/>
  5486.    <title>Here’s how to live: Love.</title>
  5487.    <updated>2021-12-22T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  5488.    <dc:date>2021-12-22T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  5489.  </entry>
  5490.  <entry>
  5491.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  5492. People say everything is connected.
  5493. &lt;br&gt;
  5494. They’re wrong.
  5495. &lt;br&gt;
  5496. Everything is disconnected.
  5497. &lt;br&gt;
  5498. There is no line between moments in time.
  5499. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5500. Something happened.
  5501. &lt;br&gt;
  5502. Something else happened.
  5503. &lt;br&gt;
  5504. People love stories, so they connect two events, calling them cause and effect.
  5505. &lt;br&gt;
  5506. But the connection is fiction.
  5507. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5508. It’s a hard fiction to escape.
  5509. &lt;br&gt;
  5510. “My parents did that, so that’s why I did this.”
  5511. &lt;br&gt;
  5512. No.
  5513. &lt;br&gt;
  5514. Those two events are not connected.
  5515. &lt;br&gt;
  5516. There is no line between moments in time.
  5517. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5518. Same with definitions.
  5519. &lt;br&gt;
  5520. “I’m an introvert, so that’s why I can’t.”
  5521. &lt;br&gt;
  5522. No.
  5523. &lt;br&gt;
  5524. Definitions are not reasons.
  5525. &lt;br&gt;
  5526. Definitions are just your old responses to past situations.
  5527. &lt;br&gt;
  5528. What you call your personality is just a past tendency.
  5529. &lt;br&gt;
  5530. New situations need a new response.
  5531. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5532. Are you more emotional or intellectual?
  5533. &lt;br&gt;
  5534. Early bird or night owl?
  5535. &lt;br&gt;
  5536. Liberal or conservative?
  5537. &lt;br&gt;
  5538. No.
  5539. &lt;br&gt;
  5540. Disagree with the question.
  5541. &lt;br&gt;
  5542. You aren’t supposed to be easy to explain.
  5543. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5544. Putting a label on a person is like putting a label on the water in a river.
  5545. &lt;br&gt;
  5546. It’s ignoring the flow of time.
  5547. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5548. Your identity.
  5549. &lt;br&gt;
  5550. Your meanings.
  5551. &lt;br&gt;
  5552. Your trauma.
  5553. &lt;br&gt;
  5554. They’re all based on the core idea that you’re in a continuum, living a story.
  5555. &lt;br&gt;
  5556. But there is no line between moments in time.
  5557. &lt;br&gt;
  5558. There is no story.
  5559. &lt;br&gt;
  5560. There is no plot.
  5561. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5562. Should you try to be consistent with your past self?
  5563. &lt;br&gt;
  5564. Should a newspaper try to be consistent with past news?
  5565. &lt;br&gt;
  5566. You’re an ongoing event — a daily improvisation — responding to the situation of the moment.
  5567. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5568. Your past is not your future.
  5569. &lt;br&gt;
  5570. Whatever happened before has nothing at all to do with what happens next.
  5571. &lt;br&gt;
  5572. There is no consistency.
  5573. &lt;br&gt;
  5574. Nothing is congruent.
  5575. &lt;br&gt;
  5576. Never believe a story.
  5577. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5578. You’ve changed so much over time.
  5579. &lt;br&gt;
  5580. Your past self is as different from your current self as you are from other people.
  5581. &lt;br&gt;
  5582. Your past self needs to step down, like a previous president, to let the new you run the show.
  5583. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5584. Doing what you’ve always done is bad for your brain.
  5585. &lt;br&gt;
  5586. If you don’t change, you’ll age faster and get stuck.
  5587. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5588. The way to live is to regularly reinvent yourself.
  5589. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5590. Every year or two, change your job and move somewhere new.
  5591. &lt;br&gt;
  5592. Change the way you eat, look, and talk.
  5593. &lt;br&gt;
  5594. Change your preferences, opinions, and usual responses.
  5595. &lt;br&gt;
  5596. Try the opposite of before.
  5597. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5598. Disconnect from your past.
  5599. &lt;br&gt;
  5600. Cut all common threads.
  5601. &lt;br&gt;
  5602. Keep nothing permanent.
  5603. &lt;br&gt;
  5604. No tattoos.
  5605. &lt;br&gt;
  5606. Remain a clean slate.
  5607. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5608. At every little decision, ten times a day, choose the thing you haven’t tried.
  5609. &lt;br&gt;
  5610. Act out of character.
  5611. &lt;br&gt;
  5612. It’s liberating.
  5613. &lt;br&gt;
  5614. Get your security not from being an anchor, but from being able to ride the waves of change.
  5615. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5616. Let go of your expertise.
  5617. &lt;br&gt;
  5618. You built that boat to cross that river, so leave it there.
  5619. &lt;br&gt;
  5620. Don’t drag it along with you.
  5621. &lt;br&gt;
  5622. The timid cling to achievements.
  5623. &lt;br&gt;
  5624. The wise keep their hands free.
  5625. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5626. Nature changes seasons at regular intervals.
  5627. &lt;br&gt;
  5628. So should you.
  5629. &lt;br&gt;
  5630. We can’t prolong one season.
  5631. &lt;br&gt;
  5632. Never stay too long.
  5633. &lt;br&gt;
  5634. Knowing something is going to end gives you more appreciation for it.
  5635. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5636. Every reinvention is the beginning, which is the most exciting time.
  5637. &lt;br&gt;
  5638. Like a promise, just given.
  5639. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  5640.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl21</id>
  5641.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl21"/>
  5642.    <title>Here’s how to live: Reinvent yourself regularly.</title>
  5643.    <updated>2021-12-21T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  5644.    <dc:date>2021-12-21T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  5645.  </entry>
  5646.  <entry>
  5647.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  5648. Suspend judgment.
  5649. &lt;br&gt;
  5650. Making money isn’t evil, greedy, shallow, or vain.
  5651. &lt;br&gt;
  5652. Money isn’t your worth as a human being, or a substitute for love.
  5653. &lt;br&gt;
  5654. But don’t pretend it doesn’t matter.
  5655. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5656. Money can represent freedom, safety, experience, generosity, attractiveness, power, or whatever you want.
  5657. &lt;br&gt;
  5658. But really, money is as neutral as math.
  5659. &lt;br&gt;
  5660. Because it’s neutral, people have projected all kinds of meaning onto it.
  5661. &lt;br&gt;
  5662. Your biggest obstacle to getting rich is the harmful meaning you’ve attached to it.
  5663. &lt;br&gt;
  5664. Your biggest advantage can be projecting a helpful meaning onto it.
  5665. &lt;br&gt;
  5666. Make it mean you’re on the right path.
  5667. &lt;br&gt;
  5668. Make it a game.
  5669. &lt;br&gt;
  5670. Make it mean you’re free.
  5671. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5672. Or consider this:
  5673. &lt;br&gt;
  5674. Money is nothing more than a neutral exchange of value.
  5675. &lt;br&gt;
  5676. Making money is proof you’re adding value to people’s lives.
  5677. &lt;br&gt;
  5678. Aiming to get rich is aiming to be useful to the world.
  5679. &lt;br&gt;
  5680. It’s striving to do more for others.
  5681. &lt;br&gt;
  5682. Serving more.
  5683. &lt;br&gt;
  5684. Sharing more.
  5685. &lt;br&gt;
  5686. Contributing more.
  5687. &lt;br&gt;
  5688. The world rewards you for creating value.
  5689. &lt;br&gt;
  5690. Pursue wealth because it’s moral, good, and unlimited.
  5691. &lt;/p&gt;
  5692. &lt;hr&gt;
  5693. &lt;p&gt;
  5694. Money is social.
  5695. &lt;br&gt;
  5696. It was invented to transfer value between people.
  5697. &lt;br&gt;
  5698. One job pays way more than another because it has more social value.
  5699. &lt;br&gt;
  5700. To get rich, don’t think about what’s valuable to you.
  5701. &lt;br&gt;
  5702. Think about what’s valuable to others.
  5703. &lt;br&gt;
  5704. To do the opposite is the cliché of the starving artist: creating something that’s valuable to you, but not to others.
  5705. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5706. Money doesn’t care about your race, gender, education, physique, family, or nationality.
  5707. &lt;br&gt;
  5708. Anyone can be rich.
  5709. &lt;br&gt;
  5710. Someone always will, so it might as well be you.
  5711. &lt;br&gt;
  5712. Making money is a skill like any other.
  5713. &lt;br&gt;
  5714. Learn it and practice it as you would anything else.
  5715. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5716. Money is a great motivator.
  5717. &lt;br&gt;
  5718. It works better than force, rules, punishment, or appealing to generosity.
  5719. &lt;br&gt;
  5720. Great art has been created in pursuit of profit.
  5721. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5722. Numbers reveal truth and opportunity.
  5723. &lt;br&gt;
  5724. With every business idea you have or hear, do the math to run the projections and implications.
  5725. &lt;br&gt;
  5726. Study profitable companies the way an artist studies great art.
  5727. &lt;br&gt;
  5728. Apply their best techniques to your own pursuit.
  5729. &lt;br&gt;
  5730. Doing the math helps you think critically, be realistic, and make better decisions.
  5731. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5732. The world is full of money.
  5733. &lt;br&gt;
  5734. There’s no shortage.
  5735. &lt;br&gt;
  5736. So capture the value you create.
  5737. &lt;br&gt;
  5738. Charge for what you do.
  5739. &lt;br&gt;
  5740. It’s unsustainable to create value without asking anything in return.
  5741. &lt;br&gt;
  5742. Remember that many people like to pay.
  5743. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5744. The more something costs, the more people value it.
  5745. &lt;br&gt;
  5746. By charging more, you’re actually helping them use it and appreciate it.
  5747. &lt;br&gt;
  5748. Charge more than is comfortable to your current self-image.
  5749. &lt;br&gt;
  5750. Value yourself higher, then rise to fit this valuation.
  5751. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5752. Be fully committed to getting rich, or it won’t happen.
  5753. &lt;br&gt;
  5754. Adjust your self-image so that you congruently feel that you should and will be rich.
  5755. &lt;br&gt;
  5756. If you subconsciously don’t feel you deserve it, you’ll sabotage your pursuit.
  5757. &lt;br&gt;
  5758. But if you truly feel you deserve it, you’ll do whatever it takes.
  5759. &lt;br&gt;
  5760. So adjust your self-image first.
  5761. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5762. Don’t aim to just be comfortable.
  5763. &lt;br&gt;
  5764. You don’t make the world a better place by just getting by.
  5765. &lt;br&gt;
  5766. If you aim to be comfortable, you won’t get rich.
  5767. &lt;br&gt;
  5768. But if you aim to be rich, you’ll also be comfortable.
  5769. &lt;br&gt;
  5770. Aiming to be rich makes you think bigger, which is more exciting, more fun, and less conventional since most people don’t think big.
  5771. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5772. The world needs more boldness.
  5773. &lt;br&gt;
  5774. Refuse the comfortable addiction of a steady paycheck.
  5775. &lt;br&gt;
  5776. Boldly jump on opportunities.
  5777. &lt;br&gt;
  5778. Take risky action.
  5779. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5780. Create your own business.
  5781. &lt;br&gt;
  5782. Come up with a brand name that can be attached to any business.
  5783. &lt;br&gt;
  5784. (Perhaps it’s your name.)
  5785. &lt;br&gt;
  5786. Use it for the rest of your life on everything of quality.
  5787. &lt;br&gt;
  5788. A recognized brand can charge a premium price, earning more than unrecognized names.
  5789. &lt;br&gt;
  5790. Instead of thinking of customers as leading to a sale, think of each sale as leading to a life-long relationship with a customer.
  5791. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5792. Use other people’s ideas.
  5793. &lt;br&gt;
  5794. Ideas are worth almost nothing.
  5795. &lt;br&gt;
  5796. Execution is everything.
  5797. &lt;br&gt;
  5798. The world is filled with ideas, yet so few take action and make them happen.
  5799. &lt;br&gt;
  5800. Better to be filled with action than ideas.
  5801. &lt;br&gt;
  5802. Best of all to be the owner.
  5803. &lt;br&gt;
  5804. Own and control 100% of whatever you create.
  5805. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5806. Boring industries have little competition, since most people are seeking status in glamorous new fields.
  5807. &lt;br&gt;
  5808. Find an old industry and solve an old problem in a new way.
  5809. &lt;br&gt;
  5810. Your innovation might be behind the scenes, like owning the entire supply chain.
  5811. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5812. Avoid difficult business problems.
  5813. &lt;br&gt;
  5814. Your time is more profitably spent doing what comes easily to you.
  5815. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5816. Avoid competition.
  5817. &lt;br&gt;
  5818. Never be another contender in the crowd, fighting for scraps.
  5819. &lt;br&gt;
  5820. It doesn’t pay to do something anyone can do.
  5821. &lt;br&gt;
  5822. Be separate — in a category of your own.
  5823. &lt;br&gt;
  5824. Invent something completely new.
  5825. &lt;br&gt;
  5826. Instead of fighting to split an existing dollar, inventing creates a dollar out of thin air.
  5827. &lt;br&gt;
  5828. Invent for a very small niche of people who need something that doesn’t exist.
  5829. &lt;br&gt;
  5830. Instead of making a key, then looking for a lock, find something locked, then make its key.
  5831. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5832. Follow the rising tides of where profits are going.
  5833. &lt;br&gt;
  5834. Get in early on an industry that’s developing quickly.
  5835. &lt;br&gt;
  5836. More risk, more opportunity, more investors, more rewards.
  5837. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5838. Once your business is successful, stay paranoid.
  5839. &lt;br&gt;
  5840. Technology is improving faster, so a successful business model doesn’t last as long as it used to.
  5841. &lt;br&gt;
  5842. You’ll be disrupted by others if you don’t keep improving or disrupting yourself.
  5843. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5844. Sell your business before you have to.
  5845. &lt;br&gt;
  5846. Sell before it peaks.
  5847. &lt;br&gt;
  5848. The fun is in creating a business, not maintaining it.
  5849. &lt;/p&gt;
  5850. &lt;hr&gt;
  5851. &lt;p&gt;
  5852. As soon as you have extra money, invest it.
  5853. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5854. Investing is counter-intuitive.
  5855. &lt;br&gt;
  5856. You need to ignore your gut and heart.
  5857. &lt;br&gt;
  5858. Follow dispassionate reason.
  5859. &lt;br&gt;
  5860. Be disciplined, not clever.
  5861. &lt;br&gt;
  5862. It’s a matter of math, not mood.
  5863. &lt;br&gt;
  5864. Emotions are the enemy of investing.
  5865. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5866. Investing is easy unless you try to beat the market.
  5867. &lt;br&gt;
  5868. Settle for average.
  5869. &lt;br&gt;
  5870. Be happy with a good-enough return from passive index funds that represent the entire world economy.
  5871. &lt;br&gt;
  5872. Just take a few minutes per year to rebalance.
  5873. &lt;br&gt;
  5874. Don’t over-think it.
  5875. &lt;br&gt;
  5876. It’s better to do nothing than something.
  5877. &lt;br&gt;
  5878. Keep it simple and manage it yourself.
  5879. &lt;br&gt;
  5880. Avoid exciting investments.
  5881. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5882. Speculating is not investing.
  5883. &lt;br&gt;
  5884. Never speculate.
  5885. &lt;br&gt;
  5886. Never predict.
  5887. &lt;br&gt;
  5888. Be humble, not arrogant.
  5889. &lt;br&gt;
  5890. Never think for one second that you know the future.
  5891. &lt;br&gt;
  5892. Remind yourself over and over again that nobody knows the future.
  5893. &lt;br&gt;
  5894. Ignore anyone that says they do.
  5895. &lt;/p&gt;
  5896. &lt;hr&gt;
  5897. &lt;p&gt;
  5898. Money is your servant, not your master.
  5899. &lt;br&gt;
  5900. Don’t act rich.
  5901. &lt;br&gt;
  5902. Don’t lose touch with regular people.
  5903. &lt;br&gt;
  5904. Stay frugal.
  5905. &lt;br&gt;
  5906. Reducing your expenses is so much easier than increasing your income.
  5907. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5908. You don’t need to tell anyone you have money.
  5909. &lt;br&gt;
  5910. You don’t even need to spend it.
  5911. &lt;br&gt;
  5912. Don’t buy too many things, too big of a house, or hire too many people.
  5913. &lt;br&gt;
  5914. Rich people who do this feel trapped and miserable.
  5915. &lt;br&gt;
  5916. The less you buy, the more you’re in control.
  5917. &lt;br&gt;
  5918. Forget lifestyle.
  5919. &lt;br&gt;
  5920. Forget yourself.
  5921. &lt;br&gt;
  5922. Stay 100% focused on creating value.
  5923. &lt;br&gt;
  5924. Everything else is a corrupting distraction.
  5925. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5926. Nothing destroys money faster than seeking status.
  5927. &lt;br&gt;
  5928. Don’t show off.
  5929. &lt;br&gt;
  5930. Don’t invest in a business you don’t control.
  5931. &lt;br&gt;
  5932. Don’t loan money to a friend, or you’ll lose your money and your friend.
  5933. &lt;br&gt;
  5934. You’d be better off just giving them the money.
  5935. &lt;br&gt;
  5936. The return is the same ($0), but you’d skip the bad feelings.
  5937. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5938. Don’t convince yourself your home is an asset.
  5939. &lt;br&gt;
  5940. Your home is an expense, not an investment, because it doesn’t put money in your pocket each month.
  5941. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5942. When you’re rich, everything feels free.
  5943. &lt;br&gt;
  5944. A $5000 expense feels like it costs a dollar.
  5945. &lt;br&gt;
  5946. It doesn’t dent your bank account.
  5947. &lt;br&gt;
  5948. Money will be like tap water.
  5949. &lt;br&gt;
  5950. It’s always there.
  5951. &lt;br&gt;
  5952. You don’t need to think about it.
  5953. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5954. One downside is you don’t get excited about money anymore.
  5955. &lt;br&gt;
  5956. It used to feel so exciting to make $5000.
  5957. &lt;br&gt;
  5958. Now you don’t even notice it.
  5959. &lt;br&gt;
  5960. Someone could give you another million dollars, and it wouldn’t change a thing.
  5961. &lt;br&gt;
  5962. You don’t need it, since there’s nothing you want to buy.
  5963. &lt;br&gt;
  5964. The extra millions won’t make you extra happy.
  5965. &lt;br&gt;
  5966. You’ll work harder to keep your money than you will to make more.
  5967. &lt;br&gt;
  5968. As with sex, the fascination fades when you have plenty.
  5969. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5970. Say no to more stuff.
  5971. &lt;br&gt;
  5972. Say yes to more choices.
  5973. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5974. Then you’ll get philosophical, since you’ll have all the options in the world.
  5975. &lt;br&gt;
  5976. You’ll find your riches are worthless, and maybe even an obstacle, when it comes to friendship and love.
  5977. &lt;br&gt;
  5978. Money makes problems go away, but amplifies personality traits.
  5979. &lt;br&gt;
  5980. Money won’t change you, but it will amplify who you are.
  5981. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  5982. You only need to get rich once.
  5983. &lt;br&gt;
  5984. When you win a game, you stop playing.
  5985. &lt;br&gt;
  5986. Don’t be the dragon in the mountain, just sitting on your gold.
  5987. &lt;br&gt;
  5988. Don’t lose momentum in life.
  5989. &lt;br&gt;
  5990. Once you’ve done it, take it with you and do something else.
  5991. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  5992.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl20</id>
  5993.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl20"/>
  5994.    <title>Here’s how to live: Get rich.</title>
  5995.    <updated>2021-12-20T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  5996.    <dc:date>2021-12-20T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  5997.  </entry>
  5998.  <entry>
  5999.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  6000. Focusing on yourself seems smarter and easier, but it’s short-sighted.
  6001. &lt;br&gt;
  6002. It’s ignoring the huge benefit of cooperation.
  6003. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6004. Compare survival strategies.
  6005. &lt;br&gt;
  6006. You could prepare for disaster by stocking food and ammunition in a bunker by yourself.
  6007. &lt;br&gt;
  6008. But what if, instead:
  6009. &lt;br&gt;
  6010. You made yourself an integral member of your community.
  6011. &lt;br&gt;
  6012. You built a reputation of being helpful and generous.
  6013. &lt;br&gt;
  6014. And many people around you cared about your well-being.
  6015. &lt;br&gt;
  6016. Obviously, this is a better strategy.
  6017. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6018. Even if you prefer solitude, you have to admit that being a valuable member of a group is smarter.
  6019. &lt;br&gt;
  6020. The best way to be safe is to help others be safe.
  6021. &lt;br&gt;
  6022. The best way to be connected is to help others be connected.
  6023. &lt;br&gt;
  6024. People look out for each other.
  6025. &lt;br&gt;
  6026. But nobody helps the unhelpful.
  6027. &lt;br&gt;
  6028. You can’t actually pull yourself up by your bootstraps.
  6029. &lt;br&gt;
  6030. Ultimately you are lifted by those around you.
  6031. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6032. Never say, “Not my problem.”
  6033. &lt;br&gt;
  6034. We’re all in this together.
  6035. &lt;br&gt;
  6036. What’s good for your community is good for you.
  6037. &lt;br&gt;
  6038. Whatever affects others affects you.
  6039. &lt;br&gt;
  6040. The quality of your life is tied to the quality of your community, neighborhood, and country.
  6041. &lt;br&gt;
  6042. You can’t be healthy in a sick society.
  6043. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6044. Psychologists, philosophers, and religions all agree on one thing.
  6045. &lt;br&gt;
  6046. Helping others is a better path to happiness than helping only yourself.
  6047. &lt;br&gt;
  6048. Giving makes you happier than receiving.
  6049. &lt;br&gt;
  6050. People with strong social ties live longer, healthier, happier lives.
  6051. &lt;br&gt;
  6052. The most miserable people are self-absorbed.
  6053. &lt;br&gt;
  6054. So aim to be the opposite.
  6055. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6056. Living for others is how to live.
  6057. &lt;/p&gt;
  6058. &lt;hr&gt;
  6059. &lt;p&gt;
  6060. After age twenty, you need deliberate effort to make new friends.
  6061. &lt;br&gt;
  6062. Friends are made, not found.
  6063. &lt;br&gt;
  6064. If you sincerely appreciate someone, and really engage with their interests, you will become friends.
  6065. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6066. Ask open-ended questions, asking people’s thoughts.
  6067. &lt;br&gt;
  6068. Ask them to elaborate on whatever they’ve said.
  6069. &lt;br&gt;
  6070. Show that you’re interested.
  6071. &lt;br&gt;
  6072. Allow silence.
  6073. &lt;br&gt;
  6074. Don’t fill it.
  6075. &lt;br&gt;
  6076. Silence gives space to think, and an invitation to contribute without pressure.
  6077. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6078. Small talk is just a way of matching the other person’s tone and mood.
  6079. &lt;br&gt;
  6080. It helps them be comfortable with you.
  6081. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6082. Be warm, open, and fully present with everyone you encounter.
  6083. &lt;br&gt;
  6084. Confidence attracts.
  6085. &lt;br&gt;
  6086. Vulnerability endears.
  6087. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6088. Assume everyone is just as smart and deep as you.
  6089. &lt;br&gt;
  6090. Assume their temperament is just their nature, and not their fault.
  6091. &lt;br&gt;
  6092. Don’t be mad at them for being that way, for the same reason you can’t be mad at someone for being tall.
  6093. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6094. Appreciate differences.
  6095. &lt;br&gt;
  6096. A conversation with a clone of yourself would be boring.
  6097. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6098. Whenever you’re thinking something nice about someone, tell them.
  6099. &lt;br&gt;
  6100. A sincere compliment can put a lot of fuel in someone’s tank.
  6101. &lt;br&gt;
  6102. People don’t hear enough compliments.
  6103. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6104. Be consistent.
  6105. &lt;br&gt;
  6106. People can only depend on you if you’re consistent.
  6107. &lt;br&gt;
  6108. Meet up regularly to maintain each friendship, so the connections grow stronger.
  6109. &lt;br&gt;
  6110. Be patient with your friends, even for years at a time.
  6111. &lt;br&gt;
  6112. Real friendship doesn’t end.
  6113. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6114. Relationships are more delicate than people.
  6115. &lt;br&gt;
  6116. Relationships can be ruined with one inconsiderate word.
  6117. &lt;br&gt;
  6118. Withhold angry thoughts, and let the feeling pass unexpressed.
  6119. &lt;br&gt;
  6120. Never lose your cool.
  6121. &lt;br&gt;
  6122. Never vent.
  6123. &lt;br&gt;
  6124. Always be kind, no matter how you feel.
  6125. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6126. Imagine if you found out someone was going to die tomorrow.
  6127. &lt;br&gt;
  6128. Imagine how much attention, compassion, and generosity you’d give them.
  6129. &lt;br&gt;
  6130. Imagine how you’d forgive their faults.
  6131. &lt;br&gt;
  6132. Imagine what you’d do to make their last day on Earth the best it could be.
  6133. &lt;br&gt;
  6134. Now treat everyone like that, every day.
  6135. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6136. Sometimes you really need emotional support.
  6137. &lt;br&gt;
  6138. You’re going through a hard time or a big decision.
  6139. &lt;br&gt;
  6140. You need someone else’s perspective on your situation.
  6141. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6142. Friends or family can give wonderful comfort.
  6143. &lt;br&gt;
  6144. You share your problem, and they share the burden.
  6145. &lt;br&gt;
  6146. They care for you deeply, but aren’t as distraught, so you see yourself through their eyes, and realize it’s not as bad as it feels.
  6147. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6148. An objective mentor can give this effect even more so.
  6149. &lt;br&gt;
  6150. This person has less sympathy, and a dispassionate perspective.
  6151. &lt;br&gt;
  6152. You summarize the facts of your situation with less indulgence and hyperbole.
  6153. &lt;br&gt;
  6154. Hearing yourself tell this version of your story reduces the intensity of your emotions.
  6155. &lt;br&gt;
  6156. You see yourself as they do: as a smaller character in a bigger picture.
  6157. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6158. Some people like support groups for this same reason.
  6159. &lt;br&gt;
  6160. Telling your tale to a group of indifferent strangers both shares and dilutes the pain.
  6161. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6162. Success in business comes from helping people — bringing the most happiness to the most people.
  6163. &lt;br&gt;
  6164. The best marketing is being considerate.
  6165. &lt;br&gt;
  6166. The best sales approach is listening.
  6167. &lt;br&gt;
  6168. Serve your clients’ needs, not your own.
  6169. &lt;br&gt;
  6170. Business, when done right, is generous and focused on others.
  6171. &lt;br&gt;
  6172. It draws you out of yourself, and puts you in service of humanity.
  6173. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6174. The most extreme version of living for others is becoming famous.
  6175. &lt;br&gt;
  6176. Do everything in public, for the public.
  6177. &lt;br&gt;
  6178. Share everything you do, even though it’s extra work.
  6179. &lt;br&gt;
  6180. It’s giving yourself to the world.
  6181. &lt;br&gt;
  6182. But being famous means you’ll never be able to reciprocate enough.
  6183. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6184. Your caring should grow until it reaches past your community, past your country, past your generation, and past your species.
  6185. &lt;br&gt;
  6186. Care about strangers across the world as much as you do your family.
  6187. &lt;br&gt;
  6188. Care about all forms of life as much as you do humans.
  6189. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6190. Living for others is how to live.
  6191. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  6192.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl19</id>
  6193.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl19"/>
  6194.    <title>Here’s how to live: for others.</title>
  6195.    <updated>2021-12-19T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  6196.    <dc:date>2021-12-19T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  6197.  </entry>
  6198.  <entry>
  6199.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  6200. Things are going to get harder.
  6201. &lt;br&gt;
  6202. The future will test your strength.
  6203. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6204. So far, you’ve lived in a time of prosperity.
  6205. &lt;br&gt;
  6206. You haven’t experienced massive devastation, but you probably will.
  6207. &lt;br&gt;
  6208. It’ll be harder to make money.
  6209. &lt;br&gt;
  6210. It’ll be harder to be happy.
  6211. &lt;br&gt;
  6212. Much of what you love now will be gone.
  6213. &lt;br&gt;
  6214. You’ll look back at this year as one of the easiest you ever had.
  6215. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6216. You’ll get injured or sick, losing some of your ability to see, hear, move, or think.
  6217. &lt;br&gt;
  6218. You’ll wish for the health you have now.
  6219. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6220. How can you thrive in an unknowable future?
  6221. &lt;br&gt;
  6222. Prepare for the worst.
  6223. &lt;br&gt;
  6224. Train your mind to be ready for whatever may come.
  6225. &lt;br&gt;
  6226. This is how to live.
  6227. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6228. The future is unpredictable and uncontrollable.
  6229. &lt;br&gt;
  6230. Picture all the things that could go wrong.
  6231. &lt;br&gt;
  6232. Prepare for each, so they won’t surprise or hurt you.
  6233. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6234. Never worry.
  6235. &lt;br&gt;
  6236. This isn’t emotional.
  6237. &lt;br&gt;
  6238. Just anticipate and prepare.
  6239. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6240. Remember the fable of the ant and the grasshopper?
  6241. &lt;br&gt;
  6242. The grasshopper was just enjoying the summer, teasing the ant for working instead of relaxing.
  6243. &lt;br&gt;
  6244. Then winter came, and the grasshopper starved, but the ant was ready.
  6245. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6246. Disasters come suddenly, without warning.
  6247. &lt;br&gt;
  6248. Tragedy hurts the most when it’s unexpected.
  6249. &lt;br&gt;
  6250. But if you expect it, you take away its power.
  6251. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6252. Do you know what’s behind each mountain of a challenge?
  6253. &lt;br&gt;
  6254. More mountains.
  6255. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6256. Expecting life to be wonderful is disappointing.
  6257. &lt;br&gt;
  6258. Expecting life to be disappointing is wonderful.
  6259. &lt;br&gt;
  6260. If you expect to be disappointed, you won’t be.
  6261. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6262. Vividly imagine the worst scenarios until they feel real.
  6263. &lt;br&gt;
  6264. Accepting them is the ultimate happiness and security.
  6265. &lt;br&gt;
  6266. Realize that the worst is not that bad.
  6267. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6268. People talk about pessimism and optimism by saying, “Glass half-empty or glass half-full?”
  6269. &lt;br&gt;
  6270. But a caveman would say, “Oh my god! A glass! What a great invention! I can see what I’m about to drink! This is amazing! A blanket! A chair! A bed! Food, ready and waiting? This is heaven!”
  6271. &lt;br&gt;
  6272. You don’t have to be a caveman to look around you and appreciate your comforts by imagining life without them.
  6273. &lt;br&gt;
  6274. Then imagine the relief of finding shelter, the joy of controlled fire on command, and the satisfaction of hot water.
  6275. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6276. To appreciate something fully, picture losing it.
  6277. &lt;br&gt;
  6278. Imagine losing your freedom, reputation, money, and home.
  6279. &lt;br&gt;
  6280. Imagine losing your ability to see, hear, walk, or talk.
  6281. &lt;br&gt;
  6282. Imagine the people you love dying tomorrow.
  6283. &lt;br&gt;
  6284. Never take them for granted.
  6285. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6286. Luxury is the enemy of happiness because you adapt to its comforts.
  6287. &lt;br&gt;
  6288. Luxury makes you soft, weak, and harder to satisfy.
  6289. &lt;br&gt;
  6290. (Pity people who can’t enjoy anything less than the best.)
  6291. &lt;br&gt;
  6292. Never accept luxury, or you’ll find it hard to do without because it will feel like loss.
  6293. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6294. Comfort reduces your future happiness.
  6295. &lt;br&gt;
  6296. You get upset that your meal doesn’t come as ordered, or angry at your phone for having an imperfect connection.
  6297. &lt;br&gt;
  6298. You lose appreciation.
  6299. &lt;br&gt;
  6300. You forget the perspective of how bad things could be.
  6301. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6302. Practice being uncomfortable, even in small ways.
  6303. &lt;br&gt;
  6304. Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
  6305. &lt;br&gt;
  6306. Skip eating for a day, or sugar for a month.
  6307. &lt;br&gt;
  6308. Go light-weight camping for a week.
  6309. &lt;br&gt;
  6310. Befriend discomfort so that you’ll never fear it.
  6311. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6312. Your biggest enemy is insatiability.
  6313. &lt;br&gt;
  6314. Recognize your desire to be entertained by life, and break the habit.
  6315. &lt;br&gt;
  6316. Practice being happy with what you have.
  6317. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6318. Own as little as possible.
  6319. &lt;br&gt;
  6320. When you realize you’re dependent on something, get rid of it to prove you don’t need it.
  6321. &lt;br&gt;
  6322. The less you have, the less you have to lose.
  6323. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6324. Want nothing, and nothing will disappoint you.
  6325. &lt;br&gt;
  6326. Want nothing, and nothing is outside your control.
  6327. &lt;br&gt;
  6328. Want nothing, and fate can’t hurt you.
  6329. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6330. Distinguish between what’s in your control and what isn’t.
  6331. &lt;br&gt;
  6332. If it’s not in your control, put it out of your head.
  6333. &lt;br&gt;
  6334. Trying to control outcomes makes you disappointed and resentful.
  6335. &lt;br&gt;
  6336. Focus only on your thoughts and actions.
  6337. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6338. Your circumstances in life don’t actually change your happiness.
  6339. &lt;br&gt;
  6340. People who become paralyzed or win the lottery go back to being as happy as they were before.
  6341. &lt;br&gt;
  6342. So don’t depend on circumstances.
  6343. &lt;br&gt;
  6344. Everything that happens is neutral.
  6345. &lt;br&gt;
  6346. Your beliefs label it as good or bad.
  6347. &lt;br&gt;
  6348. The only way to change your happiness is to change your beliefs.
  6349. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6350. Did someone make you angry?
  6351. &lt;br&gt;
  6352. Did a situation make you sad?
  6353. &lt;br&gt;
  6354. No.
  6355. &lt;br&gt;
  6356. It’s all you.
  6357. &lt;br&gt;
  6358. Nothing is good or bad.
  6359. &lt;br&gt;
  6360. You just reacted as if it was.
  6361. &lt;br&gt;
  6362. When something bad happens, ask, “What’s great about this?”
  6363. &lt;br&gt;
  6364. Instead of changing the world, just change your reactions.
  6365. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6366. When something happens, don’t interpret.
  6367. &lt;br&gt;
  6368. No story, no “should have”, no judgment, not even an opinion.
  6369. &lt;br&gt;
  6370. This is seeing clearly.
  6371. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6372. Your goal is grateful indifference.
  6373. &lt;br&gt;
  6374. Win the lottery?
  6375. &lt;br&gt;
  6376. Go to jail?
  6377. &lt;br&gt;
  6378. Get famous?
  6379. &lt;br&gt;
  6380. Go blind in an accident?
  6381. &lt;br&gt;
  6382. It doesn’t matter because you’re fine either way.
  6383. &lt;br&gt;
  6384. Detach from the outcome and be OK no matter what happens.
  6385. &lt;/p&gt;
  6386. &lt;hr&gt;
  6387. &lt;p&gt;
  6388. My neighbor has a dog that attacks strangers and has even bitten a child.
  6389. &lt;br&gt;
  6390. When people complain, my neighbor says he can’t help it.
  6391. &lt;br&gt;
  6392. “Dogs will be dogs.”
  6393. &lt;br&gt;
  6394. Wrong!
  6395. &lt;br&gt;
  6396. Dogs can be tamed.
  6397. &lt;br&gt;
  6398. He just never trained his dog.
  6399. &lt;br&gt;
  6400. Instead he acts like the situation is hopeless, and makes it everyone else’s problem.
  6401. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6402. This is how most people are about their emotions.
  6403. &lt;br&gt;
  6404. They say, “I can’t help the way I feel.”
  6405. &lt;br&gt;
  6406. Wrong!
  6407. &lt;br&gt;
  6408. Emotions can be tamed.
  6409. &lt;br&gt;
  6410. You are in control.
  6411. &lt;br&gt;
  6412. The problem comes from going easy on yourself.
  6413. &lt;br&gt;
  6414. Instead, train your emotions like you would a dog.
  6415. &lt;/p&gt;
  6416. &lt;hr&gt;
  6417. &lt;p&gt;
  6418. Shallow happy is having a donut.
  6419. &lt;br&gt;
  6420. Deep happy is having a fit body.
  6421. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6422. Shallow happy is what you want now.
  6423. &lt;br&gt;
  6424. Deep happy is what you want most.
  6425. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6426. Shallow happy serves the present.
  6427. &lt;br&gt;
  6428. Deep happy serves the future.
  6429. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6430. Shallow happy is trying to conquer the world.
  6431. &lt;br&gt;
  6432. Deep happy is conquering yourself.
  6433. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6434. Shallow happy is pursuing pleasure.
  6435. &lt;br&gt;
  6436. Deep happy is pursuing fulfillment.
  6437. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6438. Fulfillment is more fun than fun.
  6439. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6440. Visit your favorite places.
  6441. &lt;br&gt;
  6442. Listen to your favorite music.
  6443. &lt;br&gt;
  6444. Taste your favorite food.
  6445. &lt;br&gt;
  6446. Touch your favorite people.
  6447. &lt;br&gt;
  6448. This might be the last time you do all these things, so appreciate each moment fully.
  6449. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6450. All of this appreciation is practice for death.
  6451. &lt;br&gt;
  6452. When death comes, you’ll treat it with the same indifference as everything else.
  6453. &lt;br&gt;
  6454. You’ve been preparing for it all along.
  6455. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  6456.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl18</id>
  6457.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl18"/>
  6458.    <title>Here’s how to live: Prepare for the worst.</title>
  6459.    <updated>2021-12-18T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  6460.    <dc:date>2021-12-18T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  6461.  </entry>
  6462.  <entry>
  6463.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  6464. A gorilla, speaking with sign language, makes a joke.
  6465. &lt;br&gt;
  6466. We’re amazed.
  6467. &lt;br&gt;
  6468. She’s showing the fullest expression of a soul.
  6469. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6470. But when a person is humorless, it’s the opposite.
  6471. &lt;br&gt;
  6472. They’ve lost the point of life.
  6473. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6474. A recovering hospital patient makes a joke.
  6475. &lt;br&gt;
  6476. We’re relieved.
  6477. &lt;br&gt;
  6478. Not just their body, but their soul is alive.
  6479. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6480. But when a previously jovial patient loses their humor, we’re rightfully concerned.
  6481. &lt;br&gt;
  6482. They’re losing the spark of life.
  6483. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6484. What does this tell us?
  6485. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6486. Humor is the spirit of life — a sign of a healthy, vibrant mind and soul.
  6487. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6488. Humor means using your mind beyond necessity, beyond reality, for both noticing and imagining.
  6489. &lt;br&gt;
  6490. That’s why we admire a quick wit.
  6491. &lt;br&gt;
  6492. It shows you quickly looked at something from many angles, found the one that amused you the most, and considerately expressed it to someone else.
  6493. &lt;br&gt;
  6494. Observation, creativity, and empathy, all in an instant.
  6495. &lt;br&gt;
  6496. What could be a better sign of a healthy mind?
  6497. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6498. Think of any action movie where the hero thinks he’s got the villain trapped, but then the villain starts laughing.
  6499. &lt;br&gt;
  6500. Laughing?
  6501. &lt;br&gt;
  6502. What does he know that we don’t?
  6503. &lt;br&gt;
  6504. What unseen advantage would make him laugh when he seems to be at an end?
  6505. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6506. To laugh at something is to be superior to it.
  6507. &lt;br&gt;
  6508. Humor shows internal control.
  6509. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6510. Think of the comic heroes, like Charlie Chaplin, Jackie Chan, Jim Carrey, Kung Fu Panda, or Roberto Benigni in “Life Is Beautiful”.
  6511. &lt;br&gt;
  6512. They win by being playful, creative, adaptive, irreverent, and unbound by norms.
  6513. &lt;br&gt;
  6514. Those who take life too seriously are the opposite, and at a disadvantage.
  6515. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6516. No matter what you need to do, there’s a playful, creative way to do it.
  6517. &lt;br&gt;
  6518. Playing gives you personal autonomy and power.
  6519. &lt;br&gt;
  6520. When kids play make-believe, anything goes.
  6521. &lt;br&gt;
  6522. To play is to be free from constraints.
  6523. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6524. You can make light of anything.
  6525. &lt;br&gt;
  6526. Respond to life’s events however you want.
  6527. &lt;br&gt;
  6528. Nothing has to get you down.
  6529. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6530. A bad situation can feel all-consuming.
  6531. &lt;br&gt;
  6532. A laugh shows you’ve escaped.
  6533. &lt;br&gt;
  6534. Humor puts distance between an event and yourself.
  6535. &lt;br&gt;
  6536. Comedy is tragedy plus time.
  6537. &lt;br&gt;
  6538. Time belittles anything by showing it’s not as bad as it seemed.
  6539. &lt;br&gt;
  6540. Humor does that instantly.
  6541. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6542. Someone says life is hard.
  6543. &lt;br&gt;
  6544. The comedian says, “Compared to what?”
  6545. &lt;br&gt;
  6546. Comedians are philosophers.
  6547. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6548. Humor helps you see the familiar from a surprising new perspective.
  6549. &lt;br&gt;
  6550. It reminds you that there is no grand truth.
  6551. &lt;br&gt;
  6552. Any belief can be up-ended.
  6553. &lt;br&gt;
  6554. Every belief can be mocked.
  6555. &lt;br&gt;
  6556. Nobody knows anything.
  6557. &lt;br&gt;
  6558. See?
  6559. &lt;br&gt;
  6560. Laughing is subversive.
  6561. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6562. Comedy doesn’t care what’s true, and neither should you.
  6563. &lt;br&gt;
  6564. Whatever makes you happy is what works.
  6565. &lt;br&gt;
  6566. Humor transcends reason.
  6567. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6568. Life is meaningless.
  6569. &lt;br&gt;
  6570. That’s what’s funny.
  6571. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6572. Besides, it makes you very appealing.
  6573. &lt;br&gt;
  6574. Everyone wants to be with someone who’s having more fun.
  6575. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6576. At every moment in life, choose whatever action or angle amuses you.
  6577. &lt;br&gt;
  6578. Laughing at life is how to live.
  6579. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  6580.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl17</id>
  6581.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl17"/>
  6582.    <title>Here’s how to live: Laugh at life.</title>
  6583.    <updated>2021-12-17T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  6584.    <dc:date>2021-12-17T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  6585.  </entry>
  6586.  <entry>
  6587.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  6588. You know what your great book is.
  6589. &lt;br&gt;
  6590. Whether the Bible, Tanakh, Upanishads, Quran, Think and Grow Rich, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, or another, follow it diligently.
  6591. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6592. Your book is wiser than you.
  6593. &lt;br&gt;
  6594. It’s describing natural law — the way our world works.
  6595. &lt;br&gt;
  6596. It’s not just someone’s opinion.
  6597. &lt;br&gt;
  6598. It has the definitive answers to the choices you’re confronted with each day.
  6599. &lt;br&gt;
  6600. Don’t think you know better.
  6601. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6602. People say they want to make their own decisions.
  6603. &lt;br&gt;
  6604. But imagine that you have a life-or-death medical situation, so you rush to the doctor, and the doctor says, “There are hundreds of different approaches we could take. You decide. It’s up to you.”
  6605. &lt;br&gt;
  6606. You would say, “No! You’re the doctor. You’re the expert. You know best. You decide. Tell me what to do.”
  6607. &lt;br&gt;
  6608. Your book is the expert on how to live.
  6609. &lt;br&gt;
  6610. It’s helped millions of people.
  6611. &lt;br&gt;
  6612. Defer to its wisdom.
  6613. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6614. Your book was meant for people exactly like you.
  6615. &lt;br&gt;
  6616. You’re not an exception to humanity.
  6617. &lt;br&gt;
  6618. Its rules apply to you.
  6619. &lt;br&gt;
  6620. It guides you on a good life.
  6621. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6622. If your book is ancient, you may think it’s not enough since it doesn’t mention modern life.
  6623. &lt;br&gt;
  6624. But nothing is truly new.
  6625. &lt;br&gt;
  6626. Morals seem like they’ve changed in recent history.
  6627. &lt;br&gt;
  6628. But really, morals haven’t changed in longer history.
  6629. &lt;br&gt;
  6630. If you update the language and some references, books written thousands of years ago sound like they could have been written today.
  6631. &lt;br&gt;
  6632. The human condition remains the same.
  6633. &lt;br&gt;
  6634. Your book has all the wisdom you need.
  6635. &lt;br&gt;
  6636. Read metaphorically, and apply it to your modern life.
  6637. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6638. You don’t lack direction.
  6639. &lt;br&gt;
  6640. You have too many directions.
  6641. &lt;br&gt;
  6642. An open mind, like an open mouth, needs to eventually close on something.
  6643. &lt;br&gt;
  6644. Stop swerving and chasing new leaders.
  6645. &lt;br&gt;
  6646. Stay on a single steady path.
  6647. &lt;br&gt;
  6648. Following your book is how to live.
  6649. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6650. First, make a “born again” split.
  6651. &lt;br&gt;
  6652. Let go of your old identity.
  6653. &lt;br&gt;
  6654. Let your new self be incongruent with your old self.
  6655. &lt;br&gt;
  6656. Let your friends and family know that you’ve changed.
  6657. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6658. Bring your book with you everywhere as a constant reminder and reference.
  6659. &lt;br&gt;
  6660. Refer to its rules in every situation, every day.
  6661. &lt;br&gt;
  6662. Memorize its crucial sentences.
  6663. &lt;br&gt;
  6664. Keep them at the forefront of your mind.
  6665. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6666. Following rules is smart.
  6667. &lt;br&gt;
  6668. It’s efficient.
  6669. &lt;br&gt;
  6670. You don’t need to stop and re-think every situation.
  6671. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6672. “Follow your passion” is terrible advice.
  6673. &lt;br&gt;
  6674. Fleeting interests are a bad compass.
  6675. &lt;br&gt;
  6676. Passions pass so quickly that to follow them would have you dashing around like a dog chasing bubbles.
  6677. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6678. Don’t follow your heart.
  6679. &lt;br&gt;
  6680. Your heart has been hacked.
  6681. &lt;br&gt;
  6682. Your intuition is usually wrong because it’s just emotion, subliminally influenced by amoral inputs.
  6683. &lt;br&gt;
  6684. Emotions are a wild animal.
  6685. &lt;br&gt;
  6686. You need rules to tame them.
  6687. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6688. Rules give you freedom from your desires.
  6689. &lt;br&gt;
  6690. When you rise above your instincts, you still feel them but no longer do what they say.
  6691. &lt;br&gt;
  6692. Following your emotions is not freedom.
  6693. &lt;br&gt;
  6694. Being free from following emotions is freedom.
  6695. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6696. When you stop following emotions, and just do what’s right, then you’ll finally get what you always wanted.
  6697. &lt;br&gt;
  6698. It was the emotions that were distracting you all along.
  6699. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6700. So what’s the right thing to do?
  6701. &lt;br&gt;
  6702. An action with good results?
  6703. &lt;br&gt;
  6704. An action that feels good?
  6705. &lt;br&gt;
  6706. No.
  6707. &lt;br&gt;
  6708. The action prescribed by your book.
  6709. &lt;br&gt;
  6710. No need to judge or decide.
  6711. &lt;br&gt;
  6712. Just follow the rules and trust the path.
  6713. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6714. Rules must be absolutely unbreakable.
  6715. &lt;br&gt;
  6716. If you try to decide, each time, whether it’s OK to break the rule or not, then you’ve missed the whole point of rules.
  6717. &lt;br&gt;
  6718. Rules are to save you from deciding.
  6719. &lt;br&gt;
  6720. That’s why hard rules are easier to keep.
  6721. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6722. Discipline turns intentions into action.
  6723. &lt;br&gt;
  6724. Discipline means no procrastination.
  6725. &lt;br&gt;
  6726. Discipline means now.
  6727. &lt;br&gt;
  6728. Choose the pain of discipline, not the pain of regret.
  6729. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6730. An undisciplined moment seems harmless, but they add up to disaster.
  6731. &lt;br&gt;
  6732. Without discipline, the tiny things in life will be your downfall.
  6733. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6734. Self-control is always rewarding.
  6735. &lt;br&gt;
  6736. Self-control is always the right thing to do.
  6737. &lt;br&gt;
  6738. This is a universal law.
  6739. &lt;br&gt;
  6740. Your self-control is highest in the morning and diminishes during the day, so review your book’s rules every afternoon.
  6741. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6742. Physical discipline helps mental discipline.
  6743. &lt;br&gt;
  6744. Align your outer self with your inner self.
  6745. &lt;br&gt;
  6746. Cleaning your house helps clean your mind.
  6747. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6748. Discipline gets you to your destination.
  6749. &lt;br&gt;
  6750. Without it, you’re led astray by everyone else.
  6751. &lt;br&gt;
  6752. If you don’t obey your constraints, persuasive people and technology will pull you their way.
  6753. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6754. People beg you to bend your rules to fit their agenda.
  6755. &lt;br&gt;
  6756. So blame your book when you refuse.
  6757. &lt;br&gt;
  6758. Saying “the book says so” helps your burden of responsibility.
  6759. &lt;br&gt;
  6760. If someone challenges your choices or asks you to explain, just say “the book says so” and carry on without the exhausting debate.
  6761. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6762. Some people may surpass you by breaking the rules.
  6763. &lt;br&gt;
  6764. But remember: the miserable, broken, destitute people in the world are the other outcome of breaking the rules.
  6765. &lt;br&gt;
  6766. Many more fail than succeed.
  6767. &lt;br&gt;
  6768. Rules may keep you from some stupendous heights, but they will always keep you from falling too low.
  6769. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6770. Define a good life as more than shallow pleasure.
  6771. &lt;br&gt;
  6772. A good life is contribution.
  6773. &lt;br&gt;
  6774. A good life is resisting temptation.
  6775. &lt;br&gt;
  6776. A good life is being the best you can be.
  6777. &lt;br&gt;
  6778. A good life is diligently following your book.
  6779. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  6780.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl16</id>
  6781.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl16"/>
  6782.    <title>Here’s how to live: Follow the great book.</title>
  6783.    <updated>2021-12-16T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  6784.    <dc:date>2021-12-16T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  6785.  </entry>
  6786.  <entry>
  6787.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  6788. Learning is underrated.
  6789. &lt;br&gt;
  6790. People wonder why they’re not living their ideal life.
  6791. &lt;br&gt;
  6792. Maybe they never learned how.
  6793. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6794. You get healthy by learning healthy habits.
  6795. &lt;br&gt;
  6796. You get wealthy by learning valuable skills.
  6797. &lt;br&gt;
  6798. You build a great interpersonal life by learning people skills.
  6799. &lt;br&gt;
  6800. Most misery comes from not learning these things.
  6801. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6802. The biggest obstacle to learning is assuming you already know.
  6803. &lt;br&gt;
  6804. Confidence is usually ignorance.
  6805. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6806. Never consider yourself an expert.
  6807. &lt;br&gt;
  6808. It’s the strong swimmers who drown.
  6809. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6810. Don’t believe what you think.
  6811. &lt;br&gt;
  6812. Have questions, not answers.
  6813. &lt;br&gt;
  6814. Doubt everything.
  6815. &lt;br&gt;
  6816. The easiest person to fool is yourself.
  6817. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6818. Don’t answer a hard question too quickly.
  6819. &lt;br&gt;
  6820. Don’t stop at the first answer.
  6821. &lt;br&gt;
  6822. In mystery stories, the first suspect is not the culprit.
  6823. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6824. If you’re not embarrassed by what you thought last year, you need to learn more and faster.
  6825. &lt;br&gt;
  6826. When you’re really learning, you’ll feel stupid and vulnerable — like a hermit crab between shells.
  6827. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6828. Be surprised by something every day.
  6829. &lt;br&gt;
  6830. Find that exciting moment when you get a completely new perspective.
  6831. &lt;br&gt;
  6832. Like a movie that reveals something at the end which changes the way you think of everything you’ve seen before.
  6833. &lt;br&gt;
  6834. If you’re not having these moments often, find new inputs.
  6835. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6836. Whatever scares you, go do it.
  6837. &lt;br&gt;
  6838. Then it won’t scare you anymore.
  6839. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6840. Whatever you hate, get to know it.
  6841. &lt;br&gt;
  6842. Then you won’t hate it anymore.
  6843. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6844. Talk with people you usually avoid.
  6845. &lt;br&gt;
  6846. Pursue subjects you know nothing about, and experiences unlike anything you’ve done before.
  6847. &lt;br&gt;
  6848. If you’re not surprised — if you didn’t feel your brain changing — then you didn’t really learn.
  6849. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6850. Don’t be consistent with your past self.
  6851. &lt;br&gt;
  6852. Only idiots never change their mind.
  6853. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6854. Sacrifice the things you used to believe, and the ways you used to be.
  6855. &lt;br&gt;
  6856. Learning leaves a trail of little deaths.
  6857. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6858. Remember what you learn.
  6859. &lt;br&gt;
  6860. Know why you’re learning.
  6861. &lt;br&gt;
  6862. Information doesn’t stick without emotion.
  6863. &lt;br&gt;
  6864. You learn better when you’re having fun.
  6865. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6866. Take notes.
  6867. &lt;br&gt;
  6868. Review them often.
  6869. &lt;br&gt;
  6870. Make flash cards to remind your future self what you learned today.
  6871. &lt;br&gt;
  6872. Quiz yourself with spaced repetition.
  6873. &lt;br&gt;
  6874. Knowledge fades and eventually disappears unless you keep it refreshed.
  6875. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6876. Internalize it.
  6877. &lt;br&gt;
  6878. Don’t expect to just look it up when you need it.
  6879. &lt;br&gt;
  6880. Integrate it into how you think.
  6881. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6882. Get out of your room and try out a new skill in the real world.
  6883. &lt;br&gt;
  6884. Go to the physical place where it’s happening, and put your ass on the line with something to lose.
  6885. &lt;br&gt;
  6886. A vivid, visceral feeling of danger will teach you better than words.
  6887. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6888. Knowledge is often described simply — “in a nutshell”.
  6889. &lt;br&gt;
  6890. But the inside of a nutshell is complex.
  6891. &lt;br&gt;
  6892. So crack open nutshells to understand them better.
  6893. &lt;br&gt;
  6894. Put concepts in a nutshell to keep them in your pocket and pass them around.
  6895. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6896. Communicate knowledge to others to make sure you understand.
  6897. &lt;br&gt;
  6898. Don’t quote.
  6899. &lt;br&gt;
  6900. Put it in your own words without looking up or referencing what others said.
  6901. &lt;br&gt;
  6902. If you can’t explain it yourself, you don’t know it.
  6903. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6904. To communicate clearly, you have to think clearly.
  6905. &lt;br&gt;
  6906. Writing is refined thinking.
  6907. &lt;br&gt;
  6908. Public speaking tests your writing on a real audience.
  6909. &lt;br&gt;
  6910. Great public speaking comes from great private thinking.
  6911. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6912. Teaching and learning are telepathy.
  6913. &lt;br&gt;
  6914. We can connect across oceans and centuries.
  6915. &lt;br&gt;
  6916. Words written by someone long ago and far away can penetrate your mind.
  6917. &lt;br&gt;
  6918. Share what you learn so it can be received by others, even when you are long gone.
  6919. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6920. Learning makes you a better person and makes the world a better place.
  6921. &lt;br&gt;
  6922. Learning is a pursuit you can’t lose.
  6923. &lt;br&gt;
  6924. As you age, you’ll lose muscle and beauty, but you won’t lose your wisdom.
  6925. &lt;br&gt;
  6926. Learning is how to live.
  6927. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  6928.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl15</id>
  6929.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl15"/>
  6930.    <title>Here’s how to live: Learn.</title>
  6931.    <updated>2021-12-15T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  6932.    <dc:date>2021-12-15T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  6933.  </entry>
  6934.  <entry>
  6935.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  6936. The longer something lasts, the longer it will probably last.
  6937. &lt;br&gt;
  6938. Something that’s been around for a year will probably be around for another year.
  6939. &lt;br&gt;
  6940. Something that’s been around for fifty years will probably be around for another fifty years.
  6941. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6942. Only the strong survive, so what’s still here after decades is proven to be well-made and well-loved.
  6943. &lt;br&gt;
  6944. The longer something lasts, the more people know and depend on it, solidifying its place in our world.
  6945. &lt;br&gt;
  6946. Only these proven things are worth your time and attention.
  6947. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6948. Think back to ten years ago.
  6949. &lt;br&gt;
  6950. Remember the technologies that the media were hyping as the future?
  6951. &lt;br&gt;
  6952. How many lasted?
  6953. &lt;br&gt;
  6954. It’s hard to remember because we haven’t heard of most of them since then.
  6955. &lt;br&gt;
  6956. They didn’t stand the test of time.
  6957. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6958. Old technologies aren’t exciting because they aren’t changing as fast.
  6959. &lt;br&gt;
  6960. But they’re more important.
  6961. &lt;br&gt;
  6962. Cryptocurrency versus water filtration.
  6963. &lt;br&gt;
  6964. Virtual reality versus air conditioning.
  6965. &lt;br&gt;
  6966. Which gets more media attention?
  6967. &lt;br&gt;
  6968. Which is more important?
  6969. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6970. The media focuses on what’s new, because that’s what pays.
  6971. &lt;br&gt;
  6972. Their attention makes new things seem important.
  6973. &lt;br&gt;
  6974. But only time will tell.
  6975. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6976. New things have some benefits but deeper downsides like addiction, pollution, scattered focus, or wasted time.
  6977. &lt;br&gt;
  6978. The marketing shouts the benefits and hides the harm.
  6979. &lt;br&gt;
  6980. But the benefits rarely outweigh the downsides.
  6981. &lt;br&gt;
  6982. Only time will tell.
  6983. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6984. The pleasure of buying a new thing disappears in days, even hours.
  6985. &lt;br&gt;
  6986. So much misery comes from indulgences in current junk.
  6987. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6988. So the way to live is to ignore everything new.
  6989. &lt;br&gt;
  6990. All of it.
  6991. &lt;br&gt;
  6992. Let the test of time filter everything.
  6993. &lt;br&gt;
  6994. Value only what has endured.
  6995. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  6996. Ignore all marketing and advertising.
  6997. &lt;br&gt;
  6998. Nobody is pushing what really matters.
  6999. &lt;br&gt;
  7000. Friendships, nature, family, learning, community.
  7001. &lt;br&gt;
  7002. The best things in life aren’t things.
  7003. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7004. Ignore all news.
  7005. &lt;br&gt;
  7006. If it’s important, there will eventually be a good book about it.
  7007. &lt;br&gt;
  7008. When people ask you about current news, proudly have no opinion.
  7009. &lt;br&gt;
  7010. Admit you’ve given it no thought at all — and don’t plan to — because it’s not important.
  7011. &lt;br&gt;
  7012. Indulging is common.
  7013. &lt;br&gt;
  7014. Refraining is rare.
  7015. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7016. The world of news is noisy, because they have to hype it.
  7017. &lt;br&gt;
  7018. They try to get you to pay attention to something that’s not actually important.
  7019. &lt;br&gt;
  7020. They create a false sense of urgency, social status, fear, shock, or any tricks possible to manipulate your psychological triggers, and ultimately help them profit.
  7021. &lt;br&gt;
  7022. By contrast, the truly important things are quiet.
  7023. &lt;br&gt;
  7024. Life is incredibly peaceful when you shut out the noise.
  7025. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7026. The modern life is shallow and distracted.
  7027. &lt;br&gt;
  7028. The timeless life is deep and focused.
  7029. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7030. Live in the past.
  7031. &lt;br&gt;
  7032. Watch the greatest movies of all time.
  7033. &lt;br&gt;
  7034. Read the classics.
  7035. &lt;br&gt;
  7036. Listen to the legends.
  7037. &lt;br&gt;
  7038. These things have lasted because they work so well.
  7039. &lt;br&gt;
  7040. Time is the best filter.
  7041. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7042. What technologies have the best future?
  7043. &lt;br&gt;
  7044. The ones with the best past.
  7045. &lt;br&gt;
  7046. Be the last to adopt a technology, after it’s cheaper, better, and no longer changing.
  7047. &lt;br&gt;
  7048. Pity the early adopters, exploring the pitfalls, like the first mouse caught in the mousetrap.
  7049. &lt;br&gt;
  7050. Technology advances faster than wisdom.
  7051. &lt;br&gt;
  7052. It’s smarter to move at wisdom’s pace.
  7053. &lt;br&gt;
  7054. Don’t buy a bandage unless you have a wound.
  7055. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7056. When you need a coat, table, or house, find one old and used.
  7057. &lt;br&gt;
  7058. They’re incredibly well-crafted — sturdier and more beautiful than anything new.
  7059. &lt;br&gt;
  7060. They’ll outlive you.
  7061. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7062. Before trying to improve something old, find out why it is the way it is.
  7063. &lt;br&gt;
  7064. Never assume people in the past were ignorant.
  7065. &lt;br&gt;
  7066. They did it that way for good reasons.
  7067. &lt;br&gt;
  7068. Study the past — understand Chesterton’s fence — before thinking you know better.
  7069. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7070. Study history, tradition, and culture.
  7071. &lt;br&gt;
  7072. Get to know places that haven’t been homogenized by globalization.
  7073. &lt;br&gt;
  7074. When a person loses their memory, they lose their sanity.
  7075. &lt;br&gt;
  7076. When a culture loses its traditions, it loses its sanity too.
  7077. &lt;br&gt;
  7078. The world is acting crazy because it doesn’t know who it is anymore.
  7079. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7080. Move to a small self-sufficient town that has resisted modernization — ideally an untouched place that hasn’t changed in a hundred years, and won’t change in a hundred more.
  7081. &lt;br&gt;
  7082. Spend time outside.
  7083. &lt;br&gt;
  7084. Find happiness and perspective in nature.
  7085. &lt;br&gt;
  7086. It reminds you that you don’t need anything the modern world is pushing.
  7087. &lt;br&gt;
  7088. Everything they’re shouting about will soon be gone.
  7089. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7090. Learn time-tested skills that were just as useful in your grandparents’ time as they are today.
  7091. &lt;br&gt;
  7092. Speaking, writing, gardening, accounting, persuasion, and survival skills.
  7093. &lt;br&gt;
  7094. These skills have hardly changed in a century.
  7095. &lt;br&gt;
  7096. They’re unlikely to change in your lifetime.
  7097. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7098. Master the fundamentals, not new tricks.
  7099. &lt;br&gt;
  7100. Learn the timeless aspects of your craft.
  7101. &lt;br&gt;
  7102. This knowledge will never lose its value.
  7103. &lt;br&gt;
  7104. In any given field, learn the oldest thing still around, since it’s the one most likely to last.
  7105. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7106. Become a geologist.
  7107. &lt;br&gt;
  7108. You’ll measure things in millions of years.
  7109. &lt;br&gt;
  7110. Your timeline will be so long that mountains seem fluid.
  7111. &lt;br&gt;
  7112. The whole modern world will seem like a sandcastle, built and washed away in a single day.
  7113. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7114. And so, by ignoring the new, you will improve your life in every way.
  7115. &lt;br&gt;
  7116. Better investment of your time.
  7117. &lt;br&gt;
  7118. Better peace of mind.
  7119. &lt;br&gt;
  7120. Better quality items and entertainment.
  7121. &lt;br&gt;
  7122. Better skill set.
  7123. &lt;br&gt;
  7124. Better perspective.
  7125. &lt;br&gt;
  7126. Better everything.
  7127. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7128. The best way to live is to value only what has endured.
  7129. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  7130.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl14</id>
  7131.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl14"/>
  7132.    <title>Here’s how to live: Value only what has endured.</title>
  7133.    <updated>2021-12-14T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  7134.    <dc:date>2021-12-14T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  7135.  </entry>
  7136.  <entry>
  7137.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  7138. Live in the world of tomorrow.
  7139. &lt;br&gt;
  7140. Surround yourself only with what’s brand new and upcoming.
  7141. &lt;br&gt;
  7142. That’s where life is made.
  7143. &lt;br&gt;
  7144. It’s the most optimistic environment, full of hope and promises.
  7145. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7146. It’s the smartest way to live.
  7147. &lt;br&gt;
  7148. You’re moving forward in time, so you should watch where you’re headed.
  7149. &lt;br&gt;
  7150. Go where things are going.
  7151. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7152. It’s the most exciting way to live.
  7153. &lt;br&gt;
  7154. Every day will be like a child’s birthday, with surprising new breakthroughs.
  7155. &lt;br&gt;
  7156. It keeps your brain healthy, young, and active.
  7157. &lt;br&gt;
  7158. Since everything will always be new, you won’t rely on assumptions or habits.
  7159. &lt;br&gt;
  7160. You’ll pay full attention and keep learning every day.
  7161. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7162. Move to South Korea, and keep an apartment in Songdo, Incheon.
  7163. &lt;br&gt;
  7164. South Korean culture places the highest value on what’s new.
  7165. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7166. Work as a futurist and technology journalist.
  7167. &lt;br&gt;
  7168. Stay on the cutting edge of things so new they barely exist.
  7169. &lt;br&gt;
  7170. Every new invention will come to you first, before the world has heard of it.
  7171. &lt;br&gt;
  7172. Learn the basics of every field, so you can understand new innovations in logistics or chemistry or anything else.
  7173. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7174. Listen only to new music.
  7175. &lt;br&gt;
  7176. Watch only new shows.
  7177. &lt;br&gt;
  7178. Use only the newest media.
  7179. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7180. Give away everything you haven’t used in a week.
  7181. &lt;br&gt;
  7182. Ownership binds you to the past.
  7183. &lt;br&gt;
  7184. Don’t get invested in any one thing.
  7185. &lt;br&gt;
  7186. Stay immersed only in what’s coming next.
  7187. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7188. Spend your social time meeting new people.
  7189. &lt;br&gt;
  7190. You’re not the same person you were last year or even last week.
  7191. &lt;br&gt;
  7192. Old friends and family see you as you used to be, and unintentionally discourage your growth.
  7193. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7194. Replace your personal daily routines.
  7195. &lt;br&gt;
  7196. When something becomes a habit, quit.
  7197. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7198. Every month, visit China.
  7199. &lt;br&gt;
  7200. Everything there changes so fast that if you miss more than a month, you’ll be out of touch.
  7201. &lt;br&gt;
  7202. Every year, visit Singapore, Jakarta, Addis Ababa, Lagos, Mumbai, Ho Chi Minh City, and Silicon Valley.
  7203. &lt;br&gt;
  7204. Each is creating the future in very different ways.
  7205. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7206. When a new country declares independence, go immediately.
  7207. &lt;br&gt;
  7208. All conversations there will be focused on the future.
  7209. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7210. Avoid Europe and anywhere that lives in the past.
  7211. &lt;br&gt;
  7212. Places that resist change have no vision, only memories.
  7213. &lt;br&gt;
  7214. Yesterday is gone for good.
  7215. &lt;br&gt;
  7216. The past is dead.
  7217. &lt;br&gt;
  7218. Resurrecting it makes ghosts and zombies.
  7219. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7220. Avoid religion because faith is not meant to be questioned.
  7221. &lt;br&gt;
  7222. Tradition is the opposite of what you want.
  7223. &lt;br&gt;
  7224. Nothing worshipped will change.
  7225. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7226. Oppose convention because that’s how things were.
  7227. &lt;br&gt;
  7228. Slavery was a convention.
  7229. &lt;br&gt;
  7230. Human sacrifice was a convention.
  7231. &lt;br&gt;
  7232. Denying human rights to women was a convention.
  7233. &lt;br&gt;
  7234. Some day our current conventions will seem as wrong as these.
  7235. &lt;br&gt;
  7236. Since you live in the future, start condemning them now.
  7237. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7238. The best benefit of living this way is how you cut all ties and never look back.
  7239. &lt;br&gt;
  7240. Every day will be like amnesia.
  7241. &lt;br&gt;
  7242. Whatever traumatic thing might have happened in your past, it no longer defines you.
  7243. &lt;br&gt;
  7244. In your world, the past has no power at all.
  7245. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7246. Chasing the future is how to live.
  7247. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  7248.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl13</id>
  7249.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl13"/>
  7250.    <title>Here’s how to live: Chase the future.</title>
  7251.    <updated>2021-12-13T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  7252.    <dc:date>2021-12-13T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  7253.  </entry>
  7254.  <entry>
  7255.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  7256. Nobody had ever run a mile in under four minutes.
  7257. &lt;br&gt;
  7258. It seemed impossible.
  7259. &lt;br&gt;
  7260. But one day, Roger Bannister did it, and the news spread worldwide.
  7261. &lt;br&gt;
  7262. Over the next two years, thirty-seven people also did it.
  7263. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7264. This is the power of the pioneer:
  7265. &lt;br&gt;
  7266. To enable the impossible.
  7267. &lt;br&gt;
  7268. To open a new world of possibility.
  7269. &lt;br&gt;
  7270. To show others that they can do it too, and take it even further.
  7271. &lt;br&gt;
  7272. Explorers used to find unknown lands and bring back stories of unfamiliar cultures, which encouraged others to go exploring.
  7273. &lt;br&gt;
  7274. The old finish line becomes the new starting line.
  7275. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7276. Debussy, Charlie Parker, Jimi Hendrix, and Rakim pioneered new approaches to music.
  7277. &lt;br&gt;
  7278. Rosa Parks, Harvey Milk, Sally Ride, and Malala Yousafzai broke the glass ceiling, encouraging others to rise.
  7279. &lt;br&gt;
  7280. Modern explorers like Tim Ferriss, Neil Strauss, and A.J. Jacobs, instead of finding unknown lands, are finding unknown lifestyles.
  7281. &lt;br&gt;
  7282. Each of them shows new possibilities for the rest of us.
  7283. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7284. These pioneers were valuable because they got famous.
  7285. &lt;br&gt;
  7286. If someone else innovated in obscurity, they didn’t make an impact.
  7287. &lt;br&gt;
  7288. Marco Polo wasn’t the first European to reach China, but he was the first to write a book about it.
  7289. Then his book inspired Christopher Columbus, and so on.
  7290. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7291. Millions of young adults today are living a life their grandparents didn’t know was possible.
  7292. &lt;br&gt;
  7293. They have more options, thanks to the brave adventures of a few people who broke through boundaries.
  7294. &lt;br&gt;
  7295. Pioneers have a massive impact on the world because their stories help people do things they wouldn’t have dreamed of otherwise.
  7296. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7297. A famous pioneer does more for human progress than a billion others who live a normal life.
  7298. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7299. So if you want to help humanity while having the most exciting life, then the way to live is to be a famous pioneer.
  7300. &lt;br&gt;
  7301. Go to new extremes.
  7302. &lt;br&gt;
  7303. Try new ideas.
  7304. &lt;br&gt;
  7305. Visit undiscovered cultures.
  7306. &lt;br&gt;
  7307. Show what can be done.
  7308. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7309. Your job is not just to act, but to tell a fascinating story of how you did so, and inspire others to do it.
  7310. &lt;br&gt;
  7311. Make great adventures, but tell greater stories.
  7312. &lt;br&gt;
  7313. Pursue massive media attention, not for vanity or ego, but so your stories can open minds, spark imaginations, and lead to further explorations.
  7314. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7315. Here’s the best way to do it:
  7316. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7317. First, make a stage name.
  7318. &lt;br&gt;
  7319. Create a company with the same name, and have it own all the rights to everything you do.
  7320. &lt;br&gt;
  7321. Never reveal your real name.
  7322. &lt;br&gt;
  7323. This is to manage the trappings of your upcoming fame.
  7324. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7325. Find a writer and a publicist to create your first pioneering adventure.
  7326. &lt;br&gt;
  7327. Collaborate with the writer to make a great story arc before you begin.
  7328. &lt;br&gt;
  7329. So, for example, it’s not just a story of how you escaped a cult, but how you joined the cult, uncovered a surprising history, fell in love, were almost discovered and captured, then escaped by changing the mind of your captor, and finally learned some interesting counter-intuitive lessons along the way.
  7330. &lt;br&gt;
  7331. Consult with the publicist to make sure it’s interesting to the media.
  7332. &lt;br&gt;
  7333. Then begin.
  7334. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7335. Record everything on video.
  7336. &lt;br&gt;
  7337. Find ways to make the story arc happen in real life.
  7338. &lt;br&gt;
  7339. When you’re done, have your writer make it a fascinating story of various lengths for various outlets — making it a great article, book, video, screenplay, stage talk, and more.
  7340. &lt;br&gt;
  7341. Have the publicist get it everywhere — on every popular platform of the day.
  7342. &lt;br&gt;
  7343. Hire a business manager to turn the attention into profit.
  7344. &lt;br&gt;
  7345. Keep half of your profits in the business, and put half into your private savings.
  7346. &lt;br&gt;
  7347. While your team is promoting your last adventure, you and your writer prepare the next one.
  7348. &lt;br&gt;
  7349. Once fame hits, your biggest challenge is to keep creating — to keep momentum.
  7350. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7351. Repeat this process as long as you’d like.
  7352. &lt;br&gt;
  7353. Your fame will open new doors, making it possible to do even more incredible things.
  7354. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7355. So how does it end?
  7356. &lt;br&gt;
  7357. One of two ways:
  7358. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7359. If this life is really your destiny, do it until it kills you.
  7360. &lt;br&gt;
  7361. Always pushing to see how far you can go, if you die during an adventure, you’ll die happy, knowing you pushed it as far as you could.
  7362. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7363. But if you start feeling you’ve had enough, then write the ending.
  7364. &lt;br&gt;
  7365. Build the death of your public persona into your last story.
  7366. &lt;br&gt;
  7367. Since you’re famous, this will take some planning.
  7368. &lt;br&gt;
  7369. This is why you used a stage name and company from the start.
  7370. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7371. Secretly buy a house under your real name in a mundane place nobody would expect you to be.
  7372. &lt;br&gt;
  7373. Buy some second-hand clothes and practice changing your appearance and voice.
  7374. &lt;br&gt;
  7375. Make sure your company is in good hands, run by a team you trust.
  7376. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7377. Then, when the filming of your final story is done, rent a boat and disappear near the ocean, letting everyone think you died.
  7378. &lt;br&gt;
  7379. Escape anonymously into your new life.
  7380. &lt;br&gt;
  7381. Since your private company owns the rights, it can license your stories, shows, books, and more for years to come, funding your anonymous life.
  7382. &lt;br&gt;
  7383. A benefit of fame is that it carries on without you.
  7384. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7385. As you watch the world in the following decades, be glad if many people surpass you and belittle your pioneering adventures.
  7386. &lt;br&gt;
  7387. Your final act of generosity is your absence.
  7388. &lt;br&gt;
  7389. It leaves a void for others to step into.
  7390. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  7391.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl12</id>
  7392.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl12"/>
  7393.    <title>Here’s how to live: Be a famous pioneer.</title>
  7394.    <updated>2021-12-12T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  7395.    <dc:date>2021-12-12T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  7396.  </entry>
  7397.  <entry>
  7398.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  7399. The past?
  7400. &lt;br&gt;
  7401. That’s what we call our memories.
  7402. &lt;br&gt;
  7403. The future?
  7404. &lt;br&gt;
  7405. That’s what we call our imagination.
  7406. &lt;br&gt;
  7407. Neither exists outside of your mind.
  7408. &lt;br&gt;
  7409. The only real time is this moment.
  7410. &lt;br&gt;
  7411. So live accordingly.
  7412. &lt;br&gt;
  7413. Whatever benefits you right now is the right choice.
  7414. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7415. You know immediately whether you like something or not.
  7416. &lt;br&gt;
  7417. But if someone asks why, you start making up reasons.
  7418. &lt;br&gt;
  7419. The truth is you like it or you don’t.
  7420. &lt;br&gt;
  7421. That’s it.
  7422. &lt;br&gt;
  7423. That’s life.
  7424. &lt;br&gt;
  7425. Do whatever you like.
  7426. &lt;br&gt;
  7427. You don’t need explanations.
  7428. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7429. When people ask the meaning of life, they’re looking for a story.
  7430. &lt;br&gt;
  7431. But there is no story.
  7432. &lt;br&gt;
  7433. Life is a billion little moments.
  7434. &lt;br&gt;
  7435. They’re not a part of anything.
  7436. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7437. People think they’ll do something later.
  7438. &lt;br&gt;
  7439. They think they’ll have more time in the future than they do today, as if later is a magical time when everything will happen.
  7440. &lt;br&gt;
  7441. Forget the whole notion of the future.
  7442. &lt;br&gt;
  7443. There is only today.
  7444. &lt;br&gt;
  7445. If you want to do something, do it now.
  7446. &lt;br&gt;
  7447. If you don’t want to do it now, then you don’t want to do it at all, so let it go.
  7448. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7449. Doing whatever makes you happy now is smart.
  7450. &lt;br&gt;
  7451. When you’re happy, you think better.
  7452. &lt;br&gt;
  7453. More of your brain is engaged.
  7454. &lt;br&gt;
  7455. You’re more open to possibilities and connecting ideas.
  7456. &lt;br&gt;
  7457. You learn better and are more creative.
  7458. &lt;br&gt;
  7459. So forget the future and past.
  7460. &lt;br&gt;
  7461. Focus fully on whatever fascinates you now.
  7462. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7463. You don’t need a schedule.
  7464. &lt;br&gt;
  7465. Just pay attention to what excites you.
  7466. &lt;br&gt;
  7467. If you’re not excited about what you’re doing, move on to something else.
  7468. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7469. You don’t need plans.
  7470. &lt;br&gt;
  7471. Plans are just predictions about what you might want in the future.
  7472. &lt;br&gt;
  7473. But your future self shouldn’t be bound to what your past self predicted.
  7474. &lt;br&gt;
  7475. So never make plans.
  7476. &lt;br&gt;
  7477. When someone asks, just say you can’t know until that day.
  7478. &lt;br&gt;
  7479. All you know is now.
  7480. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7481. Live like a frog sitting on a lily-pad.
  7482. &lt;br&gt;
  7483. When it feels like it, it jumps to a different one, and stays until it feels like jumping again.
  7484. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7485. Your feelings are wise.
  7486. &lt;br&gt;
  7487. Bad feelings mean you need to take action.
  7488. &lt;br&gt;
  7489. Good feelings mean you took the right action.
  7490. &lt;br&gt;
  7491. Following your feelings is the most natural and rewarding thing to do.
  7492. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7493. Most problems are not about the real present moment.
  7494. &lt;br&gt;
  7495. They’re anxiety, worried that something bad might happen in the future.
  7496. &lt;br&gt;
  7497. They’re trauma, remembering something bad in the past.
  7498. &lt;br&gt;
  7499. But none of them are real.
  7500. &lt;br&gt;
  7501. If you stop and look around the room, and ask yourself if you have any actual problems right now, the answer is probably no.
  7502. &lt;br&gt;
  7503. Unless you’re in physical pain or danger, the problems were all in your head.
  7504. &lt;br&gt;
  7505. Memories and imagined futures are not real.
  7506. &lt;br&gt;
  7507. The present moment is real and safe.
  7508. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7509. People with severe amnesia are surprisingly happy.
  7510. &lt;br&gt;
  7511. They can’t remember the past, and they don’t try to predict the future since they have no trajectory.
  7512. &lt;br&gt;
  7513. They have only the present moment, so they enjoy it without burden.
  7514. &lt;br&gt;
  7515. Follow their example.
  7516. &lt;br&gt;
  7517. Forget the past and future.
  7518. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7519. Happiness is something to do, someone to love, and something to desire.
  7520. &lt;br&gt;
  7521. Heaven is not what’s at the end of the path.
  7522. &lt;br&gt;
  7523. Heaven is the path itself.
  7524. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7525. Doing whatever you want, at every moment, is how to live.
  7526. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  7527.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl11</id>
  7528.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl11"/>
  7529.    <title>Here’s how to live: Do whatever you want now.</title>
  7530.    <updated>2021-12-11T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  7531.    <dc:date>2021-12-11T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  7532.  </entry>
  7533.  <entry>
  7534.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  7535. Everything good comes from some kind of pain.
  7536. &lt;br&gt;
  7537. Muscle fatigue makes you healthy and strong.
  7538. &lt;br&gt;
  7539. The pain of practice leads to mastery.
  7540. &lt;br&gt;
  7541. Difficult conversations save your relationships.
  7542. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7543. But if you avoid pain, you avoid improvement.
  7544. &lt;br&gt;
  7545. Avoid embarrassment, and you avoid success.
  7546. &lt;br&gt;
  7547. Avoid risk, and you avoid reward.
  7548. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7549. Anyone can be their best when things are going well.
  7550. &lt;br&gt;
  7551. But when things go wrong, you see who they really are.
  7552. &lt;br&gt;
  7553. Remember the classic story arc of the hero’s journey.
  7554. &lt;br&gt;
  7555. The crisis — the most painful moment — defines the hero.
  7556. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7557. Improvement is transformation.
  7558. &lt;br&gt;
  7559. It brings the pain of loss of the comfortable previous self.
  7560. &lt;br&gt;
  7561. It brings the pain of a new set of problems.
  7562. &lt;br&gt;
  7563. Wealth brings the pain of responsibility.
  7564. &lt;br&gt;
  7565. Fame brings the pain of expectations.
  7566. &lt;br&gt;
  7567. Love brings the pain of attachment.
  7568. &lt;br&gt;
  7569. If you avoid pain, you avoid what you really want.
  7570. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7571. The goal of life is not comfort.
  7572. &lt;br&gt;
  7573. Pursuing comfort is both pathetic and bad for you.
  7574. &lt;br&gt;
  7575. Comfort makes you weak and unprepared.
  7576. &lt;br&gt;
  7577. If you overprotect yourself from pain, then every little challenge will feel unbearably difficult.
  7578. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7579. People say they’re not doing the work because it’s hard.
  7580. &lt;br&gt;
  7581. But it’s hard because they’re not doing the work.
  7582. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7583. Comfort is a silent killer.
  7584. &lt;br&gt;
  7585. Comfort is quicksand.
  7586. &lt;br&gt;
  7587. The softer the chair, the harder it is to get out of it.
  7588. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7589. The right thing to do is never comfortable.
  7590. &lt;br&gt;
  7591. How you face pain determines who you are.
  7592. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7593. Therefore, the way to live is to steer towards the pain.
  7594. &lt;br&gt;
  7595. Use it as your compass.
  7596. &lt;br&gt;
  7597. Always take the harder option.
  7598. &lt;br&gt;
  7599. Always push into discomfort.
  7600. &lt;br&gt;
  7601. Ignore your instincts.
  7602. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7603. Pain’s power relies on surprise.
  7604. &lt;br&gt;
  7605. If you expect it, it’s weaker.
  7606. &lt;br&gt;
  7607. If you choose it, it’s gone.
  7608. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7609. Choosing pain makes it bearable.
  7610. &lt;br&gt;
  7611. It loses its power to hurt you.
  7612. &lt;br&gt;
  7613. You become its master, not victim.
  7614. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7615. Pain is coming anyway.
  7616. &lt;br&gt;
  7617. Don’t get a shield.
  7618. &lt;br&gt;
  7619. Get a saddle.
  7620. &lt;br&gt;
  7621. Tame it.
  7622. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7623. Don’t wish for good luck.
  7624. &lt;br&gt;
  7625. Good luck makes you complacent.
  7626. &lt;br&gt;
  7627. Practice thriving with bad luck.
  7628. &lt;br&gt;
  7629. Bad luck makes you resourceful and strong.
  7630. &lt;br&gt;
  7631. No matter what the world throws your way, you can stand worse.
  7632. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7633. Choosing pain means pushing past your instincts.
  7634. &lt;br&gt;
  7635. Food that tastes good is bad for you, and vice-versa.
  7636. &lt;br&gt;
  7637. So don’t use your feelings as a guide.
  7638. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7639. Choose pain in small doses to build your resistance to it.
  7640. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7641. A daily ritual of hard exercise gives a great perspective on life’s other pains.
  7642. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7643. Put yourself into stressful situations.
  7644. &lt;br&gt;
  7645. Eventually, almost nothing will seem stressful.
  7646. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7647. Socially, try to get rejected.
  7648. &lt;br&gt;
  7649. Learn about “rejection therapy”.
  7650. &lt;br&gt;
  7651. Make audacious requests that you think will be denied.
  7652. &lt;br&gt;
  7653. This removes the pain of rejection.
  7654. &lt;br&gt;
  7655. And you’ll be surprised how often they say yes.
  7656. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7657. The best way to learn a foreign language is to stop speaking your mother tongue.
  7658. &lt;br&gt;
  7659. No matter how embarrassing or frustrating, communicate only in your new language.
  7660. &lt;br&gt;
  7661. Necessity is the best teacher.
  7662. &lt;br&gt;
  7663. But it hurts.
  7664. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7665. Practice taking on the various kinds of pain.
  7666. &lt;br&gt;
  7667. Attempt something that seems impossible — something that terrifies you.
  7668. &lt;br&gt;
  7669. Give a speech.
  7670. &lt;br&gt;
  7671. Do a ten-day silent meditation.
  7672. &lt;br&gt;
  7673. Quit a habit.
  7674. &lt;br&gt;
  7675. Apologize to someone you wronged.
  7676. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7677. Don’t congratulate yourself if your attempt avoids failure.
  7678. &lt;br&gt;
  7679. Remember: you want the pain.
  7680. &lt;br&gt;
  7681. The sooner you pay a price, the less it costs.
  7682. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7683. Be absolutely honest with everyone.
  7684. &lt;br&gt;
  7685. Stop lying, completely.
  7686. &lt;br&gt;
  7687. You lie when you’re afraid.
  7688. &lt;br&gt;
  7689. You lie to avoid consequences.
  7690. &lt;br&gt;
  7691. Always say the truth.
  7692. &lt;br&gt;
  7693. Take the painful consequences.
  7694. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7695. You weren’t meant to be idle.
  7696. &lt;br&gt;
  7697. You weren’t built for sitting and staring at screens.
  7698. &lt;br&gt;
  7699. You live to push, pull, climb, and grow.
  7700. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7701. The most exhilarating experiences in your life so far were daring.
  7702. &lt;br&gt;
  7703. Your proudest moments were overcoming a struggle.
  7704. &lt;br&gt;
  7705. The best happiness comes after some pain.
  7706. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7707. The best waves on the beach can knock you over.
  7708. &lt;br&gt;
  7709. That’s the best kind of play.
  7710. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7711. Since you can’t avoid problems, just find good problems.
  7712. &lt;br&gt;
  7713. Happiness isn’t everlasting tranquility.
  7714. &lt;br&gt;
  7715. Happiness is solving good problems.
  7716. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7717. That’s why we play games.
  7718. &lt;br&gt;
  7719. Games are challenges.
  7720. &lt;br&gt;
  7721. Any challenge can be turned into a game.
  7722. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7723. The English word “passion” comes from the Latin word “pati”, meaning “to suffer or endure”.
  7724. &lt;br&gt;
  7725. To be passionate about something is to be willing to suffer for it — to endure the pain it’ll bring.
  7726. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7727. But don’t be a masochist.
  7728. &lt;br&gt;
  7729. Be a scholar of pain.
  7730. &lt;br&gt;
  7731. Every pain has a lesson inside, and a reason why it hurts.
  7732. &lt;br&gt;
  7733. Analyze it.
  7734. &lt;br&gt;
  7735. Understand it.
  7736. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7737. Ghosts don’t leave until you’ve understood their message.
  7738. &lt;br&gt;
  7739. Problems persist until you claim them and solve them.
  7740. &lt;br&gt;
  7741. Face them directly and they’ll disappear.
  7742. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7743. First we figured out how to fly, then how to get to the moon.
  7744. &lt;br&gt;
  7745. After you conquer the little problems, you’ll face the better ones.
  7746. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7747. Facing pain helps you relate to others.
  7748. &lt;br&gt;
  7749. Your problems are never unique.
  7750. &lt;br&gt;
  7751. Whatever problems you’ve had, many other people have had the same problem.
  7752. &lt;br&gt;
  7753. We empathize with someone who’s struggling.
  7754. &lt;br&gt;
  7755. It opens our hearts more than seeing someone win.
  7756. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7757. Most people don’t get to choose how they suffer.
  7758. &lt;br&gt;
  7759. Once you tame pain for yourself, tame it for others.
  7760. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7761. The easy road leads to a hard future.
  7762. &lt;br&gt;
  7763. The hard road leads to an easy future.
  7764. &lt;br&gt;
  7765. Steering towards the pain is how to live.
  7766. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  7767.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl10</id>
  7768.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl10"/>
  7769.    <title>Here’s how to live: Pursue pain.</title>
  7770.    <updated>2021-12-10T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  7771.    <dc:date>2021-12-10T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  7772.  </entry>
  7773.  <entry>
  7774.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  7775. We think we see patterns and causes.
  7776. &lt;br&gt;
  7777. Really there are none.
  7778. &lt;br&gt;
  7779. We think events are meaningful.
  7780. &lt;br&gt;
  7781. Really they’re just coincidence.
  7782. &lt;br&gt;
  7783. We’re not used to the logic of probability.
  7784. &lt;br&gt;
  7785. Life is more random than it seems.
  7786. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7787. Identical twins were separated at birth and raised on opposite sides of the world.
  7788. &lt;br&gt;
  7789. They met later in life, and found that they had freakishly identical preferences and circumstances.
  7790. &lt;br&gt;
  7791. What you think is free will might actually be your DNA.
  7792. &lt;br&gt;
  7793. Where you go, what you do, and what you want are accurately predicted by algorithms.
  7794. &lt;br&gt;
  7795. You are less random than you seem.
  7796. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7797. So randomize your life.
  7798. &lt;br&gt;
  7799. Use a random generator — an app, a roll of the dice, or a shuffled deck of cards — to make all of your life’s decisions.
  7800. &lt;br&gt;
  7801. Choose a life where you choose nothing.
  7802. &lt;br&gt;
  7803. Let the random generator decide what you do, where you go, and who you meet.
  7804. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7805. It’ll scramble your habits.
  7806. &lt;br&gt;
  7807. It’ll break the myth of causality.
  7808. &lt;br&gt;
  7809. It’ll guide you to see places you’d never ordinarily see, and do what you never would have done.
  7810. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7811. Randomness keeps your mind open and observant.
  7812. &lt;br&gt;
  7813. You can’t predict, so you see clearly.
  7814. &lt;br&gt;
  7815. You can’t use old solutions and rules-of-thumb.
  7816. &lt;br&gt;
  7817. You can’t blame karma, astrology, demons, saints, anyone or anything else.
  7818. &lt;br&gt;
  7819. You can’t think there’s a master plan.
  7820. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7821. Instead, you’ll calculate probability.
  7822. &lt;br&gt;
  7823. You’ll be hyper-aware that statistics apply to all of us, and we’re more average than we think.
  7824. &lt;br&gt;
  7825. Life is determined not by causes, but by randomness and odds.
  7826. &lt;br&gt;
  7827. By taking a minute to do the math, you’ll have a clearer understanding of why things are the way they are.
  7828. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7829. Let your random generator choose what you wear and how you cut your hair.
  7830. &lt;br&gt;
  7831. Let it send you to events you ordinarily wouldn’t have attended, including classes to learn skills you ordinarily wouldn’t have learned.
  7832. &lt;br&gt;
  7833. You’ll become a member of groups you never would have chosen.
  7834. &lt;br&gt;
  7835. Eventually, you’ll look, act, and socialize very differently than your previous self.
  7836. &lt;br&gt;
  7837. You won’t define yourself by these things anymore, since you didn’t choose them.
  7838. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7839. When talking with people, ask deep open-ended questions — like “What’s your biggest regret?” — that will lead to unexpected stories.
  7840. &lt;br&gt;
  7841. When ordering in a restaurant, ask them to surprise you.
  7842. &lt;br&gt;
  7843. When doing creative work, let the random generator make your artistic decisions, shaking up your usual style.
  7844. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7845. Let your random generator decide where you live every year.
  7846. &lt;br&gt;
  7847. That increases the randomness of everything else.
  7848. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7849. Ask anyone “Why?” on any subject, and they’ll make up explanations.
  7850. &lt;br&gt;
  7851. They think everything has a reason, and won’t believe it’s random.
  7852. &lt;br&gt;
  7853. You’ll know everything is random, and won’t believe it has a reason.
  7854. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7855. Randomness helps you learn acceptance.
  7856. &lt;br&gt;
  7857. You can’t take the blame for failures.
  7858. &lt;br&gt;
  7859. You can’t take credit for successes.
  7860. &lt;br&gt;
  7861. You can’t regret what you didn’t cause.
  7862. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7863. How liberating to not decide and not predict anything.
  7864. &lt;br&gt;
  7865. Stoics and Buddhists work hard to feel indifferent to outcomes.
  7866. &lt;br&gt;
  7867. But you’ll feel detachment as a natural side effect of every day being random.
  7868. &lt;br&gt;
  7869. Since nothing has consequences, you’ll greet everything with healthy indifference.
  7870. &lt;br&gt;
  7871. Neither upset nor joy — just seeing it as it is.
  7872. &lt;br&gt;
  7873. Thanks to randomness, you’ll know that none of it has meaning.
  7874. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7875. You’ll be living a lesson that everyone should learn.
  7876. &lt;br&gt;
  7877. Random stuff happens.
  7878. &lt;br&gt;
  7879. All you can control is your response.
  7880. &lt;br&gt;
  7881. Every day, you’ll practice how to react to chaos: with dignity, poise, and grace.
  7882. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  7883.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl09</id>
  7884.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl09"/>
  7885.    <title>Here’s how to live: Let randomness rule.</title>
  7886.    <updated>2021-12-09T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  7887.    <dc:date>2021-12-09T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  7888.  </entry>
  7889.  <entry>
  7890.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  7891. Be a monomaniac on a mission to be truly great at something difficult.
  7892. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7893. Pick one thing and spend the rest of your life getting deeper into it.
  7894. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7895. Mastery is the best goal because the rich can’t buy it, the impatient can’t rush it, the privileged can’t inherit it, and nobody can steal it.
  7896. &lt;br&gt;
  7897. You can only earn it through hard work.
  7898. &lt;br&gt;
  7899. Mastery is the ultimate status.
  7900. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7901. Striving makes you happy.
  7902. &lt;br&gt;
  7903. Pursuit is the opposite of depression.
  7904. &lt;br&gt;
  7905. People at the end of their life, who said they were the happiest with their life, were the ones who had spent the most time in the flow of fascinating work.
  7906. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7907. Concentrating all of your life’s force on one thing gives you incredible power.
  7908. &lt;br&gt;
  7909. Sunlight won’t catch a stick on fire.
  7910. &lt;br&gt;
  7911. But if you use a magnifying glass to focus the sunlight on one spot, it will.
  7912. &lt;br&gt;
  7913. Mastery needs your full focused attention.
  7914. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7915. The more you learn about something, the more there is to learn.
  7916. &lt;br&gt;
  7917. You see what normal people don’t see.
  7918. &lt;br&gt;
  7919. The path gets more and more interesting as you go.
  7920. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7921. The pursuit of mastery helps you think long-term.
  7922. &lt;br&gt;
  7923. It keeps your eyes on the horizon.
  7924. &lt;br&gt;
  7925. You resist the temptation of what you want now.
  7926. &lt;br&gt;
  7927. You remember the importance of what you want most.
  7928. &lt;br&gt;
  7929. You spend time intentionally.
  7930. &lt;br&gt;
  7931. Every month has a milestone.
  7932. &lt;br&gt;
  7933. Every day has a goal.
  7934. &lt;br&gt;
  7935. The most rewarding things in life take years.
  7936. &lt;br&gt;
  7937. Only bad things happen quickly.
  7938. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7939. Decisions are easy when you have only one priority.
  7940. &lt;br&gt;
  7941. Your destination is a huge mountain peak on the horizon.
  7942. &lt;br&gt;
  7943. You can see it from everywhere.
  7944. &lt;br&gt;
  7945. Yes to that mountain, and no to everything else.
  7946. &lt;br&gt;
  7947. You’ll always know where you’re going, and what you’re doing next.
  7948. &lt;br&gt;
  7949. All paths go either towards that mountain or away from it.
  7950. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7951. Because of this perspective, problems won’t deter you.
  7952. &lt;br&gt;
  7953. Most people look down at the ground, upset by every obstacle.
  7954. &lt;br&gt;
  7955. With your eyes on the horizon, you’ll step over obstacles, undeterred.
  7956. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7957. If you haven’t decided what to master, pick anything that scares you, fascinates you, or infuriates you.
  7958. &lt;br&gt;
  7959. Don’t ask, “Is this the real me?” or “Is this my passion?”
  7960. &lt;br&gt;
  7961. Those questions lead to endless searching and disappointment.
  7962. &lt;br&gt;
  7963. People don’t fail by choosing the wrong path — they fail by not choosing.
  7964. &lt;br&gt;
  7965. Make your choice, then make a lifetime commitment to constant improvement.
  7966. &lt;br&gt;
  7967. The passion comes after you start getting good.
  7968. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7969. Define “success” for yourself.
  7970. &lt;br&gt;
  7971. Describe the outcome you want.
  7972. &lt;br&gt;
  7973. You can’t hit a target you can’t see.
  7974. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7975. You need to understand something very counter-intuitive about goals.
  7976. &lt;br&gt;
  7977. Goals don’t improve your future.
  7978. &lt;br&gt;
  7979. Goals only improve your present actions.
  7980. &lt;br&gt;
  7981. A good goal makes you take action immediately.
  7982. &lt;br&gt;
  7983. A bad goal doesn’t.
  7984. &lt;br&gt;
  7985. A goal shows what’s right and wrong.
  7986. &lt;br&gt;
  7987. What moves you towards your goal is right.
  7988. &lt;br&gt;
  7989. What doesn’t is wrong.
  7990. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7991. When you first start learning, you improve massively every week.
  7992. &lt;br&gt;
  7993. Beginning is fun.
  7994. &lt;br&gt;
  7995. But real expertise comes only after years of hard work.
  7996. &lt;br&gt;
  7997. The challenge is staying on the path.
  7998. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  7999. You need ritual, not inspiration.
  8000. &lt;br&gt;
  8001. Every day, no matter what, you must practice.
  8002. &lt;br&gt;
  8003. Your practice ritual is your highest priority — an unbreakable commitment.
  8004. &lt;br&gt;
  8005. Stubbornly protect this time against the demands of the world.
  8006. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8007. Once you get momentum, never stop.
  8008. &lt;br&gt;
  8009. It’s easy to continue, but if you stop, it’s hard to start again.
  8010. &lt;br&gt;
  8011. Never miss a day.
  8012. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8013. When you’re not practicing, remember: someone somewhere is practicing.
  8014. &lt;br&gt;
  8015. When you meet them, they will win.
  8016. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8017. During your work time, do nothing but work.
  8018. &lt;br&gt;
  8019. Keep your hands on your work, and your mind will follow.
  8020. &lt;br&gt;
  8021. If you get stuck, just stop and close your eyes.
  8022. &lt;br&gt;
  8023. The vacuum will extract your actions again.
  8024. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8025. How many push-ups could you do right now?
  8026. &lt;br&gt;
  8027. But how many could you do if you took a ten-minute break between each set?
  8028. &lt;br&gt;
  8029. Many more.
  8030. &lt;br&gt;
  8031. That’s the secret.
  8032. &lt;br&gt;
  8033. Take tiny breaks when working, to go longer than most.
  8034. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8035. Focus means head down.
  8036. &lt;br&gt;
  8037. Big picture means head up.
  8038. &lt;br&gt;
  8039. The more you’re doing of one, the less you’re doing of the other.
  8040. &lt;br&gt;
  8041. If you’ve been head-down on a task for too long, lift your head up to make sure you’re going the right way.
  8042. &lt;br&gt;
  8043. Don’t do well what you shouldn’t do at all.
  8044. &lt;/p&gt;
  8045. &lt;hr&gt;
  8046. &lt;p&gt;
  8047. Pursuing mastery is ambitious, which helps your chance of success.
  8048. &lt;br&gt;
  8049. Most people fail in life not by aiming too high, but by aiming too low.
  8050. &lt;br&gt;
  8051. If you aim high and miss, you don’t actually fail.
  8052. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8053. Move to the most ambitious place in your field.
  8054. &lt;br&gt;
  8055. (Actor? Hollywood. Tech? Silicon Valley. Etc.)
  8056. &lt;br&gt;
  8057. Expectations there are so high that they’ll help push you to be the best.
  8058. &lt;br&gt;
  8059. You want the pressure.
  8060. &lt;br&gt;
  8061. You want the stress.
  8062. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8063. Don’t live somewhere pleasant surrounded by normal people.
  8064. &lt;br&gt;
  8065. Live among your fellow freaks, where obsession is normal and ambition is rewarded.
  8066. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8067. You don’t get extreme results without extreme actions.
  8068. &lt;br&gt;
  8069. If you do what most people do, you’ll get what most people get.
  8070. &lt;br&gt;
  8071. Don’t be normal.
  8072. &lt;br&gt;
  8073. Society’s guidelines are for the lost — not for you.
  8074. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8075. You don’t need a spouse or kids.
  8076. &lt;br&gt;
  8077. You don’t need to hang out, make small talk, or join in common rituals.
  8078. &lt;br&gt;
  8079. You don’t need to sleep at normal hours, keep a tidy home, or even relax.
  8080. &lt;br&gt;
  8081. Be sharply focused, not well-rounded.
  8082. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8083. Think of the legendary achievers: the geniuses, brilliant artists, record-breaking athletes, or self-made billionaires.
  8084. &lt;br&gt;
  8085. Do you think those people were well-balanced?
  8086. &lt;br&gt;
  8087. Of course not.
  8088. &lt;br&gt;
  8089. They focused all their energy only on one thing.
  8090. &lt;br&gt;
  8091. That’s why they were great.
  8092. &lt;br&gt;
  8093. Pursue your mission at the expense of everything else.
  8094. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8095. Nobody cares what you’re bad at, and neither should you.
  8096. &lt;br&gt;
  8097. Amplify your strengths.
  8098. &lt;br&gt;
  8099. Nobody will see the rest.
  8100. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8101. Keep the rest of your life boring.
  8102. &lt;br&gt;
  8103. Drama is a distraction.
  8104. &lt;br&gt;
  8105. Your personal life and other concerns can shrink to almost nothing.
  8106. &lt;br&gt;
  8107. Focus everything on your work.
  8108. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8109. Mastery is not about doing many things.
  8110. &lt;br&gt;
  8111. It’s doing one thing insanely well.
  8112. &lt;br&gt;
  8113. The more you take on, the less you’ll achieve.
  8114. &lt;br&gt;
  8115. Say no to everything but your mission.
  8116. &lt;br&gt;
  8117. This is your one contribution to the world.
  8118. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8119. You don’t need new ideas.
  8120. &lt;br&gt;
  8121. You need to master the idea you’ve begun.
  8122. &lt;br&gt;
  8123. That’s why you can ignore all distractions.
  8124. &lt;br&gt;
  8125. The world has no information that you need.
  8126. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8127. Resist the urge to branch out into something new.
  8128. &lt;br&gt;
  8129. You can do anything, but not everything.
  8130. &lt;br&gt;
  8131. Remember the saying “jack of all trades, master of none”.
  8132. &lt;br&gt;
  8133. That’s the opposite of you.
  8134. &lt;br&gt;
  8135. You are master of one.
  8136. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8137. Your focus will almost certainly lead to success.
  8138. &lt;br&gt;
  8139. When you live, dream, and work with one single mission, you will achieve that mission.
  8140. &lt;br&gt;
  8141. But beware of money and fame.
  8142. &lt;br&gt;
  8143. Money can pull you towards your mountain, but sometimes it pulls you away.
  8144. &lt;br&gt;
  8145. Fame tries to pull you out of the deep path of mastery into the shallow gutter of flattery.
  8146. &lt;br&gt;
  8147. The best response to fame’s endless requests is a simple mantra: “No. No. No. No. No.”
  8148. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8149. How long will it take you to become a master?
  8150. &lt;br&gt;
  8151. It doesn’t matter.
  8152. &lt;br&gt;
  8153. Imagine getting to a mountaintop after a long hike through a gorgeous forest.
  8154. &lt;br&gt;
  8155. Achieving your goal would feel like taking off your backpack.
  8156. &lt;br&gt;
  8157. That’s all.
  8158. &lt;br&gt;
  8159. You do it for the journey, not the destination.
  8160. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8161. Pursuing mastery is how to live.
  8162. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  8163.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl08</id>
  8164.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl08"/>
  8165.    <title>Here’s how to live: Master something.</title>
  8166.    <updated>2021-12-08T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  8167.    <dc:date>2021-12-08T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  8168.  </entry>
  8169.  <entry>
  8170.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  8171. You recently had a day, or even a month, that you can’t remember.
  8172. &lt;br&gt;
  8173. If I asked what you did then, you couldn’t say.
  8174. &lt;br&gt;
  8175. There was nothing unusual about it.
  8176. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8177. What if you have many more of those?
  8178. &lt;br&gt;
  8179. What if, when you’re older, you can’t recall entire years?
  8180. &lt;br&gt;
  8181. If you can’t remember something, it’s like it never happened.
  8182. &lt;br&gt;
  8183. You could have a long healthy life, but if you can’t remember it, it’s like you had a short life.
  8184. &lt;br&gt;
  8185. What a horrible way to live.
  8186. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8187. When you’re young, time goes slowly because everything is new.
  8188. &lt;br&gt;
  8189. When you get older, time flies by, forgotten, because you’re not having as many new experiences.
  8190. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8191. You need to prevent this.
  8192. &lt;br&gt;
  8193. Monotony is the enemy.
  8194. &lt;br&gt;
  8195. Novelty is the solution.
  8196. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8197. Go make memories.
  8198. &lt;br&gt;
  8199. Do memorable things.
  8200. &lt;br&gt;
  8201. Experience the unusual.
  8202. &lt;br&gt;
  8203. Pursue novelty.
  8204. &lt;br&gt;
  8205. Replace your routines.
  8206. &lt;br&gt;
  8207. Live in different places.
  8208. &lt;br&gt;
  8209. Change your career every few years.
  8210. &lt;br&gt;
  8211. These unique events will become anchors for your memories.
  8212. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8213. Remember them all.
  8214. &lt;br&gt;
  8215. Document everything, or you’ll eventually forget it.
  8216. &lt;br&gt;
  8217. Nobody can erase your memories, but don’t lose them through neglect.
  8218. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8219. Journal every day.
  8220. &lt;br&gt;
  8221. Write down your activities, thoughts, and feelings for future reference.
  8222. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8223. Video everything.
  8224. &lt;br&gt;
  8225. Compile and edit them, so they’re appealing to watch.
  8226. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8227. To enjoy your past is to live twice.
  8228. &lt;br&gt;
  8229. Nostalgia links your past and present.
  8230. &lt;br&gt;
  8231. Nostalgia protects against stress and boredom, and improves your mood.
  8232. &lt;br&gt;
  8233. Nostalgia makes you more optimistic, more generous, more creative, and more empathetic.
  8234. &lt;br&gt;
  8235. Nostalgia is memories minus the pain.
  8236. &lt;br&gt;
  8237. Being nostalgic makes you less afraid to die.
  8238. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8239. Turn your experiences into stories.
  8240. &lt;br&gt;
  8241. A story is the remains of an experience.
  8242. &lt;br&gt;
  8243. Make your stories entertaining, so people like to hear them.
  8244. &lt;br&gt;
  8245. By telling good stories, your memories can last longer, because people will echo them back to you occasionally, or ask you to tell them again.
  8246. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8247. Make a story for the things you want to remember.
  8248. &lt;br&gt;
  8249. Never make a story for the things you want to forget.
  8250. &lt;br&gt;
  8251. Let those disappear with time.
  8252. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8253. Your memories are a mix of fact and fiction.
  8254. &lt;br&gt;
  8255. Your story about an experience overwrites your memory of the actual experience.
  8256. &lt;br&gt;
  8257. So use this in your favor.
  8258. &lt;br&gt;
  8259. Re-write your past.
  8260. &lt;br&gt;
  8261. Embellish adventures.
  8262. &lt;br&gt;
  8263. Disempower trauma.
  8264. &lt;br&gt;
  8265. Re-write your stories into whatever works for you.
  8266. &lt;br&gt;
  8267. Remember only what you want to remember.
  8268. &lt;br&gt;
  8269. You have the right to reframe.
  8270. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8271. Summarize a painful time into a tiny story — under a minute.
  8272. &lt;br&gt;
  8273. Tell this belittled version a few times to make it stick.
  8274. &lt;br&gt;
  8275. This is the version you’ll remember — stripped of pain and power.
  8276. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8277. How you feel about anything is based on how you look back at it.
  8278. &lt;br&gt;
  8279. Your memory is influenced by how you feel now.
  8280. &lt;br&gt;
  8281. In a bad mood, you might see only the dark side of events that are actually neutral.
  8282. &lt;br&gt;
  8283. In a good mood, you might see the bright side of trauma.
  8284. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8285. The more something means to you, the more you’ll remember it.
  8286. &lt;br&gt;
  8287. Give moments meaning to remember them.
  8288. &lt;br&gt;
  8289. Take away meaning to forget.
  8290. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8291. You remember what’s important.
  8292. &lt;br&gt;
  8293. The first time you were burned, you didn’t try to remember that fire is hot.
  8294. &lt;br&gt;
  8295. It hurt, so your brain remembered it effortlessly.
  8296. &lt;br&gt;
  8297. When you make a big mistake and want to learn its lesson, deliberately amplify the pain, the deep regret, and the consequences.
  8298. &lt;br&gt;
  8299. Keep the bad feelings vivid and visceral.
  8300. &lt;br&gt;
  8301. Make the lesson memorable, so you won’t do it again.
  8302. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8303. Without memories, you have no sense of self.
  8304. &lt;br&gt;
  8305. You have to remember your past to see your trajectory.
  8306. &lt;br&gt;
  8307. You use your past to make your future.
  8308. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8309. Making memories is the most important thing you can do with your life.
  8310. &lt;br&gt;
  8311. The more memories you create, the longer and richer your life feels.
  8312. &lt;br&gt;
  8313. Making memories is how to live.
  8314. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  8315.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl07</id>
  8316.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl07"/>
  8317.    <title>Here’s how to live: Make memories.</title>
  8318.    <updated>2021-12-07T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  8319.    <dc:date>2021-12-07T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  8320.  </entry>
  8321.  <entry>
  8322.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  8323. We’re all cousins.
  8324. &lt;br&gt;
  8325. Everybody on Earth, no matter how far apart, has a surprisingly recent common ancestor.
  8326. &lt;br&gt;
  8327. Go meet your family in the Middle East, in Asia, in Africa, in the Americas, and in Europe.
  8328. &lt;br&gt;
  8329. Understand that there is no “them”.
  8330. &lt;br&gt;
  8331. It’s just “us”.
  8332. &lt;br&gt;
  8333. Feel those connections.
  8334. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8335. You have kindreds scattered around the world.
  8336. &lt;br&gt;
  8337. People who are weird like you are spread out everywhere.
  8338. &lt;br&gt;
  8339. One of the best feelings in life is to meet someone who grew up in an opposite culture but has your same humor, thoughts, or taste.
  8340. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8341. If you want a successful network of connections, what matters is not how many people you know but how many different kinds of people you know.
  8342. &lt;br&gt;
  8343. Building relationships worldwide brings more opportunity, more variety, and more chance for circumstance.
  8344. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8345. Moving across the world makes you smarter, because you stop thinking you’re always right.
  8346. &lt;br&gt;
  8347. Those who shout, “my country is the best!” are those who have never left.
  8348. &lt;br&gt;
  8349. In Icelandic, the word for “idiot” means “one who has never left home to journey abroad”.
  8350. &lt;br&gt;
  8351. Only idiots think they’re always right.
  8352. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8353. You can’t see your own culture while you’re inside of it.
  8354. &lt;br&gt;
  8355. Once you get out and look back, you can see which parts of your personality actually come from your environment.
  8356. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8357. Traveling makes you better at communicating, since you can’t assume familiarity, and must speak simply and clearly.
  8358. &lt;br&gt;
  8359. You’ll get used to speaking with people of different religions, worldviews, and communication styles.
  8360. &lt;br&gt;
  8361. You’ll know when to be formal, when to joke, when to reference tradition, and when to swear.
  8362. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8363. How far should you travel?
  8364. &lt;br&gt;
  8365. Look to nature’s example of floating dandelion seeds and sticky burrs.
  8366. &lt;br&gt;
  8367. Plants and trees spread their seeds as far as possible.
  8368. &lt;br&gt;
  8369. And so should you.
  8370. &lt;br&gt;
  8371. Spread your DNA worldwide.
  8372. &lt;br&gt;
  8373. Not just your biological DNA, but the other things that make you who you are: your ideas, values, and relationships.
  8374. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8375. To live a full and rewarding life, intertwine yourself with the world.
  8376. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8377. Move somewhere far away.
  8378. &lt;br&gt;
  8379. Plan to stay.
  8380. &lt;br&gt;
  8381. Bring no baggage.
  8382. &lt;br&gt;
  8383. Leave your expectations and certainties behind.
  8384. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8385. This new strange place will feel wrong.
  8386. &lt;br&gt;
  8387. You’ll find fault in most of its ways.
  8388. &lt;br&gt;
  8389. The clothes you arrive in are not suited for its climate.
  8390. &lt;br&gt;
  8391. The beliefs you arrive with are not suited for its culture.
  8392. &lt;br&gt;
  8393. Replace both with locally-made clothes and beliefs.
  8394. &lt;br&gt;
  8395. Eventually, they’ll fit you well.
  8396. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8397. Ask questions until you understand why things are the way they are.
  8398. &lt;br&gt;
  8399. Culture is often historical.
  8400. &lt;br&gt;
  8401. Like a person’s outlook on life is shaped by what they’ve been through, a culture’s values are shaped by its recent history.
  8402. &lt;br&gt;
  8403. Learn the local mindset.
  8404. &lt;br&gt;
  8405. Don’t ask how “they” do things.
  8406. &lt;br&gt;
  8407. Ask how “we” do things.
  8408. &lt;br&gt;
  8409. That small difference is important.
  8410. &lt;br&gt;
  8411. This is your new home.
  8412. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8413. Once a place really feels like home, move somewhere new.
  8414. &lt;br&gt;
  8415. Pick a confusing or scary place that you don’t understand.
  8416. &lt;br&gt;
  8417. Repeat the process.
  8418. &lt;br&gt;
  8419. Make it your home.
  8420. &lt;br&gt;
  8421. Try to make the connection official by getting visas, residency, and citizenship.
  8422. &lt;br&gt;
  8423. Do this until no part of the world feels foreign.
  8424. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8425. From Brazil, learn to live in the present, and embrace every stranger as a friend.
  8426. &lt;br&gt;
  8427. Leave before you forget about the future.
  8428. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8429. From Germany, learn rationality and directly honest communication.
  8430. &lt;br&gt;
  8431. Leave before you start scolding strangers.
  8432. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8433. From Japan, learn deep consideration for others, social harmony, and intrinsic perfection.
  8434. &lt;br&gt;
  8435. Leave before you get so considerate that you can’t express yourself or take action.
  8436. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8437. From China, learn pragmatism and the multi-generational mindset.
  8438. &lt;br&gt;
  8439. Leave before you get superstitious or prioritize social status.
  8440. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8441. From France, learn idealism and resistance.
  8442. &lt;br&gt;
  8443. Leave before you oppose everything in theory.
  8444. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8445. From America, learn expressive rebellious individualism.
  8446. &lt;br&gt;
  8447. Leave before thinking you’re the center of the world.
  8448. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8449. From India, learn to improvise and thrive in complexity.
  8450. &lt;br&gt;
  8451. Leave before feeling a divide between what’s inside versus outside your circle.
  8452. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8453. In all cultures, avoid the madness of the crowd.
  8454. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8455. Have a child with someone from Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Europe.
  8456. &lt;br&gt;
  8457. The greater the variety of races, the better.
  8458. &lt;br&gt;
  8459. Raise your kids with many influences, many parents, and many families.
  8460. &lt;br&gt;
  8461. Help raise other people’s kids for the same reason.
  8462. &lt;br&gt;
  8463. Make voluntary families.
  8464. &lt;br&gt;
  8465. Make wider and inclusive families.
  8466. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8467. Some say “blood is thicker than water,” as if only your immediate relatives have blood.
  8468. &lt;br&gt;
  8469. But everyone has blood, and you’re related to all of them.
  8470. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8471. If you eventually need a permanent home, choose the place you’d want to be if everything goes wrong.
  8472. &lt;br&gt;
  8473. Choose a culture that values what you value.
  8474. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8475. When you die, you leave behind your genes and ideas.
  8476. &lt;br&gt;
  8477. The atoms in your cells will disassemble and become plants, animals, dirt, and oceans.
  8478. &lt;br&gt;
  8479. Bits of you will eventually become part of the whole world.
  8480. &lt;br&gt;
  8481. The way to live is to spread your seeds widely before you die.
  8482. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  8483.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl06</id>
  8484.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl06"/>
  8485.    <title>Here’s how to live: Intertwine with the world.</title>
  8486.    <updated>2021-12-06T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  8487.    <dc:date>2021-12-06T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  8488.  </entry>
  8489.  <entry>
  8490.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  8491. In 1790, Benjamin Franklin gifted £2000 to the cities of Philadelphia and Boston by putting it into a 200-year trust, and by 1990 it was worth over $7 million.
  8492. &lt;br&gt;
  8493. If you put $2000 into the stock market for 200 years at the average 8% return, it will be worth over $9 billion.
  8494. &lt;br&gt;
  8495. If you can do $100,000, it will be worth over $483 billion.
  8496. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8497. Live like this.
  8498. &lt;br&gt;
  8499. Serve the future.
  8500. &lt;br&gt;
  8501. Do small things now with huge benefits for your older self, your descendants, and future generations.
  8502. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8503. Actions amplify through time to have a massive impact on the future.
  8504. &lt;br&gt;
  8505. Let this fact guide your life.
  8506. &lt;br&gt;
  8507. Use a time machine in your mind, constantly picturing your future self and your great-grandchildren’s world.
  8508. &lt;br&gt;
  8509. Act now to influence that time.
  8510. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8511. The actions are obvious.
  8512. &lt;br&gt;
  8513. Put money in an investment account and never withdraw.
  8514. &lt;br&gt;
  8515. Eat mostly vegetables.
  8516. &lt;br&gt;
  8517. Exercise always.
  8518. &lt;br&gt;
  8519. Get preventative health checkups.
  8520. &lt;br&gt;
  8521. Make time for your relationships.
  8522. &lt;br&gt;
  8523. Do these, yes, but let’s look at less-obvious ones.
  8524. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8525. The biggest challenge is to think long-term when life is pulling you around.
  8526. &lt;br&gt;
  8527. You need a constant vivid reminder.
  8528. &lt;br&gt;
  8529. So use an age progression filter — the software that takes a photo of a face and realistically makes it look thirty years older.
  8530. &lt;br&gt;
  8531. Run it on some photos of yourself.
  8532. &lt;br&gt;
  8533. See your elderly face, and take care of that person.
  8534. &lt;br&gt;
  8535. Run it on photos of the people you care for.
  8536. &lt;br&gt;
  8537. Save the results and put them where you’ll see them every day.
  8538. &lt;br&gt;
  8539. These future people are your responsibility now.
  8540. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8541. Imagine your future self judging your current life choices.
  8542. &lt;br&gt;
  8543. When making a decision, ask yourself how you’ll feel about it when you’re old.
  8544. &lt;br&gt;
  8545. What would your future self and family thank you for?
  8546. &lt;br&gt;
  8547. Simple actions now will compound to give them a better life.
  8548. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8549. Delay gratification.
  8550. &lt;br&gt;
  8551. Today’s discomfort brings future rewards.
  8552. &lt;br&gt;
  8553. When you have a clear view of the future, you won’t mind the small sacrifice.
  8554. &lt;br&gt;
  8555. You never regret not indulging.
  8556. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8557. Only spend money on things that do long-term good, like education.
  8558. &lt;br&gt;
  8559. In other words, never spend, only invest.
  8560. &lt;br&gt;
  8561. The earlier you start, the better, since time is the multiplier.
  8562. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8563. Many huge achievements are just the result of little actions done persistently over time.
  8564. &lt;br&gt;
  8565. Cities began with just one building.
  8566. &lt;br&gt;
  8567. Walmart was one little store.
  8568. &lt;br&gt;
  8569. People with incredible skill just practiced every day.
  8570. &lt;br&gt;
  8571. Put $25 a day in your investment account, and in thirty years, you’ll have over a million dollars.
  8572. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8573. We overestimate what we can do in one year.
  8574. &lt;br&gt;
  8575. We underestimate what we can do in ten years.
  8576. &lt;br&gt;
  8577. If you take up a new hobby at the age of forty, or whatever age you think is too late, you’ll be an expert by the age of sixty.
  8578. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8579. Be extra-careful of habits that seem harmless.
  8580. &lt;br&gt;
  8581. Imagine each choice continuing forever.
  8582. &lt;br&gt;
  8583. Eat a cookie, and eventually you’re obese.
  8584. &lt;br&gt;
  8585. Shop for fun, and eventually you’re deep in debt.
  8586. &lt;br&gt;
  8587. When you choose a behavior, you choose its future consequences.
  8588. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8589. Thinking of the future doesn’t come naturally.
  8590. &lt;br&gt;
  8591. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors had to live moment-to-moment, so our tendency to focus on today is built into our biology.
  8592. &lt;br&gt;
  8593. But times have changed.
  8594. &lt;br&gt;
  8595. Now the surviving fittest are the ones who plan ahead.
  8596. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8597. You owe your quality of life to people in past generations.
  8598. &lt;br&gt;
  8599. We say someone is lucky if they are born into a rich family, in a stable country, full of opportunity.
  8600. &lt;br&gt;
  8601. But that luck was created by the grandparents that moved to that promising place, then worked hard and saved money for the next generation instead of spending it themselves.
  8602. &lt;br&gt;
  8603. Make your grandchildren lucky like this.
  8604. &lt;br&gt;
  8605. Move to a place with good values that’s headed in the right direction.
  8606. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8607. Climate change might make everything between 40° and -40° latitude quite unlivable, so start getting legal resident status in a country outside of that, like Canada, New Zealand, or the Nordics.
  8608. &lt;br&gt;
  8609. These might be the last livable places on Earth.
  8610. &lt;br&gt;
  8611. Make sure your grandchildren will have citizenship.
  8612. &lt;br&gt;
  8613. Be a great ancestor.
  8614. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8615. Plan your death.
  8616. &lt;br&gt;
  8617. Write your will now.
  8618. &lt;br&gt;
  8619. Make sure your heirs know where everything is, and who to contact.
  8620. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8621. Short-term thinking is the root of most of our problems, from pollution to debt, both personal and global.
  8622. &lt;br&gt;
  8623. Easter Island used to be filled with trees, but early settlers cut them down, and they never grew back.
  8624. &lt;br&gt;
  8625. Greenland used to have grass, but early settlers let their sheep graze, and it never grew back.
  8626. &lt;br&gt;
  8627. A few short-term decisions can lead to centuries of destruction.
  8628. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8629. We treat the future like a garbage dump.
  8630. &lt;br&gt;
  8631. We dump our debts, pollution, junk, and responsibilities on the future, as if it’s a problem solved.
  8632. &lt;br&gt;
  8633. It’s the most psychopathically inconsiderate thing we do to our children, since it’s their world, not ours.
  8634. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8635. Your future self is depending on you.
  8636. &lt;br&gt;
  8637. Your descendants are depending on you.
  8638. &lt;br&gt;
  8639. Our future generations are depending on us.
  8640. &lt;br&gt;
  8641. Use the compounding amplifier of time.
  8642. &lt;br&gt;
  8643. Thinking super-long-term is how to live.
  8644. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  8645.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl05</id>
  8646.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl05"/>
  8647.    <title>Here’s how to live: Think super-long-term.</title>
  8648.    <updated>2021-12-05T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  8649.    <dc:date>2021-12-05T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  8650.  </entry>
  8651.  <entry>
  8652.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  8653. The ten commandments said what not to do.
  8654. &lt;br&gt;
  8655. Most of being a good person is not doing bad.
  8656. &lt;br&gt;
  8657. Don’t be cruel or selfish.
  8658. &lt;br&gt;
  8659. Don’t lie or steal.
  8660. &lt;br&gt;
  8661. Just do no harm.
  8662. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8663. People always think they need to do something.
  8664. &lt;br&gt;
  8665. One action creates a problem, fixed by another action, so they react and counter-act, creating more problems to fix.
  8666. &lt;br&gt;
  8667. All of this can be avoided.
  8668. &lt;br&gt;
  8669. All actions are optional.
  8670. &lt;br&gt;
  8671. You don’t have to act or react.
  8672. &lt;br&gt;
  8673. You don’t have to do anything.
  8674. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8675. Criminals justify their crimes by saying they were in a crisis and had to do something.
  8676. &lt;br&gt;
  8677. People mistakenly say yes to work, people, and places they don’t like, then need to escape to get away from their mistakes.
  8678. &lt;br&gt;
  8679. People make bad decisions because they felt they had to decide.
  8680. &lt;br&gt;
  8681. It would have been wiser to do nothing.
  8682. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8683. People destroy relationships with an angry over-reaction.
  8684. &lt;br&gt;
  8685. The metaphors for “blowing off steam” or “venting” are wrong.
  8686. &lt;br&gt;
  8687. Expressing your anger doesn’t relieve it.
  8688. &lt;br&gt;
  8689. It makes you angrier.
  8690. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8691. Actions often have the opposite of the intended result.
  8692. &lt;br&gt;
  8693. People who try too hard to be liked are annoying.
  8694. &lt;br&gt;
  8695. People who try too hard to be attractive are repulsive.
  8696. &lt;br&gt;
  8697. People who try too hard to be enlightened are self-centered.
  8698. &lt;br&gt;
  8699. People who try too hard to be happy are miserable.
  8700. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8701. So the best way to live is to do nothing.
  8702. &lt;br&gt;
  8703. Stop all the thinking and doing.
  8704. &lt;br&gt;
  8705. Be still and silent.
  8706. &lt;br&gt;
  8707. No actions and no reactions.
  8708. &lt;br&gt;
  8709. No judgments and no conclusions.
  8710. &lt;br&gt;
  8711. No craving and no fixing.
  8712. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8713. Change your need to change things.
  8714. &lt;br&gt;
  8715. In your most peaceful moments, your mind is quiet.
  8716. &lt;br&gt;
  8717. You’re not thinking you should be doing anything else.
  8718. &lt;br&gt;
  8719. When everything feels perfect, you say, “I wouldn’t change a thing.”
  8720. &lt;br&gt;
  8721. So, live your whole life in this mindset.
  8722. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8723. Don’t hope.
  8724. &lt;br&gt;
  8725. Hope is wanting things to be different than they are.
  8726. &lt;br&gt;
  8727. Wanting to change yourself is self-loathing.
  8728. &lt;br&gt;
  8729. There’s no deeper happiness than wanting nothing.
  8730. &lt;br&gt;
  8731. Desire is the opposite of peace.
  8732. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8733. Most of what people say and do is unnecessary.
  8734. &lt;br&gt;
  8735. Most talk is just noise.
  8736. &lt;br&gt;
  8737. The English word “noise” comes from “nausea”.
  8738. &lt;br&gt;
  8739. Say nothing unless it must be said.
  8740. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8741. People will appreciate your silence, and know that when you speak, it must be important.
  8742. &lt;br&gt;
  8743. Shallow rivers are noisy.
  8744. &lt;br&gt;
  8745. Deep lakes are silent.
  8746. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8747. Silence is precious.
  8748. &lt;br&gt;
  8749. Silence is the one thing that all religions have in common.
  8750. &lt;br&gt;
  8751. Silence is the only way to hear quiet wisdom.
  8752. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8753. Most trouble is caused by action.
  8754. &lt;br&gt;
  8755. No action, no trouble.
  8756. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8757. Most actions are a pursuit of emotions.
  8758. &lt;br&gt;
  8759. You think you want to take action or own a thing.
  8760. &lt;br&gt;
  8761. But what you really want is the emotion you think it’ll bring.
  8762. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8763. Skip the actions.
  8764. &lt;br&gt;
  8765. Go straight for the emotion.
  8766. &lt;br&gt;
  8767. Practice feeling emotions intentionally, instead of using actions to create them.
  8768. &lt;br&gt;
  8769. You don’t need marriage to feel security.
  8770. &lt;br&gt;
  8771. Marriage doesn’t make you secure.
  8772. &lt;br&gt;
  8773. You don’t need recognition to feel pride.
  8774. &lt;br&gt;
  8775. Recognition doesn’t give you pride.
  8776. &lt;br&gt;
  8777. You don’t need a beach to feel tranquility.
  8778. &lt;br&gt;
  8779. Places don’t make emotions.
  8780. &lt;br&gt;
  8781. You do.
  8782. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8783. Your whole experience of life is in your mind.
  8784. &lt;br&gt;
  8785. Focus on your internal world, not external world.
  8786. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8787. When a problem is bothering you, it feels like you need to do something about it.
  8788. &lt;br&gt;
  8789. Instead, identify what belief is really the source of your trouble.
  8790. &lt;br&gt;
  8791. Replace that belief with one that doesn’t bother you.
  8792. &lt;br&gt;
  8793. Then the problem is solved.
  8794. &lt;br&gt;
  8795. Most problems are really just situations.
  8796. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8797. You make decisions to feel forward motion.
  8798. &lt;br&gt;
  8799. But it’s a treadmill that takes you nowhere.
  8800. &lt;br&gt;
  8801. When someone asks you to decide, just refuse.
  8802. &lt;br&gt;
  8803. The longer you go without deciding, the more information is revealed.
  8804. &lt;br&gt;
  8805. Eventually, the choice is obvious and made without an agonizing decision.
  8806. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8807. Just because somebody asked you a question doesn’t mean you have to answer it.
  8808. &lt;br&gt;
  8809. Dramatic people are fueled by reactions.
  8810. &lt;br&gt;
  8811. When you stop reacting, they go away.
  8812. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8813. Same goes for yourself.
  8814. &lt;br&gt;
  8815. Your emotions insist they need you to respond.
  8816. &lt;br&gt;
  8817. When you ignore the urges, they go away too.
  8818. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8819. Observe yourself.
  8820. &lt;br&gt;
  8821. Your own mind is the best laboratory.
  8822. &lt;br&gt;
  8823. It’s also the most private and peaceful place to work.
  8824. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8825. To be wise, shut out all media and opinions.
  8826. &lt;br&gt;
  8827. No news, no gossip, no entertainment.
  8828. &lt;br&gt;
  8829. Most of it is not worth knowing.
  8830. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8831. Junk may reach your senses, but don’t let it reach your mind.
  8832. &lt;br&gt;
  8833. Don’t accept the false stories people tell.
  8834. &lt;br&gt;
  8835. Things are neither good nor bad — they’re as neutral as a rock.
  8836. &lt;br&gt;
  8837. When people give opinions, add a question mark.
  8838. &lt;br&gt;
  8839. If they say, “Immigration is bad,” change it to, “Immigration is bad?”
  8840. &lt;br&gt;
  8841. Let the questions drift away, unanswered.
  8842. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8843. The unintelligent jump to conclusions.
  8844. &lt;br&gt;
  8845. The wise just observe.
  8846. &lt;br&gt;
  8847. Wisdom comes from removing the junk, lies, and obstacles to clear thinking.
  8848. &lt;br&gt;
  8849. Instead of learning more, get wise by learning less.
  8850. &lt;br&gt;
  8851. Keep an empty head, so you can observe clearly.
  8852. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8853. The less you do, the more you can see.
  8854. &lt;br&gt;
  8855. Observe and learn.
  8856. &lt;br&gt;
  8857. Watch the world.
  8858. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8859. Live where nothing is happening.
  8860. &lt;br&gt;
  8861. Move to a quiet place with lots of nature and no ambition.
  8862. &lt;br&gt;
  8863. Doing nothing is normal there.
  8864. &lt;br&gt;
  8865. Walk and appreciate nature for hours a day.
  8866. &lt;br&gt;
  8867. Your life and mind will be tranquil and serene.
  8868. &lt;br&gt;
  8869. Peace is the absence of turmoil.
  8870. &lt;br&gt;
  8871. You won’t need the media, the internet, or a phone.
  8872. &lt;br&gt;
  8873. Your cost of living will be hardly more than local eggs and vegetables.
  8874. &lt;br&gt;
  8875. Doing nothing is the ultimate minimalism.
  8876. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8877. If you need money, be an investor.
  8878. &lt;br&gt;
  8879. It’s the only career where you profit the most by doing the least.
  8880. &lt;br&gt;
  8881. It should take no more than an hour per month.
  8882. &lt;br&gt;
  8883. The stock market takes money from the active traders and gives it to the patient.
  8884. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8885. If an action feels necessary, and you can’t let it go, just write it down for later.
  8886. &lt;br&gt;
  8887. Everything seems more important while you’re thinking of it.
  8888. &lt;br&gt;
  8889. Later, you’ll realize it’s not.
  8890. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8891. But if it still feels necessary, adjust your time frame.
  8892. &lt;br&gt;
  8893. A year from now, will it be important?
  8894. &lt;br&gt;
  8895. Ten years from now?
  8896. &lt;br&gt;
  8897. Zoom out as far as you need to make it unimportant.
  8898. &lt;br&gt;
  8899. Then you’re free of it.
  8900. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8901. But you may think the world needs you to do something.
  8902. &lt;br&gt;
  8903. That line of thinking makes it upsetting to die.
  8904. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8905. Let go of feeling needed.
  8906. &lt;br&gt;
  8907. Let go too soon instead of too late.
  8908. &lt;br&gt;
  8909. The world doesn’t need you.
  8910. &lt;br&gt;
  8911. You’re relieved of your duty because soon you won’t exist.
  8912. &lt;br&gt;
  8913. Do nothing now to show that life goes on without you.
  8914. &lt;br&gt;
  8915. Be selfless.
  8916. &lt;br&gt;
  8917. Be free.
  8918. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8919. Doing nothing is how to live and how to die.
  8920. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  8921.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl04</id>
  8922.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl04"/>
  8923.    <title>Here’s how to live: Do nothing.</title>
  8924.    <updated>2021-12-04T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  8925.    <dc:date>2021-12-04T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  8926.  </entry>
  8927.  <entry>
  8928.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  8929. See it all.
  8930. &lt;br&gt;
  8931. Touch it all.
  8932. &lt;br&gt;
  8933. Hear it all.
  8934. &lt;br&gt;
  8935. Taste it all.
  8936. &lt;br&gt;
  8937. Do it all.
  8938. &lt;br&gt;
  8939. Appreciate this wonderful physical world.
  8940. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8941. If you knew you’d go blind tomorrow, how intensely would you look at the world today?
  8942. &lt;br&gt;
  8943. If you knew you’d go deaf tomorrow, how intensely would you listen?
  8944. &lt;br&gt;
  8945. Fill your senses as if this was your last day on Earth.
  8946. &lt;br&gt;
  8947. One day that will be true.
  8948. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8949. Maximize your inputs.
  8950. &lt;br&gt;
  8951. See all the places.
  8952. &lt;br&gt;
  8953. Eat all the food.
  8954. &lt;br&gt;
  8955. Hear all the music.
  8956. &lt;br&gt;
  8957. Meet all the people.
  8958. &lt;br&gt;
  8959. Kiss all the beauties.
  8960. &lt;br&gt;
  8961. Be insatiable.
  8962. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8963. Life is short.
  8964. &lt;br&gt;
  8965. How to experience it all?
  8966. &lt;br&gt;
  8967. Here’s the key:
  8968. &lt;br&gt;
  8969. Here’s your mission:
  8970. &lt;br&gt;
  8971. Nothing twice.
  8972. &lt;br&gt;
  8973. Never eat the same food twice.
  8974. &lt;br&gt;
  8975. Never go to the same place twice.
  8976. &lt;br&gt;
  8977. Never hear the same thing twice.
  8978. &lt;br&gt;
  8979. Everything only once.
  8980. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8981. Be systematic.
  8982. &lt;br&gt;
  8983. Follow guides.
  8984. &lt;br&gt;
  8985. “Top Places You Must Visit”
  8986. &lt;br&gt;
  8987. “Greatest Movies of All Time”
  8988. &lt;br&gt;
  8989. “Best Restaurants in Town”
  8990. &lt;br&gt;
  8991. Go through them all.
  8992. &lt;br&gt;
  8993. That’s the optimized way to experience the most, without repetition.
  8994. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  8995. Always forward.
  8996. &lt;br&gt;
  8997. Never back.
  8998. &lt;br&gt;
  8999. Push yourself.
  9000. &lt;br&gt;
  9001. Always be a stranger in a strange land.
  9002. &lt;br&gt;
  9003. But don’t rush.
  9004. &lt;br&gt;
  9005. Savor every aspect of everything you take in.
  9006. &lt;br&gt;
  9007. Notice the nuances.
  9008. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9009. Find places that bombard your senses.
  9010. &lt;br&gt;
  9011. India.
  9012. &lt;br&gt;
  9013. Burning Man.
  9014. &lt;br&gt;
  9015. Festivals.
  9016. &lt;br&gt;
  9017. Museums.
  9018. &lt;br&gt;
  9019. Celebrations.
  9020. &lt;br&gt;
  9021. Funerals.
  9022. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9023. Skydive.
  9024. &lt;br&gt;
  9025. Scuba dive.
  9026. &lt;br&gt;
  9027. Run with bulls.
  9028. &lt;br&gt;
  9029. Swim with sharks.
  9030. &lt;br&gt;
  9031. Float in space.
  9032. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9033. How to pay for this wonderful life?
  9034. &lt;br&gt;
  9035. Only two choices.
  9036. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9037. The bad choice is a travel writer.
  9038. &lt;br&gt;
  9039. Looks glamorous and easy, so everyone tries it.
  9040. &lt;br&gt;
  9041. May be possible, but every rich kid does it for free.
  9042. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9043. The smart choice is sales.
  9044. &lt;br&gt;
  9045. It will always be valuable.
  9046. &lt;br&gt;
  9047. Learn to sell, and you can go anywhere.
  9048. &lt;br&gt;
  9049. You’ll be paid well at any age.
  9050. &lt;br&gt;
  9051. Always in high demand.
  9052. &lt;br&gt;
  9053. Get a job on the road.
  9054. &lt;br&gt;
  9055. Always talking to strangers.
  9056. &lt;br&gt;
  9057. That’s what you need.
  9058. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9059. Simple decisions help avoid repetition.
  9060. &lt;br&gt;
  9061. Don’t have a home.
  9062. &lt;br&gt;
  9063. Never sleep in the same place twice.
  9064. &lt;br&gt;
  9065. No kitchen.
  9066. &lt;br&gt;
  9067. No cooking.
  9068. &lt;br&gt;
  9069. Every meal somewhere new.
  9070. &lt;br&gt;
  9071. Never go down a road you recognize.
  9072. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9073. Simple systems help force change.
  9074. &lt;br&gt;
  9075. Every month, get rid of your existing clothes.
  9076. &lt;br&gt;
  9077. Get new clothes in a new style.
  9078. &lt;br&gt;
  9079. Do this while traveling, so one month your clothes are from Morocco, next month from Italy, next month from Japan.
  9080. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9081. This is good for you.
  9082. &lt;br&gt;
  9083. The variation in diet is good for your health.
  9084. &lt;br&gt;
  9085. The new situations are great for your brain.
  9086. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9087. Never have the same thought twice.
  9088. &lt;br&gt;
  9089. Keep nothing on your mind.
  9090. &lt;br&gt;
  9091. Just take in what’s around you now.
  9092. &lt;br&gt;
  9093. Have no expectation of how something should be, or you won’t see how it really is.
  9094. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9095. How amazing that everything you’re doing is both the first and last time.
  9096. &lt;br&gt;
  9097. The thrill of the first.
  9098. &lt;br&gt;
  9099. The sentimentality of the last.
  9100. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9101. There will be things you’ll love so much you’ll want to stay or do them again.
  9102. &lt;br&gt;
  9103. But no.
  9104. &lt;br&gt;
  9105. Remember your mission.
  9106. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9107. Experience pain, anger, sorrow, and more.
  9108. &lt;br&gt;
  9109. Don’t judge them as bad.
  9110. &lt;br&gt;
  9111. Notice how they really feel.
  9112. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9113. Practice seduction.
  9114. &lt;br&gt;
  9115. Be with a different person every night.
  9116. &lt;br&gt;
  9117. Every lover is different.
  9118. &lt;br&gt;
  9119. Don’t allow relationships.
  9120. &lt;br&gt;
  9121. Remember: no repetition.
  9122. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9123. But after decades of this, you’ll need something radically new.
  9124. &lt;br&gt;
  9125. Stay in one place.
  9126. &lt;br&gt;
  9127. Be with one person.
  9128. &lt;br&gt;
  9129. Buy a home.
  9130. &lt;br&gt;
  9131. Raise a baby.
  9132. &lt;br&gt;
  9133. It’s terrifying, but if you don’t, it will be the one experience you never had.
  9134. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  9135.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl03</id>
  9136.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl03"/>
  9137.    <title>Here’s how to live: Fill your senses.</title>
  9138.    <updated>2021-12-03T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  9139.    <dc:date>2021-12-03T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  9140.  </entry>
  9141.  <entry>
  9142.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  9143. If you’ve ever been confused or distracted, with too many options…
  9144. &lt;br&gt;
  9145. If you don’t finish what you start…
  9146. &lt;br&gt;
  9147. If you’re not with a person you love…
  9148. &lt;br&gt;
  9149. … then you’ve felt the problem.
  9150. &lt;br&gt;
  9151. The problem is a lack of commitment.
  9152. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9153. You’ve been looking for the best person, place, or career.
  9154. &lt;br&gt;
  9155. But seeking the best is the problem.
  9156. &lt;br&gt;
  9157. No choice is inherently the best.
  9158. &lt;br&gt;
  9159. What makes something the best choice?
  9160. &lt;br&gt;
  9161. You.
  9162. &lt;br&gt;
  9163. You make it the best through your commitment to it.
  9164. &lt;br&gt;
  9165. Your dedication and actions make any choice great.
  9166. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9167. This is a life-changing epiphany.
  9168. &lt;br&gt;
  9169. You can stop seeking the best option.
  9170. &lt;br&gt;
  9171. Pick one and irreversibly commit.
  9172. &lt;br&gt;
  9173. Then it becomes the best choice for you.
  9174. &lt;br&gt;
  9175. Voilà.
  9176. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9177. When a decision is irreversible, you feel better about it.
  9178. &lt;br&gt;
  9179. When you’re stuck with something, you find what’s good about it.
  9180. &lt;br&gt;
  9181. When you can’t change your situation, you change your attitude towards it.
  9182. &lt;br&gt;
  9183. So remove the option to change your mind.
  9184. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9185. You think you want more choice and more options.
  9186. &lt;br&gt;
  9187. But when you have unlimited choice, you feel worse.
  9188. &lt;br&gt;
  9189. When you keep all options open, you’re conflicted and miserable.
  9190. &lt;br&gt;
  9191. Your thoughts are divided.
  9192. &lt;br&gt;
  9193. Your power is diluted.
  9194. &lt;br&gt;
  9195. Your time is thinly spread.
  9196. &lt;br&gt;
  9197. Indecision keeps you shallow.
  9198. &lt;br&gt;
  9199. Get the deeper pleasure of diving into one choice.
  9200. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9201. The English word “decide” comes from Latin “to cut off”.
  9202. &lt;br&gt;
  9203. Choose one and cut off other options.
  9204. &lt;br&gt;
  9205. To go one direction means you’re not going other directions.
  9206. &lt;br&gt;
  9207. When you commit to one outcome, you’re united and sharply focused.
  9208. &lt;br&gt;
  9209. When you sacrifice your alternate selves, your remaining self has amazing power.
  9210. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9211. Ignore other aspects of your life.
  9212. &lt;br&gt;
  9213. Let go of every unnecessary obligation.
  9214. &lt;br&gt;
  9215. Each one seems small, but together, they’ll drain your soul.
  9216. &lt;br&gt;
  9217. Focus your attention on the few things you’re committed to, and nothing else.
  9218. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9219. When our ancestors shifted from nomadic hunter-gatherers to settled land developers, human development boomed.
  9220. We made massive advances when we stopped moving, and committed to one place.
  9221. &lt;br&gt;
  9222. Choose your home.
  9223. &lt;br&gt;
  9224. Stay there for good.
  9225. &lt;br&gt;
  9226. Get to know everything about it.
  9227. &lt;br&gt;
  9228. Even if you’ve lived there for years, hire a local expert and learn even more about the history, architecture, and areas you haven’t explored.
  9229. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9230. Find a community of like-minded people.
  9231. &lt;br&gt;
  9232. Don’t waste your energy fighting norms.
  9233. &lt;br&gt;
  9234. Trust helps your happiness more than income or health.
  9235. &lt;br&gt;
  9236. Invite your neighbors over for a meal.
  9237. &lt;br&gt;
  9238. Make friends.
  9239. &lt;br&gt;
  9240. Make the effort.
  9241. &lt;br&gt;
  9242. Borrow and lend.
  9243. &lt;br&gt;
  9244. Trust and show you can be trusted.
  9245. &lt;br&gt;
  9246. Let them know they can lean on you because you’re here to stay.
  9247. &lt;br&gt;
  9248. They’ll reciprocate.
  9249. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9250. You’ll be an inseparable part of your community.
  9251. &lt;br&gt;
  9252. The good relationships you build will build you.
  9253. &lt;br&gt;
  9254. There’s no greater strength in hard times.
  9255. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9256. When you stay in one place, daily life is better.
  9257. &lt;br&gt;
  9258. There’s little incentive for businesses to give good service to someone who’s only passing through.
  9259. &lt;br&gt;
  9260. But by committing to a community, people treat you better.
  9261. &lt;br&gt;
  9262. The rules are different.
  9263. &lt;br&gt;
  9264. They know they’ll see you every week so it’s in their best interest to treat you well.
  9265. &lt;br&gt;
  9266. You’re more of a friend than a stranger.
  9267. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9268. The more social ties we have, the happier we are.
  9269. &lt;br&gt;
  9270. The bond of friendship is one of the deepest joys in life.
  9271. &lt;br&gt;
  9272. Notice those words: ties, bond.
  9273. &lt;br&gt;
  9274. These are words of commitment.
  9275. &lt;br&gt;
  9276. We say we want freedom, in theory.
  9277. &lt;br&gt;
  9278. But we actually prefer this warm embrace.
  9279. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9280. You and your best friends don’t decide anew each day whether you’re friends or not.
  9281. &lt;br&gt;
  9282. You are friends, without question.
  9283. &lt;br&gt;
  9284. You’re committed to each other, even if you’ve never said so.
  9285. &lt;br&gt;
  9286. That’s what’s wonderful about it.
  9287. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9288. When people say you’re a person of good character, they mean you’re not just good, but consistently so.
  9289. &lt;br&gt;
  9290. You’re defined by what you do repeatedly.
  9291. &lt;br&gt;
  9292. Your habits create your character.
  9293. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9294. Once you decide what’s important to you, you know how your ideal self will act and what your ideal day will be.
  9295. &lt;br&gt;
  9296. So why not act that way and live that day every day?
  9297. &lt;br&gt;
  9298. Commit to your habits to make them rituals.
  9299. &lt;br&gt;
  9300. If it’s not important, never do it.
  9301. &lt;br&gt;
  9302. If it’s important, do it every day.
  9303. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9304. Rockets use most of their fuel in the first minute of flight, to escape the pull of gravity.
  9305. &lt;br&gt;
  9306. Once they get outside that pull, it’s effortless.
  9307. &lt;br&gt;
  9308. Same with your habits.
  9309. &lt;br&gt;
  9310. Starting is hard.
  9311. &lt;br&gt;
  9312. The rest is easy.
  9313. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9314. New habits are what you’re trying.
  9315. &lt;br&gt;
  9316. Old habits are who you are.
  9317. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9318. Commit to one career path.
  9319. &lt;br&gt;
  9320. Build your expertise and reputation over time.
  9321. &lt;br&gt;
  9322. Because you cut off other options, you won’t be derailed by distraction.
  9323. &lt;br&gt;
  9324. Since you’re committed, you can’t fail.
  9325. &lt;br&gt;
  9326. Even if it takes you years longer than expected, it’s not failure until you give up.
  9327. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9328. This even goes for technical choices, whether hardware or software.
  9329. &lt;br&gt;
  9330. Pick one.
  9331. &lt;br&gt;
  9332. Commit to it.
  9333. &lt;br&gt;
  9334. Learn it deeply.
  9335. &lt;br&gt;
  9336. This is much more rewarding than always switching and searching for the best.
  9337. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9338. Marry.
  9339. &lt;br&gt;
  9340. Marry someone full of kindness who is committed to putting you in the center of their life.
  9341. &lt;br&gt;
  9342. Marry someone you don’t want to change, who doesn’t want to change you.
  9343. &lt;br&gt;
  9344. Someone that doesn’t punish you for mistakes.
  9345. &lt;br&gt;
  9346. Someone who sees you as your highest potential.
  9347. &lt;br&gt;
  9348. Commit completely.
  9349. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9350. Falling in love is easy.
  9351. &lt;br&gt;
  9352. Staying in love is harder.
  9353. &lt;br&gt;
  9354. Enthusiasm is common.
  9355. &lt;br&gt;
  9356. Endurance is rare.
  9357. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9358. Marriage is for getting through the times when you’re not in love.
  9359. &lt;br&gt;
  9360. Expect things to get bad.
  9361. &lt;br&gt;
  9362. Your mutual commitment gives you the security to weather the storms, knowing they won’t destroy the relationship.
  9363. &lt;br&gt;
  9364. Be loving even when you’re not feeling loving.
  9365. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9366. Commitment gives you peace of mind.
  9367. &lt;br&gt;
  9368. When you commit to one thing, and let go of the rest, you feel free.
  9369. &lt;br&gt;
  9370. Once you decide something, never change your mind.
  9371. &lt;br&gt;
  9372. It’s so much easier to decide just once.
  9373. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9374. Commitment gives you integrity and social bonds.
  9375. &lt;br&gt;
  9376. Commitment gives you expertise and power.
  9377. &lt;br&gt;
  9378. Commitment gives you love and happiness.
  9379. &lt;br&gt;
  9380. Committing is how to live.
  9381. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  9382.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl02</id>
  9383.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl02"/>
  9384.    <title>Here’s how to live: Commit.</title>
  9385.    <updated>2021-12-02T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  9386.    <dc:date>2021-12-02T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  9387.  </entry>
  9388.  <entry>
  9389.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  9390. All misery comes from dependency.
  9391. &lt;br&gt;
  9392. If you weren’t dependent on income, people, or technology, you would be truly free.
  9393. &lt;br&gt;
  9394. The only way to be deeply happy is to break all dependencies.
  9395. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9396. Most problems are interpersonal.
  9397. &lt;br&gt;
  9398. To be part of society is to lose a part of yourself.
  9399. &lt;br&gt;
  9400. Cut ties with society.
  9401. &lt;br&gt;
  9402. Don’t engage.
  9403. &lt;br&gt;
  9404. Don’t even rebel, because that’s reacting.
  9405. &lt;br&gt;
  9406. Instead, do what you’d do if you were the only person on Earth.
  9407. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9408. People think we live in a world of politics, society, norms, and news.
  9409. &lt;br&gt;
  9410. But none of it is real.
  9411. &lt;br&gt;
  9412. They’re just interpersonal drama.
  9413. &lt;br&gt;
  9414. They’re the noisy waste product of unhealthy minds.
  9415. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9416. Crowds are hysterical, and inbreed opinions.
  9417. &lt;br&gt;
  9418. Don’t be a part of any group.
  9419. &lt;br&gt;
  9420. Don’t take sides on any fight.
  9421. &lt;br&gt;
  9422. Instead of standing out from the crowd, just avoid and ignore the crowd.
  9423. &lt;br&gt;
  9424. Avoid social media and the zeitgeist.
  9425. &lt;br&gt;
  9426. Its stupidity will infect you.
  9427. &lt;br&gt;
  9428. Don’t align with any religion, philosophy, or political stance.
  9429. &lt;br&gt;
  9430. Stay unlabeled and unbound.
  9431. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9432. Rules and norms were created by the upper class to protect their privilege — to categorize people into high versus low society.
  9433. &lt;br&gt;
  9434. None of it applies to you.
  9435. &lt;br&gt;
  9436. Long ago, people had to follow norms to have high social status, otherwise they’d be ostracized and couldn’t survive.
  9437. &lt;br&gt;
  9438. But now you can survive, mate, and thrive without social status.
  9439. &lt;br&gt;
  9440. So it’s both irrational and unwise to follow those norms.
  9441. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9442. Dogs bark.
  9443. &lt;br&gt;
  9444. People speak.
  9445. &lt;br&gt;
  9446. It doesn’t mean a thing.
  9447. &lt;br&gt;
  9448. What they say and do has nothing to do with you, even if it seems directed your way.
  9449. &lt;br&gt;
  9450. The only opinion that matters is your own.
  9451. &lt;br&gt;
  9452. When you know what you’re doing, you won’t care what anyone else is doing.
  9453. &lt;br&gt;
  9454. When you’re indifferent to people’s words and actions, nobody can affect you.
  9455. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9456. Don’t believe anything anyone says.
  9457. &lt;br&gt;
  9458. Listen if you want, but always decide for yourself.
  9459. &lt;br&gt;
  9460. Never agree with anything the same day you hear it, because some ideas are persuasively hypnotic.
  9461. &lt;br&gt;
  9462. Wait a few days to decide what you really think.
  9463. &lt;br&gt;
  9464. Don’t let ideas into your head or heart without your permission.
  9465. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9466. Being independent means you can’t blame others.
  9467. &lt;br&gt;
  9468. Decide everything is your fault.
  9469. &lt;br&gt;
  9470. Whoever you blame has power over you, so blame only yourself.
  9471. &lt;br&gt;
  9472. When you blame your location, culture, race, or history, you’re abdicating your autonomy.
  9473. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9474. Everyone has their own lives to manage.
  9475. &lt;br&gt;
  9476. Nobody is responsible for you, and you aren’t responsible for anybody.
  9477. &lt;br&gt;
  9478. You don’t owe anyone anything.
  9479. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9480. Friends are great at the right distance.
  9481. &lt;br&gt;
  9482. Just like you can’t read something if it’s pushed up against your face, or too far away, you should keep your friends at arm’s length — close but not too close.
  9483. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9484. Have more than one romantic partner, or none.
  9485. &lt;br&gt;
  9486. To avoid emotional dependence, never have just one.
  9487. &lt;br&gt;
  9488. Don’t worry about being lonely.
  9489. &lt;br&gt;
  9490. Nothing is more lonely than being with the wrong person.
  9491. &lt;br&gt;
  9492. It’s always better to be alone.
  9493. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9494. You can’t be free without self-mastery.
  9495. &lt;br&gt;
  9496. Your past indulgences and habits might be addictions.
  9497. &lt;br&gt;
  9498. Quit a harmless habit for a month, just to prove you can.
  9499. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9500. When you say you want more freedom from the world, you may just need freedom from your past self.
  9501. &lt;br&gt;
  9502. You don’t see things as they are.
  9503. &lt;br&gt;
  9504. You see them as you are.
  9505. &lt;br&gt;
  9506. Change yourself and you change the world.
  9507. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9508. Learn the skills you need to be self-reliant.
  9509. &lt;br&gt;
  9510. Learn to drive, fly, sail, garden, fish, and camp.
  9511. &lt;br&gt;
  9512. Learn emergency medical and disaster preparedness.
  9513. &lt;br&gt;
  9514. Assume nobody will help you.
  9515. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9516. Don’t depend on any company, especially not the big tech giants.
  9517. &lt;br&gt;
  9518. Use only open-source software and open communication protocols.
  9519. &lt;br&gt;
  9520. Keep your own backups.
  9521. &lt;br&gt;
  9522. Get your own domain.
  9523. &lt;br&gt;
  9524. Run your own server.
  9525. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9526. Live where you feel most free.
  9527. &lt;br&gt;
  9528. Move symbolically far away from where you grew up.
  9529. &lt;br&gt;
  9530. Living in a foreign place helps make it clear that this culture’s rules don’t apply to you.
  9531. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9532. The best place for self-reliance is a rural off-the-grid home.
  9533. &lt;br&gt;
  9534. Generate your own electricity.
  9535. &lt;br&gt;
  9536. Collect your own water.
  9537. &lt;br&gt;
  9538. Grow your own food.
  9539. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9540. Or have no home at all.
  9541. &lt;br&gt;
  9542. When you have no home, the whole world is your home.
  9543. &lt;br&gt;
  9544. Be a nomadic minimalist to break dependencies on stuff.
  9545. &lt;br&gt;
  9546. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors thrived by carrying nothing, then finding or making what they needed.
  9547. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9548. Be a perpetual traveler, living out of a suitcase.
  9549. &lt;br&gt;
  9550. Move to a new country every few months, never a registered resident of anywhere.
  9551. &lt;br&gt;
  9552. Spread the different aspects of your life across different countries to avoid depending on any one country.
  9553. &lt;br&gt;
  9554. Earn multiple passports.
  9555. &lt;br&gt;
  9556. If a country enters into war or makes your life hard, just leave.
  9557. &lt;br&gt;
  9558. To be nomadic is to be a pacifist.
  9559. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9560. Make friends wherever you go, so that no one place has all of your friends.
  9561. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9562. Own your own business with many small customers to avoid depending on any big client.
  9563. &lt;br&gt;
  9564. Offer products, not a personal service, so your business can run without you.
  9565. &lt;br&gt;
  9566. Create many sources of income like this.
  9567. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9568. Don’t sign contracts.
  9569. &lt;br&gt;
  9570. Be willing to walk away from anything.
  9571. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9572. Eventually, you will have done it.
  9573. &lt;br&gt;
  9574. You’ll be absolutely free and independent.
  9575. &lt;br&gt;
  9576. It’s the ultimate liberation.
  9577. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9578. Then you can appreciate everything from a healthy distance.
  9579. &lt;br&gt;
  9580. You can appreciate your country from abroad, once it’s not your only option.
  9581. &lt;br&gt;
  9582. You can appreciate family, once they’re not forced upon you.
  9583. &lt;br&gt;
  9584. You can laugh at the hysteria of the crowd, and learn from it too.
  9585. &lt;br&gt;
  9586. You can take sides in a fight, with a smirk.
  9587. &lt;br&gt;
  9588. You can even take responsibility for someone else.
  9589. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9590. Being fully independent is how to live.
  9591. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  9592.    <id>https://sive.rs/htl01</id>
  9593.    <link href="https://sive.rs/htl01"/>
  9594.    <title>Here’s how to live: Be independent.</title>
  9595.    <updated>2021-12-01T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  9596.    <dc:date>2021-12-01T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  9597.  </entry>
  9598.  <entry>
  9599.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  9600. I love having &lt;a href=&quot;https://sivers.com/&quot;&gt;my own store&lt;/a&gt; so I can make things the way I think they should be.
  9601. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9602. For example, I disagree with the usual pricing of books.
  9603. If I buy a book in one format, it doesn’t seem fair to pay full price to get it in another format.
  9604. That would be paying twice for the same content.
  9605. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9606. Let’s separate these two things:
  9607. &lt;/p&gt;
  9608. &lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  9609. &lt;strong&gt;Contents&lt;/strong&gt;: the words in a book
  9610. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  9611. &lt;strong&gt;Delivery&lt;/strong&gt;: the ways to get the words into your brain: paper, audio, PDF, HTML, etc.
  9612. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;
  9613. &lt;p&gt;
  9614. What we really want is to &lt;strong&gt;buy the contents, not delivery&lt;/strong&gt;.
  9615. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9616. With so many different devices now, it seems fair that if you buy the contents of a book, it should include all formats of delivery.
  9617. EPUB, MP3, Kindle, M4B, PDF, HTML, or whatever new formats may come in the future.
  9618. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9619. Today you want to read silently by the fire.
  9620. Tomorrow you want to listen while you drive.
  9621. In ten years, you want to read it again on your new device.
  9622. &lt;strong&gt;
  9623. This should all be included when you buy a book.
  9624. &lt;/strong&gt;
  9625. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9626. I love this idea.
  9627. It’s almost perfect.
  9628. It has just one problem:
  9629. &lt;strong&gt;
  9630. Paper costs money.
  9631. &lt;/strong&gt;
  9632. So I can’t just include it for free.
  9633. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9634. But following this philosophy, it’s not right to charge full price for each paper book, because that would mean paying repeatedly for the contents!
  9635. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9636. So here’s the solution I came up with:
  9637. &lt;/p&gt;
  9638. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  9639. &lt;strong&gt;Contents&lt;/strong&gt; of my book: $15
  9640. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  9641. &lt;strong&gt;Delivery&lt;/strong&gt; of all digital formats: FREE
  9642. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  9643. &lt;strong&gt;Paper?&lt;/strong&gt; Just cover its cost: $4 each (+ postage)
  9644. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  9645. &lt;p&gt;
  9646. I like this.
  9647. &lt;strong&gt;
  9648. It means you never pay for the contents twice.
  9649. &lt;/strong&gt;
  9650. It works out well for many different scenarios:
  9651. &lt;/p&gt;
  9652. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  9653. All digital formats: $15
  9654. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  9655. First paper book: $19
  9656. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  9657. Paper books after you’ve bought the contents: $4 each
  9658. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  9659. Loved the ebook, and now want to buy 20 paper copies for your friends?
  9660. Just $4 each, so &lt;strong&gt;$80 total for 20 hardcover books&lt;/strong&gt;.
  9661. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  9662. &lt;p&gt;
  9663. It’s worked out well.
  9664. People are buying many hardcover copies as gifts.
  9665. A few people have bought over 500 copies each to give to clients or members of their organization.
  9666. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9667. The only downside of creative pricing is it requires a little explanation.
  9668. Like anything unusual.
  9669. &lt;/p&gt;
  9670. &lt;hr&gt;
  9671. &lt;p&gt;
  9672. &lt;strong&gt;
  9673. Log in to &lt;a href=&quot;https://sivers.com/&quot;&gt;sivers.com&lt;/a&gt; to get my books. ☺
  9674. &lt;/strong&gt;
  9675. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9676. See &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/pp&quot;&gt;my previous article on pricing philosophy&lt;/a&gt; for more thoughts on &lt;strong&gt;creative pricing&lt;/strong&gt;.
  9677. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9678. Read “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/ayw4&quot;&gt;Make a dream come true&lt;/a&gt;” for more thoughts on &lt;strong&gt;making things the way they should be&lt;/strong&gt;.
  9679. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  9680.    <id>https://sive.rs/bp</id>
  9681.    <link href="https://sive.rs/bp"/>
  9682.    <title>Considerate book pricing</title>
  9683.    <updated>2021-10-27T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  9684.    <dc:date>2021-10-27T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  9685.  </entry>
  9686.  <entry>
  9687.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  9688. I used to have too many pets.
  9689. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9690. Each time I adopted one, I was fully in love.
  9691. I was enamored with the potential.
  9692. Each new pet was meant to be my constant companion.
  9693. So I would take it home, and love it.
  9694. But eventually I would discover a new pet, and the process would repeat.
  9695. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9696. My house was overflowing.
  9697. But it didn’t feel that way at the time.
  9698. In each moment, I was giving just one pet my full attention.
  9699. My life was full of so many loves.
  9700. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9701. Ah, but that’s seeing it from my point of view.
  9702. What about from theirs?
  9703. Each pet only got a little of my time each week.
  9704. The rest of the time they were neglected, waiting for my attention.
  9705. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9706. I sadly realized this was unfair.
  9707. The situation was hurting them.
  9708. No pet was thriving.
  9709. No pet was getting the attention it deserved.
  9710. The situation was also hurting me.
  9711. Anyone who wanted to come into my life had to compete for my attention, or love all of my pets.
  9712. I was scattered and unavailable.
  9713. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9714. So, I started releasing them back into the wild.
  9715. One at a time, reluctantly, I’d set one free, or find it a new home with someone who was really going to give this pet 100% of their love.
  9716. I mourned the loss of possibility with each one as I said goodbye.
  9717. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  9718. My pet project to start a business.
  9719. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  9720. My plan to travel everywhere.
  9721. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  9722. My dream to learn Chinese.
  9723. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  9724. My goal to plant a forest.
  9725. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  9726. My wish to build a house.
  9727. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9728. Although each goodbye was sad, it opened up more space.
  9729. I enjoyed the freedom and feeling unconflicted.
  9730. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9731. Before, I’d glance at each pet and feel love but guilt for not giving it more time.
  9732. Now, I picture what could have been, and just enjoy the daydream.
  9733. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9734. I let my last pet go, came home, and cleaned the house.
  9735. There’s so much room for focus now.
  9736. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9737. Surprising end to this story:
  9738. One pet kept coming back, no matter how many times I set her free.
  9739. She refused to stay away.
  9740. So now it’s just me and her, and I’m giving her all my time.
  9741. &lt;/p&gt;
  9742. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/pets.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;drawing of pets&quot;&gt;</content>
  9743.    <id>https://sive.rs/pets</id>
  9744.    <link href="https://sive.rs/pets"/>
  9745.    <title>How many pets do you have?</title>
  9746.    <updated>2021-08-13T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  9747.    <dc:date>2021-08-13T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  9748.  </entry>
  9749.  <entry>
  9750.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;
  9751. 2023 UPDATE: see “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/575k&quot;&gt;$575K of books sold. $575K to save lives.&lt;/a&gt;”
  9752. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9753. Six weeks ago I emailed my &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/contact&quot;&gt;private email list&lt;/a&gt; with a secret link to buy my new books.
  9754. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9755. They’re not even officially released yet, but they’ve already sold over $250,000.
  9756. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9757. I made 5000 limited edition hardcover copies of each, but those have sold out now.
  9758. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9759. &lt;strong&gt;
  9760. I’ll admit, it made me ridiculously happy to make $250,000.
  9761. &lt;/strong&gt;
  9762. I was expecting way less than that, so it was a big surprise.
  9763. I had a spring in my step for days.
  9764. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9765. Then I thought about what to do with the money.
  9766. There’s nothing I want to buy.
  9767. Should I put it in an investment account?
  9768. Eh.
  9769. For what purpose?
  9770. I &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/full&quot;&gt;don’t want more money&lt;/a&gt;.
  9771. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9772. So, I decided to donate it to charity.
  9773. Which charity?
  9774. I want to save the most lives.
  9775. So I let &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.givewell.org/&quot;&gt;GiveWell&lt;/a&gt; decide.
  9776. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9777. &lt;strong&gt;
  9778. Yesterday I wired the entire $250,000 to the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.againstmalaria.com/&quot;&gt;Against Malaria Foundation&lt;/a&gt;.
  9779. &lt;/strong&gt;
  9780. That will buy 125,000 malaria nets, protecting ~225,000 people, averting ~65,000 cases of malaria, preventing ~125 deaths.
  9781. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9782. Yeah.
  9783. That’s &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/n&quot;&gt;worth doing&lt;/a&gt;.
  9784. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9785. Afterwards, a friend reminded me that I had just repeated my “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/232&quot;&gt;232 sand dollars&lt;/a&gt;” story, so &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/232&quot;&gt;go read that&lt;/a&gt; if interested.
  9786. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9787. You can &lt;a href=&quot;https://sivers.com/&quot;&gt;buy the books now&lt;/a&gt;, directly from me.
  9788. They won’t be available anywhere else for a couple more months.
  9789. &lt;/p&gt;
  9790. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  9791. “&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/m&quot;&gt;Your Music and People&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;” is a philosophy of getting your work to the world by being creative, considerate, resourceful, and connected.
  9792. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  9793. “&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/n&quot;&gt;Hell Yeah or No&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;” is a collection of thoughts around what’s worth doing, fixing faulty thinking, and making things happen.
  9794. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  9795. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/m&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/DerekSivers-cover-YourMusicAndPeople-400x640.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Your Music and People&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
  9796. &lt;br&gt;
  9797. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/n&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/DerekSivers-cover-HellYeahOrNo-400x640.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Hell Yeah or No&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;</content>
  9798.    <id>https://sive.rs/250k</id>
  9799.    <link href="https://sive.rs/250k"/>
  9800.    <title>$250K books sold. $250K to save lives.</title>
  9801.    <updated>2020-08-06T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  9802.    <dc:date>2020-08-06T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  9803.  </entry>
  9804.  <entry>
  9805.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  9806. A new day begins when I wake up, not at midnight.
  9807. Midnight means nothing to me.
  9808. It’s not a turning point.
  9809. Nothing changes at that moment.
  9810. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9811. A new year begins when there’s a memorable change in my life.
  9812. Not January 1st.
  9813. Nothing changes on January 1st.
  9814. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9815. I can understand using moments like midnight and January 1st as coordinators, so cultures and computers can &lt;a href=&quot;https://xkcd.com/1179/&quot;&gt;agree&lt;/a&gt; on how to reference time.
  9816. &lt;strong&gt;
  9817. But shouldn’t our personal markers and celebrations happen at personally meaningful times?
  9818. &lt;/strong&gt;
  9819. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9820. Your year really begins when you move to a new home, start school, quit a job, have a big breakup, have a baby, quit a bad habit, start a new project, or whatever else.
  9821. Those are the real memorable turning points — where one day is very different than the day before.
  9822. Those are the meaningful markers of time.
  9823. That’s your “new year”.
  9824. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9825. This isn’t selfish.
  9826. You know your friends and family well enough to acknowledge these special days for them, too.
  9827. The day that I most want to celebrate someone’s life has nothing to do with the calendar day that they were born.
  9828. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9829. The fourth Thursday in November is not when I feel most thankful.
  9830. February 14th is not when I celebrate romance.
  9831. &lt;strong&gt;
  9832. To force these celebrations on universal dates disconnects them from the meaning they’re supposed to celebrate.
  9833. &lt;/strong&gt;
  9834. It’s thoughtless.
  9835. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9836. Celebrate personally meaningful markers.
  9837. Ignore arbitrary calendar dates.
  9838. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9839. When did this year really begin for you?
  9840. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  9841.    <id>https://sive.rs/mny</id>
  9842.    <link href="https://sive.rs/mny"/>
  9843.    <title>Time is personal. Your year changes when your life changes.</title>
  9844.    <updated>2019-12-30T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  9845.    <dc:date>2019-12-30T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  9846.  </entry>
  9847.  <entry>
  9848.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  9849. One approach to music is to do whatever you want.
  9850. Absolutely anything goes.
  9851. But to me, that’s too free.
  9852. It’s anti-inspiring because having infinite options is overwhelming.
  9853. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9854. Another approach to music is to follow tradition.
  9855. You stay within the guidelines of a genre or style.
  9856. But to me, that’s too strict and sad.
  9857. It was someone else’s innovation.
  9858. To imitate it now with rules and recipes is just nostalgia.
  9859. It’s uninspired and dishonest.
  9860. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9861. So my favorite approach to music is in-between.
  9862. &lt;strong&gt;
  9863. You make up your own rules, and apply them to a piece of music.
  9864. &lt;/strong&gt;
  9865. You know what this is called?
  9866. An experiment!
  9867. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  9868. Experiment with limitations.
  9869. Write a piece using only two instruments and five notes.
  9870. Write a lyric using only nouns and no verbs.
  9871. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  9872. Experiment with textures.
  9873. Record an arrangement using only children’s toys or samples of birds.
  9874. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  9875. Experiment with density.
  9876. Write a piece featuring fifty instruments.
  9877. Then do a solo piece using only your left hand.
  9878. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9879. I loved learning and applying specific techniques.
  9880. Like I’d learn a certain way of developing a melody, then go write melodies using that method.
  9881. I’d learn about re-harmonizing — where you keep the same melody but change the chords underneath, completely changing the mood — then I’d go apply that to all of my songs.
  9882. Techniques to build tension.
  9883. Techniques to change time.
  9884. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9885. &lt;strong&gt;
  9886. With each new thing I learn, I have to try it, and make something.
  9887. &lt;/strong&gt;
  9888. It might not even sound good, but that’s OK.
  9889. The goal was just to see what happens, so there’s no way to fail.
  9890. It’s all just fertilizer for future creations.
  9891. &lt;/p&gt;
  9892. …
  9893. &lt;p&gt;
  9894. I’m not an active musician anymore, but now I find that &lt;strong&gt;the way I approached music is the way I approach life.&lt;/strong&gt;
  9895. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9896. After I sold my company and life was a blank slate, I found that having too much freedom was overwhelming.
  9897. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9898. But I’m not going to buy into an -ism and follow a set of ancient rules.
  9899. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9900. So instead I do experiments.
  9901. &lt;strong&gt;
  9902. I make up rules, and apply them to my life for a while.
  9903. &lt;/strong&gt;
  9904. Like…
  9905. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  9906. Experiment with limitations, fear, detachment, or my definition of home.
  9907. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  9908. Experiment with fame, boundaries, expanding, quitting, or my self-image.
  9909. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  9910. Experiment with vulnerability, commitment, saying yes, or saying no.
  9911. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9912. I usually try the opposite of whatever I did before.
  9913. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9914. I still love learning and applying specific techniques.
  9915. Techniques for conversation.
  9916. Techniques to stretch time.
  9917. I’m glad I know how to re-harmonize because there are melodies in my past I can’t change, but I can change the thoughts underneath.
  9918. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9919. &lt;strong&gt;
  9920. With each new thing I learn, I have to try it.
  9921. &lt;/strong&gt;
  9922. It might not even feel good, but that’s what experimenting is about.
  9923. The goal is still to see what happens, so there’s no way to fail.
  9924. &lt;/p&gt;
  9925. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/dandelion.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;dandelion&quot;&gt;</content>
  9926.    <id>https://sive.rs/eml</id>
  9927.    <link href="https://sive.rs/eml"/>
  9928.    <title>Experiments in music and life</title>
  9929.    <updated>2019-11-07T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  9930.    <dc:date>2019-11-07T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  9931.  </entry>
  9932.  <entry>
  9933.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  9934. I just finished an experiment.
  9935. Last month, I published a new article to my blog every day.
  9936. I’m glad I tried it, but ultimately I didn’t like it.
  9937. Here’s why:
  9938. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  9939. It made my writing worse, not better.
  9940. I was trying to force a conclusion quicker.
  9941. I was &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/7&quot;&gt;skipping steps 2-5 of my writing process&lt;/a&gt;.
  9942. I didn’t have the time to look at more angles or doubt my first conclusion.
  9943. &lt;strong&gt;I was spending more time being shallow, to get something posted&lt;/strong&gt;, instead of taking that time to go deeper.
  9944. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  9945. It broke the silent promise I’ve always had with my readers: that anything I post to my site is really worth your time.
  9946. I already write many hours a day privately, but &lt;strong&gt;I only post something to the public when I feel it’s really worth sharing.&lt;/strong&gt;
  9947. But with the daily post?
  9948. There were some good ideas in there, but I wasn’t entirely proud of the articles.
  9949. They were under-developed.
  9950. I didn’t feel 100% that they were so worth your time.
  9951. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  9952. I was spending 3-6 hours per day writing my daily post.
  9953. So I hardly worked on my next book or anything else.
  9954. &lt;strong&gt;
  9955. Coming up with a daily post was becoming a full-time job.
  9956. &lt;/strong&gt;
  9957. And, considering the previous two points here, an unwise one.
  9958. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  9959. It did make me write more, so I’ll probably find the happy medium now.
  9960. I’ll be posting more than I used to before this experiment, but not every day.
  9961. Only when I think it’s &lt;em&gt;really&lt;/em&gt; worth your time.
  9962. &lt;/p&gt;
  9963. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/ingredients.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;cooking ingredients&quot;&gt;
  9964. &lt;h3&gt;P.S. For the record, here are my 33 daily posts:&lt;/h3&gt;
  9965. &lt;ul&gt;
  9966. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/tp1&quot;&gt;Travel without a phone&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9967. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/tp2&quot;&gt;Travel without social praise&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9968. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/tp3&quot;&gt;Would you make your art if you were the last person on earth?&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9969. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/ww&quot;&gt;What I did belies why&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9970. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/abio&quot;&gt;Future posthumous autobiography&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9971. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/pe&quot;&gt;Have a private email account&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9972. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/dq&quot;&gt;Don’t quote. Make it yours and say it yourself.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9973. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/hf&quot;&gt;Your heroes show which way you’re facing&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9974. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/uncomf&quot;&gt;Where to find the hours to make it happen&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9975. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/ddown&quot;&gt;Daydreaming the downside, for once&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9976. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/metac&quot;&gt;Meta-considerate&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9977. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/isms&quot;&gt;Tour -isms&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9978. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/ldn&quot;&gt;The joy and strategic wisdom of ignoring plans&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9979. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/hooky&quot;&gt;Blowing off work to play&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9980. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/erra&quot;&gt;Err on the side of action, to test theories&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9981. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/sauna&quot;&gt;Back and forth between super-hot and super-cold&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9982. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/negz&quot;&gt;Human nature to focus on the one bad thing&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9983. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/autom&quot;&gt;Where we do and don’t want automation&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9984. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/antic&quot;&gt;Anti-chameleon&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9985. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/daydream&quot;&gt;Daydreaming is my favorite pastime&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9986. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/gofear&quot;&gt;Heed your fears&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9987. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/d22&quot;&gt;Cut out everything that’s not surprising&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9988. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/polut&quot;&gt;Digital pollution&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9989. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/wtg&quot;&gt;When you win the game, you stop playing&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9990. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/ment&quot;&gt;How to ask your mentors for help&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9991. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/vls1&quot;&gt;Living according to your hierarchy of values&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9992. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/exex&quot;&gt;Monthly self-expansion project&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9993. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/masch&quot;&gt;Mastery school&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9994. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/pg2&quot;&gt;PostgreSQL example of self-contained stored procedures&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9995. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/trav1&quot;&gt;What you learn by travelling&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9996. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/exan&quot;&gt;Why experts are annoying&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9997. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/trd&quot;&gt;When in doubt, try the difference&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9998. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/richand&quot;&gt;How I got rich on the other hand&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  9999. &lt;/ul&gt;</content>
  10000.    <id>https://sive.rs/nod</id>
  10001.    <link href="https://sive.rs/nod"/>
  10002.    <title>Writing daily, but posting when ready</title>
  10003.    <updated>2019-11-01T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  10004.    <dc:date>2019-11-01T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  10005.  </entry>
  10006.  <entry>
  10007.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  10008. I don’t usually talk about money, but a friend asked me what it was like to get rich, and he wanted to know specifics, so I told him my story.
  10009. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10010. I had &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/xn&quot;&gt;a day job&lt;/a&gt; in midtown Manhattan paying $20K per year — about minimum wage.
  10011. On weekends I would earn $150 per day performing circus shows for kids, though I’d spend about $50 in bus fare to get to the gigs.
  10012. I was sharing a three-bedroom apartment with two other roommates in Queens, so our rent was $333 per month each.
  10013. I made peanut butter sandwiches for three meals a day, and at night maybe some eggs.
  10014. I never ate out, and never took a taxi.
  10015. &lt;strong&gt;
  10016. My cost of living was about $1000/month, and I was earning $1800/month.
  10017. I did this for two years, and saved up $12,000.
  10018. &lt;/strong&gt;
  10019. I was 22 years old.
  10020. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10021. Once I had $12,000 I could quit my job and become a full-time musician.
  10022. I knew I could get a few gigs per month to pay my cost of living.
  10023. So I was free.
  10024. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/nq&quot;&gt;I quit my job&lt;/a&gt; a month later, and never had a job again.
  10025. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10026. When I finished telling my friend this story, he asked for more.
  10027. I said no, that was it.
  10028. He said, “No, what about when you sold your company?”
  10029. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10030. I said no, that didn’t make a big difference in my life.
  10031. That was just more money in the bank.
  10032. The difference happened when I was 22.
  10033. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10034. It’s not how much you have.
  10035. &lt;strong&gt;
  10036. It’s the difference between what you have and what you spend.
  10037. &lt;/strong&gt;
  10038. If you have more than you spend, you’re rich.
  10039. If you spend more than you have, you’re not.
  10040. If you live cheaply, it’s easy to be free.
  10041. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10042. Magicians wave one hand around to get your attention, while the other hand does the trick.
  10043. To be smart, watch the other hand.
  10044. &lt;/p&gt;
  10045. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/magichands.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;magic hands&quot;&gt;</content>
  10046.    <id>https://sive.rs/richand</id>
  10047.    <link href="https://sive.rs/richand"/>
  10048.    <title>How I got rich on the other hand</title>
  10049.    <updated>2019-10-30T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  10050.    <dc:date>2019-10-30T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  10051.  </entry>
  10052.  <entry>
  10053.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  10054. Starting today you can follow my podcast at &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/podcast.rss&quot;&gt;sive.rs/podcast.rss&lt;/a&gt; or listen on the web at &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/podcast&quot;&gt;sive.rs/podcast&lt;/a&gt;.
  10055. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10056. Each episode is around two minutes long.
  10057. They are &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/blog&quot;&gt;my posts since September 22nd&lt;/a&gt;.
  10058. 33 episodes so far.
  10059. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10060. I generated the RSS XML feed myself using &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/code/podcast-rss.rb&quot;&gt;this Ruby script&lt;/a&gt;.
  10061. The MP3s are just hosted on my own server.
  10062. I skipped all the podcast hosting services, because I’ll never have ads so I don’t care about analytics, tracking, and all of that.
  10063. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10064. It doesn’t cost me anything, so I won’t be trying to make money from it.
  10065. I’m doing it just because people keep asking me to.
  10066. ☺
  10067. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10068. This is all an experiment.
  10069. Please let me know if you have any suggestions.
  10070. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  10071.    <id>https://sive.rs/pinit2</id>
  10072.    <link href="https://sive.rs/pinit2"/>
  10073.    <title>Podcast published today</title>
  10074.    <updated>2019-10-29T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  10075.    <dc:date>2019-10-29T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  10076.  </entry>
  10077.  <entry>
  10078.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  10079. If you’re in doubt about something that’s &lt;strong&gt;not&lt;/strong&gt; in your life, &lt;strong&gt;try it&lt;/strong&gt;.
  10080. Things are so different in practice versus in theory.
  10081. The only way to know is to experience it yourself.
  10082. &lt;/p&gt;
  10083. &lt;h3&gt;
  10084. Try it examples:
  10085. &lt;/h3&gt;
  10086. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10087. Pursuing a new interest?
  10088. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10089. Moving somewhere very different?
  10090. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10091. Quitting your job to go freelance?
  10092. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  10093. &lt;p&gt;
  10094. Err on the side of yes.
  10095. Try it.
  10096. &lt;strong&gt;
  10097. If it was a mistake, at least you’ll know first-hand, instead of always wondering.
  10098. &lt;/strong&gt;
  10099. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10100. …
  10101. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10102. If you’re in doubt about something that’s &lt;strong&gt;in&lt;/strong&gt; your life already, &lt;strong&gt;get rid of it&lt;/strong&gt;.
  10103. Not just things, this goes for identities, habits, goals, relationships, technology, and anything else.
  10104. Default to not having it, then see how you do without.
  10105. &lt;h3&gt;
  10106. Get rid of it examples:
  10107. &lt;/h3&gt;
  10108. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10109. Relationships that bring you down
  10110. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10111. Goals you’re not pursuing
  10112. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10113. A career that’s plateaued
  10114. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  10115. &lt;p&gt;
  10116. Err on the side of no.
  10117. Get rid of it.
  10118. Start with a clean slate,
  10119. &lt;strong&gt;
  10120. If it was a mistake, you’ll get it back with a renewed enthusiasm.
  10121. &lt;/strong&gt;
  10122. &lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;
  10123. (The common thread is to make the change, to know first-hand.)
  10124. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  10125. &lt;h3&gt;
  10126. Get rid of everything examples:
  10127. &lt;/h3&gt;
  10128. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10129. Erase your phone and computer.
  10130. Re-install the operating system from scratch.
  10131. Don’t restore from the backup — not even your contacts.
  10132. Only add back people who contact you.
  10133. Don’t install any apps unless you can’t do without them.
  10134. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10135. Put everything you own into storage.
  10136. Move somewhere small and simple, bringing only what you’d take on a two-week trip.
  10137. Only when you absolutely need something, go get it out of storage.
  10138. After a year, sell all that stuff in storage.
  10139. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10140. Move across the world.
  10141. Start from scratch with a new career, new friends, and new approach to life.
  10142. Every time you start to do something out of habit, interrupt the pattern and try the opposite way instead.
  10143. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  10144. &lt;p&gt;
  10145. (These are my favorite. I actually do these things regularly. I love simplifying.)
  10146. &lt;/p&gt;
  10147. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/uncaged.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;open cage&quot;&gt;</content>
  10148.    <id>https://sive.rs/trd</id>
  10149.    <link href="https://sive.rs/trd"/>
  10150.    <title>When in doubt, try the difference</title>
  10151.    <updated>2019-10-28T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  10152.    <dc:date>2019-10-28T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  10153.  </entry>
  10154.  <entry>
  10155.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  10156. When someone becomes an expert at something, you know what else they become?
  10157. Annoying.
  10158. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10159. At a restaurant, your designer friend complains about the font on the menu, your musician friend complains about the background music, and your manager friend complains about the service.
  10160. Why?
  10161. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10162. The problem is that their expertise makes them annoyed.
  10163. They’re trained to spot errors.
  10164. They’re so aware of what’s wrong.
  10165. Even worse, they know exactly how to fix it.
  10166. They learned the techniques to make things great, so they’re angry when someone didn’t do the obvious solution.
  10167. They get so frustrated that they can’t focus on their meal, because now they really want to fix the problem.
  10168. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10169. These things don’t bother the rest of us.
  10170. We’re easier to please.
  10171. Good is good enough.
  10172. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10173. So only those who are the most upset, and know how to improve things, do the hard work necessary to make things great.
  10174. &lt;strong&gt;
  10175. The dissatisfied ones go make things better for all of us.
  10176. &lt;/strong&gt;
  10177. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10178. Why are experts annoying?
  10179. For our benefit.
  10180. &lt;strong&gt;
  10181. They get mad so that we don’t have to.
  10182. &lt;/strong&gt;
  10183. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10184. Next time your friend is upset and ranting about design, politics, layout, economics, or something else you don’t care enough about, thank them for taking on the burden of knowing how to fix things, and remind them that it’s up to them to make it better.
  10185. &lt;/p&gt;
  10186. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/exan.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;expert&quot;&gt;</content>
  10187.    <id>https://sive.rs/exan</id>
  10188.    <link href="https://sive.rs/exan"/>
  10189.    <title>Why experts are annoying</title>
  10190.    <updated>2019-10-27T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  10191.    <dc:date>2019-10-27T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  10192.  </entry>
  10193.  <entry>
  10194.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  10195. I wanted to learn about the world, so I went travelling.
  10196. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10197. People in the east are so graceful, I felt like an inconsiderate pig.
  10198. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10199. People up north are so serious, I felt like a lightweight clown.
  10200. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10201. People down south are so laid-back, I had to escape north again.
  10202. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10203. The way we define ourself is all relative to our surroundings, right?
  10204. However we differ from the people in our home town is how we define ourself.
  10205. That’s where we shape our self-identity, growing up.
  10206. Those are our defining traits.
  10207. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10208. But when we go to a different place, the relative comparisons collapse.
  10209. Traits like speed, ambition, independence, bravery, and humor — they’re all relative.
  10210. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10211. Back home I’m considered quiet.
  10212. Here I’m considered loud.
  10213. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10214. Back home I’m a slacker.
  10215. Here I’m a workaholic.
  10216. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10217. Back home I’m normal.
  10218. Here I’m strange.
  10219. Or vice-versa.
  10220. So how do I define myself now?
  10221. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10222. I always want to know &lt;em&gt;why&lt;/em&gt; a culture is this way.
  10223. What’s the difference?
  10224. What are the core beliefs?
  10225. So I ask questions and observe.
  10226. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10227. On the surface and from a distance, I see their actions.
  10228. But deeply and closely, I see my reactions.
  10229. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10230. I want to learn about the world, so I keep travelling.
  10231. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10232. About the world, I learn a bit.
  10233. About myself, I learn a lot.
  10234. &lt;/p&gt;
  10235. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/trav1.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;globe&quot;&gt;</content>
  10236.    <id>https://sive.rs/trav1</id>
  10237.    <link href="https://sive.rs/trav1"/>
  10238.    <title>What you learn by travelling</title>
  10239.    <updated>2019-10-26T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  10240.    <dc:date>2019-10-26T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  10241.  </entry>
  10242.  <entry>
  10243.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  10244. First, see &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/pg&quot;&gt;my previous article about PostgreSQL functions&lt;/a&gt; at &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/pg&quot;&gt;sive.rs/pg&lt;/a&gt;.
  10245. That article gave tiny examples, but no finished working code.
  10246. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10247. This week, I wrote a shopping cart to sell my books directly from my own site.
  10248. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10249. So I took a couple extra hours today to put my code into public view, so anyone can play around with it.
  10250. See &lt;a href=&quot;https://github.com/sivers/store&quot;&gt;github.com/sivers/store&lt;/a&gt;, to browse, download, and try it.
  10251. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10252. It’s a working self-contained shopping cart / store.
  10253. It’s a very concrete example of &lt;strong&gt;using stored procedures to keep all the data logic together&lt;/strong&gt; in one place.
  10254. You can use it from JavaScript, Python, Ruby, or any language you want, since all the functionality is in the database itself.
  10255. It works.
  10256. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10257. If you have any questions, or want to tell me how &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/publicu&quot;&gt;stupid&lt;/a&gt; I am for doing this, &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/contact&quot;&gt;email me&lt;/a&gt;.
  10258. &lt;/p&gt;
  10259. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/postgresql.png&quot; alt=&quot;postgresql logo&quot;&gt;</content>
  10260.    <id>https://sive.rs/pg2</id>
  10261.    <link href="https://sive.rs/pg2"/>
  10262.    <title>PostgreSQL example of self-contained stored procedures</title>
  10263.    <updated>2019-10-25T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  10264.    <dc:date>2019-10-25T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  10265.  </entry>
  10266.  <entry>
  10267.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  10268. Here’s an idea:
  10269. Create a little school somewhere remote.
  10270. School of what?
  10271. School of mastery.
  10272. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10273. A place for anyone who wants go focus on a skill of their choice, surrounded by other people doing the same, and a few coaches — experts on the craft of mastery — to offer help and guidance.
  10274. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10275. This uses &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.ted.com/talks/salman_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education&quot;&gt;Salman Khan’s proposal&lt;/a&gt; to “flip the classroom” so that the &lt;strong&gt;core of learning is done in independent study, using online materials&lt;/strong&gt;.
  10276. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10277. Since the teachers are all online, the local coaches just help guide each student’s path to mastery.
  10278. There are many great books on this subject, like…
  10279. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;
  10280. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/TalentCode&quot;&gt;Talent Code&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  10281. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/Mastery&quot;&gt;Mastery&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  10282. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/AtomicHabits&quot;&gt;Atomic Habits&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  10283. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/ArtOfLearning&quot;&gt;Art of Learning&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  10284. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/PeakPerformance&quot;&gt;Peak Performance&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  10285. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/TalentIsOverrated&quot;&gt;Talent is Overrated&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  10286. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/Overachievement&quot;&gt;Overachivement&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  10287. &lt;li&gt;and &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/Peak&quot;&gt;Peak&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;
  10288. &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10289. So you can see how the general skill of guiding and coaching talent, in any field, could be the best focus of the on-site staff.
  10290. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10291. The school should be located somewhere that fits with the story we tell ourselves about going away to focus.
  10292. Somewhere that’s a desirable location, yet still somewhere with income inequality, where a school bringing a little business and fast fiber internet to a remote location would be appreciated.
  10293. All the staff except the coaches could come from the local community.
  10294. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10295. Some shared resources like a good camera and microphone, a few computers, a video library to save bandwidth, and a chef making meals for everyone.
  10296. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10297. I imagine this could be as small and simple as a big house in the country, or a few cabins nearby.
  10298. &lt;/p&gt;
  10299. &lt;h3&gt;Why attend?&lt;/h3&gt;
  10300. &lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10301. To get away somewhere you can focus without distraction — a show of dedication and focus
  10302. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10303. To be around other serious focused learners, inspiring eachother
  10304. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10305. To have the help of coaches that are great at helping anyone learn anything.
  10306. They are experts in the skill of practice, learning, and mastery.
  10307. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10308. So, you go there to work on your thing, whatever it is.
  10309. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10310. You learn from online materials, books, and whatever it takes.
  10311. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10312. You practice and create as much as possible.
  10313. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10314. You&#39;re surrounded by kindreds and assistance.
  10315. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  10316. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/masch.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;school&quot;&gt;</content>
  10317.    <id>https://sive.rs/masch</id>
  10318.    <link href="https://sive.rs/masch"/>
  10319.    <title>Mastery school</title>
  10320.    <updated>2019-10-24T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  10321.    <dc:date>2019-10-24T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  10322.  </entry>
  10323.  <entry>
  10324.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  10325. Here’s an idea:
  10326. &lt;strong&gt;
  10327. Every month, pick something you hate or know nothing about, and get to know it well.
  10328. &lt;/strong&gt;
  10329. Spend a few hours per week, for an entire month, just learning about that subject.
  10330. Why?
  10331. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10332. The idea is inspired by a very successful friend of mine who is regrettably closed-minded.
  10333. She hates everything that isn’t European, sophisticated, and familiar.
  10334. Culture of India?
  10335. Hates it.
  10336. Chinese opera?
  10337. Hates it.
  10338. West African music?
  10339. Hates it.
  10340. Any mention of any of these things, and she completely shuts down.
  10341. Appreciating them is not an option.
  10342. I tried to play her my favorite Indian music, and West African music, but nope.
  10343. Just a few seconds into it, she asks me to shut it off.
  10344. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10345. It made me realize that &lt;strong&gt;some of the greatest joys in my life&lt;/strong&gt; are the things I used to hate, or know nothing about, and now have grown to love.
  10346. Read my post “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/hate&quot;&gt;Loving what I used to hate&lt;/a&gt;” for my story about that.
  10347. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10348. So I thought:
  10349. Instead of letting it happen accidently or randomly, why not be deliberate about it?
  10350. Some ideas of things to study for a month would be…
  10351. &lt;/p&gt;
  10352. &lt;ul&gt;
  10353. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/everyday-engineering-understanding-the-marvels-of-daily-life.html&quot;&gt;civil engineering&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  10354. &lt;li&gt;Tolstoy&lt;/li&gt;
  10355. &lt;li&gt;archery&lt;/li&gt;
  10356. &lt;li&gt;Bollywood&lt;/li&gt;
  10357. &lt;li&gt;dog training&lt;/li&gt;
  10358. &lt;li&gt;Dungeons and Dragons&lt;/li&gt;
  10359. &lt;li&gt;chess&lt;/li&gt;
  10360. &lt;li&gt;Zanzibar&lt;/li&gt;
  10361. &lt;li&gt;cryptography&lt;/li&gt;
  10362. &lt;li&gt;emergency medical training&lt;/li&gt;
  10363. &lt;li&gt;anything &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/sort-by/inline_rating/sort-direction/desc?ICMP=126572&quot;&gt;The Great Courses&lt;/a&gt; has a course about&lt;/li&gt;
  10364. &lt;li&gt;anything &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.veryshortintroductions.com/&quot;&gt;Very Short Introductions&lt;/a&gt; has a mini-book about&lt;/li&gt;
  10365. &lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10366. If it’s learning a skill, read Josh Kaufman’s &lt;a href=&quot;https://first20hours.com/&quot;&gt;First 20 Hours&lt;/a&gt; and use that approach.
  10367. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10368. While you might lean towards things you’ve always wanted to learn about, I think it’s more interesting to ask yourself, “What do I have absolutely no interest in?” or “What sounds repulsive to me?”, then aim to understand one of those things.
  10369. Start with a kind of music you hate, or a part of the world that sounds unappealing to you.
  10370. That’s where the real self-expansion happens.
  10371. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10372. &lt;strong&gt;
  10373. Whenever we learn about something, we learn to appreciate it.
  10374. &lt;/strong&gt;
  10375. So it’s most rewarding if it’s something you previously had no appreciation for.
  10376. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10377. I like this idea a lot, and plan to do it soon.
  10378. &lt;/p&gt;
  10379. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/exex.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;expanding arrows&quot;&gt;</content>
  10380.    <id>https://sive.rs/exex</id>
  10381.    <link href="https://sive.rs/exex"/>
  10382.    <title>Monthly self-expansion project</title>
  10383.    <updated>2019-10-23T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  10384.    <dc:date>2019-10-23T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  10385.  </entry>
  10386.  <entry>
  10387.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  10388. My “daily” blog was silent the last four days, because I took my kid on a spontaneous trip to another country.
  10389. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/tp1&quot;&gt;No phone&lt;/a&gt;.
  10390. No computer.
  10391. I gave him my full attention every day from when he woke me in the morning to when we fell asleep together at night.
  10392. It was great.
  10393. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10394. I thought for a minute about the importance of my commitment to post here daily.
  10395. But nope, &lt;strong&gt;being with him is more important than writing&lt;/strong&gt;.
  10396. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10397. Upon returning, I considered heading off by myself on a 10-day trip, balancing writing and exploring another culture.
  10398. But after &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/slow&quot;&gt;sleeping on it&lt;/a&gt;, I realized that no, &lt;strong&gt;writing is more important than exploring&lt;/strong&gt;.
  10399. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10400. Once you realize that one value is more important to you than another, &lt;strong&gt;you have to ask yourself if you’re living accordingly&lt;/strong&gt;.
  10401. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10402. What’s ultimately more important to you?
  10403. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10404. Learning? Or creating?
  10405. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10406. Money? Or time?
  10407. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10408. Expanding? Or focusing?
  10409. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10410. (… etc.)
  10411. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10412. Once you know which takes top place, consider &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/sauna&quot;&gt;taking it to an extreme&lt;/a&gt;, to its logical conclusion, and &lt;strong&gt;optimizing your entire life around that top priority, letting go of almost everything else&lt;/strong&gt;.
  10413. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10414. If the idea sounds unfulfilling, try re-ordering your priorities, and do the thought experiment again.
  10415. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10416. &lt;em&gt;
  10417. (That’s the subject of my next book, “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/h&quot;&gt;How to Live&lt;/a&gt;”, which is my top writing priority right now, and so much fun!)
  10418. &lt;/em&gt; ☺
  10419. &lt;/p&gt;
  10420. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/pyramid1.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;pyramid of values&quot;&gt;</content>
  10421.    <id>https://sive.rs/vls1</id>
  10422.    <link href="https://sive.rs/vls1"/>
  10423.    <title>Living according to your hierarchy of values</title>
  10424.    <updated>2019-10-22T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  10425.    <dc:date>2019-10-22T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  10426.  </entry>
  10427.  <entry>
  10428.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  10429. I have three mentors.
  10430. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10431. When I’m stuck on a problem and need their help, I take the time to write a good description of my dilemma, before reaching out to them.
  10432. I summarize the context, the problem, my options, and thoughts on each.
  10433. I make it as succinct as possible so as not to waste their time.
  10434. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10435. Before sending it, I try to predict what they’ll say.
  10436. Then I go back and update what I wrote to address these obvious points in advance.
  10437. Finally, I try again to predict what they’ll say to this, based on what they’ve said in the past and what I know of their philosophy.
  10438. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10439. Then, after this whole process, I realize I don’t need to bother them because the answer is now clear.
  10440. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10441. If anything, I might email to thank them for their continued inspiration.
  10442. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10443. Truth is, I’ve hardly talked with my mentors in years.
  10444. None of them know they are my mentors.
  10445. And one doesn’t know I exist.
  10446. &lt;/p&gt;
  10447. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/thinking.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;thinking statue&quot;&gt;</content>
  10448.    <id>https://sive.rs/ment</id>
  10449.    <link href="https://sive.rs/ment"/>
  10450.    <title>How to ask your mentors for help</title>
  10451.    <updated>2019-10-17T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  10452.    <dc:date>2019-10-17T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  10453.  </entry>
  10454.  <entry>
  10455.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  10456. Someone asked me today why I don’t charge money for the things I do.
  10457. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10458. Why don’t I have ads on my site?
  10459. Why don’t I exploit my assets and pursue some profitable things?
  10460. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10461. I already &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/done&quot;&gt;did that&lt;/a&gt;.
  10462. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10463. I made &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/trust&quot;&gt;more&lt;/a&gt; than I’ll ever be able to spend.
  10464. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10465. &lt;strong&gt;
  10466. What do you do when you win a game?
  10467. &lt;/strong&gt;
  10468. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10469. You stop playing, and go do something else.
  10470. &lt;/p&gt;
  10471. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/boardgame.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;board game&quot;&gt;</content>
  10472.    <id>https://sive.rs/wtg</id>
  10473.    <link href="https://sive.rs/wtg"/>
  10474.    <title>When you win the game, you stop playing</title>
  10475.    <updated>2019-10-16T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  10476.    <dc:date>2019-10-16T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  10477.  </entry>
  10478.  <entry>
  10479.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  10480. You couldn’t just roll down the street leaving huge piles of garbage everywhere you go, making life slower for everyone as they climb over your mountains of junk, just to get on with their life.
  10481. You’d feel bad about it, right?
  10482. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10483. That’s how I feel about the digital things we put out into the world: websites, apps, and files.
  10484. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10485. I prefer coding everything by hand, because I don’t like the huge piles of garbage that the automated generators create.
  10486. These programs that generate a website, app, or file for you spit out thousands of lines of unnecessary junk when really only 10 lines are needed.
  10487. Then people wonder why their site is so slow, and they think it’s their phone or connection’s fault.
  10488. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10489. Yesterday I needed to make a little vector logo.
  10490. Two lines and two triangles.
  10491. I tried to use a couple different vector drawing programs but they saved it as hundreds of lines.
  10492. I knew it could be simpler, so I read up on SVG and made exactly what I wanted:
  10493. &lt;/p&gt;
  10494. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;
  10495. &amp;lt;svg height=&amp;quot;54&amp;quot; width=&amp;quot;54&amp;quot;&amp;gt;
  10496. &amp;lt;defs&amp;gt;&amp;lt;style type=&amp;quot;text/css&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;lt;![CDATA[line,polygon{stroke:black;stroke-width:4} polygon{fill:black}]]&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/style&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/defs&amp;gt;
  10497. &amp;lt;line x1=&amp;quot;2&amp;quot; y1=&amp;quot;2&amp;quot; x2=&amp;quot;2&amp;quot; y2=&amp;quot;52&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;
  10498. &amp;lt;line x1=&amp;quot;52&amp;quot; y1=&amp;quot;2&amp;quot; x2=&amp;quot;52&amp;quot; y2=&amp;quot;52&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;
  10499. &amp;lt;polygon points=&amp;quot;2,2 27,27 2,27&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;
  10500. &amp;lt;polygon points=&amp;quot;52,2 27,27 52,27&amp;quot; /&amp;gt;
  10501. &amp;lt;/svg&amp;gt;
  10502. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;
  10503. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/HitMediaLogo-54.svg&quot; alt=&quot;Hit Media logo&quot;&gt;
  10504. &lt;p&gt;
  10505. Much better!
  10506. 95% smaller file size, and the joy of making something by hand instead of having it done for me.
  10507. But I think my biggest joy is &lt;strong&gt;eliminating the digital pollution&lt;/strong&gt; that the auto-generated one created.
  10508. It makes everything faster, easier, and cleaner for anyone involved.
  10509. 95% less junk over the wires.
  10510. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10511. Same thing with the EPUB file for my new book.
  10512. Today I spent the day creating the EPUB’s XML and XHTML by hand, instead of using a generator.
  10513. I love the manual control and again - 90% smaller file size.
  10514. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10515. This makes me unreasonably happy.
  10516. It feels like cleaning up the neighborhood.
  10517. Or at least my yard.
  10518. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10519. (And I love it when people notice how fast my site loads.)
  10520. &lt;/p&gt;
  10521. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/HitMediaLogo-54.png&quot; alt=&quot;Hit Media logo&quot;&gt;</content>
  10522.    <id>https://sive.rs/polut</id>
  10523.    <link href="https://sive.rs/polut"/>
  10524.    <title>Digital pollution</title>
  10525.    <updated>2019-10-15T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  10526.    <dc:date>2019-10-15T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  10527.  </entry>
  10528.  <entry>
  10529.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  10530. This is my advice to anyone writing something for the public — especially a talk on stage.
  10531. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10532. People listen to a talk, or read an article, because they want to learn something new.
  10533. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10534. They want a little “oh wow” moment.
  10535. “I never thought of it that way before.”
  10536. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10537. &lt;strong&gt;
  10538. People only really learn when they’re surprised.
  10539. &lt;/strong&gt;
  10540. If they’re not surprised, then what you told them just fits in with what they already know.
  10541. No minds were changed.
  10542. No new perspective.
  10543. Just more information.
  10544. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10545. So my main advice to anyone preparing to give a talk on stage is to cut out everything from your talk that’s not surprising.
  10546. (Nobody has ever complained that a talk was too short.)
  10547. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10548. &lt;strong&gt;
  10549. Use this rule in all your public writing.
  10550. &lt;/strong&gt;
  10551. If you already found something surprising in what you’re presenting, then remove everything else.
  10552. If you haven’t found something surprising about it yet, keep looking until you do.
  10553. &lt;/p&gt;
  10554. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/wheelsoff.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;surprise&quot;&gt;</content>
  10555.    <id>https://sive.rs/d22</id>
  10556.    <link href="https://sive.rs/d22"/>
  10557.    <title>Cut out everything that’s not surprising</title>
  10558.    <updated>2019-10-14T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  10559.    <dc:date>2019-10-14T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  10560.  </entry>
  10561.  <entry>
  10562.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  10563. People often ask me how they can get over their fears.
  10564. For example, they are scared to quit their job and start a business.
  10565. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10566. I think they want me to say something to make their fears go away.
  10567. So my advice is pretty disappointing.
  10568. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10569. We should pay attention to our fears.
  10570. They often have good reason.
  10571. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10572. &lt;strong&gt;
  10573. Instead of ignoring them, we need to address them.
  10574. &lt;/strong&gt;
  10575. Break it down, and look deeper into what’s inside them.
  10576. &lt;strong&gt;
  10577. Address and mitigate the specifics.
  10578. &lt;/strong&gt;
  10579. It usually means you need to learn a little more.
  10580. Look before you leap.
  10581. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10582. Always ask, “What’s the worst that could happen?”
  10583. Because sometimes the only problem was not realizing that the worst case scenario isn’t bad at all.
  10584. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10585. But don’t just tell yourself to get over it or ignore it.
  10586. &lt;/p&gt;
  10587. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/well.png&quot; alt=&quot;well&quot;&gt;</content>
  10588.    <id>https://sive.rs/gofear</id>
  10589.    <link href="https://sive.rs/gofear"/>
  10590.    <title>Heed your fears</title>
  10591.    <updated>2019-10-13T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  10592.    <dc:date>2019-10-13T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  10593.  </entry>
  10594.  <entry>
  10595.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  10596. Somewhere in our past, &lt;strong&gt;we were told it’s bad to daydream&lt;/strong&gt;, because it meant doing nothing — staring out the window — instead of doing what we’re supposed to be doing.
  10597. To admit we’re daydreaming felt like it needed an apology.
  10598. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10599. But now I’ve finally embraced it.
  10600. Deliberate daydreaming is my favorite pastime.
  10601. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10602. About half the time that I used to read a book, I now just skip the book, and sit there daydreaming instead.
  10603. And I almost never watch videos anymore.
  10604. I just close my eyes and daydream.
  10605. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10606. &lt;strong&gt;
  10607. I find it most fun to ask myself a big question:
  10608. &lt;/strong&gt;
  10609. &lt;/p&gt;
  10610. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10611. Which were the top three best times in my life so far?
  10612. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10613. What are my biggest regrets?
  10614. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10615. What would I write a screenplay about?
  10616. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10617. If I had the magic lamp, what would be my three wishes?
  10618. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10619. What does the most ambitious version of myself look like?
  10620. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10621. What about the least ambitious version of myself?
  10622. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10623. How can I be a better dad?
  10624. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10625. At what would I most love to become an expert?
  10626. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10627. Is there anything I can’t do without?
  10628. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10629. How would my life be different if I was blind? Deaf? Paralyzed?
  10630. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  10631. &lt;p&gt;
  10632. &lt;strong&gt;
  10633. We’ve all had plenty of input.
  10634. &lt;/strong&gt;
  10635. It’s fun to let your mind direct its own entertainment.
  10636. &lt;/p&gt;
  10637. &lt;a href=&quot;http://kimbeatonstudios.com/&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/treetroll.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;daydreaming tree&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;</content>
  10638.    <id>https://sive.rs/daydream</id>
  10639.    <link href="https://sive.rs/daydream"/>
  10640.    <title>Daydreaming is my favorite pastime</title>
  10641.    <updated>2019-10-12T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  10642.    <dc:date>2019-10-12T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  10643.  </entry>
  10644.  <entry>
  10645.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  10646. I don’t know why I have this rebellious nature.
  10647. I tend to want to be the opposite of my surroundings.
  10648. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10649. At serious formal events, I can’t stop laughing inside.
  10650. At crazy festivals, I want to hide and read a book.
  10651. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10652. My ambitious friends bring out the slacker in me.
  10653. My lethargic friends make me feel like superman.
  10654. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10655. When I moved to Boston, as a teen, and everyone was wearing black, I dressed in only white.
  10656. I remind new-agey people of the scientific method.
  10657. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10658. Is it a desire for balance?
  10659. To represent what seems under-represented in this situation?
  10660. Is it my love of seeing the other side?
  10661. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10662. I hear I’m not supposed to react like this.
  10663. I’m supposed to be the same, no matter what’s around.
  10664. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10665. But I’m not the same from day to day, even when alone.
  10666. I rebel against myself, too.
  10667. If I’ve been thinking or acting one way for too long, I try another way.
  10668. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10669. It’s worked pretty well for me so far.
  10670. &lt;strong&gt;
  10671. I’m super-motivated by the horror of seeing the opposite of what I want.
  10672. &lt;/strong&gt;
  10673. &lt;/p&gt;
  10674. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10675. Seeing someone waste their talent motivates me to get back to practicing and creating.
  10676. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10677. Seeing a person in horrible health motivates me to be healthy.
  10678. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10679. Seeing someone freaking out motivates me to be calm.
  10680. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10681. Seeing someone being selfish motivates me to be generous.
  10682. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  10683. &lt;p&gt;
  10684. The list goes on.
  10685. It’s been net positive.
  10686. So, I’m not fighting it for now.
  10687. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10688. (P.S. I’ll never argue against preserving nature.)
  10689. &lt;/p&gt;
  10690. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.marcinryczek.com/sales-photo/a-man-feeding-swans-in-the-snow.html&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/swans.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
  10691. &lt;div class=&quot;small&quot;&gt;“A Man Feeding Swans in the Snow” photo © &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.marcinryczek.com/sales-photo/a-man-feeding-swans-in-the-snow.html&quot;&gt;Marcin Ryczek&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;</content>
  10692.    <id>https://sive.rs/antic</id>
  10693.    <link href="https://sive.rs/antic"/>
  10694.    <title>Anti-chameleon</title>
  10695.    <updated>2019-10-11T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  10696.    <dc:date>2019-10-11T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  10697.  </entry>
  10698.  <entry>
  10699.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  10700. I used to use Gmail.
  10701. But one day, as I typed my mother’s email address into the “To:” field, Google popped up a prompt asking if I also wanted to CC my uncle.
  10702. That was so invasive and creepy that I deleted the account immediately and never used it again.
  10703. I don’t want automated intelligence in my private email.
  10704. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10705. My friend lives in a home full of the smartest technology, and loves getting all the new smart things, but he drives a deliberately retro old car with no computer chips.
  10706. He loves to tinker with his car, and wants to do any maintenance himself.
  10707. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10708. Another friend lives in a tech-free rustic cabin with no screens, but drives a Tesla.
  10709. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10710. I do everything on a broken old Linux laptop, using only the command line, usually offline, nothing in the cloud.
  10711. I think it’s because I don’t want any outside automation or intelligence in the work that matters to me.
  10712. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10713. When software is described as “auto-”, “smart”, or “intelligent” it means that &lt;strong&gt;somebody else put their rules into it&lt;/strong&gt;.
  10714. But I don’t want my computer to do anything I didn’t explicitly tell it to do.
  10715. It shouldn’t change what I typed unless I tell it to.
  10716. It should never guess or predict what I want.
  10717. &lt;strong&gt;
  10718. I want full manual control.
  10719. &lt;/strong&gt;
  10720. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10721. On the other hand, I don’t mind if my phone does these things, because I don’t care about my phone much.
  10722. And I would love a high-tech car, full of smart AI automation, because I’m not a car aficionado.
  10723. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10724. At first I thought that an expert at something won’t want assistance.
  10725. But no, of course, auto-pilot for airline pilots, and &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSKERVTMWqs&quot; title=&quot;Integrated Development Environment&quot;&gt;IDE&lt;/a&gt;s for programmers.
  10726. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10727. So I think it comes down to:
  10728. &lt;/p&gt;
  10729. &lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10730. how much of an expert you are at controlling this thing yourself
  10731. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10732. how much you still enjoy doing it
  10733. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10734. if you want the kind of assistance it provides
  10735. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;
  10736. &lt;p&gt;
  10737. Any thoughts on this subject?
  10738. I’d love to hear another point of view.
  10739. &lt;/p&gt;
  10740. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/robots.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;robots&quot;&gt;</content>
  10741.    <id>https://sive.rs/autom</id>
  10742.    <link href="https://sive.rs/autom"/>
  10743.    <title>Where we do and don’t want automation</title>
  10744.    <updated>2019-10-10T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  10745.    <dc:date>2019-10-10T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  10746.  </entry>
  10747.  <entry>
  10748.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  10749. Today my bus was delayed, and I was really annoyed.
  10750. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10751. Also, I got a really nasty email, which put me in a worse mood.
  10752. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10753. No, wait, I should give the full story.
  10754. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10755. It takes two busses to get from the airport back to my house.
  10756. The first bus leaves once per hour.
  10757. That connects to a second bus that leaves every five minutes.
  10758. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10759. Today I was super-lucky and got to the first bus just before it left.
  10760. If I would have emerged from the airport a minute later, I would have waited an hour for the next one.
  10761. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10762. But then the second bus was delayed, and I had to wait about ten minutes.
  10763. That’s what got me really annoyed, and feeling like today was a bad day.
  10764. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10765. Then I got home and downloaded my emails.
  10766. There were about fifty really nice ones, and one nasty one.
  10767. That’s what put me in a worse mood.
  10768. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10769. I didn’t remember until later how lucky I was to just make that first hourly bus.
  10770. Then had to laugh at myself for being upset about waiting ten minutes for the next one, and upset about one stupid email among a bunch of nice ones.
  10771. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10772. It’s human nature.
  10773. We all do it.
  10774. Life is wonderful, and we focus on the one thing that’s not.
  10775. &lt;/p&gt;
  10776. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/photobomb.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;funny face&quot;&gt;</content>
  10777.    <id>https://sive.rs/negz</id>
  10778.    <link href="https://sive.rs/negz"/>
  10779.    <title>Human nature to focus on the one bad thing</title>
  10780.    <updated>2019-10-09T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  10781.    <dc:date>2019-10-09T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  10782.  </entry>
  10783.  <entry>
  10784.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  10785. The most relaxed feeling I know is after going back and forth between a super-hot pool and super-cold pool.
  10786. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10787. Stay in the super-hot pool until you can’t stand it.
  10788. Then go in a super-cold pool until you can’t stand it.
  10789. Repeat that a few times, and you’ve never felt so relaxed.
  10790. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10791. Today I went to the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.loylyhelsinki.fi/en/the-loyly-story/gallery/&quot;&gt;Löyly sauna&lt;/a&gt; in Helsinki, Finland.
  10792. I stayed in the super-hot sauna room until I couldn’t stand it.
  10793. Then I’d jump in the icy ocean until I couldn’t stand it.
  10794. I went back and forth like this for almost two hours.
  10795. It’s so wonderful.
  10796. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10797. There was also a medium-hot sauna room.
  10798. I tried that for a while, but it just felt “eh” — neither here nor there — not as fulfilling or relaxing as the extremes.
  10799. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10800. …
  10801. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10802. I like &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/erra&quot;&gt;trying different ways to approach life&lt;/a&gt;.
  10803. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10804. I’ll maximize my input for a while — say yes to everything, meet everyone, go everywhere.
  10805. Then I’ll maximize my output for a while — say no to everything, and just focus on my work.
  10806. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10807. I’ll do the domestic life for a while — with a house, car, dog, furniture, stocked kitchen, and stuff.
  10808. Then I’ll give it all away, until I’m back to the one suitcase of the things I really need.
  10809. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10810. And yes, I tend to do each one until it feels like I can’t stand it anymore.
  10811. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10812. It’s fun to push the boundaries — to explore the edges — to see what I can do.
  10813. I’ve never been interested in pursuing a normal life.
  10814. There are enough people doing that.
  10815. More growth and discovery seems to happen when I’m uncomfortable.
  10816. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10817. Some people think it’s strange, and ask why I feel the need to be so all-or-nothing.
  10818. They ask why I don’t just find the middle ground.
  10819. (Neither here nor there.)
  10820. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10821. But there’s something more fun and fulfilling about experiencing the more interesting extremes.
  10822. Knowing I can live in these different scenarios is ultimately more relaxing.
  10823. &lt;/p&gt;
  10824. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/sauna.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;sauna&quot;&gt;</content>
  10825.    <id>https://sive.rs/sauna</id>
  10826.    <link href="https://sive.rs/sauna"/>
  10827.    <title>Back and forth between super-hot and super-cold</title>
  10828.    <updated>2019-10-08T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  10829.    <dc:date>2019-10-08T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  10830.  </entry>
  10831.  <entry>
  10832.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  10833. I spend a lot time thinking of &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/h&quot;&gt;alternate ways to approach life&lt;/a&gt;.
  10834. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10835. I re-consider my hierarchy of values.
  10836. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10837. When values change, the plan of action needs to change, too.
  10838. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10839. For example, if I decide that personal growth is top priority, then I plan a life pushing outside my comfort zone.
  10840. But if I decide that creative output is top priority, then I plan a tranquil life without obstacles, so I can just create.
  10841. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10842. But the only way to decide — &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/donkey&quot;&gt;to not be Buridan’s donkey&lt;/a&gt; — is to &lt;strong&gt;go give it a try&lt;/strong&gt;.
  10843. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10844. There’s a huge difference between in-theory versus in-practice.
  10845. &lt;strong&gt;
  10846. If you’ve been deliberating on something for a while, get it out of your head, and into the world.
  10847. &lt;/strong&gt;
  10848. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10849. If it turns out to be a mistake, that’s fine.
  10850. At least you’ll know it’s a mistake &lt;strong&gt;in fact&lt;/strong&gt;, instead of just in theory.
  10851. &lt;/p&gt;
  10852. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/diving.png&quot; alt=&quot;diving&quot;&gt;</content>
  10853.    <id>https://sive.rs/erra</id>
  10854.    <link href="https://sive.rs/erra"/>
  10855.    <title>Err on the side of action, to test theories</title>
  10856.    <updated>2019-10-07T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  10857.    <dc:date>2019-10-07T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  10858.  </entry>
  10859.  <entry>
  10860.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  10861. What do you call it when you skip school or work for a day, to do whatever you want instead?
  10862. In America, we call it playing hooky.
  10863. In England, we call it skiving.
  10864. (Got another word for it?)
  10865. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10866. Some of my best, most productive, and enjoyable days have been while playing hooky.
  10867. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10868. I think it’s a healthy practice, to occasionally blow off a previous commitment, and do whatever you want instead.
  10869. It’s a great reminder that you’re the boss of your life.
  10870. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10871. But it’s interesting how productive I am on those days.
  10872. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10873. When I think back about the times in my life where I got the most done, created the most, or had a major breakthrough in some aspect of my life, it was often &lt;strong&gt;while I was supposed to be doing something else.&lt;/strong&gt;
  10874. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10875. For example:
  10876. I’d sign up for a three-day conference, show up to registration, decide I don’t want to go, then sit in my hotel room, uninterrupted, and get some great work done for three days.
  10877. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10878. This has happened multiple times.
  10879. I really should stop signing up for conferences!
  10880. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10881. Or…
  10882. &lt;strong&gt;
  10883. Could we use this as an effective productivity technique?
  10884. &lt;/strong&gt;
  10885. &lt;/p&gt;
  10886. &lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10887. Sign up for something — a time commitment.
  10888. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10889. Put aside the time to do it.
  10890. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10891. When the day comes, feel the tension between what you said you would do, and what you really want to do.
  10892. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10893. Blow it off, and do what you really want instead.
  10894. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;
  10895. &lt;p&gt;
  10896. Maybe the productivity comes from the fact that the time has already been put aside, so I suddenly have free time to do what I really wanted.
  10897. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10898. But I suspect that when I feel that tension between the obligation and desire, it amplifies the difference, and makes it clear to me how badly I want to do this other thing.
  10899. Then that amplified desire leads me to be more intense and focused in my actions.
  10900. &lt;/p&gt;
  10901. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/boyrunning.png&quot; alt=&quot;boy running&quot;&gt;</content>
  10902.    <id>https://sive.rs/hooky</id>
  10903.    <link href="https://sive.rs/hooky"/>
  10904.    <title>Blowing off work to play</title>
  10905.    <updated>2019-10-06T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  10906.    <dc:date>2019-10-06T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  10907.  </entry>
  10908.  <entry>
  10909.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  10910. I took my 7-year-old to London today.
  10911. I made two plans: if it rains, we go to a museum, if not, we go to the zoo.
  10912. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10913. But when the train arrived in London, he said he didn’t really want to do either one.
  10914. So we just walked with no plans.
  10915. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10916. We immediately ran across some random building with a big art installation on its side.
  10917. There was nobody around.
  10918. We played there for a long time.
  10919. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10920. At each intersection, we just went whichever way looked most interesting.
  10921. He lept around park benches, tickling some kids from Croatia.
  10922. He found a huge cardboard box in the trash, and kept it around him like a turtle shell, as we walked through the city.
  10923. He found a discarded paint brush and twirled it around his fingers for the rest of the day.
  10924. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10925. We were in front of the theater with the musical “&lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_(musical)&quot;&gt;Wicked&lt;/a&gt;”, just as they were about to begin.
  10926. We bought last-minute tickets, 8th row center, and watched the show.
  10927. He held hands with a girl sitting next to him.
  10928. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10929. I’m so glad we didn’t follow any plans today.
  10930. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10931. We make plans to make the most of our time — but thinking again about that idea, that doesn’t make sense, does it?
  10932. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10933. Unless we’re actually shut out of great things for lack of planning, &lt;strong&gt;following no plans is the ideal way to make the best of each moment.&lt;/strong&gt;
  10934. Every moment provides new information, which changes the situation.
  10935. Then we can act on what we know now, instead of what we previously predicted.
  10936. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10937. I don’t regret having plans, because sometimes following the plan is the best choice.
  10938. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10939. So I guess the lesson is to &lt;strong&gt;make plans, but feel free to ignore them&lt;/strong&gt; — to see them as an option, not a requirement.
  10940. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10941. After eight hours of walking, we took a night train home.
  10942. Tucking him into bed, I asked what was his favorite part.
  10943. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10944. “The cardboard box.”
  10945. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  10946.    <id>https://sive.rs/ldn</id>
  10947.    <link href="https://sive.rs/ldn"/>
  10948.    <title>What happens when we ignore plans?</title>
  10949.    <updated>2019-10-05T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  10950.    <dc:date>2019-10-05T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  10951.  </entry>
  10952.  <entry>
  10953.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  10954. Since I’m &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/ox1&quot;&gt;living&lt;/a&gt; in Europe now, I thought it would be good to tour everywhere in Europe, and get to know it better.
  10955. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10956. I’m not into seeing the sights.
  10957. I &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/tp1&quot;&gt;don’t take photos&lt;/a&gt;.
  10958. What I want is to get to know the &lt;strong&gt;mindset&lt;/strong&gt;, the &lt;strong&gt;world-view&lt;/strong&gt; of each place.
  10959. The &lt;strong&gt;philosophy&lt;/strong&gt;.
  10960. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10961. So I wondered if there’s a way to tour philosophies directly.
  10962. What if, &lt;strong&gt;instead of touring places, we toured ideas&lt;/strong&gt;?
  10963. Can I tour the “&lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/-ism&quot;&gt;-ism&lt;/a&gt;”s?
  10964. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  10965. My collection of &lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.veryshortintroductions.com/&quot;&gt;Very Short Introduction&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt; books includes:
  10966. &lt;/p&gt;
  10967. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10968. Abolitionism
  10969. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10970. Agnosticism
  10971. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10972. Anarchism
  10973. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10974. Anglicanism
  10975. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10976. Antisemitism
  10977. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10978. Atheism
  10979. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10980. Buddhism
  10981. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10982. Calvinism
  10983. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10984. Capitalism
  10985. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10986. Catholicism
  10987. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10988. Communism
  10989. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10990. Confucianism
  10991. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10992. Epicureanism
  10993. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10994. Existentialism
  10995. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10996. Fascism
  10997. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  10998. Feminism
  10999. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11000. Fundamentalism
  11001. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11002. Hinduism
  11003. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11004. Humanism
  11005. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11006. Judaism
  11007. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11008. Liberalism
  11009. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11010. Methodism
  11011. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11012. Modernism
  11013. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11014. Monasticism
  11015. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11016. Mormonism
  11017. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11018. Multiculturalism
  11019. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11020. Nationalism
  11021. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11022. Neoliberalism
  11023. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11024. Paganism
  11025. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11026. Pentecostalism
  11027. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11028. Populism
  11029. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11030. Post-colonialism
  11031. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11032. Post-modernism
  11033. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11034. Post-structuralism
  11035. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11036. Progressivism
  11037. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11038. Protestantism
  11039. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11040. Puritanism
  11041. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11042. Racism
  11043. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11044. Romanticism
  11045. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11046. Scepticism
  11047. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11048. Secularism
  11049. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11050. Sikhism
  11051. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11052. Socialism
  11053. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11054. Stoicism
  11055. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11056. Surrealism
  11057. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11058. Terrorism
  11059. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11060. Utopianism
  11061. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11062. Zionism
  11063. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  11064. &lt;p&gt;
  11065. Now that’s my kind of tourism!
  11066. &lt;/p&gt;
  11067. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/bookstand.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;book stand&quot;&gt;</content>
  11068.    <id>https://sive.rs/isms</id>
  11069.    <link href="https://sive.rs/isms"/>
  11070.    <title>Tour -isms</title>
  11071.    <updated>2019-10-04T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  11072.    <dc:date>2019-10-04T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  11073.  </entry>
  11074.  <entry>
  11075.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  11076. My friend has a huge crush on someone.
  11077. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11078. He showers her with attention and appreciation.
  11079. He remembers her preferences, and constantly gives her thoughtful gifts.
  11080. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11081. He thinks he’s being considerate, but he’s actually being inconsiderate.
  11082. Meta-inconsiderate.
  11083. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11084. By holding her up on a pedestal — by making it clear that he looks up to her — he’s making her look down on him.
  11085. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11086. People want a romantic partner that’s a “catch” — someone almost out of their league.
  11087. We want a good deal.
  11088. We want to win someone.
  11089. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11090. By chasing her relentlessly, he’s denying her the pleasure of desire.
  11091. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11092. He’s not letting her dance.
  11093. Since he keeps pushing forward, there’s nowhere for her to go but backward.
  11094. He’s not letting her come to him.
  11095. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11096. &lt;strong&gt;
  11097. Being superficially considerate can be deeply inconsiderate.
  11098. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11099. Doing the opposite is often ultimately more considerate.
  11100. I call it meta-considerate.
  11101. &lt;/p&gt;
  11102. &lt;h3&gt;
  11103. Meta-considerate by contrast:
  11104. &lt;/h3&gt;
  11105. &lt;p&gt;
  11106. It’s considerate to not bore my friends with my problems.
  11107. But it’s meta-considerate to tell them my problems, to let them feel needed and helpful, to let them know they’re safe to do the same.
  11108. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11109. It’s considerate to greet someone with a smile.
  11110. But it’s meta-considerate to not smile until they’ve said something, so they can feel that smile was sincerely for them, not presented to just anyone.
  11111. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11112. It’s considerate to tell a white lie.
  11113. But it’s meta-considerate to tell the uncomfortable truth.
  11114. &lt;/p&gt;
  11115. &lt;h3&gt;
  11116. More meta-considerate examples:
  11117. &lt;/h3&gt;
  11118. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11119. The jazz club hidden behind an unmarked door.
  11120. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11121. The meticulous craftsman that has a 9-month waiting list because he custom-makes every order himself.
  11122. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11123. Musicians like Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, and Bob Dylan, that gave nothing but the music, and didn’t ask for your love.
  11124. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11125. Being silent in conversation, to let your friend fill the space and share more.
  11126. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  11127. &lt;p&gt;
  11128. &lt;strong&gt;
  11129. Our shallow wants and deeper needs are often &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/opposite&quot;&gt;opposite&lt;/a&gt;.
  11130. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11131. &lt;/p&gt;
  11132. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/metapedestal.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;pedestal&quot;&gt;</content>
  11133.    <id>https://sive.rs/metac</id>
  11134.    <link href="https://sive.rs/metac"/>
  11135.    <title>Meta-considerate</title>
  11136.    <updated>2019-10-03T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  11137.    <dc:date>2019-10-03T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  11138.  </entry>
  11139.  <entry>
  11140.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  11141. A few years ago, I thought it would be fun to get into camping.
  11142. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11143. I live in New Zealand!
  11144. How can I not?
  11145. I daydreamed about it, picturing how much fun it could be.
  11146. I read a book about it.
  11147. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11148. I carefully picked out then bought some highly-recommended gear: a tent, two sleeping bags, two air mattresses, and a light backpack.
  11149. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11150. We used it once.
  11151. It’s still in my garage.
  11152. &lt;/p&gt;
  11153. …
  11154. &lt;p&gt;
  11155. Last year, I thought it would be fun to get a &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/maschine/production-systems/maschine/&quot;&gt;Maschine&lt;/a&gt;.
  11156. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11157. A new way of making music!
  11158. I daydreamed about it, picturing how much fun it could be.
  11159. I read about it and watched videos about it.
  11160. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11161. After a few weeks of this, I felt the time was right.
  11162. I bought one.
  11163. I played with it a while for the first day, then got back to my normal life, intending to spend more time with it.
  11164. But I never did.
  11165. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11166. Every day I would look at it, thinking I should use it.
  11167. After half a year, I gave up, and gave it to a friend.
  11168. &lt;/p&gt;
  11169. …
  11170. &lt;p&gt;
  11171. Last week, I thought it would be fun to get a new bicycle.
  11172. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11173. I’ve never tried a carbon frame, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.sram.com/en/sram/road/collections/etap-axs&quot;&gt;modern gearing&lt;/a&gt;, or any of the cool new developments in bicycle tech.
  11174. I live in &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/resources/images/9486391.jpg&quot;&gt;Oxford, a cycling city&lt;/a&gt;!
  11175. How can I not?
  11176. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11177. I’ve been daydreaming about it, picturing how much fun it could be.
  11178. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11179. &lt;strong&gt;
  11180. Wait!
  11181. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11182. Hold on.
  11183. Have I learned nothing?
  11184. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11185. &lt;strong&gt;
  11186. So I tried picturing the downside, instead.
  11187. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11188. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11189. I pictured myself not using it, like the camping gear, Maschine, and &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorhome&quot;&gt;other things&lt;/a&gt; I didn’t mention here.
  11190. &lt;strong&gt;
  11191. I remembered the pain of guilt, regret, and waste.
  11192. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11193. The conflicted feelings of wanting this thing, but not quite enough.
  11194. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11195. And I decided against it.
  11196. &lt;/p&gt;
  11197. …
  11198. &lt;p&gt;
  11199. That said, I’m not sure what to conclude.
  11200. &lt;/p&gt;
  11201. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11202. The only mistake was buying instead of renting?
  11203. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11204. Give up on trying new things, and just amplify my current focus?
  11205. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11206. Daydream and learn all about new things, but stop thinking I need to own them?
  11207. (Awareness is enough for me?)
  11208. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11209. Or maybe the mistake was giving up?
  11210. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/AtomicHabits&quot;&gt;Building new habits takes time&lt;/a&gt; and effort.
  11211. After that initial challenge, my life could be richer by the expanded activities in my repertoire.
  11212. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11213. Something else?
  11214. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;</content>
  11215.    <id>https://sive.rs/ddown</id>
  11216.    <link href="https://sive.rs/ddown"/>
  11217.    <title>Daydreaming the downside, for once</title>
  11218.    <updated>2019-10-02T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  11219.    <dc:date>2019-10-02T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  11220.  </entry>
  11221.  <entry>
  11222.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  11223. When you experience someone else’s &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/obvious&quot;&gt;genius work&lt;/a&gt;, a little part of you feels, “That’s what I could have, would have, and should have done!”
  11224. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11225. Someone else did it.
  11226. You didn’t.
  11227. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11228. They fought the &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/WarOfArt&quot;&gt;resistance&lt;/a&gt;.
  11229. You gave in to distractions.
  11230. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11231. They made it top priority.
  11232. You said you’d get to it some day.
  11233. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11234. &lt;strong&gt;
  11235. They took the time.
  11236. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11237. You meant to.
  11238. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11239. When this happens, you can take it two ways:
  11240. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11241. You could let that part of you give up.
  11242. “Oh well. Now I don’t need to make that anymore.”
  11243. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11244. Or you could do something about that jealous pain.
  11245. Shut off your phone, kill the distractions, make it top priority, and spend the time.
  11246. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11247. It takes many hours to make what you want to make.
  11248. &lt;strong&gt;
  11249. The hours don’t suddenly appear.
  11250. You have to steal them from comfort.
  11251. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11252. Whatever you were doing before was comfortable.
  11253. This is not.
  11254. This will be &lt;em&gt;really&lt;/em&gt; uncomfortable.
  11255. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11256. The few times in my life I’ve made a real change like this, it felt &lt;strong&gt;awful&lt;/strong&gt; on the surface.
  11257. I wasn’t shallow-happy about it.
  11258. I wasn’t smiling.
  11259. I was annoyed and fighting it inside, but on the outside I did the work.
  11260. And in the end, got the deeper satisfaction of finishing.
  11261. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  11262.    <id>https://sive.rs/uncomf</id>
  11263.    <link href="https://sive.rs/uncomf"/>
  11264.    <title>Where to find the hours to make it happen</title>
  11265.    <updated>2019-10-01T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  11266.    <dc:date>2019-10-01T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  11267.  </entry>
  11268.  <entry>
  11269.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  11270. People with many interests often ask my &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/advice&quot;&gt;advice&lt;/a&gt; on which industry or career path they should follow.
  11271. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11272. Years ago, I felt I was just a programmer and entrepreneur.
  11273. Yes sometimes I write a tiny blog post sharing what I’ve learned, but that’s just something on the side.
  11274. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11275. But something never felt quite right about this.
  11276. I spend most of my time writing, very little time programming, and &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/expire&quot;&gt;hadn’t started a business in years&lt;/a&gt;.
  11277. Still, I kept saying I was a programmer and entrepreneur, and felt I should really spend more time doing it.
  11278. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11279. But everything changed when I asked myself a question:
  11280. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11281. &lt;strong&gt;
  11282. “Who are my heroes?”
  11283. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11284. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11285. I thought, wrote them down, then realized they were all &lt;strong&gt;authors&lt;/strong&gt;!
  11286. Basically, &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book&quot;&gt;look at my list of favorite books&lt;/a&gt;, and there are my heroes.
  11287. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11288. The people I look up to the most…
  11289. The people I’d most like to meet…
  11290. The people I’d most like to emulate are not entrepreneurs, and not programmers — just writers.
  11291. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11292. So, that day, I realized I actually want to be a writer.
  11293. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11294. I re-arranged my hierarchy of interests.
  11295. Yes I enjoy programming, and yes I’ll probably start another business.
  11296. But really my main love and top priority is writing.
  11297. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11298. How about you?
  11299. Who are your heroes?
  11300. Does that help you see which way you’re actually facing?
  11301. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  11302.    <id>https://sive.rs/hf</id>
  11303.    <link href="https://sive.rs/hf"/>
  11304.    <title>Your heroes show which way you’re facing</title>
  11305.    <updated>2019-09-30T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  11306.    <dc:date>2019-09-30T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  11307.  </entry>
  11308.  <entry>
  11309.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  11310. Which sounds better to you?
  11311. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11312. “In his best-selling book on behavioral science, &lt;em&gt;Thinking, Fast and Slow&lt;/em&gt;, Nobel-prize winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman said, ‘Nothing in life is as important as you think it is when you are thinking about it.’.”
  11313. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11314. … or just saying it:
  11315. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11316. “Whatever’s on your mind is not as important as it seems.”
  11317. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11318. When I first started reading a lot of books, I started quoting them a lot.
  11319. When bringing up an idea in conversation, first I would mention its source — the book, the title, the author, and the subject of the book — before finally saying the idea.
  11320. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11321. After far too many times hearing myself referencing this book and that book, always naming titles and authors, I realized it was a lot of unnecessary clutter.
  11322. I could see my listeners waiting for me to get to the point.
  11323. &lt;strong&gt;
  11324. It was inconsiderate.
  11325. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11326. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11327. Then I started noticing how annoying it was to read books that do the same thing.
  11328. It’s really common in these &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book&quot;&gt;pop non-fiction&lt;/a&gt; books I like:
  11329. “This person said this thing. That person said that thing.”
  11330. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11331. It got me wondering:
  11332. &lt;strong&gt;
  11333. Why don’t we just say the idea, instead of referencing and quoting it?
  11334. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11335. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11336. I think there are a few reasons:
  11337. &lt;/p&gt;
  11338. &lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11339. &lt;strong&gt;
  11340. It feels like stealing.
  11341. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11342. It’s &lt;em&gt;their&lt;/em&gt; idea, not mine.
  11343. But all ideas come from somewhere.
  11344. Maybe they were paraphrasing it from someone else.
  11345. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11346. &lt;strong&gt;
  11347. School teaches us to reference.
  11348. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11349. But we’re not trying to impress a teacher anymore.
  11350. And every unnecessary fact dilutes our point.
  11351. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11352. &lt;strong&gt;
  11353. By quoting someone else, we can easily disavow the idea if attacked.
  11354. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11355. If someone says it’s wrong, we can avoid responsibility and say, “Don’t look at me! It’s his idea, not mine!”
  11356. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;
  11357. &lt;p&gt;
  11358. So instead, I go the other way now.
  11359. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11360. If I hear an idea, have considered it, and integrated it into my beliefs, &lt;strong&gt;it’s mine&lt;/strong&gt;.
  11361. I’ll say it succinctly in my own words, and stand behind it.
  11362. Like adopting a child, I will take care of this idea and raise it as my own.
  11363. If anyone wants to know the source, I’ll be happy to tell them.
  11364. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11365. I highly recommend this.
  11366. Stop referencing.
  11367. Stop quoting.
  11368. Paraphrase.
  11369. Internalize it.
  11370. Make it yours.
  11371. &lt;strong&gt;
  11372. Tell me what &lt;em&gt;you&lt;/em&gt; think, not what someone else thinks.
  11373. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11374. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  11375.    <id>https://sive.rs/dq</id>
  11376.    <link href="https://sive.rs/dq"/>
  11377.    <title>Don’t quote. Make it yours and say it yourself.</title>
  11378.    <updated>2019-09-29T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  11379.    <dc:date>2019-09-29T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  11380.  </entry>
  11381.  <entry>
  11382.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  11383. I used to like the internet.
  11384. I thought it was cool, creative, wild, untamed, expressive, decentralized, and educational.
  11385. I guess it was, back then, but now?
  11386. I kinda hate most of what’s out there.
  11387. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11388. I don’t like social media, either.
  11389. Staged photos, and people trying to get a reaction.
  11390. Noise, hype, and drama.
  11391. It makes me want to avoid the internet completely.
  11392. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11393. Then I thought about what I do like.
  11394. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11395. &lt;strong&gt;
  11396. My email inbox is really nice.
  11397. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11398. It’s only people I like, who are emailing me personally.
  11399. No lists.
  11400. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11401. I highly recommend setting up a private email address.
  11402. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11403. Use &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.fastmail.com/&quot;&gt;Fastmail&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;https://posteo.de/&quot;&gt;Posteo&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;https://mailbox.org/en/&quot;&gt;Mailbox&lt;/a&gt;, or any similar service where you actually pay $1-$3 per month and in return get a completely ad-free spam-free wonderful email experience.
  11404. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11405. Then never give this new private email to anyone except dear friends and family.
  11406. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11407. Let your old Gmail collect the junk.
  11408. The people you really care about will use the new one, so you won’t need to check the old one much anymore.
  11409. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11410. It feels nice to have a notification mean something again — to only get one or two emails a day, and know that they are really for you.
  11411. Or, if you don’t get any notifications, then nothing you really care about has arrived — so no need to check.
  11412. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11413. Most days I don’t look at the web or any apps.
  11414. I just write, text friends, call friends, and check email.
  11415. That’s enough.
  11416. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  11417.    <id>https://sive.rs/pe</id>
  11418.    <link href="https://sive.rs/pe"/>
  11419.    <title>Have a private email account</title>
  11420.    <updated>2019-09-28T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  11421.    <dc:date>2019-09-28T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  11422.  </entry>
  11423.  <entry>
  11424.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  11425. I’ve started writing my autobiography.
  11426. I’ll keep writing it for the rest of my life.
  11427. It’s private now, but will be released the week I die.
  11428. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11429. I’ve written the last chapter, which is more of an afterword.
  11430. (“Now I’m dead.”)
  11431. So now I will just keep writing the middle chapters.
  11432. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11433. My assistants, family, and friends will have instructions on how to publish it as soon as I die.
  11434. A few clicks and commands and it’s published in all formats, print-on-demand, and ready to go the same day.
  11435. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11436. So by the time you hear the news that I’ve died, the full story — the book of my life — will be ready to read.
  11437. I think that would be a good goodbye.
  11438. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11439. Don’t worry : I don’t plan on dying for a long time.
  11440. My health is great and all is well.
  11441. This is just my version of the old advice to “write your own epitaph”.
  11442. I realized I can do better than that.
  11443. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11444. And I wish &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/milt&quot;&gt;the people I care about&lt;/a&gt; would do the same.
  11445. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  11446.    <id>https://sive.rs/abio</id>
  11447.    <link href="https://sive.rs/abio"/>
  11448.    <title>Future posthumous autobiography</title>
  11449.    <updated>2019-09-27T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  11450.    <dc:date>2019-09-27T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  11451.  </entry>
  11452.  <entry>
  11453.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  11454. Cross the world four times.
  11455. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11456. First, in your teens or 20s, to take it all in.
  11457. See it all, do it all, and learn.
  11458. Get involved.
  11459. Stay up all night talking with strangers, everywhere.
  11460. Kiss and fall and promise to them all.
  11461. Make lots of mistakes.
  11462. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11463. Cross the world the first time to fall in love.
  11464. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11465. The second time, in your 30s, to tell everyone what you’ve learned.
  11466. You’re full of answers, since you’ve done so much.
  11467. You know how things should be, since you’ve made all your mistakes.
  11468. You can see the path clearly, and it’s your turn to lead.
  11469. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11470. Cross the world the second time to make change.
  11471. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11472. The third time, in your 50s, to compensate.
  11473. You realize what a blow-hard you were in your 30s, and how little you actually know.
  11474. You’ve been humbled.
  11475. It’s time to make up for years of thinking others were wrong.
  11476. Pay close attention and listen without judgement for once.
  11477. Have no answers — only good questions and good ears.
  11478. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11479. Cross the world the third time to unlearn.
  11480. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11481. The fourth time, late in life, to witness.
  11482. To find old friends, and find that they’re gone.
  11483. To see what’s changed, and what’s stayed the same.
  11484. To appreciate the young.
  11485. The world is theirs, not yours.
  11486. Now you know what happens when you die: everything!
  11487. Evolution.
  11488. Revolutions.
  11489. Inventions.
  11490. Disasters.
  11491. So much love, and so many lives.
  11492. You just won’t be part of it anymore.
  11493. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11494. Cross the world the last time to say goodbye.
  11495. &lt;/p&gt;
  11496. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/sprout.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;sprout&quot;&gt;</content>
  11497.    <id>https://sive.rs/4</id>
  11498.    <link href="https://sive.rs/4"/>
  11499.    <title>Cross the world four times</title>
  11500.    <updated>2019-09-27T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  11501.    <dc:date>2019-09-27T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  11502.  </entry>
  11503.  <entry>
  11504.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  11505. Imagine you host a dinner party with two doctors and two accountants.
  11506. You introduce the doctors to each other and the accountants to each other, assuming they’d have the most in common.
  11507. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11508. But actually one doctor got into it because her mother died unnecessarily of medical neglect, and she’s on a mission to make sure that never happens again.
  11509. The other doctor is in it for the money.
  11510. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11511. And actually one accountant got into it because her dad’s family business was the victim of embezzling, and she’s on a mission to make sure that never happens again.
  11512. The other accountant is in it for the money.
  11513. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11514. &lt;strong&gt;
  11515. You can’t assume the reasons why people are doing what they do.
  11516. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11517. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11518. I learned this slowly and uncomfortably after I sold my music distribution company.
  11519. Knowing I had a successful exit, people assumed I was an entrepreneur, and wanted me to tell them how to be a better entrepreneur.
  11520. They asked me to mentor at business schools, where people would bring in PowerPoint presentations showing their financial projections, and talk about raising rounds of financing, and all this stuff I had never dealt with and knew nothing about.
  11521. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11522. It took me a long time to realize that, like the doctor and accountant story, I must have looked like an entrepreneur from the outside.
  11523. &lt;strong&gt;
  11524. Yes I founded, grew, and sold a company.
  11525. But really all I wanted to do was to help musicians.
  11526. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11527. I could have done it by promoting concerts, or being a record producer, or donating to a musicians’ charity — but in my case I built a distribution system for those who had no other distribution.
  11528. So technically yes, I was an entrepreneur, but it seems I didn’t have much in common with all these entrepreneurs I was meeting.
  11529. (When I met musicians, it was always such a welcome relief!)
  11530. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11531. I still think of everything I do as art, not business.
  11532. It’s personal expression, creative exploration, testing out ideas just to see what happens.
  11533. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11534. Writing a song isn’t that different from writing computer code.
  11535. It’s all just having a little vision or spark of an idea, then seeing how you can make it happen — for its own sake.
  11536. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11537. Starting a band isn’t that different from starting a company.
  11538. It’s something you do when you’re unable to make your creative vision happen by yourself.
  11539. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11540. I’ve never done anything just for the money.
  11541. It’s always been secondary, and always just happened as a side-effect of following my interests.
  11542. So I don’t have any advice for people who are trying to make money.
  11543. I don’t know what that’s like.
  11544. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11545. &lt;strong&gt;
  11546. This is the main reason I stopped doing interviews four years ago.
  11547. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11548. Most interviewers just seemed to want to ask my business advice.
  11549. I’m feeling ready to do interviews again, as long as we can talk about creativity, identity, exploration, learning, unlearning, communication, cycling, culture, psychology, and all kinds of other things.
  11550. But I’m not up for talking about business.
  11551. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11552. Don’t confuse the medium with the message.&lt;br&gt;
  11553. Don’t confuse the tool with the goal.&lt;br&gt;
  11554. Don’t confuse the vehicle with the path.
  11555. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  11556.    <id>https://sive.rs/ww</id>
  11557.    <link href="https://sive.rs/ww"/>
  11558.    <title>What I did belies why</title>
  11559.    <updated>2019-09-26T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  11560.    <dc:date>2019-09-26T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  11561.  </entry>
  11562.  <entry>
  11563.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  11564. Musicians, photographers, writers, and artists of all sorts:
  11565. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11566. &lt;strong&gt;
  11567. Would you make your art if you were the last person on earth?
  11568. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11569. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11570. For me, it’s an immediate YES — of course!
  11571. In fact, it might make the experience even better.
  11572. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11573. A musician friend asked me this question, and was freaked out by my answer.
  11574. She said she can’t even imagine a world-view like mine.
  11575. How could I possibly want to make music if there was no one to hear it?
  11576. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11577. She said, “Ultimately, everything I do is for other people.”
  11578. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11579. I said, “Ultimately, everything I do is for myself.”
  11580. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11581. When I’m creating anything, I do it mostly for my own curiosity — to see how I can develop this fun idea in my head.
  11582. Even when I’m providing a service that seems generous, I’m really doing it because it seemed like a fun system to build.
  11583. If people like what I’ve made, that’s just a bonus.
  11584. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11585. This is related to yesterday’s post, “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/tp2&quot;&gt;Travel without social praise&lt;/a&gt;”.
  11586. Even despite what I’ve said here, I still have to ask myself if I’m doing something just for the praise.
  11587. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11588. &lt;strong&gt;
  11589. Is this something I really want to do, or do I just like the image it represents?
  11590. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11591. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11592. If it feels like I’m doing it for the image, is that for my self-identity — how I see myself — the person I’d like to be for my own sake — or is it just being done for others?
  11593. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11594. One way I try to solve that question is by asking myself if I would do this thing if I was the last person on earth — or at very least, if I never told anyone about it.
  11595. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11596. (
  11597. See also: “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/zipit&quot;&gt;Announcing your plans makes you less motivated to accomplish them&lt;/a&gt;”.
  11598. )
  11599. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  11600.    <id>https://sive.rs/tp3</id>
  11601.    <link href="https://sive.rs/tp3"/>
  11602.    <title>Would you make your art if you were the last person on earth?</title>
  11603.    <updated>2019-09-25T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  11604.    <dc:date>2019-09-25T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  11605.  </entry>
  11606.  <entry>
  11607.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  11608. I met a couple who were thinking of quitting their jobs and travelling the world for a year.
  11609. They asked my thoughts.
  11610. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11611. I suggested they should only do it if they don’t bring a camera, and don’t tell anyone but their family and few dear friends.
  11612. No sharing on social media.
  11613. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11614. Why?
  11615. Because we often live for others, without even realizing it.
  11616. We are trying to impress an invisible crowd.
  11617. We like the social reward of saying, “We’re travelling the world!”
  11618. We imagine how friends and strangers would react to this big news.
  11619. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11620. We go places we think would be impressive to other people.
  11621. We take photos that will make our life look wonderful when we share them.
  11622. We want that praise — that social reward.
  11623. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11624. Do we really want to do this thing, for its own sake?
  11625. &lt;strong&gt;
  11626. Or do we just want the praise?
  11627. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11628. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11629. One way to find out is to see how appealing it would be to do it with no photos, and no sharing.
  11630. Like &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=first+person+to+run+a+marathon+without+talking+about+it&quot;&gt;the first person to run a marathon without talking about it&lt;/a&gt;.
  11631. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11632. If doing something makes us that kind of person, is it still true if we don’t announce it?
  11633. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  11634.    <id>https://sive.rs/tp2</id>
  11635.    <link href="https://sive.rs/tp2"/>
  11636.    <title>Travel without social praise</title>
  11637.    <updated>2019-09-24T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  11638.    <dc:date>2019-09-24T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  11639.  </entry>
  11640.  <entry>
  11641.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  11642. The first time, it was an accident.
  11643. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11644. I’d always wanted to go to Korea.
  11645. I was so excited.
  11646. I set out to explore and forgot my phone in the hotel.
  11647. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11648. I walked around Seoul for twelve hours that day and experienced so many wonderful things.
  11649. I remember them all vividly now, years later, but I have no photos of it.
  11650. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11651. &lt;strong&gt;
  11652. It was a relief to not document everything.
  11653. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11654. I appreciated everything as a one-step process instead of a two-step process.
  11655. I could just feel amazed, instead of feel amazed &lt;em&gt;and&lt;/em&gt; hold up my camera to record it.
  11656. Besides, how often do I look at those photos later, anyway?
  11657. I find it more useful to refer to &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/dj&quot;&gt;my journal of how I felt&lt;/a&gt;, instead of what I saw.
  11658. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11659. A few times, GPS could have helped, but because I didn’t have it, I had to go ask strangers for directions.
  11660. Getting lost led me down some great little back roads I never would have found if I was following the map.
  11661. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11662. So now I intentionally travel without a phone.
  11663. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11664. I feel free and untethered.
  11665. A break from connection.
  11666. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11667. Where you are is partially defined by where you are not.
  11668. When you’re somewhere, you’re not somewhere else.
  11669. But when you use your phone, you’re everywhere.
  11670. You keep in touch with friends.
  11671. You hear what’s going on at home.
  11672. You see the screen exactly as you do anywhere else.
  11673. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11674. It’s wonderful to be cut off from everywhere else — to be more fully only there.
  11675. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11676. And it’s so nice to not know the time or where I am.
  11677. Clocks and maps are useful inventions, but I see a moment better without them.
  11678. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11679. &lt;strong&gt;
  11680. I appreciate a moment more when I know I’ll never see it again.
  11681. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11682. I remember that day in Seoul better than I remember most photo-filled travels.
  11683. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  11684.    <id>https://sive.rs/tp1</id>
  11685.    <link href="https://sive.rs/tp1"/>
  11686.    <title>Travel without a phone</title>
  11687.    <updated>2019-09-23T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  11688.    <dc:date>2019-09-23T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  11689.  </entry>
  11690.  <entry>
  11691.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  11692. I’m starting a podcast today.
  11693. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11694. Subscribe to &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/podcast.rss&quot;&gt;https://sive.rs/podcast.rss&lt;/a&gt;.
  11695. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  11696.    <id>https://sive.rs/pinit</id>
  11697.    <link href="https://sive.rs/pinit"/>
  11698.    <title>initialize</title>
  11699.    <updated>2019-09-22T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  11700.    <dc:date>2019-09-22T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  11701.  </entry>
  11702.  <entry>
  11703.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  11704. I was uncomfortable, unhappy, and restless.
  11705. I didn’t want to meet new people, because I felt I was giving the wrong impression.
  11706. Something wasn’t right.
  11707. It took me months to figure out the real problem:
  11708. My clothes don’t fit anymore!
  11709. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11710. Once I realized this, I had to decide what new clothes would fit the new me.
  11711. Like many of us, I looked to the style of glamorous and successful people.
  11712. I should wear what they wear since it works so well for them.
  11713. I tried on many of their outfits, but nothing fit.
  11714. That was really disappointing, because I thought that’s why they share their choices with the world — so we can do what they do.
  11715. I thought it would be that easy.
  11716. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11717. Eventually, after a lot of searching, I found clothes that are just my size.
  11718. But I couldn’t get them on!
  11719. There was no room at all.
  11720. I’m embarrassed to say I overlooked something obvious.
  11721. &lt;strong&gt;
  11722. I was trying to wear new clothes on top of the old ones.
  11723. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11724. I didn’t realize I had to completely remove my old clothes before putting on something new.
  11725. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11726. It was easy to take off my old clothes for a few days, but just having them around made it too easy to put them on again.
  11727. They were so comfortable!
  11728. I’d been wearing these things for so many years that they really became my identity.
  11729. If you put my old clothes on a mannequin, it would look like me.
  11730. What does that say about me, then?
  11731. We are what we wear?
  11732. Clothes make the man?
  11733. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11734. So, I had to completely discard them.
  11735. It was sad — I thought those clothes would last forever.
  11736. I documented them for archive’s sake, then gave them away.
  11737. I’m glad someone else can use them.
  11738. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11739. In this transition, before I put on my new clothes, I’m naked.
  11740. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11741. It feels weird.
  11742. I’m surprised I’m allowed to go out like this.
  11743. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11744. Old friends hardly notice, but new people I meet are confused and can’t tell why I’m not wearing something.
  11745. &lt;strong&gt;
  11746. An outfit would show them how I can help.
  11747. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11748. (And that’s all most people want to know.)
  11749. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11750. A power suit would show I can help their business.
  11751. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11752. A monk’s robe would imply I could help their soul.
  11753. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11754. Explorer’s gear would prove I could lead an adventure.
  11755. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  11756. A clown costume might at least make them laugh.
  11757. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11758. But nothing at all?
  11759. They probably &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/useless&quot;&gt;can’t use me&lt;/a&gt; for anything.
  11760. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11761. I get invited to speak at events, but it’s clear that they really just want the outfit I used to wear.
  11762. I explain that it doesn’t fit, but they’re upset that I won’t put it on just one more time.
  11763. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11764. Don’t worry — I’m not going to be a nudist now.
  11765. That’s inconsiderate to almost everyone.
  11766. I’ll put on my new clothes soon.
  11767. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11768. But I’m just sharing this story in case your discomfort might just be that your old clothes don’t fit anymore.
  11769. &lt;/p&gt;
  11770. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/mannequin.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;mannequin&quot;&gt;
  11771. &lt;div class=&quot;small&quot;&gt;Mannequin photo by &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.flickr.com/photos/92799712@N04/15649911528&quot;&gt;Oiluj Samall Zeid&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content>
  11772.    <id>https://sive.rs/clothes</id>
  11773.    <link href="https://sive.rs/clothes"/>
  11774.    <title>My old clothes don’t fit</title>
  11775.    <updated>2019-07-31T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  11776.    <dc:date>2019-07-31T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  11777.  </entry>
  11778.  <entry>
  11779.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  11780. Like everyone, I live in a little house with many doors and windows.
  11781. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11782. One door goes out to my neighborhood.
  11783. The local kids come to play with my dog.
  11784. The elderly neighbors take so long to tell me their stories.
  11785. I slow down my inner clock to listen.
  11786. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11787. One window looks out at the nature around me.
  11788. I’m getting to know this one tree really well.
  11789. I toss a little dog food out there each day, and watch the local birds and rodents come by to eat it.
  11790. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11791. One door is just for my son.
  11792. This door goes somewhere new every time he opens it.
  11793. I pause what I’m doing and follow him on an adventure.
  11794. My inner clock stops working through that door.
  11795. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11796. One door goes to my connections — the people around the world with mutual interests.
  11797. A dozen people a day knock on this door and say hello.
  11798. Sometimes more.
  11799. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11800. One hidden door is for my dearest friends.
  11801. That one comes all the way inside, anytime.
  11802. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11803. One skylight looks far into the future.
  11804. I daydream there a lot.
  11805. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11806. One little locket looks at the past.
  11807. I daydream there, too.
  11808. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11809. But one door is really no fun to open.
  11810. Whenever I do, I’m horrified at all the shouting.
  11811. It’s an infinite dark room filled with psychologically tortured people, trying to get attention.
  11812. Strangers screaming at strangers, starting fights.
  11813. Businesses put windows there, showing bad things said and done today, because they make money when people get mad.
  11814. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11815. They say I’m supposed to open that door, because that’s the real world.
  11816. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11817. But it seems a lot less real than what’s in the other doors and windows in my life.
  11818. &lt;/p&gt;
  11819. &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.flickr.com/photos/jocelyn777/47543418731/&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/images/doorswindows.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;doors and windows&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
  11820. &lt;div class=&quot;small&quot;&gt;“Watching the World Go By” &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.flickr.com/photos/jocelyn777/47543418731/&quot;&gt;photo by Jocelyn Erskine-Kellie&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content>
  11821.    <id>https://sive.rs/dw</id>
  11822.    <link href="https://sive.rs/dw"/>
  11823.    <title>Doors and windows and what’s real</title>
  11824.    <updated>2019-07-01T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  11825.    <dc:date>2019-07-01T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  11826.  </entry>
  11827.  <entry>
  11828.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  11829. I rarely cry, but I cried a lot last month, leaving New Zealand.
  11830. I’ve never loved and felt so connected to a place before.
  11831. It wasn’t simple sadness that made me cry, but overflowing appreciation.
  11832. I’d been feeling it for years, almost every day, amazed at not just the nature but the people and way of life.
  11833. Knowing I was leaving made me re-play all my memories from my last six years.
  11834. Most of that time spent &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/pa&quot;&gt;playing in the wilderness with my kid&lt;/a&gt;.
  11835. The memories are so overwhelmingly wonderful that seeing them all together like that made me sob with appreciation.
  11836. They’ve been the happiest years of my life.
  11837. Leaving felt like tearing a child from its mother.
  11838. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11839. So why did I leave?
  11840. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11841. I believe &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/mfg&quot;&gt;moving is good&lt;/a&gt; for the mind.
  11842. I like seeing the world from different perspectives.
  11843. I usually get where I’m going by leaving where I’ve been.
  11844. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11845. I’ve been on a semi-sabbatical for the last six years, and ready to make a change.
  11846. I felt like being in the middle of things again, but a different middle than before.
  11847. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11848. I’ve never really lived in Europe.
  11849. I have a list of places in Europe that I’m curious to get to know — places I’ve learned about but have never visited.
  11850. The list has 51 places on it already.
  11851. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11852. Munich would have been a more practical travel hub, but Oxford has a &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.buzzfeed.com/alanwhite/43-reasons-living-in-oxford-ruins-you-for-life&quot;&gt;wonderful charm&lt;/a&gt; to it.
  11853. A &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/dj&quot;&gt;search of my diary&lt;/a&gt; showed I’ve been thinking about moving to Oxford since 2007.
  11854. Whenever I visited, it always felt just right.
  11855. So I finally did it.
  11856. I moved to Oxford England a month ago today, with everything I own in three suitcases.
  11857. (My kid had another two suitcases, and one of them was just Lego.)
  11858. I plan to stay here for a year or so.
  11859. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11860. Oscar Wilde:&lt;i&gt;
  11861. “Oxford still remains the most beautiful thing in England, and nowhere else are life and art so exquisitely blended, so perfectly made one.”
  11862. &lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11863. Henry James:&lt;i&gt;
  11864. “Oxford lends sweetness to labor and dignity to leisure.”
  11865. &lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  11866. &lt;p&gt;
  11867. UPDATE: I loved living in Oxford, but &lt;strong&gt;I moved back to New Zealand in July 2020.&lt;/strong&gt;
  11868. &lt;/p&gt;
  11869. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/ox1.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Oxford UK&quot;&gt;
  11870. &lt;div class=&quot;small&quot;&gt;Oxford photo by &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.flickr.com/photos/tejvan/5506664311/&quot;&gt;Tejvan Pettinger&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;</content>
  11871.    <id>https://sive.rs/ox1</id>
  11872.    <link href="https://sive.rs/ox1"/>
  11873.    <title>I’ve moved from New Zealand to Oxford England</title>
  11874.    <updated>2019-03-08T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  11875.    <dc:date>2019-03-08T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  11876.  </entry>
  11877.  <entry>
  11878.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  11879. You know those people whose lives are transformed by meditation or yoga or something like that?
  11880. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11881. For me, it’s writing in my diary and journals.
  11882. It’s made all the difference in the world for my learning, reflecting, and peace of mind.
  11883. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11884. After 20+ years of doing this, here’s what I do and recommend:
  11885. &lt;/p&gt;
  11886. &lt;h3&gt;
  11887. A daily diary
  11888. &lt;/h3&gt;
  11889. &lt;p&gt;
  11890. If digital, use only plain text.
  11891. It’s a standard format not owned by any company.
  11892. It will be readable in 50 years on devices we haven’t even imagined yet.
  11893. Don’t use formats that can only be read by one program, because that program won’t be around in 50 years.
  11894. Don’t use the cloud, unless you’re also going to download it weekly and back it up in plain text outside that cloud.
  11895. (Companies shut down. Clouds disappear. Think long-term.)
  11896. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11897. &lt;strong&gt;
  11898. Every day at some point, just open up this diary, write today’s date, then start writing.
  11899. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11900. Write what you did today, and how you are feeling, even if it seems boring.
  11901. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11902. It works best as a nightly routine.
  11903. Just take a few minutes and write at least a few sentences.
  11904. If you have time, write down everything on your mind.
  11905. Clear it all out.
  11906. But if you miss a night, make time the next morning to write about the previous day.
  11907. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11908. This is important because years from now you might be looking back, wondering if you were as happy or as sad as you remember during this time.
  11909. So don’t only write the drama or dilemmas.
  11910. Include the daily facts of life.
  11911. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11912. We so often make big decisions in life based on predictions of how we think we’ll feel in the future, or what we’ll want.
  11913. Your past self is your best indicator of how you actually felt in similar situations.
  11914. So it helps to have an accurate picture of your past.
  11915. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11916. You can’t trust distant memories, but you can trust your daily diary.
  11917. It’s the best indicator to your future self (and maybe descendants) of what was really going on in your life at this time.
  11918. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11919. If you’re feeling you don’t have the time or it’s not interesting enough, remember:
  11920. &lt;strong&gt;
  11921. You’re doing this for your future self.
  11922. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11923. Future you will want to look back at this time in your life, and find out what you were actually doing, day-to-day, and how you really felt back then.
  11924. It will help you make better decisions.
  11925. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11926. Just put aside a few minutes to write what you did and how you felt today.
  11927. &lt;/p&gt;
  11928. &lt;h3&gt;
  11929. “Thoughts On” journals
  11930. &lt;/h3&gt;
  11931. &lt;p&gt;
  11932. There are certain subjects in your life you think about a lot.
  11933. People, places, hobbies, health, plans, finances.
  11934. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11935. &lt;strong&gt;
  11936. For each subject that you might have ongoing thoughts about, start a separate “Thoughts On” journal.
  11937. &lt;/strong&gt;
  11938. Whenever you have some thoughts on this subject, open up that file, write today’s date, then start writing.
  11939. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  11940. To give you an example, here are my “Thoughts On” journals as of today:
  11941. &lt;/p&gt;
  11942. &lt;ul&gt;
  11943. &lt;li&gt;
  11944. Accounting
  11945. &lt;/li&gt;
  11946. &lt;li&gt;
  11947. Addiction
  11948. &lt;/li&gt;
  11949. &lt;li&gt;
  11950. Airports
  11951. &lt;/li&gt;
  11952. &lt;li&gt;
  11953. Alcohol
  11954. &lt;/li&gt;
  11955. &lt;li&gt;
  11956. Ambition
  11957. &lt;/li&gt;
  11958. &lt;li&gt;
  11959. Animation
  11960. &lt;/li&gt;
  11961. &lt;li&gt;
  11962. AppDevelopment
  11963. &lt;/li&gt;
  11964. &lt;li&gt;
  11965. Artist
  11966. &lt;/li&gt;
  11967. &lt;li&gt;
  11968. Assistant
  11969. &lt;/li&gt;
  11970. &lt;li&gt;
  11971. BeingSocial
  11972. &lt;/li&gt;
  11973. &lt;li&gt;
  11974. Blog
  11975. &lt;/li&gt;
  11976. &lt;li&gt;
  11977. BookNotes
  11978. &lt;/li&gt;
  11979. &lt;li&gt;
  11980. BookPublishing
  11981. &lt;/li&gt;
  11982. &lt;li&gt;
  11983. Calendar
  11984. &lt;/li&gt;
  11985. &lt;li&gt;
  11986. Carla
  11987. &lt;/li&gt;
  11988. &lt;li&gt;
  11989. Changes
  11990. &lt;/li&gt;
  11991. &lt;li&gt;
  11992. Chess
  11993. &lt;/li&gt;
  11994. &lt;li&gt;
  11995. Chinese
  11996. &lt;/li&gt;
  11997. &lt;li&gt;
  11998. Cities
  11999. &lt;/li&gt;
  12000. &lt;li&gt;
  12001. Comedy
  12002. &lt;/li&gt;
  12003. &lt;li&gt;
  12004. Comparing
  12005. &lt;/li&gt;
  12006. &lt;li&gt;
  12007. Computers
  12008. &lt;/li&gt;
  12009. &lt;li&gt;
  12010. Conferences
  12011. &lt;/li&gt;
  12012. &lt;li&gt;
  12013. Countries
  12014. &lt;/li&gt;
  12015. &lt;li&gt;
  12016. Dance
  12017. &lt;/li&gt;
  12018. &lt;li&gt;
  12019. Dog
  12020. &lt;/li&gt;
  12021. &lt;li&gt;
  12022. Entrepreneur
  12023. &lt;/li&gt;
  12024. &lt;li&gt;
  12025. Erika
  12026. &lt;/li&gt;
  12027. &lt;li&gt;
  12028. Europe
  12029. &lt;/li&gt;
  12030. &lt;li&gt;
  12031. EventStrategy
  12032. &lt;/li&gt;
  12033. &lt;li&gt;
  12034. Expat
  12035. &lt;/li&gt;
  12036. &lt;li&gt;
  12037. ExploreExpand
  12038. &lt;/li&gt;
  12039. &lt;li&gt;
  12040. Fame
  12041. &lt;/li&gt;
  12042. &lt;li&gt;
  12043. Fan
  12044. &lt;/li&gt;
  12045. &lt;li&gt;
  12046. Friends
  12047. &lt;/li&gt;
  12048. &lt;li&gt;
  12049. Goals
  12050. &lt;/li&gt;
  12051. &lt;li&gt;
  12052. Gratification
  12053. &lt;/li&gt;
  12054. &lt;li&gt;
  12055. Habits
  12056. &lt;/li&gt;
  12057. &lt;li&gt;
  12058. Home
  12059. &lt;/li&gt;
  12060. &lt;li&gt;
  12061. IdealMe
  12062. &lt;/li&gt;
  12063. &lt;li&gt;
  12064. Image
  12065. &lt;/li&gt;
  12066. &lt;li&gt;
  12067. Infrastructure
  12068. &lt;/li&gt;
  12069. &lt;li&gt;
  12070. Intense
  12071. &lt;/li&gt;
  12072. &lt;li&gt;
  12073. Interviews
  12074. &lt;/li&gt;
  12075. &lt;li&gt;
  12076. Investing
  12077. &lt;/li&gt;
  12078. &lt;li&gt;
  12079. Ireland
  12080. &lt;/li&gt;
  12081. &lt;li&gt;
  12082. Kissing
  12083. &lt;/li&gt;
  12084. &lt;li&gt;
  12085. LanguageLearning
  12086. &lt;/li&gt;
  12087. &lt;li&gt;
  12088. LateralThinking
  12089. &lt;/li&gt;
  12090. &lt;li&gt;
  12091. LifeAlgorithms
  12092. &lt;/li&gt;
  12093. &lt;li&gt;
  12094. MakeIdeas
  12095. &lt;/li&gt;
  12096. &lt;li&gt;
  12097. Manners
  12098. &lt;/li&gt;
  12099. &lt;li&gt;
  12100. MobileAppDev
  12101. &lt;/li&gt;
  12102. &lt;li&gt;
  12103. Money
  12104. &lt;/li&gt;
  12105. &lt;li&gt;
  12106. Music
  12107. &lt;/li&gt;
  12108. &lt;li&gt;
  12109. MyPeople
  12110. &lt;/li&gt;
  12111. &lt;li&gt;
  12112. Need
  12113. &lt;/li&gt;
  12114. &lt;li&gt;
  12115. NewZealand
  12116. &lt;/li&gt;
  12117. &lt;li&gt;
  12118. Noise
  12119. &lt;/li&gt;
  12120. &lt;li&gt;
  12121. OS
  12122. &lt;/li&gt;
  12123. &lt;li&gt;
  12124. Oxford
  12125. &lt;/li&gt;
  12126. &lt;li&gt;
  12127. Parenting
  12128. &lt;/li&gt;
  12129. &lt;li&gt;
  12130. Phone
  12131. &lt;/li&gt;
  12132. &lt;li&gt;
  12133. PhoneNumbers
  12134. &lt;/li&gt;
  12135. &lt;li&gt;
  12136. Places
  12137. &lt;/li&gt;
  12138. &lt;li&gt;
  12139. Plan
  12140. &lt;/li&gt;
  12141. &lt;li&gt;
  12142. Poor
  12143. &lt;/li&gt;
  12144. &lt;li&gt;
  12145. Portugal
  12146. &lt;/li&gt;
  12147. &lt;li&gt;
  12148. Potential
  12149. &lt;/li&gt;
  12150. &lt;li&gt;
  12151. Programming
  12152. &lt;/li&gt;
  12153. &lt;li&gt;
  12154. PublicMe
  12155. &lt;/li&gt;
  12156. &lt;li&gt;
  12157. RV
  12158. &lt;/li&gt;
  12159. &lt;li&gt;
  12160. Regrets
  12161. &lt;/li&gt;
  12162. &lt;li&gt;
  12163. Relationship
  12164. &lt;/li&gt;
  12165. &lt;li&gt;
  12166. Renting
  12167. &lt;/li&gt;
  12168. &lt;li&gt;
  12169. Romance
  12170. &lt;/li&gt;
  12171. &lt;li&gt;
  12172. Routine
  12173. &lt;/li&gt;
  12174. &lt;li&gt;
  12175. Secrets
  12176. &lt;/li&gt;
  12177. &lt;li&gt;
  12178. Sex
  12179. &lt;/li&gt;
  12180. &lt;li&gt;
  12181. Singapore
  12182. &lt;/li&gt;
  12183. &lt;li&gt;
  12184. Skills2Learn
  12185. &lt;/li&gt;
  12186. &lt;li&gt;
  12187. Social
  12188. &lt;/li&gt;
  12189. &lt;li&gt;
  12190. Solitude
  12191. &lt;/li&gt;
  12192. &lt;li&gt;
  12193. Songwriting
  12194. &lt;/li&gt;
  12195. &lt;li&gt;
  12196. Speaking
  12197. &lt;/li&gt;
  12198. &lt;li&gt;
  12199. Strength
  12200. &lt;/li&gt;
  12201. &lt;li&gt;
  12202. Surprise
  12203. &lt;/li&gt;
  12204. &lt;li&gt;
  12205. Teachers
  12206. &lt;/li&gt;
  12207. &lt;li&gt;
  12208. Tech
  12209. &lt;/li&gt;
  12210. &lt;li&gt;
  12211. ThinkingSelf
  12212. &lt;/li&gt;
  12213. &lt;li&gt;
  12214. Thrifty
  12215. &lt;/li&gt;
  12216. &lt;li&gt;
  12217. Travel
  12218. &lt;/li&gt;
  12219. &lt;li&gt;
  12220. VirtualReality
  12221. &lt;/li&gt;
  12222. &lt;li&gt;
  12223. Vision
  12224. &lt;/li&gt;
  12225. &lt;li&gt;
  12226. Website
  12227. &lt;/li&gt;
  12228. &lt;li&gt;
  12229. WorthDoing
  12230. &lt;/li&gt;
  12231. &lt;li&gt;
  12232. Writer
  12233. &lt;/li&gt;
  12234. &lt;/ul&gt;
  12235. &lt;p&gt;
  12236. I find it so useful to keep my thoughts on each subject together, because I can see my past thoughts and current thoughts in one place.
  12237. I can see how my thoughts on this subject have evolved or keep repeating.
  12238. Sometimes I think I have a new thought on a subject, so I open up the file and write it down, then afterwards I see I had that same thought a year ago and had forgotten about it.
  12239. &lt;strong&gt;
  12240. If you care about your thoughts, keep them.
  12241. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12242. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12243. They can be tiny.
  12244. Like you see I have one on airports.
  12245. I don’t have many thoughts on airports.
  12246. I don’t fly that much.
  12247. But I found that once or twice a year, when waiting at the gate, I had thoughts on the subject, so I’d open that file and start writing.
  12248. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12249. I’ve considered making one for every musician, album, book, or film that’s had an impact on me, that I’d like to think more about.
  12250. Why not?
  12251. I admire the way that a good critic puts in hours of reflection on each piece, thinking deeper about something they’ve just taken in.
  12252. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12253. I especially like my “Regrets” journal.
  12254. Whenever I do something I regret, I write it down there, noting why I regret it, what I wish I would have done instead, and how I hope to prevent this in the future.
  12255. &lt;/p&gt;
  12256. &lt;h3&gt;
  12257. Ask yourself questions, then question your answers.
  12258. &lt;/h3&gt;
  12259. &lt;p&gt;
  12260. Whether in your daily diary, or the “Thoughts On” journals, I find the single most useful thing has been using it as a place to ask myself questions, and answer them.
  12261. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12262. If I’m planning on doing something, I ask myself what I hope to get out of it, why, and whether there are other ways to get what I want.
  12263. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12264. When I’m feeling conflicted, especially, I’ll ask myself a bunch of questions to work through my feelings, looking for the source of the conflict, then ask myself more questions around the clash in values, and work through other alternate ways I’d like things to be.
  12265. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12266. &lt;strong&gt;
  12267. I answer with my initial thought first, but then question it afterwards with skepticism, and consider different perspectives.
  12268. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12269. I hear this is similar to &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_behavioral_therapy&quot;&gt;cognitive behavioral therapy&lt;/a&gt; — and I’ve been meaning to learn more about that.
  12270. But whatever you call it, I think it’s been the single most important thing to my intellectual and emotional development.
  12271. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12272. Almost all the thoughts I have on any subject are the result of writing in my diary and journals, then questioning myself and working through alternate ways of thinking about it, and finally returning to the subject days or months later with a clear head and updated thoughts, seeing how they’ve changed or not over time.
  12273. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12274. I hope it helps you too.
  12275. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  12276.    <id>https://sive.rs/dj</id>
  12277.    <link href="https://sive.rs/dj"/>
  12278.    <title>Benefits of a daily diary and topic journals</title>
  12279.    <updated>2019-01-28T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  12280.    <dc:date>2019-01-28T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  12281.  </entry>
  12282.  <entry>
  12283.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  12284. Life can be improved by adding, or by subtracting.
  12285. The world pushes us to add, because that benefits them.
  12286. But the secret is to focus on subtracting.
  12287. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12288. Imagine a number line, with 0 on the left and 20 on the right.
  12289. Say I want to be in the middle, at 10.
  12290. But I’m at 17.
  12291. &lt;/p&gt;
  12292. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/numberline2-600.png&quot; alt=&quot;number line showing 10 and 17&quot;&gt;
  12293. &lt;p&gt;
  12294. “What can I add to get to 10? I tried adding 8 but that didn’t work. Maybe 3 would help. I should go all out and add 50.”
  12295. &lt;/p&gt;
  12296. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/numberline3-600.png&quot; alt=&quot;number line showing 10 and 17, with line going forward from 17&quot;&gt;
  12297. &lt;p&gt;
  12298. No amount of adding will get me to where I want to be.
  12299. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12300. The adding mindset is deeply ingrained.
  12301. &lt;strong&gt;
  12302. It’s easy to think I need something else.
  12303. It’s hard to look instead at what to remove.
  12304. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12305. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12306. The least successful people I know run in conflicting directions, are drawn to distractions, say yes to almost everything, and are chained to emotional obstacles.
  12307. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12308. The most successful people I know have a narrow focus, protect themselves against time-wasters, say no to almost everything, and have let go of old limiting beliefs.
  12309. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12310. More people die from eating too much than from eating too little.
  12311. Most of us have too much baggage, too many commitments, and too many priorities.
  12312. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12313. Subtracting reminds me that what I need to change is something already here, not out there.
  12314. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  12315.    <id>https://sive.rs/subtract</id>
  12316.    <link href="https://sive.rs/subtract"/>
  12317.    <title>Subtract</title>
  12318.    <updated>2018-12-05T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  12319.    <dc:date>2018-12-05T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  12320.  </entry>
  12321.  <entry>
  12322.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  12323. David grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, with five brothers and sisters.
  12324. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12325. When he was 18, he got accepted to a very prestigious art school in Vienna.
  12326. Vienna!
  12327. This was his dream come true!
  12328. He had wanted this so badly, but never thought he’d actually get accepted.
  12329. This was an amazing once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
  12330. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12331. But his mother was on her death bed.
  12332. An undiagnosable illness seemed like it was going to take her at any time.
  12333. All of her children were visiting her every day.
  12334. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12335. When he mentioned that he got accepted to the art school in Vienna, everyone said, “Well of course you can’t go! You need to stay here with your mother during her final days!”
  12336. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12337. He was very conflicted and felt horrible about this, but still felt that he had to accept the offer.
  12338. So he moved to Vienna.
  12339. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12340. His mother disowned him.
  12341. His brothers and sisters screamed about his selfishness, and didn’t speak to him for years.
  12342. Everybody told him what a horrible person he was.
  12343. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12344. David told his story at the age of 38 and said, “&lt;strong&gt;And now, 20 years later, my mother is still alive.&lt;/strong&gt; I’ve followed my dreams, had a great career and an amazing life, while my brothers and sisters have given up their whole lives to stay by my mother’s bed, still to this day.”
  12345. &lt;/p&gt;
  12346. &lt;hr&gt;
  12347. &lt;p&gt;
  12348. The David in this story is &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Seabury&quot;&gt;David Seabury&lt;/a&gt;, who changed thousands of people’s lives.
  12349. It’s from his book “The Art of Selfishness”, which I found on my grandmother’s bookshelf when I was 18.
  12350. I’ve thought about it constantly since then.
  12351. &lt;/p&gt;
  12352. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/KatskhiPillar.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;&quot;&gt;</content>
  12353.    <id>https://sive.rs/aos</id>
  12354.    <link href="https://sive.rs/aos"/>
  12355.    <title>The art of selfishness</title>
  12356.    <updated>2018-11-18T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  12357.    <dc:date>2018-11-18T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  12358.  </entry>
  12359.  <entry>
  12360.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  12361. Years ago, I was so confident and so naive.
  12362. I was sure I was right and everyone else was wrong.
  12363. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12364. After I &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/done&quot;&gt;sold my company&lt;/a&gt;, I felt ready to do something new, so I started to &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book&quot;&gt;learn&lt;/a&gt;.
  12365. But the more I learned, the more I realized how little I knew and how dumb-lucky I had been.
  12366. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12367. I continued learning until I felt like an absolute idiot.
  12368. By then I was paralyzed, unable to create anything new.
  12369. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12370. I’d &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/projects&quot;&gt;start to make new things&lt;/a&gt;, but then see how stupid they revealed me to be, so I’d stop.
  12371. I lost all confidence.
  12372. I spent a few years completely stuck.
  12373. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12374. Eventually, some new thoughts helped:
  12375. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  12376. &lt;strong&gt;
  12377. Learning without doing is wasted.
  12378. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12379. If I don’t use what I learn, then it was pointless!
  12380. How horrible to waste those hundreds of hours I spent learning, and not turn it into action.
  12381. Like throwing good food in the trash, it’s morally wrong.
  12382. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  12383. &lt;strong&gt;
  12384. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/you-not-them&quot;&gt;
  12385. This isn’t about me.
  12386. &lt;/a&gt;
  12387. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12388. How I feel in this moment doesn’t matter — it will pass.
  12389. Nobody’s judging me because nobody’s thinking of me.
  12390. They’re just looking for ways to improve their own lives.
  12391. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/publicu&quot;&gt;The public me is not the real me&lt;/a&gt; anyway, so if they judge my public persona, that’s fine.
  12392. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  12393. &lt;strong&gt;
  12394. The work is the point, and my work is unique.
  12395. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12396. If I can do something that people find useful, then I should.
  12397. It doesn’t matter if it’s a masterpiece or not, as long as I enjoy it.
  12398. I’ve got my own weird angle on things that’s &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/counter&quot;&gt;a useful counter-melody&lt;/a&gt; in the big orchestra of life.
  12399. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12400. I’m glad my old confidence is gone because it thought I was right, and maybe even great, but not anymore.
  12401. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12402. Now I aim to make my work — my little contribution to the world — just unique and useful.
  12403. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  12404.    <id>https://sive.rs/contrib</id>
  12405.    <link href="https://sive.rs/contrib"/>
  12406.    <title>You don’t need confidence, just contribution.</title>
  12407.    <updated>2018-08-06T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  12408.    <dc:date>2018-08-06T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  12409.  </entry>
  12410.  <entry>
  12411.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  12412. Things I learned in the past are now wrong.
  12413. Times have changed.
  12414. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12415. Beliefs that were true are now false.
  12416. They were based on old limitations that are now gone.
  12417. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12418. Ways that used to work don’t work anymore.
  12419. The old road collapsed.
  12420. There’s a tunnel through the mountain now.
  12421. When the old map is wrong, we can’t just draw a new line on it — we need to get a new map or we’ll be following closed roads.
  12422. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12423. Sometimes the world is the same, but my situation has changed.
  12424. What got me here won’t get me there.
  12425. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12426. &lt;strong&gt;
  12427. The solution is deliberate unlearning.
  12428. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12429. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  12430. Doubt what I know.
  12431. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  12432. Stop the habit of thinking I know it.
  12433. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  12434. Require current proof that it’s still true today.
  12435. Otherwise, let it go.
  12436. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12437. Where I had expertise before, I don’t now.
  12438. People ask my advice on things I knew well years ago.
  12439. It’s tempting to think I still know the answer, but instead I have to admit, “Sorry. I don’t know.”
  12440. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12441. It hurts to go from feeling like an expert to feeling like an idiot.
  12442. But it’s crucial to go through that pain or I’ll never grow.
  12443. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12444. John Cage said, “I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of the old ones.”
  12445. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12446. Alvin Toffler said, “The illiterates of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”
  12447. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12448. Many people learn only in their first third of life, so schools don’t teach unlearning.
  12449. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12450. We want to see the world clearly and know what’s what.
  12451. But once we’re past the first stage of wisdom, the next stage involves adapting to new changes.
  12452. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12453. We don’t get wise just by adding and adding.
  12454. We also need to &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/subtract&quot;&gt;subtract&lt;/a&gt;.
  12455. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  12456.    <id>https://sive.rs/unlearning</id>
  12457.    <link href="https://sive.rs/unlearning"/>
  12458.    <title>Unlearning</title>
  12459.    <updated>2018-06-07T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  12460.    <dc:date>2018-06-07T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  12461.  </entry>
  12462.  <entry>
  12463.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  12464. Most of us have lives filled with mediocrity.
  12465. We said yes to things that we felt half-hearted about.
  12466. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12467. So we’re too busy to react when opportunities come our way.
  12468. We miss out on the great because we’re busy with the mediocre.
  12469. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12470. The solution is to say yes to less.
  12471. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12472. If you’re not feeling “Hell yeah, that would be awesome!” about something, say no.
  12473. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12474. It’s an easier decision.
  12475. &lt;strong&gt;
  12476. Say no to almost everything.
  12477. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12478. This starts to free your time and mind.
  12479. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12480. Then, when you find something you’re actually excited about, you’ll have the space in your life to give it your full attention.
  12481. You’ll be able to take massive action, in a way that most people can’t, because you cleared away your clutter in advance.
  12482. &lt;strong&gt;
  12483. Saying no makes your yes more powerful.
  12484. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12485. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12486. Though it’s good to say yes when you’re starting out, wanting any opportunity, or needing variety, it’s bad to say yes when you’re overwhelmed, over-committed, or need to focus.
  12487. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12488. Refuse almost everything.
  12489. Do almost nothing.
  12490. But the things you do, do them all the way.
  12491. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  12492.    <id>https://sive.rs/hyn</id>
  12493.    <link href="https://sive.rs/hyn"/>
  12494.    <title>If you’re not feeling “hell yeah!” then say no</title>
  12495.    <updated>2018-06-03T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  12496.    <dc:date>2018-06-03T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  12497.  </entry>
  12498.  <entry>
  12499.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  12500. In my first book, &lt;i&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/a&quot;&gt;Anything You Want&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/i&gt;, I told the story of how I started, grew, and sold my company.
  12501. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12502. As part of selling the company, I signed a non-compete agreement that said I couldn’t do the one thing I’d been doing since I was twenty-seven years old.
  12503. So I had to make a real change in my life.
  12504. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12505. I thought a lot about &lt;strong&gt;what’s worth doing, fixing faulty thinking, and making things happen&lt;/strong&gt;.
  12506. For the next ten years, I wrote for hours a day in my private journal, asking myself questions and answering them.
  12507. When these thoughts seemed useful to others, I’d turn them into articles, which are now the chapters of &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/n&quot;&gt;this book&lt;/a&gt;.
  12508. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12509. I write succinctly because I’m only introducing ideas.
  12510. You can apply them to your life better than I can.
  12511. But if you want to hear more thoughts or talk about them, go to the URL at the end of each chapter:
  12512. &lt;strong&gt;
  12513. (sive.rs/_____)
  12514. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12515. There you’ll find many interesting comments about that idea, and you can post your own.
  12516. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12517. Or just say hello at &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/contact&quot;&gt;sive.rs/contact&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;
  12518. I love hearing from people who have found my work.
  12519. I reply to every email.
  12520. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12521. — Derek Sivers, Oxford, England, 2019
  12522. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  12523.    <id>https://sive.rs/hy1</id>
  12524.    <link href="https://sive.rs/hy1"/>
  12525.    <title>About this book</title>
  12526.    <updated>2018-06-01T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  12527.    <dc:date>2018-06-01T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  12528.  </entry>
  12529.  <entry>
  12530.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  12531. The only operating system I use on my computers is &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/itunes&quot;&gt;not Mac&lt;/a&gt;, not Windows, and not even Linux.
  12532. It’s &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.openbsd.org/&quot;&gt;OpenBSD&lt;/a&gt;, and I love it so much.
  12533. So I figured I should say a little something about why, and how you can try it.
  12534. &lt;/p&gt;
  12535. &lt;h3&gt;
  12536. It’s probably not for you.
  12537. &lt;/h3&gt;
  12538. &lt;p&gt;
  12539. It’s not for beginners.
  12540. Most people should use &lt;a href=&quot;https://ubuntu.com/desktop&quot;&gt;Ubuntu&lt;/a&gt;.
  12541. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12542. It’s not for people who want to click a button and have the computer hide the details from you.
  12543. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12544. If software bloat doesn’t bother you — if every new Mac/Windows/Linux release you say, “Bring on the features! The more the better!” — it’s not for you.
  12545. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12546. But if you’re experienced, like to “look under the hood”, and prefer software that does the minimum necessary, OpenBSD is for you.
  12547. &lt;/p&gt;
  12548. &lt;h3&gt;
  12549. What is it?
  12550. &lt;/h3&gt;
  12551. &lt;p&gt;
  12552. It’s like Linux, but has &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.openbsd.org/goals.html&quot;&gt;different goals&lt;/a&gt;.
  12553. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12554. It’s known for its focus on security.
  12555. But, like a well-engineered house will also be earthquake-proof, you don’t have to be paranoid about earthquakes to appreciate great construction.
  12556. To me, the security features are just a side-effect of &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.openbsd.org/security.html&quot;&gt;great coding&lt;/a&gt;.
  12557. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12558. OpenBSD comes with a secure minimal &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.nostarch.com/pf3&quot;&gt;firewall&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.romanzolotarev.com/openbsd/httpd.html&quot;&gt;webserver&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.opensmtpd.org/&quot;&gt;mailserver&lt;/a&gt;, and an optional graphical &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.xenocara.org/&quot;&gt;desktop&lt;/a&gt;.
  12559. So if all you want is a few of those things, you do the default install, tweak one config file, and you’re done.
  12560. &lt;/p&gt;
  12561. &lt;h3&gt;
  12562. Why OpenBSD instead of Linux?
  12563. &lt;/h3&gt;
  12564. &lt;p&gt;
  12565. It’s &lt;strong&gt;uncompromising&lt;/strong&gt;.
  12566. It’s not a people-pleaser or vendor-pleaser.
  12567. Linux is in everything from Android phones to massive supercomputers, so has to include features for all of them.
  12568. The OpenBSD developers say no to most things.
  12569. Instead of trying to make it do more, they keep it focused on doing what it does with more security and reliability.
  12570. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12571. They &lt;strong&gt;review and remove&lt;/strong&gt; code as often as they add.
  12572. If something is unused, unmaintained, or unnecessary, they’ll axe it.
  12573. If it’s unwieldy, they’ll make a &lt;strong&gt;small simple replacement&lt;/strong&gt;.
  12574. For examples, see &lt;a href=&quot;https://man.openbsd.org/doas.1&quot;&gt;doas&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.opensmtpd.org/&quot;&gt;OpenSMTPD&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;https://man.openbsd.org/httpd.8&quot;&gt;httpd&lt;/a&gt;, and &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.libressl.org/&quot;&gt;LibreSSL&lt;/a&gt;.
  12575. This is great for security, too.
  12576. The more code, the more chance of a bug that could compromise your entire computer.
  12577. The less code, the better.
  12578. Each new release seems to be getting &lt;strong&gt;leaner&lt;/strong&gt; by removing old cruft.
  12579. No other operating system does that.
  12580. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12581. Great &lt;strong&gt;documentation&lt;/strong&gt; is a top priority.
  12582. The built-in &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_page&quot;&gt;man pages&lt;/a&gt; are amazing.
  12583. So if you’re stuck on anything, &lt;a href=&quot;http://man.openbsd.org/apropos.1&quot;&gt;searching&lt;/a&gt; the man pages on your own computer is going to give you a better answer than searching Google.
  12584. (This makes it nicer to work offline, too.)
  12585. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12586. The &lt;strong&gt;installers&lt;/strong&gt; are amazing.
  12587. The &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.openbsd.org/faq/faq4.html&quot;&gt;initial installation&lt;/a&gt; takes like five minutes.
  12588. Hit [Enter] to the defaults, make your username and password, and it’s ready to go.
  12589. Then the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.openbsd.org/faq/faq15.html&quot;&gt;software installer&lt;/a&gt; is ideal, too.
  12590. Just &lt;a href=&quot;https://man.openbsd.org/pkg_info.1&quot;&gt;pkg_info&lt;/a&gt; to search for something and &lt;a href=&quot;http://man.openbsd.org/pkg_add.1&quot;&gt;pkg_add&lt;/a&gt; to install it in seconds.
  12591. (Which also installs all of its documentation, too.)
  12592. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12593. Everything is rock-solid and &lt;strong&gt;just works&lt;/strong&gt;.
  12594. Hardware I couldn’t get working in Linux just works on a first try with OpenBSD.
  12595. And because they don’t stay cutting-edge, keeping a cautious pace, it keeps working and doesn’t break.
  12596. The whole system is carefully planned and consistent, instead of a hodge-podge of bits and pieces.
  12597. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12598. It’s all free and run by helpful volunteers.
  12599. If you &lt;a href=&quot;http://cvsweb.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/cvsweb/ports/&quot;&gt;searched ports&lt;/a&gt;, but some application you need is missing or out of date, just contact the maintainer and offer some assistance or money to help get it updated or added.
  12600. I’ve donated $3850 to the developers to help improve the OpenBSD port of &lt;a href=&quot;https://nodejs.org/&quot;&gt;Node.js&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://elixir-lang.org/&quot;&gt;Elixir&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.erlang.org/&quot;&gt;Erlang&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;https://apps.ankiweb.net/&quot;&gt;Anki&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ledger-cli.org/&quot;&gt;Ledger&lt;/a&gt;, and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.qutebrowser.org/&quot;&gt;Qutebrowser&lt;/a&gt;.
  12601. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12602. Also see &lt;a href=&quot;https://dataswamp.org/~solene/2022-06-22-openbsd-selling-arguments.html&quot;&gt;Solene’s list of selling points&lt;/a&gt;.
  12603. I agree with those.
  12604. &lt;/p&gt;
  12605. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/openbsd.gif&quot;&gt;</content>
  12606.    <id>https://sive.rs/openbsd</id>
  12607.    <link href="https://sive.rs/openbsd"/>
  12608.    <title>OpenBSD : why and how</title>
  12609.    <updated>2018-04-20T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  12610.    <dc:date>2018-04-20T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  12611.  </entry>
  12612.  <entry>
  12613.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  12614. You are the way you are because of what you’ve experienced.
  12615. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12616. Your country, family, town, random circumstances, and friends have shaped the way you think.
  12617. If you had grown up on the other side of the world, you would have a different set of values and thought patterns.
  12618. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12619. But if you keep experiencing the same things, your mind keeps its same patterns.
  12620. Same inputs, same responses.
  12621. Your brain, which was once curious and growing, gets fixed into deep habits.
  12622. Your values and opinions harden and resist change.
  12623. If you don’t flex, you lose your flexibility.
  12624. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12625. You really learn only when you’re surprised.
  12626. If you’re not surprised, then everything is fitting into your existing thought patterns.
  12627. &lt;strong&gt;
  12628. So to get smarter, you need to get surprised, think in new ways, and deeply understand different perspectives.
  12629. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12630. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12631. With effort, you could do this from the comfort of home.
  12632. But the most effective way to shake things up is to move across the world.
  12633. Pick a place that’s most unlike what you know, and go.
  12634. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12635. This keeps you in a learning mindset.
  12636. Previously mindless habits, like buying groceries, now keep your mind open, alert, and noticing new things.
  12637. New arrivals in a culture often notice what the locals don’t.
  12638. (&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/fish&quot;&gt;Fish don’t know they’re in water.&lt;/a&gt;)
  12639. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12640. Don’t think of yourself as visiting.
  12641. Say that you’ve moved here, and mean it.
  12642. Commit.
  12643. Immerse.
  12644. Go native.
  12645. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12646. Form deep friendships with locals.
  12647. Ask lots of questions.
  12648. Ask people to explain and show you how things are done.
  12649. When they state a fact, ask how they know.
  12650. When they state an opinion, ask for examples.
  12651. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12652. At first, their values and methods will feel wrong.
  12653. You’ll feel the urge to tell them how their lives or ideas could be better — more like what you know.
  12654. But try to understand a perspective where they are right and you are wrong.
  12655. &lt;strong&gt;
  12656. Eventually you’ll realize that your beliefs were not correct — they were just the local culture of where you grew up.
  12657. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12658. You’re a product of your environment.
  12659. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12660. Every country has a shared and working philosophy.
  12661. Dive in and really try to understand it.
  12662. This is one of the best things you can do for your brain.
  12663. Stay immersed at least until you feel yourself saying “we” instead of “they.”
  12664. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12665. Then, if you want to keep your brain actively learning and growing forever, keep moving across the world and immersing yourself like this for the rest of your life.
  12666. &lt;/p&gt;
  12667. &lt;div class=&quot;small&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;(I wrote this for Tynan’s new book “&lt;a href=&quot;http://tynan.com/forevernomad&quot;&gt;Forever Nomad&lt;/a&gt;”, so please &lt;a href=&quot;http://tynan.com/forevernomad&quot;&gt;buy his book&lt;/a&gt; if you like this subject.)&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  12668. &lt;a href=&quot;http://tynan.com/forevernomad&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;Forever Nomad&quot; src=&quot;/images/forevernomad.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;</content>
  12669.    <id>https://sive.rs/mfg</id>
  12670.    <link href="https://sive.rs/mfg"/>
  12671.    <title>Moving for good</title>
  12672.    <updated>2018-03-31T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  12673.    <dc:date>2018-03-31T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  12674.  </entry>
  12675.  <entry>
  12676.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  12677. I tried Facebook for a few weeks in 2007, but I hadn’t really used it since then.
  12678. I would log in once a month for a few minutes and click [ACCEPT] to all the friend requests from strangers, then log out.
  12679. I hit the 5000 friend-limit, so I created a second profile.
  12680. That hit the 5000 friend-limit too, so I created a third.
  12681. When the third one hit the friend-limit, I stopped.
  12682. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12683. I thought I was just being polite, accepting friend requests, but I didn’t know who most of them were.
  12684. &lt;strong&gt;
  12685. It was very insincere.
  12686. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12687. When real friends would ask if I’m on Facebook, I’d have to explain, “It looks like I’m there, but not really there.”
  12688. I never posted anything personal, and never installed it on my phone.
  12689. I was really just using it to announce new blog posts.
  12690. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12691. When people would do their “&lt;a href=&quot;https://deletefacebook.com/&quot;&gt;DELETE FACEBOOK!&lt;/a&gt;” campaigns, I didn’t bother because I wasn’t using it anyway.
  12692. &lt;strong&gt;
  12693. It was causing me no harm.
  12694. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12695. I think it’s &lt;a href=&quot;https://duckduckgo.com/?q=facebook&amp;amp;sites=calnewport.com&amp;amp;ia=web&quot;&gt;net-negative for the world, and causing many people harm&lt;/a&gt;, but not me, so why bother deleting it?
  12696. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12697. &lt;strong&gt;
  12698. But the more I thought about it, the less I liked my implied support.
  12699. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12700. I’m sick of being insincere.
  12701. I’m against centralized platforms.
  12702. I strongly prefer a &lt;a href=&quot;https://indieweb.org/&quot;&gt;decentralized internet&lt;/a&gt;.
  12703. I’m always helping friends get off of the big platforms and on to their own servers.
  12704. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12705. Maybe the fact that I use Facebook to share my blog posts is a tiny tiny reason why others are still using it.
  12706. It’s like I’m still visiting friends in the smoking area, even though I don’t smoke.
  12707. Maybe if I quit going entirely, it will help my friends quit, too.
  12708. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12709. &lt;strong&gt;
  12710. So I snapped out of the silly fear that people won’t find me if I’m not there.
  12711. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12712. If they care at all, they’ll find me.
  12713. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12714. So, yeah.
  12715. That decided it.
  12716. I deleted all three accounts with 15,000 “friends”.
  12717. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12718. I had a selfish business reason to keep it.
  12719. I’m going to be publishing three different books over the next year, and plan to launch a new business, too.
  12720. &lt;strong&gt;
  12721. But I’m willing to take that small loss in promotion, because &lt;a href=&quot;http://blog.seanbonner.com/2012/04/15/on-leaving-facebook/&quot;&gt;it’s the right thing to do&lt;/a&gt;.
  12722. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12723. It always feels good to get rid of things I’m not using.
  12724. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12725. I’ve been online since 1994.
  12726. I remember when everyone thought mp3.com was everything, and a few years later it was gone.
  12727. Then everyone thought MySpace was everything, and a few years later it was moot.
  12728. Now it’s Facebook, Instagram, and Google, but eventually they’ll all be moot, too.
  12729. It’s the natural cycle of things.
  12730. &lt;/p&gt;
  12731. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/adoption_life_cycle-500x414.jpg&quot;&gt;</content>
  12732.    <id>https://sive.rs/facebook</id>
  12733.    <link href="https://sive.rs/facebook"/>
  12734.    <title>Why I’m not on Facebook</title>
  12735.    <updated>2018-03-21T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  12736.    <dc:date>2018-03-21T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  12737.  </entry>
  12738.  <entry>
  12739.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  12740. There’s a fable of a man stuck in a flood.
  12741. Convinced that God is going to save him, he says no to a passing canoe, boat, and helicopter that offer to help.
  12742. He dies, and in heaven asks God why He didn’t save him.
  12743. God says, “I sent you a canoe, a boat, and a helicopter!”
  12744. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12745. We all have vivid imaginations.
  12746. We get a goal in our mind and picture the path so clearly.
  12747. Then it’s hard to stop focusing on that vivid image, to see what else could work.
  12748. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12749. New technologies make old things easier, and new things possible.
  12750. &lt;strong&gt;
  12751. That’s why you need to re-evaluate your old dreams to see if new means have come along.
  12752. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12753. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12754. Some actors move to Hollywood hoping to get noticed.
  12755. Others use every new outlet to make themselves unavoidable.
  12756. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12757. Some authors are just waiting for a publisher to sign them.
  12758. Others are getting rich just self-publishing.
  12759. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12760. You need to distinguish between what is your real goal, and what are the unnecessary details.
  12761. &lt;strong&gt;
  12762. Don’t let the details distract you from your goal.
  12763. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12764. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12765. For each of your dreams, occasionally ask yourself what the real point is.
  12766. Then look for a better way to get to that point.
  12767. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12768. Let go of outdated dreams that keep you from noticing what’s here now.
  12769. &lt;/p&gt;
  12770. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/stork.jpg&quot;&gt;</content>
  12771.    <id>https://sive.rs/details</id>
  12772.    <link href="https://sive.rs/details"/>
  12773.    <title>Detailed dreams blind you to new means.</title>
  12774.    <updated>2018-03-18T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  12775.    <dc:date>2018-03-18T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  12776.  </entry>
  12777.  <entry>
  12778.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  12779. Everyone who is drawn to you before you’re famous is thinking the same thing:
  12780. &lt;strong&gt;
  12781. You might be famous soon!
  12782. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12783. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  12784. fans who want to help you
  12785. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  12786. professionals who want to meet you
  12787. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  12788. musicians who want to play with you
  12789. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  12790. companies that want to work with you
  12791. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12792. They’re all hoping to be included in your glorious future.
  12793. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12794. As you get more successful, share that success with those who helped you years ago.
  12795. When you’re in the tornado of fame, you can’t depend on your memory.
  12796. So use your database now to keep track of who has done special favors for you.
  12797. &lt;strong&gt;
  12798. When you are famous, return the favors.
  12799. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12800. Reach out to contact them, and invite them into your new world.
  12801. (Don’t wait for them to ask.)
  12802. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12803. Those that gave their services for free?
  12804. Now you can pay full price.
  12805. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12806. Those who wanted glamour by association?
  12807. Invite them to the best party.
  12808. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12809. Those who deserve more recognition?
  12810. Shout their praises to your new audience.
  12811. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12812. &lt;strong&gt;
  12813. You aren’t pulled to success by destiny.
  12814. You’re lifted there by those around you.
  12815. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12816. So acknowledge their contribution, and bring them along for the ride.
  12817. &lt;/p&gt;
  12818. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/include-everyone.gif&quot;&gt;</content>
  12819.    <id>https://sive.rs/inclev</id>
  12820.    <link href="https://sive.rs/inclev"/>
  12821.    <title>Include everyone in your success.</title>
  12822.    <updated>2018-03-07T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  12823.    <dc:date>2018-03-07T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  12824.  </entry>
  12825.  <entry>
  12826.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  12827. This is what I do for &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/blog&quot;&gt;everything I post&lt;/a&gt;:
  12828. &lt;/p&gt;
  12829. &lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  12830. Write all of my thoughts on a subject.
  12831. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  12832. Argue against those ideas.
  12833. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  12834. Explore different angles until I’m sick of it.
  12835. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  12836. Leave it for a few days or years, then repeat those steps.
  12837. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  12838. Hate how messy these thoughts have become.
  12839. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  12840. Reduce them to a tiny outline of the key points.
  12841. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  12842. &lt;strong&gt;
  12843. Post the outline. Trash the rest.
  12844. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12845. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;
  12846. &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.flickr.com/photos/birdinthehand/214326064/&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/trash3.jpg&quot; title=&quot;https://www.flickr.com/photos/birdinthehand/214326064/&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
  12847. &lt;div class=&quot;small&quot;&gt;trash photo by &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.flickr.com/photos/birdinthehand/&quot;&gt;Lisa Congdon&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content>
  12848.    <id>https://sive.rs/7</id>
  12849.    <link href="https://sive.rs/7"/>
  12850.    <title>My writing process</title>
  12851.    <updated>2018-03-06T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  12852.    <dc:date>2018-03-06T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  12853.  </entry>
  12854.  <entry>
  12855.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  12856. When I was promoting myself as a musician, I noticed an interesting pattern.
  12857. If I had a good conversation with somebody in the music business, then quite often they would send an opportunity my way within a day or two.
  12858. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12859. In other words, when I look back at the random opportunities that came my way, they often came from someone who I had just spoken with a day or two before.
  12860. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12861. Yes I just said this twice to emphasize it.
  12862. This is important.
  12863. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12864. Years later, when I was running CD Baby, various opportunities came up where someone asked me to recommend a musician.
  12865. I almost always recommended whichever musician I had just spoken with, since they came to mind first.
  12866. That’s why it’s so important to keep in touch.
  12867. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12868. There were some amazing musicians whose music I loved, so I contacted them to tell them I’m a huge fan, and would love to help however I can.
  12869. But if they didn’t keep in touch, they eventually fell out of my mind.
  12870. It’s unfortunate, but that’s life.
  12871. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12872. There were some good (but not amazing) musicians who were great at keeping in touch.
  12873. So when opportunities came my way, guess who I thought of to recommend?
  12874. Yep.
  12875. That’s life.
  12876. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12877. &lt;strong&gt;
  12878. The difference between success and failure can be as simple as keeping in touch.
  12879. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12880. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12881. It takes effort to meet people.
  12882. So once you’ve met someone, get the most out of the relationship for both of you.
  12883. Keep in touch.
  12884. &lt;/p&gt;
  12885. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/keep-in-touch.gif&quot;&gt;</content>
  12886.    <id>https://sive.rs/kit</id>
  12887.    <link href="https://sive.rs/kit"/>
  12888.    <title>Keep in touch.</title>
  12889.    <updated>2018-03-05T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  12890.    <dc:date>2018-03-05T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  12891.  </entry>
  12892.  <entry>
  12893.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  12894. This is both fun and considerate.
  12895. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12896. When people say that a movie has a great character, they mean it was someone especially shocking, funny, or honest.
  12897. To be a great entertainer, you need to be larger than life.
  12898. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12899. Push your outer boundaries.
  12900. Show your weirdness.
  12901. Bring out all your quirks.
  12902. The world needs that.
  12903. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12904. &lt;strong&gt;
  12905. Your public persona — the image you show the world — should be an extreme character.
  12906. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12907. It can be a version of yourself, or it can be a mask.
  12908. (It’s easier to be honest behind a mask.)
  12909. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12910. Some of the biggest musicians of the last few decades have admitted they were playing a character.
  12911. Eminem, for example, said he wrote lyrics with the goal of shocking a passive listener into paying attention.
  12912. Then he built his public persona to match the lyrics.
  12913. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12914. Are you concerned that maybe you should play it safe, because your music isn’t so extreme?
  12915. Well…
  12916. Think of the conservative, old-fashioned performers that your great-grandmother probably liked.
  12917. Frank Sinatra.
  12918. Judy Garland.
  12919. Miles Davis.
  12920. Billie Holiday.
  12921. Even these old legends were rather extreme.
  12922. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12923. &lt;strong&gt;
  12924. It’s more interesting for the audience if you’re the opposite of normal.
  12925. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12926. So be an extreme character.
  12927. The spotlight is the excuse.
  12928. You can get away with anything in the name of entertainment.
  12929. &lt;/p&gt;
  12930. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/extreme-version.gif&quot;&gt;</content>
  12931.    <id>https://sive.rs/evers</id>
  12932.    <link href="https://sive.rs/evers"/>
  12933.    <title>Be an extreme character.</title>
  12934.    <updated>2018-02-28T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  12935.    <dc:date>2018-02-28T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  12936.  </entry>
  12937.  <entry>
  12938.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  12939. This is one of the most useful lessons I’ve learned in life.
  12940. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12941. When you don’t know your next step…
  12942. &lt;br/&gt;
  12943. When you’re feeling unmotivated…
  12944. &lt;br/&gt;
  12945. When asking someone to help you…
  12946. &lt;br/&gt;
  12947. When you’re ready to make a dream come true…
  12948. &lt;br/&gt;
  12949. &lt;strong&gt;
  12950. Get more specific about what’s needed.
  12951. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12952. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12953. There are two ways to do it:
  12954. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12955. &lt;strong&gt;
  12956. #1: Write down every detail you know.
  12957. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12958. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12959. Inside your head, there is more than you’ve said.
  12960. Take the time to write it all down.
  12961. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12962. When you have a vague or distant goal — like “be a great singer” or “make a million from my music” — break it down into specific ingredients.
  12963. Describe concrete milestones, and exactly how to reach them.
  12964. Then break those down into actions that you can start doing today.
  12965. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12966. When you’re feeling stuck or unmotivated, figure out your next step.
  12967. Even something as simple as finishing a song is easier when you realize exactly what’s wrong.
  12968. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12969. When you hire someone to help you, write down absolutely everything you need them to do.
  12970. Include every detail of every step, and your philosophy too.
  12971. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12972. &lt;strong&gt;
  12973. #2: Research what you don’t know.
  12974. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12975. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12976. Most people know what they want, but don’t know how to get it.
  12977. When you don’t know the next step, you procrastinate or feel lost.
  12978. But a little research can turn a vague desire into specific actions.
  12979. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12980. For example:
  12981. When musicians say, “I need a booking agent”, I ask, “Which one? What’s their name?”
  12982. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12983. &lt;strong&gt;
  12984. You can’t act on a vague desire.
  12985. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12986. But with an hour of research you could find the names of ten booking agents that work with ten artists you admire.
  12987. Then you’ve got a list of the next ten people you need to contact.
  12988. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12989. A life coach told me that most of his job is just helping people get specific.
  12990. Once they turn a vague goal into a list of specific steps, it’s easy to take action.
  12991. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12992. &lt;strong&gt;
  12993. It also makes you realize if something was a bad idea.
  12994. &lt;/strong&gt;
  12995. Many things only sound nice in theory.
  12996. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  12997. So do this for yourself.
  12998. Take the time to get specific.
  12999. It helps you and others to take action, and beats procrastination.
  13000. &lt;/p&gt;
  13001. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/footsteps.jpg&quot;&gt;</content>
  13002.    <id>https://sive.rs/get-specific</id>
  13003.    <link href="https://sive.rs/get-specific"/>
  13004.    <title>Get specific!</title>
  13005.    <updated>2018-02-25T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  13006.    <dc:date>2018-02-25T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  13007.  </entry>
  13008.  <entry>
  13009.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  13010. I was at a musicians’ gathering in Memphis.
  13011. I met a lot of people complaining that their various forms of online distribution weren’t earning them as much as they’d hoped.
  13012. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13013. Then I met a musician who sold 8000 copies of his album himself.
  13014. No distributor.
  13015. No website.
  13016. Just by himself.
  13017. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13018. I asked him how he did it.
  13019. He said, “&lt;strong&gt;I just slowly drove around the city every night, with the windows down, playing my music loud. When I saw someone digging it, I’d go talk with them. I’d sell almost everyone a copy — about 20 or 30 a night. Been doing this about a year. Sold 8000 so far.&lt;/strong&gt;”
  13020. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13021. I love this story!
  13022. It’s so direct!
  13023. It hit me especially hard because all the musicians I’d met before him were complaining about how it’s impossible to make money anymore.
  13024. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13025. It got me thinking about what it means to be resourceful.
  13026. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13027. The succinct way to show it is to contrast two different mindsets.
  13028. I’ll call them A and B.
  13029. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13030. A: “I spent $60,000 making this album.”
  13031. &lt;br/&gt;
  13032. B: “I spent $60 making this album.”
  13033. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13034. A: “There are no good live music venues anymore!”
  13035. &lt;br/&gt;
  13036. B: “I made us a new venue.”
  13037. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13038. A: “I’ve tried everything.”
  13039. &lt;br/&gt;
  13040. B: “I found a book from the 1970s with some unique ideas I’m applying to our marketing.”
  13041. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13042. A: “I don’t have time to do it all!”
  13043. &lt;br/&gt;
  13044. B: “Two of my fans help with promotion, one edits my videos, and one runs my website.”
  13045. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13046. A: “I’m not some Hollywood networking dude. I don’t have connections in the industry.”
  13047. &lt;br/&gt;
  13048. B: “My barber knew the promoter’s wife, so it took some persistence, but now we’re playing at his festival.”
  13049. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13050. A: “They said we weren’t allowed to just show up.”
  13051. &lt;br/&gt;
  13052. B: “We just showed up, and wouldn’t leave. Eventually they said OK.”
  13053. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13054. A: “We didn’t get the festival gig.”
  13055. &lt;br/&gt;
  13056. B: “They rejected us, so we contacted every artist at the festival until we found one that insisted the promoter book us as their opening act.”
  13057. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13058. A: “There’s just no way!”
  13059. &lt;br/&gt;
  13060. B: “I figured out a way.”
  13061. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13062. &lt;strong&gt;
  13063. It means being creative, rebellious, determined, and unstoppable.
  13064. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13065. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13066. &lt;strong&gt;
  13067. It means asking for help, but not waiting for help.
  13068. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13069. &lt;/p&gt;
  13070. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/res.jpg&quot;&gt;
  13071. &lt;div class=&quot;small&quot;&gt;illustration ©2018 John Warner&lt;/div&gt;</content>
  13072.    <id>https://sive.rs/res</id>
  13073.    <link href="https://sive.rs/res"/>
  13074.    <title>What it means to be resourceful</title>
  13075.    <updated>2018-02-23T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  13076.    <dc:date>2018-02-23T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  13077.  </entry>
  13078.  <entry>
  13079.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  13080. I was 20 years old.
  13081. I had just moved to New York City.
  13082. And I was working inside the music industry.
  13083. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13084. I ran the music library at &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.warnerchappell.com/&quot;&gt;Warner/Chappell&lt;/a&gt;.
  13085. It was a huge room, near the executives’ offices, and I had it all to myself.
  13086. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13087. Rock stars would come into my room before or after their meetings, to wait or relax.
  13088. Because I was just some nobody working in the library, they would often speak candidly.
  13089. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13090. What surprised me was this:
  13091. &lt;strong&gt;
  13092. These rock stars’ biggest complaints were about the things they were forced to do, or not allowed to do!
  13093. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13094. Things like, “I think the album is perfect and finished, but the label says they don’t hear a hit, so they’re making me co-write.”
  13095. Or, “I wanted to make a video with this director I admire, but the label won’t let me.”
  13096. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13097. I had always assumed that rock stars were the top of the food chain.
  13098. It was weird to realize they have a boss!
  13099. &lt;strong&gt;
  13100. But that’s the trade-off when you sign away your rights.
  13101. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13102. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13103. The independent music revolution was so exciting because thousands of musicians were realizing that they didn’t need to sign these kinds of deals anymore.
  13104. They didn’t need labels, distributors, publishers, or anything else to get their music to the public.
  13105. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13106. But years later, I still hear people making that trade-off.
  13107. Giving up their rights and serving a company, in hopes of a greater reward.
  13108. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  13109. authors who act like Amazon is the boss
  13110. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  13111. web designers who act like Google is the boss
  13112. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  13113. promoters who act like Facebook is the boss
  13114. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13115. &lt;strong&gt;
  13116. But you only have a boss if you choose to!
  13117. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13118. Nobody is making you serve these masters.
  13119. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13120. Of course, if you don’t want a boss, then everything is up to you.
  13121. Less promotion, but more freedom.
  13122. Less help, but keeping all your rights.
  13123. Riding the back roads, not the highway.
  13124. Serving no one but yourself.
  13125. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13126. Never forget you have the choice.
  13127. &lt;/p&gt;
  13128. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/creative-business.gif&quot;&gt;</content>
  13129.    <id>https://sive.rs/noboss</id>
  13130.    <link href="https://sive.rs/noboss"/>
  13131.    <title>Rock stars have a boss?</title>
  13132.    <updated>2018-02-18T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  13133.    <dc:date>2018-02-18T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  13134.  </entry>
  13135.  <entry>
  13136.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  13137. One of the top music industry lawyers in Los Angeles was speaking at a conference.
  13138. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13139. She’s an expert in copyright law, so someone asked her advice on a licensing problem.
  13140. They had recorded their version of a famous song, but were unable to get the rights to sell it because they couldn’t get a response from the publisher.
  13141. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13142. The lawyer shocked the audience when she said, “Sell it anyway.
  13143. &lt;strong&gt;
  13144. Don’t wait for permission.
  13145. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13146. Save the proof that you tried your best to reach them.
  13147. If they contact you to ask for money some day, pay them then.
  13148. But never wait.”
  13149. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13150. Coming from a copyright lawyer, that was a bold statement.
  13151. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13152. It was a reminder that your career is more important than its details.
  13153. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13154. Success is your top priority.
  13155. &lt;strong&gt;
  13156. Never let anything stop you.
  13157. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13158. &lt;/p&gt;
  13159. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/nowclock.jpg&quot;&gt;</content>
  13160.    <id>https://sive.rs/neverwait</id>
  13161.    <link href="https://sive.rs/neverwait"/>
  13162.    <title>Never wait.</title>
  13163.    <updated>2018-02-17T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  13164.    <dc:date>2018-02-17T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  13165.  </entry>
  13166.  <entry>
  13167.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  13168. Psychology experiments have shown that the more people pay for something, the more they value it.
  13169. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13170. People given a placebo pill were twice as likely to have their pain disappear when they were told that the pill was expensive.
  13171. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13172. People who paid more for tickets were more likely to attend the performance.
  13173. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13174. When people want the best, they look to the price to tell them what’s great.
  13175. They think the expensive wine tastes better.
  13176. They think the expensive headphones sound better.
  13177. Even when secretly, those things are no different than the cheap ones.
  13178. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13179. If you sign a deal with a company, negotiate the biggest up-front advance possible.
  13180. Even if you don’t need the money, it’s the best strategy, because the higher your advance, the harder the company will work to earn it back.
  13181. It ends up being better for everyone.
  13182. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13183. Tony Robbins, back when he was first getting successful, started charging one million dollars for personal consultations.
  13184. His reason was surprising.
  13185. It wasn’t for the money.
  13186. It was because his goal was to help people improve their life, and his biggest problem was people not doing the necessary work after coming to see him.
  13187. So if someone spends a million dollars, they’re sure as hell going to do the work.
  13188. He says it kept his success rate at 100%.
  13189. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13190. &lt;strong&gt;
  13191. So it’s considerate to charge more for your work.
  13192. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13193. People will appreciate it more, and get better results.
  13194. &lt;/p&gt;
  13195. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/wineglass.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;https://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_t_in_dc/3000950461/&quot;&gt;</content>
  13196.    <id>https://sive.rs/morepay</id>
  13197.    <link href="https://sive.rs/morepay"/>
  13198.    <title>The higher the price, the more they value it.</title>
  13199.    <updated>2018-02-16T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  13200.    <dc:date>2018-02-16T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  13201.  </entry>
  13202.  <entry>
  13203.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  13204. The way you communicate with people is part of your art.
  13205. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13206. For people who have never heard your music, it’s the &lt;em&gt;start&lt;/em&gt; of your art!
  13207. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13208. If you make depressing music, send your fans a dark black announcement that’s depressing just to look at.
  13209. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13210. If you are an “in-your-face country-metal-speedpunk” artist, have the guts to call a potential booking agent and scream, “Listen you crazy dirtbag! Book me or I explode! Waaaaaah!!”
  13211. If they like that introduction, you’ve found a good match.
  13212. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13213. Set the tone.
  13214. Pull in those people who love that kind of thing.
  13215. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/exclude&quot;&gt;Proudly alienate&lt;/a&gt; those that don’t.
  13216. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13217. There’s a minimalist classical music composer whose emails to me are always just one provocative thought.
  13218. Like when I posted something online about being an introvert, he emailed me just one sentence:
  13219. “Are we not ever-changing, both gradually and per situation?”
  13220. That’s it.
  13221. No greeting or closing or manners in-between.
  13222. His communication style always makes me smile, and reminds me of his music.
  13223. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13224. The gentle new-age artist always calls me “sweetie” and reminds me to nourish my soul.
  13225. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13226. The surf-music artist always uses the Hawaiian greetings “aloha” and “mahalo” when he emails, along with other surfer slang.
  13227. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13228. The rebellious punk never calls me by my name, but instead just says, “Hey sellout.”
  13229. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13230. Be different.
  13231. &lt;strong&gt;
  13232. Show who you are.
  13233. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13234. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13235. It gives people’s lives more variety, too.
  13236. &lt;/p&gt;
  13237. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/reach-like-you.gif&quot;&gt;</content>
  13238.    <id>https://sive.rs/reach</id>
  13239.    <link href="https://sive.rs/reach"/>
  13240.    <title>Creative communication</title>
  13241.    <updated>2018-02-15T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  13242.    <dc:date>2018-02-15T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  13243.  </entry>
  13244.  <entry>
  13245.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  13246. You get a big long email from someone and think, “Ooof. I’ll come back to that later.”
  13247. (Then you never do.)
  13248. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13249. Someone tries to contact you using a technology you hate, like a surprising incoming video call.
  13250. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13251. You have a dilemma and need a good conversation, so you reach out to someone who replies, “Can you make it quick?”
  13252. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13253. You’re overwhelmed with work on a tight deadline, and a friend calls trying to have a long conversation.
  13254. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13255. It’s hard to match your communication with someone else’s preference and situation.
  13256. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13257. There’s a huge benefit to having a great conversation, but sometimes you need to be extremely succinct.
  13258. So how do you reconcile this?
  13259. Here’s my advice:
  13260. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13261. &lt;strong&gt;
  13262. First, prepare the most succinct version of your reason for contacting someone.
  13263. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13264. Make it so short that if the person only has 30 seconds to talk, you could communicate your point, ask your question, and get the answer.
  13265. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13266. With real-time communication, like text or phone, just start by asking if they have time.
  13267. If they do, then take the time to get personal, be a friend, and have a good conversation.
  13268. But if they don’t, then just use the short version.
  13269. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13270. With non-real-time communication, like email, assume you’ve only got ten seconds.
  13271. &lt;strong&gt;
  13272. Edit your emails down to a few sentences.
  13273. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13274. But always give a link to more information, so they can check it out if they have time.
  13275. And include your other contact information, in case they prefer a longer conversation about it.
  13276. (This is what email signatures are for.)
  13277. Then, if they reply and ask, you can give the extra information you left out before.
  13278. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13279. Some hate texting.
  13280. Some hate calls.
  13281. Some hate video.
  13282. Some hate it all.
  13283. Just keep track of their preference for future use.
  13284. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13285. This may sound obvious, but it’s a bigger problem than people realize.
  13286. Considerate communication is surprisingly rare.
  13287. &lt;/p&gt;
  13288. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/reach-like-you.gif&quot;&gt;</content>
  13289.    <id>https://sive.rs/ccom</id>
  13290.    <link href="https://sive.rs/ccom"/>
  13291.    <title>Considerate communication</title>
  13292.    <updated>2018-02-15T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  13293.    <dc:date>2018-02-15T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  13294.  </entry>
  13295.  <entry>
  13296.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  13297. Before I got into the music industry, I had an idea of what it would look like:
  13298. Some powerful manager or agent calling me into his office to discuss the business of my music.
  13299. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13300. Then I moved to New York City and became friends with cool people who also did things in music.
  13301. Sometimes these people were agents or managers, but that was secondary.
  13302. Mostly we were just friends.
  13303. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13304. Sometimes I’d send them clients.
  13305. Sometimes they’d hook me up with opportunities.
  13306. But really we were just friends, talking about our love life or ideas, hanging out and having fun.
  13307. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13308. It was a long time before I realized that I was already in the industry — that this is how things are done.
  13309. &lt;strong&gt;
  13310. People send business to people they like.
  13311. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13312. It’s all more personal than I had expected.
  13313. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13314. One of my best friends in the world is also my lawyer.
  13315. He’s one of the top music lawyers in the world, but mostly he’s my friend.
  13316. We talk about cycling, his kids, and music.
  13317. And sometimes we stop to discuss a recent contract.
  13318. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13319. The initial contact usually happens for professional reasons.
  13320. Like when I was looking for a lawyer, and someone introduced me to this guy.
  13321. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13322. When I hear music I love, I contact the musician, and say let’s meet.
  13323. Within minutes we’re talking about her dogs, microphones, Japan, and whatever.
  13324. Then, when someone asks me to recommend some music, guess who comes to mind first?
  13325. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13326. Point is:
  13327. As you’re out there in the music business, get personal.
  13328. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13329. Don’t always be selling yourself.
  13330. That keeps people at a distance from you, because it shows you’re not friends.
  13331. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13332. &lt;strong&gt;
  13333. Even if it starts professional, get personal as soon as possible.
  13334. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13335. Be a friend.
  13336. That’s how things are done.
  13337. &lt;/p&gt;
  13338. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/get-personal.gif&quot;&gt;</content>
  13339.    <id>https://sive.rs/gpers</id>
  13340.    <link href="https://sive.rs/gpers"/>
  13341.    <title>Get personal.</title>
  13342.    <updated>2018-02-14T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  13343.    <dc:date>2018-02-14T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  13344.  </entry>
  13345.  <entry>
  13346.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  13347. I was a struggling musician, with big ambitions but not much success, when I went to a music industry conference in Las Vegas to promote my music.
  13348. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13349. I was nervous, but doing everything I could to make connections with the managers at all the big music companies.
  13350. I attended every panel of experts, noting everyone’s name, and approaching the stage afterwards to introduce myself.
  13351. &lt;strong&gt;
  13352. I had these people up on a pedestal.
  13353. I was terrified of them.
  13354. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13355. The stakes were high.
  13356. These were the people who could make my career.
  13357. It was mentally and emotionally exhausting.
  13358. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13359. So during lunch I went out to the pool and stuck my feet in the water, just to silently retreat.
  13360. Some dude sat next to me and did the same.
  13361. He said, “I see you’ve noticed the bikini girls, too.”
  13362. I had.
  13363. So we sat there, feet in the pool, talking about those girls over there, how weird Las Vegas is, how his friend was up all night gambling, and other random chit-chat.
  13364. He was a really cool dude — the rare kind I just click with right away.
  13365. I assumed he must be a fellow musician.
  13366. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13367. But when he got up to leave, he said, “Really great talking with you. Let’s keep in touch,” and handed me his business card.
  13368. Holy shit!
  13369. He was the vice president of one of the biggest record labels!
  13370. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13371. I learned a huge lesson that day.
  13372. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13373. &lt;strong&gt;
  13374. If I would have known who he was in advance, I never would have had a real conversation with him.
  13375. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13376. I would have been awkward and self-conscious, trying to promote myself.
  13377. But because I didn’t know, I could connect on a personal level, and be a real friend.
  13378. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13379. I used to think that having connections in the music industry meant that you’d have business meetings, and only talk about your mutual business interests.
  13380. But again and again I’ve realized that we make real connections by talking about anything else, and just clicking as friends.
  13381. &lt;strong&gt;
  13382. People send business to people they like.
  13383. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13384. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13385. So beware of putting people on a pedestal.
  13386. It can prevent a real friendship.
  13387. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13388. Postscript to this story:
  13389. We kept in touch, and he ended up sending me some of my most successful CD Baby clients.
  13390. Now, twenty years later, I just emailed him to tell him I’m writing this story.
  13391. &lt;/p&gt;
  13392. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/pedestal.jpg&quot; title=&quot;https://www.flickr.com/photos/caochopp/7028335609&quot;&gt;</content>
  13393.    <id>https://sive.rs/pedestal</id>
  13394.    <link href="https://sive.rs/pedestal"/>
  13395.    <title>Pedestals prevent friendships.</title>
  13396.    <updated>2018-02-13T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  13397.    <dc:date>2018-02-13T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  13398.  </entry>
  13399.  <entry>
  13400.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  13401. I’ve been online since 1994, and seen so many companies come and go.
  13402. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13403. In the year 2000, the place to be was mp3.com.
  13404. Every musician would keep all of their music and fans there.
  13405. A few years later, it was gone — shut down — all music and fan lists deleted.
  13406. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13407. In 2005, it was MySpace.
  13408. Again, musicians kept all of their music, photos, and fans there.
  13409. A few years later, it was gone.
  13410. Not shut down, but basically moot.
  13411. There was no way to communicate with all of those people, because you didn’t have their direct contact info — you only had their MySpace inbox, which nobody checked anymore.
  13412. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13413. As I’m writing this now in 2018, it’s Facebook, YouTube, and Spotify.
  13414. Just like with mp3.com and MySpace, people act like these websites are everything, and keep all of their music, photos, and fans there.
  13415. By the time you read this, they might be gone.
  13416. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13417. &lt;strong&gt;
  13418. Don’t depend on a company.
  13419. They come and go.
  13420. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13421. Think long-term.
  13422. You’re going to be creating stuff, making fans, and building relationships for the rest of your life — much longer than these companies will last.
  13423. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13424. &lt;strong&gt;
  13425. So have your own website.
  13426. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13427. Instead of sending your fans to some company’s site, send them to yours.
  13428. Get everyone’s direct contact information so you don’t have to go through a company to reach them.
  13429. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13430. &lt;strong&gt;
  13431. Your website should be the definitive place to get everything you create.
  13432. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13433. If you put your stuff on some company’s site, have it be secondary — a copy of the stuff that’s already on your site.
  13434. That way you can use the popular networks without depending on them.
  13435. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13436. Only rely on open standards that aren’t owned by any company — like email and the web.
  13437. &lt;/p&gt;
  13438. &lt;h3&gt;
  13439. Email skills:
  13440. &lt;/h3&gt;
  13441. &lt;p&gt;
  13442. Go into your email settings, and make sure you &lt;strong&gt;have a signature&lt;/strong&gt;.
  13443. You need this because you’re going to be emailing people who have no idea who or where you are!
  13444. Give them some context.
  13445. Your signature should say who, what, and where, with a URL or two.
  13446. For example:
  13447. &lt;/p&gt;
  13448. &lt;pre&gt;
  13449. --
  13450. Maya Danubé, fragrant jazz bass clarinet, New York City
  13451. http://mayadanube.com  me@mayadanube.com  (917)611-5310
  13452. Watch &amp; listen: https://www.youtube.com/user/mayadanube
  13453. Friend me, baby: https://www.facebook.com/mayadanube
  13454. &lt;/pre&gt;
  13455. &lt;p&gt;
  13456. When you email people, write a &lt;strong&gt;descriptive subject&lt;/strong&gt;.
  13457. Never “hey” or “booking”.
  13458. Try “Available June 6 for showcase?” or “introduction to photographer”.
  13459. This is considerate.
  13460. Now when your email is one of hundreds in an inbox, it will say exactly what is contained inside.
  13461. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13462. Make it &lt;strong&gt;as short as possible&lt;/strong&gt;.
  13463. The shorter your email, the more likely it will get a response.
  13464. Be direct.
  13465. Five sentences is ideal.
  13466. If your email is too long, they are likely to procrastinate, and never get back to it.
  13467. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13468. Use short paragraphs.
  13469. Leave plenty of space.
  13470. Reading a screen is different from reading a book.
  13471. &lt;/p&gt;
  13472. &lt;h3&gt;
  13473. Web skills:
  13474. &lt;/h3&gt;
  13475. &lt;p&gt;
  13476. &lt;strong&gt;
  13477. Know how to update your website.
  13478. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13479. Don’t depend on someone else to do this for you.
  13480. Know how to add new songs or videos, and how to make any changes.
  13481. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13482. &lt;strong&gt;
  13483. Know your URLs.
  13484. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13485. Telling someone to go search for you is like telling them to look up your phone number.
  13486. Instead, know your exact URLs (yoursite.com, twitter.com/something, facebook.com/whatever) so you can give it to people directly.
  13487. If you don’t, they’ll probably never bother to go search for you.
  13488. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13489. &lt;strong&gt;
  13490. Know how to make an MP3.
  13491. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13492. Give it a good filename like YOUR_NAME-Song_Title.mp3 (not mix7.mp3)
  13493. Don’t use spaces in the filename.
  13494. Edit the ID3 tags to put your full name and URL in the info, so whoever has this MP3 knows who it is and how to find you.
  13495. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13496. Sorry if these sound too basic to you.
  13497. But you’d be surprised by how many people don’t know these skills, and so are silently handicapped when interacting with the world.
  13498. &lt;/p&gt;
  13499. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/internet-skills.gif&quot;&gt;</content>
  13500.    <id>https://sive.rs/netskill</id>
  13501.    <link href="https://sive.rs/netskill"/>
  13502.    <title>Use the internet, not just companies.</title>
  13503.    <updated>2018-02-12T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  13504.    <dc:date>2018-02-12T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  13505.  </entry>
  13506.  <entry>
  13507.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  13508. I hate to admit this, but it’s true.
  13509. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13510. One of the best things you can do for your career is to move to a big city — one of the major media centers — the places that broadcast to the entire world.
  13511. &lt;strong&gt;
  13512. Nothing less than New York, Los Angeles, London, Mumbai, Hong Kong, or maybe San Francisco.
  13513. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13514. (Nashville, Paris, Seoul, or Tokyo only count if you’re limiting yourself to those markets.)
  13515. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13516. It’s the place where everything happens.
  13517. Where the biggest media companies in the world are based.
  13518. Where the money is flowing.
  13519. Where the most successful agents, producers, and executives live and work.
  13520. Where the most ambitious people go.
  13521. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13522. It has a serious energy, because the stakes are high.
  13523. It’s not casual.
  13524. It’s not a place for a comfortable work/life balance.
  13525. It’s fueled by ambition.
  13526. People go go go.
  13527. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13528. I’ve lived in a bunch of places now, but when I look back at my career, it’s obvious that the biggest breakthroughs happened because I was living in the heart of the music industry in New York and Los Angeles.
  13529. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13530. &lt;strong&gt;
  13531. It shows that you’re in the game.
  13532. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13533. It shows you’re serious.
  13534. It gives you healthy competition, knowing that today’s biggest stars and legends are there with you, too.
  13535. It challenges you to push your skills to the best of the best, instead of just the best in your home town.
  13536. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13537. Once you’re famous, and the media is carrying your reputation, you can move away if you want.
  13538. But even then you’ll be a little out of the game.
  13539. You can decide if that’s OK with you.
  13540. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13541. I lived in New York City for nine years, and Los Angeles for seven years.
  13542. I met so many wonderful kindreds — other ambitious people like me that had moved there from around the world to get successful.
  13543. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13544. So why do I hate to admit this?
  13545. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13546. Because I love how the internet has made it possible for anyone to get successful, anywhere.
  13547. I love the idea of living in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nature, yet being connected to the world.
  13548. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13549. But still, when I look at the facts, it’s impossible to deny.
  13550. &lt;strong&gt;
  13551. Living in the big city, and being where everything is happening, will help your career the most.
  13552. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13553. Being anywhere else won’t hurt you, but it won’t help.
  13554. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  13555.    <id>https://sive.rs/city</id>
  13556.    <link href="https://sive.rs/city"/>
  13557.    <title>Move to the big city.</title>
  13558.    <updated>2018-02-11T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  13559.    <dc:date>2018-02-11T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  13560.  </entry>
  13561.  <entry>
  13562.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  13563. A database is just an organized collection of information.
  13564. You could have a database of your music or your books.
  13565. But I’m going to talk about a database of all the people you know.
  13566. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13567. Your email app is a kind of database.
  13568. It has an address book of everyone you’ve emailed, and a history of your emails with each person.
  13569. So you’ve already done half of what I’m going to describe here.
  13570. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13571. But I’m going to recommend you go further than that, and also keep track of:
  13572. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  13573. your private notes about people (“served in the army, loves talking politics”)
  13574. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  13575. tags to help you find people (“drummer, programmer, agent”)
  13576. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  13577. physical location (“London, England”)
  13578. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  13579. when you should contact this person next (“3 weeks from today”)
  13580. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13581. Once you have this information, you can easily find every agent you know in London, and email them about a gig.
  13582. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13583. Because the other best feature of a database is that it can personalize your communication.
  13584. Instead of blasting out a message like “Hey everyone. How are you?”, your database will send out personalized emails like, “Hey James. How are you?” — “Hey Sarah. How are you?”.
  13585. Not only does it get their attention better, but it’s just more polite.
  13586. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13587. It will keep a history of your communication with everyone.
  13588. This helps when you hear from someone for the first time in years.
  13589. It can remind you who they are, and show you the last time you spoke.
  13590. It also helps you do things like find just the people you haven’t heard from in over a year.
  13591. You can set calendar reminders, so it can remind you to follow-up with someone later.
  13592. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13593. As for which database to use, I have three recommendations:
  13594. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  13595. &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.cloze.com/&quot;&gt;Cloze&lt;/a&gt;.
  13596. Go to &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.cloze.com/&quot;&gt;Cloze.com&lt;/a&gt;.
  13597. Link it with your existing inboxes and social media accounts, and it will pull in the information of everyone you’ve got in there already.
  13598. It’s brilliant and full of features.
  13599. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  13600. &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.monicahq.com/&quot;&gt;Monica&lt;/a&gt;.
  13601. Go to &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.monicahq.com/&quot;&gt;MonicaHQ.com&lt;/a&gt;.
  13602. It’s the most personal and people-focused, encouraging you to keep track of everything you know about everyone.
  13603. It’s also open source and free to install on your own server.
  13604. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  13605. I ended up programming my own database software, which I plan to share for free some day.
  13606. Maybe by the time you read this, it will be ready.
  13607. Just email me to ask.
  13608. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13609. &lt;strong&gt;
  13610. Using a database is one of the most powerful things you can do for your career.
  13611. Please don’t put it off.
  13612. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13613. It’s not as complicated as it sounds.
  13614. The sooner you begin, the better.
  13615. &lt;/p&gt;
  13616. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/database-quantity.gif&quot;&gt;</content>
  13617.    <id>https://sive.rs/dbt</id>
  13618.    <link href="https://sive.rs/dbt"/>
  13619.    <title>Why you need a database</title>
  13620.    <updated>2018-02-09T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  13621.    <dc:date>2018-02-09T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  13622.  </entry>
  13623.  <entry>
  13624.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  13625. Everyone has weird mental associations with money.
  13626. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13627. They think the only way to make money is to take it away from others.
  13628. They think that charging for your art means it was insincere, and only for profit.
  13629. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13630. But after knowing thousands of musicians for over twenty years, I’ve learned this:
  13631. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13632. The unhappiest musicians are the ones who avoided the subject of money, and are now broke or need a draining day job.
  13633. It may sound cool to say money doesn’t matter — to say “don’t worry about it!” — but it leads to a really hard life.
  13634. Then ultimately your music suffers, because you can’t give it the time it needs, and you haven’t found an audience that values it.
  13635. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13636. The happiest musicians are the ones who develop their value, and confidently charge a high price.
  13637. There’s a deep satisfaction when you know how valuable you are, and the world agrees.
  13638. Then it reinforces itself, because you can focus on being the best artist you can be, since you’ve found an audience that rewards you for it.
  13639. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13640. So never underestimate the importance of making money.
  13641. Let go of any taboos you have about it.
  13642. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13643. &lt;strong&gt;
  13644. Money is nothing more than a neutral exchange of value.
  13645. If people give you money, it’s proof that you’re giving them something valuable in return.
  13646. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13647. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13648. By focusing on making money with your music, you’re making sure it’s valuable to others, not only to you.
  13649. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  13650.    <id>https://sive.rs/mn1</id>
  13651.    <link href="https://sive.rs/mn1"/>
  13652.    <title>Shed your money taboos.</title>
  13653.    <updated>2018-02-05T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  13654.    <dc:date>2018-02-05T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  13655.  </entry>
  13656.  <entry>
  13657.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  13658. For years I made a living playing at universities.
  13659. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13660. One time a college far away in Ohio — about a 12-hour drive — asked what I would charge to do a &lt;strong&gt;two-hour show&lt;/strong&gt;.
  13661. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13662. I said, “$1500”.
  13663. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13664. She said, “Oh, that’s a bit too much. What would you charge to do just a &lt;strong&gt;one-hour show&lt;/strong&gt;?”
  13665. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13666. I said, “$2000”.
  13667. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13668. She said, “No, wait, you’ll be performing less, not more!”
  13669. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13670. I said, “Yeah! Exactly! What you’re paying me for is to get there! Once I’m there, playing music is the fun part! If you tell me I have to get back in the van and drive home after only an hour, then I’m going to charge you more than if you let me play for a couple hours first.”
  13671. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13672. She liked that so much that she came up with the $1500.
  13673. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13674. Point is:
  13675. Business is creative.
  13676. You can do things any way you want.
  13677. There’s no need to adhere to norms.
  13678. Norms are for businesses without personality.
  13679. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13680. &lt;strong&gt;
  13681. Pour your personality and philosophy into the way you do business.
  13682. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13683. People actually appreciate it when you do things in a surprising way.
  13684. It shows you care more than most — that you’re putting your self into this — that you’re not just in it for the money.
  13685. &lt;/p&gt;
  13686. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/get-personal.gif&quot;&gt;</content>
  13687.    <id>https://sive.rs/pp</id>
  13688.    <link href="https://sive.rs/pp"/>
  13689.    <title>Pricing philosophy</title>
  13690.    <updated>2018-01-23T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  13691.    <dc:date>2018-01-23T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  13692.  </entry>
  13693.  <entry>
  13694.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  13695. Imagine you see a caged feather on a museum wall.
  13696. The sign underneath says the artist is a political activist in jail.
  13697. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13698. Imagine that same caged feather again.
  13699. But instead the sign says the artist is a high school kid in Florida.
  13700. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13701. Or imagine that the only way to see it is to crawl deep into a shrinking tunnel that opens into a room of mirrors, where the caged feather is suspended by a thread.
  13702. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13703. Same feather.
  13704. Very different perceptions.
  13705. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  13706. The way you present your art, and what people know about it, completely changes how they perceive it.
  13707. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13708. Therefore, your art doesn’t end at the edge of the canvas.
  13709. Your creative decisions continue all the way to the end.
  13710. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13711. Now think of the way you create and release music:
  13712. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  13713. You have a tiny idea for a song.
  13714. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  13715. You flesh it out into a full song.
  13716. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  13717. You give it layers of instruments.
  13718. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  13719. You choose its texture when recording.
  13720. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  13721. You come up with an album title, and the visual look of your photos and videos.
  13722. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13723. Every step so far has been a creative expansion of your original idea.
  13724. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13725. So now it’s time to put it out into the world.
  13726. &lt;strong&gt;
  13727. Do you turn off all that creativity?
  13728. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13729. Just upload the song to the usual places, and announce it like everyone else?
  13730. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13731. No!
  13732. Your creative process hasn’t stopped!
  13733. Flaunt your artistic freedoms, and have some fun with it!
  13734. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  13735. the way you communicate with the world
  13736. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  13737. how you make your music available
  13738. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  13739. the stories you tell about your music and yourself
  13740. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13741. These are all the continuation of your creation.
  13742. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  13743. Marketing is the final extension of your art.
  13744. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content>
  13745.    <id>https://sive.rs/ext</id>
  13746.    <link href="https://sive.rs/ext"/>
  13747.    <title>Art doesn’t end at the edge of the canvas.</title>
  13748.    <updated>2018-01-22T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  13749.    <dc:date>2018-01-22T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  13750.  </entry>
  13751.  <entry>
  13752.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  13753. Being a songwriter is weird.
  13754. You dig deep inside yourself.
  13755. You extract and explain your emotions.
  13756. Then you broadcast your innermost feelings to the biggest possible audience.
  13757. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13758. It’s a life that demands a deep focus on yourself.
  13759. It’s all you, you, you.
  13760. It’s a one-way road that goes from inside of you out to the audience.
  13761. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13762. Because of this, it’s hard for you to turn that off, switch directions, and just listen to others.
  13763. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13764. &lt;strong&gt;
  13765. The essence of marketing is looking at everything from the other person’s point of view.
  13766. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13767. So it’s no surprise that musicians find it hard to switch into that mode.
  13768. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13769. It’s OK.
  13770. Have some compassion for your situation.
  13771. It’s a side-effect of the craft.
  13772. Don’t beat yourself up over it.
  13773. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13774. But first, before you begin marketing, get off the stage.
  13775. Pause your habit of broadcasting.
  13776. Turn the spotlight on your audience.
  13777. And get ready to listen.
  13778. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  13779.    <id>https://sive.rs/stage</id>
  13780.    <link href="https://sive.rs/stage"/>
  13781.    <title>It’s hard to get off stage.</title>
  13782.    <updated>2018-01-16T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  13783.    <dc:date>2018-01-16T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  13784.  </entry>
  13785.  <entry>
  13786.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  13787. Don’t confuse the word “marketing” with advertising, announcing, spamming, or giving away branded crap.
  13788. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13789. Really, “marketing” just means being considerate.
  13790. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13791. Marketing means making it easy for people to notice you, relate to you, remember you, and tell their friends about you.
  13792. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13793. Marketing means listening for what people need, and creating something surprisingly tailored for them.
  13794. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13795. Marketing means getting to know people, making a deeper connection, and keeping in touch.
  13796. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13797. &lt;strong&gt;All of these are just considerate&lt;/strong&gt; — looking at things from the other person’s point of view, and doing what’s best for them.
  13798. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13799. A lot of musicians say, “I hate marketing!”
  13800. So, yeah, if you thought marketing meant turning off your creativity, spending lots of money, and being annoying, then it’s a good thing you don’t like that.
  13801. Nobody likes that.
  13802. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13803. &lt;strong&gt;
  13804. Just find creative ways to be considerate.
  13805. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13806. That’s the best marketing.
  13807. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  13808.    <id>https://sive.rs/cons</id>
  13809.    <link href="https://sive.rs/cons"/>
  13810.    <title>“Marketing” just means being considerate.</title>
  13811.    <updated>2018-01-15T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  13812.    <dc:date>2018-01-15T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  13813.  </entry>
  13814.  <entry>
  13815.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  13816. I knew a music publicist in New York City when she was at the peak of her success.
  13817. A few of her clients had hits, so everyone wanted to work with her.
  13818. She was flooded with new music.
  13819. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13820. Here’s how she dealt with the flood:
  13821. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13822. Whenever someone sent their music, it would go into an inbox.
  13823. That inbox was completely ignored.
  13824. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13825. Whenever someone contacted her to follow-up the first time, to ask if she’d received it, she would take their music out of that first inbox, and put it in a second inbox.
  13826. That second inbox was also ignored.
  13827. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13828. Then if they followed-up with her a second time, asking again if she’d had the chance to listen, she would take their music out of the second inbox, and put it in a third inbox.
  13829. That third inbox would get a listen if she had some spare time.
  13830. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13831. Finally, if they followed-up a third time, she would take their music out of the third inbox, and make it a priority to give it a real listen.
  13832. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13833. She saw the shocked look on my face, as she described her system.
  13834. So she explained:
  13835. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13836. &lt;strong&gt;
  13837. “I can’t listen to everyone, so I can’t know who’s got the best music.
  13838. But the ones who follow-up show they’ve got the tenacity and drive to succeed.
  13839. As long as their music is also good, then those are the ones I want to work with.”
  13840. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13841. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13842. It wasn’t ego.
  13843. It was just a practical way to deal with a flood, and a pretty good filter for choosing new clients.
  13844. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13845. Maybe nobody else has an official system like this.
  13846. But un-officially, they do.
  13847. &lt;strong&gt;
  13848. Overwhelmed people don’t have time for all the random first-contacts.
  13849. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13850. Patience and persistence separate you from the rest, and show how much you care.
  13851. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  13852.    <id>https://sive.rs/3in</id>
  13853.    <link href="https://sive.rs/3in"/>
  13854.    <title>Repeatedly follow-up to show you care.</title>
  13855.    <updated>2018-01-14T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  13856.    <dc:date>2018-01-14T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  13857.  </entry>
  13858.  <entry>
  13859.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  13860. I once went without food for ten days, and that was fine.
  13861. But the two things I can’t do without for long are solitude and silence.
  13862. (Freedom from people and their noises.)
  13863. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13864. I was on a holiday in Ireland with seven members of my family, all packed into a van, exploring the country.
  13865. A week after they left, I had to be at a conference in Dublin.
  13866. So in-between those two events, I wanted nothing but solitude and silence.
  13867. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13868. An &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/paulca&quot;&gt;Irish friend&lt;/a&gt; suggested that I stay at &lt;a href=&quot;https://mountmellerayabbey.org/guesthouse&quot;&gt;Mount Melleray Abbey&lt;/a&gt;, home of the &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cistercians&quot;&gt;Cistercian&lt;/a&gt; Trappist monks, known for their silence.
  13869. They provide a guest room that’s free for whoever asks.
  13870. That sounded perfect, so I emailed and asked.
  13871. They said yes, so I prepared for a solid week of silence.
  13872. I took my family to the airport, and drove to the abbey.
  13873. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13874. When a monk met me at the door and showed me the way to my room, I was surprised when he spoke.
  13875. I thought we’d all just be silently gesturing.
  13876. He told me meals would be served twice a day down the hall.
  13877. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13878. At dinner time, I went down the hall, again expecting silent gesturing.
  13879. But instead, there was a room full of thirty other guests from around the world, all chattering away.
  13880. I tried to sit alone, but there was no way to do it.
  13881. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13882. One loud American latched on to me and bombarded me with shallow questions.
  13883. I gave vague one-word answers, but that wasn’t enough to stop him.
  13884. I quickly ate and retreated to my room again.
  13885. I thought about how I’d avoid this chatter for the next six days.
  13886. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13887. The next morning, I tried to get to breakfast early, but I wasn’t early enough.
  13888. The loud American was there with follow-up questions about my religious beliefs.
  13889. He started to introduce me to everyone.
  13890. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13891. I guess they came here for different reasons than I did.
  13892. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13893. I went back to my room, packed up, and left a thank-you note for the monks, before driving off into the unknown.
  13894. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13895. I realized I could get more silence at a hotel, so I went to &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.lyrath.com/&quot;&gt;Lyrath Estate&lt;/a&gt; in Kilkenny.
  13896. It was off-season, half-price, spacious, and mostly empty.
  13897. I hung around all their various sitting rooms and balconies, writing for six silent days, speaking only one sentence a day if I ordered dinner.
  13898. It was just what I wanted.
  13899. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13900. It made me think about all the unlikely places we can get what we want.
  13901. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13902. Some people think they need to go all the way to Thailand to meditate, or to India to learn yoga.
  13903. But of course these are things they can do for free at home.
  13904. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13905. Some people think they need to travel to a country to learn its language.
  13906. But check out &lt;a href=&quot;https://flrmethod.com/moses-mccormick/&quot;&gt;Moses McCormick learning more than a dozen languages from Ohio&lt;/a&gt;, or &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.fluentin3months.com/arabic-mission/&quot;&gt;Benny Lewis learning Arabic from Brazil&lt;/a&gt;.
  13907. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13908. Some people think they need to pay a fortune to a university for a great education.
  13909. But the top schools have all their courses online for free.
  13910. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13911. And this idea isn’t just about locations.
  13912. Some people think they need expensive equipment to start a new hobby, certain clothes to look the part, or for everything to be just right.
  13913. But resourceful people know they don’t.
  13914. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13915. It’s so important to separate the real goal from the old mental associations.
  13916. &lt;strong&gt;
  13917. We have old dreams.
  13918. We have images we want to re-create.
  13919. They’re hard to untangle from the result we really want.
  13920. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13921. They become excuses, and reasons to procrastinate.
  13922. &lt;/p&gt;
  13923. &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.flickr.com/photos/tinaleggio/15516383916&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/medskate.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
  13924. &lt;div class=&quot;tiny&quot;&gt;Meditation photo by &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.flickr.com/photos/tinaleggio/&quot;&gt;Tina Leggio&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content>
  13925.    <id>https://sive.rs/unun</id>
  13926.    <link href="https://sive.rs/unun"/>
  13927.    <title>Unlikely places and untangled goals</title>
  13928.    <updated>2017-12-11T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  13929.    <dc:date>2017-12-11T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  13930.  </entry>
  13931.  <entry>
  13932.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  13933. Three true stories:
  13934. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  13935. &lt;p&gt;
  13936. In 1992, in Tokyo, I dated a girl named Masako.
  13937. After our month together, she moved to London.
  13938. We lost touch.
  13939. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13940. In 2008, I was in London for a few days.
  13941. I wondered if Masako still lived there, sixteen years later.
  13942. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13943. A minute later, she walked by.
  13944. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13945. “Masako!”
  13946. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13947. “Derek?!”
  13948. &lt;/p&gt;
  13949. &lt;p&gt;
  13950. In 1993, I had a pen-pal from Argentina named Lucia.
  13951. She was studying Norwegian and planned to move to Oslo, Norway, some day.
  13952. We lost touch.
  13953. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13954. In 2007, my band was on tour in Oslo for a few days.
  13955. I was sitting in a park, wondering if Lucia ever moved there.
  13956. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13957. A minute later, she walked by.
  13958. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13959. “Lucia!”
  13960. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13961. “Derek?!”
  13962. &lt;/p&gt;
  13963. &lt;p&gt;
  13964. Today I’m in Singapore.
  13965. I went to the library to write.
  13966. It was very busy, with nowhere to sit, so I walked from room to room before I finally found the last free seat.
  13967. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13968. I noticed that the guy next to me was reading a book I recommend often: &lt;i&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/EgoEnemy&quot;&gt;Ego Is the Enemy&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/i&gt;.
  13969. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13970. I said, “Great book!”
  13971. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13972. He said, “I got it because of you. You’re Derek, right?”
  13973. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13974. His name is &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/ThomasDiong&quot;&gt;Thomas&lt;/a&gt;.
  13975. We had emailed a few days ago.
  13976. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13977. &lt;strong&gt;
  13978. Some people like to think that there are no coincidences.
  13979. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13980. They say, “What are the odds of that?” as if to mean that it can’t be chance.
  13981. Life feels more amazing to them if it all has meaning.
  13982. (Seeking patterns in randomness is called &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophenia&quot;&gt;apophenia&lt;/a&gt;.)
  13983. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13984. &lt;strong&gt;
  13985. I like to think that everything is a coincidence.
  13986. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13987. Life feels more amazing to me if &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/ml&quot;&gt;it has no meaning&lt;/a&gt;.
  13988. No secret agenda.
  13989. Beautifully random.
  13990. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  13991. What are the odds of winning the big lottery?
  13992. Fifty million to one?
  13993. Ah, but that’s if you’re being egocentric and thinking only of yourself!
  13994. Someone always wins it.
  13995. &lt;strong&gt;
  13996. So what if you look past yourself and ask, “What are the odds that this rare thing will happen to someone?”
  13997. &lt;/strong&gt;
  13998. Almost 100 percent.
  13999. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14000. That’s a nice reminder when the odds seem impossible.
  14001. Amazingly rare things happen to people every day.
  14002. &lt;/p&gt;
  14003. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/thomasdiong.jpg&quot;&gt;
  14004. &lt;div class=&quot;small&quot;&gt;(Thomas Diong and I, today, at the Singapore library.)&lt;/div&gt;</content>
  14005.    <id>https://sive.rs/odds</id>
  14006.    <link href="https://sive.rs/odds"/>
  14007.    <title>What are the odds of that?</title>
  14008.    <updated>2017-07-03T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  14009.    <dc:date>2017-07-03T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  14010.  </entry>
  14011.  <entry>
  14012.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  14013. Since my son was born five years ago, I’ve spent at least thirty hours a week with him, just one-on-one, giving him my full attention.
  14014. But I’ve never written about parenting before because it’s a touchy subject — too easily misunderstood.
  14015. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14016. So why am I writing about it today?
  14017. Because I realized that &lt;strong&gt;the parenting things I do for him are also for myself.&lt;/strong&gt;
  14018. And that’s an idea worth sharing.
  14019. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14020. &lt;strong&gt;
  14021. Here are the things I’ve been doing for my son since he was born:
  14022. &lt;/strong&gt;
  14023. &lt;/p&gt;
  14024. &lt;h3&gt;
  14025. Cultivating a long attention span
  14026. &lt;/h3&gt;
  14027. &lt;p&gt;
  14028. Whatever he’s doing right now, that’s the most important thing.
  14029. So I encourage him to keep doing it as long as possible.
  14030. I never say, “Come on! Let’s go!”
  14031. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14032. We’ll go to the beach or forest, and make things with sticks and sand for half a day before he’s ready to switch.
  14033. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14034. Other families come to the playground for twenty or thirty minutes, but we stay there for hours.
  14035. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14036. Nobody else can play with us like this.
  14037. Everyone else gets so bored.
  14038. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14039. Of course my adult mind wanders to all the other things we could be doing.
  14040. But I let it go, and return to that present focus.
  14041. &lt;/p&gt;
  14042. &lt;h3&gt;
  14043. Entering his world
  14044. &lt;/h3&gt;
  14045. &lt;p&gt;
  14046. I’m very ambitious and try to do a lot with my life.
  14047. But when I’m with him, I stop everything else.
  14048. Phone off.
  14049. Computer off.
  14050. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14051. I try to see things through his eyes — to put myself into his mind.
  14052. When he gets upset, I try to remember what it was like to be his age and relate at that level.
  14053. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14054. When he makes up stories, I enter his invented world.
  14055. If he says we’re cats in Paris, we’re cats in Paris.
  14056. The minotaur is chasing us?
  14057. We both run.
  14058. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14059. Of course I’m tempted to check my phone.
  14060. Most of us have that addiction now.
  14061. But I ask myself, “What’s more important?” and leave it off.
  14062. &lt;/p&gt;
  14063. &lt;h3&gt;
  14064. Broadening his inputs
  14065. &lt;/h3&gt;
  14066. &lt;p&gt;
  14067. I want him to have a wide range of inputs into his senses.
  14068. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14069. We go play in as many different forests, beaches, mountains, and towns as possible, touching and smelling everything we can.
  14070. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14071. I play very diverse music in the background.
  14072. When we play at home, he’s listening to Persian traditional, Indian classical, ’60s jazz, &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glitch_(music)&quot;&gt;glitch&lt;/a&gt;, Bartok, Stevie Wonder (&lt;a href=&quot;https://slate.com/cover_story/2016/12/the-greatest-creative-run-in-the-history-of-pop-music.html&quot;&gt;from ’72 to ’76&lt;/a&gt;), lots of Bach, &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_State_Television_Female_Vocal_Choir&quot;&gt;Bulgarian choir&lt;/a&gt;, or whatever.
  14073. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14074. We’ve had season tickets to the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.nzso.co.nz/&quot;&gt;New Zealand Symphony Orchestra&lt;/a&gt; since he was three, and never miss a concert.
  14075. I took him to the opera &lt;i&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen&quot;&gt;Carmen&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/i&gt;, and he was riveted from start to finish.
  14076. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14077. We get a few new books from the library every week and read together for an hour every night.
  14078. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14079. We watch a huge variety of movies, but always from start to finish without interruption, so he gets the full story arc.
  14080. For the big Disney blockbusters, we watch the Portuguese or Chinese translations.
  14081. &lt;/p&gt;
  14082. &lt;h3&gt;
  14083. And now, my point:
  14084. &lt;/h3&gt;
  14085. &lt;p&gt;
  14086. The reason I’m finally writing about this is because I realized that &lt;strong&gt;I’m doing all these things for myself as much as for him.&lt;/strong&gt;
  14087. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14088. By cultivating his long attention span, I’m cultivating my own.
  14089. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14090. By entering his world, I’m letting go of my own, like meditation.
  14091. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14092. By broadening his inputs, I’m broadening my own.
  14093. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14094. I thought I was being selfless.
  14095. But actually, like most things we consider selfless, they benefit me as much as him.
  14096. &lt;/p&gt;
  14097. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/images/horseswordbeach.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/horseswordbeach2.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
  14098. &lt;div class=&quot;small&quot;&gt;Photo of him at our favorite beach in &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paekakariki&quot;&gt;Paekakariki&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;
  14099. &lt;p&gt;
  14100. P.S. You won’t find his name or face online.
  14101. I don’t think it’s right to put someone online without their permission.
  14102. He’ll put himself online when he’s ready.
  14103. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  14104.    <id>https://sive.rs/pa</id>
  14105.    <link href="https://sive.rs/pa"/>
  14106.    <title>Parenting : Who is it really for?</title>
  14107.    <updated>2017-06-26T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  14108.    <dc:date>2017-06-26T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  14109.  </entry>
  14110.  <entry>
  14111.    <content type="html">&lt;style&gt;
  14112. .ar, .de, .eo, .es, .fr, .ja, .ko, .pt, .ru, .zh, aside {
  14113. display: none;
  14114. }
  14115. &lt;/style&gt;
  14116. &lt;div id=&quot;langswitch&quot;&gt;
  14117. &lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; data-lang=&quot;de&quot;&gt;Deutsch&lt;/a&gt;
  14118. &lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; data-lang=&quot;en&quot;&gt;English&lt;/a&gt;
  14119. &lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; data-lang=&quot;es&quot;&gt;Español&lt;/a&gt;
  14120. &lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; data-lang=&quot;eo&quot;&gt;Esperanto&lt;/a&gt;
  14121. &lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; data-lang=&quot;fr&quot;&gt;Français&lt;/a&gt;
  14122. &lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; data-lang=&quot;pt&quot;&gt;Português&lt;/a&gt;
  14123. &lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; data-lang=&quot;ru&quot;&gt;Русский&lt;/a&gt;
  14124. &lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; data-lang=&quot;zh&quot;&gt;中文&lt;/a&gt;
  14125. &lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; data-lang=&quot;ja&quot;&gt;日本語&lt;/a&gt;
  14126. &lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; data-lang=&quot;ko&quot;&gt;한국어&lt;/a&gt;
  14127. &lt;a href=&quot;#&quot; data-lang=&quot;ar&quot;&gt;العربية&lt;/a&gt;
  14128. &lt;/div&gt;
  14129. &lt;aside id=&quot;t_ar&quot;&gt;
  14130. حتى تتمكن من صقّل كتاباتك، قُم باستئجار مترجم.
  14131. &lt;/aside&gt;
  14132. &lt;aside id=&quot;t_de&quot;&gt;
  14133. Um dein Schreiben zu verbessern, engagiere einen Übersetzer.
  14134. &lt;/aside&gt;
  14135. &lt;aside id=&quot;t_en&quot;&gt;
  14136. To hone your writing, hire a translator.
  14137. &lt;/aside&gt;
  14138. &lt;aside id=&quot;t_eo&quot;&gt;
  14139. Por perfektigi vian skribon, dungu tradukiston.
  14140. &lt;/aside&gt;
  14141. &lt;aside id=&quot;t_es&quot;&gt;
  14142. Para perfeccionar tu escritura, contrata a un traductor.
  14143. &lt;/aside&gt;
  14144. &lt;aside id=&quot;t_fr&quot;&gt;
  14145. Pour aiguiser votre plume, engagez un traducteur.
  14146. &lt;/aside&gt;
  14147. &lt;aside id=&quot;t_ja&quot;&gt;
  14148. あなたの文章に磨きをかけるために翻訳者を雇います。
  14149. &lt;/aside&gt;
  14150. &lt;aside id=&quot;t_ko&quot;&gt;
  14151. 글쓰기를 연마하시려면, 번역가를 고용하세요.
  14152. &lt;/aside&gt;
  14153. &lt;aside id=&quot;t_pt&quot;&gt;
  14154. Para aprimorar sua escrita, contrate um tradutor.
  14155. &lt;/aside&gt;
  14156. &lt;aside id=&quot;t_ru&quot;&gt;
  14157. Наймите переводчика, чтобы отточить ваши писательские навыки.
  14158. &lt;/aside&gt;
  14159. &lt;aside id=&quot;t_zh&quot;&gt;
  14160. 要磨练你的写作，请聘用一名翻译员。
  14161. &lt;/aside&gt;
  14162. &lt;p class=&quot;ar&quot;&gt;
  14163. هل تريد أن تكتب بوضوح وإيجاز؟
  14164. &lt;/p&gt;
  14165. &lt;p class=&quot;de&quot;&gt;
  14166. Möchtest du klar und prägnant schreiben?
  14167. &lt;/p&gt;
  14168. &lt;p class=&quot;en&quot;&gt;
  14169. Do you want to write clearly and succinctly?
  14170. &lt;/p&gt;
  14171. &lt;p class=&quot;eo&quot;&gt;
  14172. Ĉu vi volas skribi klare kaj koncize?
  14173. &lt;/p&gt;
  14174. &lt;p class=&quot;es&quot;&gt;
  14175. ¿Deseas escribir de forma clara y concisa?  
  14176. &lt;/p&gt;
  14177. &lt;p class=&quot;fr&quot;&gt;
  14178. Vous voulez écrire de façon claire et succincte ?
  14179. &lt;/p&gt;
  14180. &lt;p class=&quot;ja&quot;&gt;
  14181. 明確に簡潔に書きたいと思いませんか？
  14182. &lt;/p&gt;
  14183. &lt;p class=&quot;ko&quot;&gt;
  14184. 명확하고 간결하게 글을 쓰고 싶으세요?
  14185. &lt;/p&gt;
  14186. &lt;p class=&quot;pt&quot;&gt;
  14187. Deseja escrever de maneira clara e sucinta?
  14188. &lt;/p&gt;
  14189. &lt;p class=&quot;ru&quot;&gt;
  14190. Хотите писать понятно и лаконично?
  14191. &lt;/p&gt;
  14192. &lt;p class=&quot;zh&quot;&gt;
  14193. 你希望写得清楚简洁吗？
  14194. &lt;/p&gt;
  14195. &lt;p class=&quot;ar&quot;&gt;
  14196. قُم باستئجار مترجم.
  14197. &lt;/p&gt;
  14198. &lt;p class=&quot;de&quot;&gt;
  14199. Dann engagiere einen Übersetzer.
  14200. &lt;/p&gt;
  14201. &lt;p class=&quot;en&quot;&gt;
  14202. Hire a translator.
  14203. &lt;/p&gt;
  14204. &lt;p class=&quot;eo&quot;&gt;
  14205. Dungu tradukiston.
  14206. &lt;/p&gt;
  14207. &lt;p class=&quot;es&quot;&gt;
  14208. Contrata a un traductor.
  14209. &lt;/p&gt;
  14210. &lt;p class=&quot;fr&quot;&gt;
  14211. Engagez un traducteur.
  14212. &lt;/p&gt;
  14213. &lt;p class=&quot;ja&quot;&gt;
  14214. 翻訳者を雇うのです。
  14215. &lt;/p&gt;
  14216. &lt;p class=&quot;ko&quot;&gt;
  14217. 번역가를 고용하세요.
  14218. &lt;/p&gt;
  14219. &lt;p class=&quot;pt&quot;&gt;
  14220. Contrate um tradutor.
  14221. &lt;/p&gt;
  14222. &lt;p class=&quot;ru&quot;&gt;
  14223. Наймите переводчика.
  14224. &lt;/p&gt;
  14225. &lt;p class=&quot;zh&quot;&gt;
  14226. 请聘用一名翻译员。
  14227. &lt;/p&gt;
  14228. &lt;p class=&quot;ar&quot;&gt;
  14229. حيثُ يتقاضى المترجمون المحترفون حوالي 10 سنتات لكل كلمة، لذلك تجعلك الترجمة تتساءل عن قيمة كل جملة.
  14230. &lt;/p&gt;
  14231. &lt;p class=&quot;de&quot;&gt;
  14232. Professionelle Übersetzer verlangen ungefähr 10 Cent pro Wort, daher lässt dich das Übersetzen den Wert jedes einzelnen Satzes hinterfragen.
  14233. &lt;/p&gt;
  14234. &lt;p class=&quot;en&quot;&gt;
  14235. Because professional translators charge around 10 cents per word, translating makes you question the value of every sentence.
  14236. &lt;/p&gt;
  14237. &lt;p class=&quot;eo&quot;&gt;
  14238. Ĉar profesiaj tradukistoj pagigas ĉirkaŭ 10 cendoj per vorto, traduki igas vin kontesti la valoron de ĉiu frazo.
  14239. &lt;/p&gt;
  14240. &lt;p class=&quot;es&quot;&gt;
  14241. Debido a que los traductores profesionales cobran alrededor de 10 centavos por palabra, recurrir a uno hace que te cuestiones el valor de cada frase.
  14242. &lt;/p&gt;
  14243. &lt;p class=&quot;fr&quot;&gt;
  14244. Comme les traducteurs professionnels facturent environ 10 centimes le mot, faire traduire votre texte vous fait remettre en question la valeur de chaque phrase.
  14245. &lt;/p&gt;
  14246. &lt;p class=&quot;ja&quot;&gt;
  14247. プロの翻訳者は1語当たり約10セントの料金を請求するので、翻訳することによってすべての文章の価値を疑問視するようになります。
  14248. &lt;/p&gt;
  14249. &lt;p class=&quot;ko&quot;&gt;
  14250. 전문 번역가는 단어당 10 센트 정도를 받기 때문에, 번역은 모든 문장에 대해서 그만한 가치가 있는가를 생각하게 합니다.
  14251. &lt;/p&gt;
  14252. &lt;p class=&quot;pt&quot;&gt;
  14253. Como tradutores profissionais cobram cerca de 10 centavos de dólar por palavra, traduzir faz você questionar o valor de cada frase.
  14254. &lt;/p&gt;
  14255. &lt;p class=&quot;ru&quot;&gt;
  14256. Так как профессиональные переводчики берут около 10 центов за слово, переводы заставляют вас подвергать сомнению ценность каждого предложения.
  14257. &lt;/p&gt;
  14258. &lt;p class=&quot;zh&quot;&gt;
  14259. 因为专业翻译人员翻译每个词的费用约为10美分，所以翻译会让你质疑每句话的价值。
  14260. &lt;/p&gt;
  14261. &lt;p class=&quot;ar&quot;&gt;
  14262. منذ فترة طويلة، كنت امتلك موقع قديم تمت ترجمته إلى عشر لغات.
  14263. ولأن كل جملة تتكلف 10 دولارات، وكل فقرة 50 دولار، فقد تعلمت حذف كل كلمة غير ضرورية.
  14264. &lt;/p&gt;
  14265. &lt;p class=&quot;de&quot;&gt;
  14266. Vor einiger Zeit ließ ich meine alte Seite in zehn Sprachen übersetzen.
  14267. Da jeder Satz 10 $ und jeder Absatz 50 $ kostete, lernte ich jedes unnötige Word heraus zu kürzen.
  14268. &lt;/p&gt;
  14269. &lt;p class=&quot;en&quot;&gt;
  14270. Long ago, I had my old site translated into ten languages.
  14271. Because each sentence cost $10, and each paragraph cost $50, I learned to chop every unnecessary word.
  14272. &lt;/p&gt;
  14273. &lt;p class=&quot;eo&quot;&gt;
  14274. Antaŭ longa tempo, mi tradukitigis mian malnovan retejon al dek lingvoj.
  14275. Ĉar ĉiu frazo kostis $10, kaj ĉiu alineo kostis $50, mi lernis kiel forigi ĉiujn ne-neprajn vortojn.
  14276. &lt;/p&gt;
  14277. &lt;p class=&quot;es&quot;&gt;
  14278. Hace tiempo, traduje mi antigua página web a diez idiomas diferentes.    
  14279. Ya que cada frase me costaba 10 $ y cada párrafo 50 $, aprendí a evitar las palabras innecesarias.
  14280. &lt;/p&gt;
  14281. &lt;p class=&quot;fr&quot;&gt;
  14282. Il y a longtemps, j’ai fait traduire mon ancien site en 10 langues.
  14283. Chaque phrase coûte 10$. Chaque paragraphe coûte 50$. J’ai appris à retrancher tous les mots superflus.
  14284. &lt;/p&gt;
  14285. &lt;p class=&quot;ja&quot;&gt;
  14286. ずいぶん前に、私の古いサイトを10の言語に訳してもらったことがあります。
  14287. 各文章は10ドルかかり、各段落は50ドルかかったので、私はすべての不必要な単語を削ることを学びました。
  14288. &lt;/p&gt;
  14289. &lt;p class=&quot;ko&quot;&gt;
  14290. 오래 전, 저의 오래된 사이트를 10개 언어로 번역을 의뢰해 봤어요.
  14291. 각 문장에 10달러가 들었고, 각 문단에 50달러가 들었기 때문에 모든 불필요한 단어를 없애는 법을 배웠어요.
  14292. &lt;/p&gt;
  14293. &lt;p class=&quot;pt&quot;&gt;
  14294. Muito tempo atrás, eu traduzi meu site em dez idiomas.
  14295. Como cada frase custava US$ 10, e cada parágrafo custava US$ 50, eu aprendi a cortar todas as palavras desnecessárias.
  14296. &lt;/p&gt;
  14297. &lt;p class=&quot;ru&quot;&gt;
  14298. Когда-то давно мой старый сайт был переведен на 10 языков.
  14299. Так как каждое предложение стоило 10 долларов, а каждый параграф — 50, я научился отсекать каждое ненужное слово.
  14300. &lt;/p&gt;
  14301. &lt;p class=&quot;zh&quot;&gt;
  14302. 很久以前，我请人将原来的博客翻译成十种语言。
  14303. 因为每句话花费10美元，每段话花费50美元，我学会了删减每一个不必要的词语。
  14304. &lt;/p&gt;
  14305. &lt;p class=&quot;ar&quot;&gt;
  14306. فإذا كنت تستطيع توصيل نفس الفكرة باستخدام كلمات أقل، فمن المُرَجَح سهولة قرائتها وفهمها.
  14307. &lt;/p&gt;
  14308. &lt;p class=&quot;de&quot;&gt;
  14309. Wenn du die gleiche Idee mit weniger Worten übermitteln kannst, ist die Wahrscheinlichkeit, dass etwas gelesen und auch verstanden wird, größer.
  14310. &lt;/p&gt;
  14311. &lt;p class=&quot;en&quot;&gt;
  14312. If you can communicate the same idea with fewer words, it’s more likely to be read and understood.
  14313. &lt;/p&gt;
  14314. &lt;p class=&quot;eo&quot;&gt;
  14315. Se vi povas komuniki la saman ideon per malpli da vorto, ĝi estos pli verŝajne legata kaj komprenata.
  14316. &lt;/p&gt;
  14317. &lt;p class=&quot;es&quot;&gt;
  14318. Si puedes transmitir la misma idea, pero con menos palabras, es más probable que se lea y se entienda.
  14319. &lt;/p&gt;
  14320. &lt;p class=&quot;fr&quot;&gt;
  14321. Communiquez la même idée avec moins de mots. Vous aurez plus de chances qu’elle soit lue et comprise.
  14322. &lt;/p&gt;
  14323. &lt;p class=&quot;ja&quot;&gt;
  14324. より少ない言葉で同じ考えを伝えることができれば、読んでもらいそして理解してもらう可能性が高くなります。
  14325. &lt;/p&gt;
  14326. &lt;p class=&quot;ko&quot;&gt;
  14327. 최소의 단어로 당신의 생각을 전할 수 있다면, 더 쉽게 읽히고 더 쉽게 이해할 수 있는 글이 될 수 있습니다.
  14328. &lt;/p&gt;
  14329. &lt;p class=&quot;pt&quot;&gt;
  14330. Se você conseguir comunicar a mesma ideia com menos palavras, é mais provável que ela seja lida e compreendida.
  14331. &lt;/p&gt;
  14332. &lt;p class=&quot;ru&quot;&gt;
  14333. Если вы изложите идею более кратко, она с большей вероятностью будет прочитана и понята.
  14334. &lt;/p&gt;
  14335. &lt;p class=&quot;zh&quot;&gt;
  14336. 如果你可以用较少的词语传达相同的想法，那么它更有可能被阅读和理解。
  14337. &lt;/p&gt;
  14338. &lt;p class=&quot;ar&quot;&gt;
  14339. فالجملة التي يَسهُل ترجمتها، تكون أيضاً أسهل للفهم.
  14340. لذا اطلب من المترجم الخاص بك المشورة حول كيفية جعل النص الأصلي أكثر وضوحاً.
  14341. &lt;/p&gt;
  14342. &lt;p class=&quot;de&quot;&gt;
  14343. Ein einfach zu übersetzender Satz, ist zudem einfacher zu verstehen.
  14344. Frage deinen Übersetzer daher, wie dein Original besser zu verstehen wäre.
  14345. &lt;/p&gt;
  14346. &lt;p class=&quot;en&quot;&gt;
  14347. A sentence that’s easier to translate is also easier to understand.
  14348. So ask your translator how your original could be clearer.
  14349. &lt;/p&gt;
  14350. &lt;p class=&quot;eo&quot;&gt;
  14351. Frazo kiu estas pli facile tradukita estas ankaŭ pli facile komprenita.
  14352. Do demandu al via tradukisto kiel via originalo povus pliklariĝi.
  14353. &lt;/p&gt;
  14354. &lt;p class=&quot;es&quot;&gt;
  14355. Cuanto más fácil de traducir sea una frase, más fácil será también de entender.
  14356. Así que consulta con tu traductor para que te aconseje sobre cómo podrías hacer de tu original algo más claro.
  14357. &lt;/p&gt;
  14358. &lt;p class=&quot;fr&quot;&gt;
  14359. Une phrase simple à traduire est aussi plus simple à comprendre.
  14360. Alors demandez à votre traducteur en quoi votre texte d’origine pourrait être plus clair.
  14361. &lt;/p&gt;
  14362. &lt;p class=&quot;ja&quot;&gt;
  14363. 翻訳が簡単であればあるほど文章もより理解しやすくなるのです。
  14364. ですから、オリジナルの文章をどうのようにしたらより明確にできるのか翻訳者にアドバイスを求めます。
  14365. &lt;/p&gt;
  14366. &lt;p class=&quot;ko&quot;&gt;
  14367. 쉽게 번역할 수 있는 문장은 또한 쉽게 이해 됩니다.
  14368. 그러니 당신의 번역가에게 당신의 원문이 얼마나 명확한지 조언을 구하세요.
  14369. &lt;/p&gt;
  14370. &lt;p class=&quot;pt&quot;&gt;
  14371. Uma frase que é fácil de traduzir é ainda mais fácil de entender.
  14372. Portanto, peça dicas ao seu tradutor sobre como deixar seu original mais claro.
  14373. &lt;/p&gt;
  14374. &lt;p class=&quot;ru&quot;&gt;
  14375. Предложение, которое легче перевести, и понять тоже легче.
  14376. Так что спросите у переводчика совета, как можно сделать ваш исходный текст яснее.
  14377. &lt;/p&gt;
  14378. &lt;p class=&quot;zh&quot;&gt;
  14379. 一个更容易翻译的句子也更容易理解。
  14380. 所以请咨询你的翻译员如何让你的原作更清楚。
  14381. &lt;/p&gt;
  14382. &lt;p class=&quot;ar&quot;&gt;
  14383. تحدث مع المترجمين لك أثناء عملهم، حتى يتمكنوا من طرح جميع أسئلتهم.
  14384. لقد وجدت أسئلتهم تساعدني دائماً وأتمكن من تحسين النص الأصلي من منظور جديد.
  14385. &lt;/p&gt;
  14386. &lt;p class=&quot;de&quot;&gt;
  14387. Sprich mit deinem Übersetzer, während dieser arbeitet, damit er dir all seine Fragen stellen kann.
  14388. Mir helfen die Fragen des Übersetzes, mein Original aus einer ganz neuen Perspektive heraus zu verbessern.
  14389. &lt;/p&gt;
  14390. &lt;p class=&quot;en&quot;&gt;
  14391. Talk with your translator while they work, so they can ask you all of their questions.
  14392. I’ve found their questions always help me improve my original from a new perspective.
  14393. &lt;/p&gt;
  14394. &lt;p class=&quot;eo&quot;&gt;
  14395. Parolu kun via tradukisto laboranta, do ri povas respondi iajn demandojn.
  14396. Mi trovis ke tradukistaj demandoj ĉiam helpas min plibonigi mian originalon dank’al  nova sinteno.
  14397. &lt;/p&gt;
  14398. &lt;p class=&quot;es&quot;&gt;
  14399. Comunícate con tu traductor mientras trabaja; de ese modo puede acudir a ti para resolver todas sus dudas.
  14400. Sus preguntas siempre me han ayudado a mejorar el original desde una nueva perspectiva.
  14401. &lt;/p&gt;
  14402. &lt;p class=&quot;fr&quot;&gt;
  14403. Dialoguez avec votre traducteur pendant qu’il travaille, il pourra ainsi vous poser toutes ses questions.
  14404. Leurs questions m’ont toujours aidé à améliorer mon texte d’origine en l’abordant sous un angle nouveau.
  14405. &lt;/p&gt;
  14406. &lt;p class=&quot;ja&quot;&gt;
  14407. 翻訳している間に翻訳者と話すのです。そうすれば翻訳者はあなたに全ての質問をすることができます。
  14408. 私は翻訳者からの質問が、新しい観点からオリジナルの文章を改善するのにいつも役立つことに気付きました。
  14409. &lt;/p&gt;
  14410. &lt;p class=&quot;ko&quot;&gt;
  14411. 번역을 하는 동안 번역가와 이야기를 통해, 그들이 당신에게 모든 질문을 할 수 있도록 하세요.
  14412. 새로운 통찰력으로 내 원문을 향상시킬 수 있는 열쇠가 그들의 질문 속에 있었습니다.
  14413. &lt;/p&gt;
  14414. &lt;p class=&quot;pt&quot;&gt;
  14415. Converse com seu tradutor enquanto ele estiver trabalhando, para que ele possa tirar todas as dúvidas com você.
  14416. Eu descobri que as perguntas deles sempre me ajudavam a melhorar meu original através de uma nova perspectiva.
  14417. &lt;/p&gt;
  14418. &lt;p class=&quot;ru&quot;&gt;
  14419. Общайтесь с переводчиком, пока он работает, чтобы он мог задавать все свои вопросы.
  14420. Я обнаружил, что его вопросы всегда помогают мне улучшить исходный текст с новой перспективы.
  14421. &lt;/p&gt;
  14422. &lt;p class=&quot;zh&quot;&gt;
  14423. 在翻译员进行工作的同时与他们交流，这样他们能够问清楚所有的问题。
  14424. 我发现他们的问题总是会帮助我从一个新的角度改进我的原作。
  14425. &lt;/p&gt;
  14426. &lt;p class=&quot;ar&quot;&gt;
  14427. ولكنّي لست خبيراً في هذا الشأن، لذا يُرجى مشاركة أي اقتراحات في التعليقات أدناه.
  14428. &lt;/p&gt;
  14429. &lt;p class=&quot;de&quot;&gt;
  14430. Ich bin kein Experte auf diesem Gebiet, also teile bitte unten deine Anregungen.
  14431. &lt;/p&gt;
  14432. &lt;p class=&quot;en&quot;&gt;
  14433. But I’m not an expert at this, so please share your suggestions, below.
  14434. &lt;/p&gt;
  14435. &lt;p class=&quot;eo&quot;&gt;
  14436. Sed mi ne spertas pri tio, do bonvolu doni viajn konsilojn, sube.
  14437. &lt;/p&gt;
  14438. &lt;p class=&quot;es&quot;&gt;
  14439. Pero tampoco es que sea un experto en la materia, así que, si tienes alguna sugerencia, no dudes en plasmarla en la sección de comentarios que aparece a continuación.
  14440. &lt;/p&gt;
  14441. &lt;p class=&quot;fr&quot;&gt;
  14442. Mais je ne suis pas expert en la matière, alors si vous avez des suggestions, n’hésitez pas à m’en faire part dans les commentaires ci-dessous.
  14443. &lt;/p&gt;
  14444. &lt;p class=&quot;ja&quot;&gt;
  14445. しかし、私はこれについての専門家ではありませんから、どうか下記のコメント欄でどんな提案でも共有してください。
  14446. &lt;/p&gt;
  14447. &lt;p class=&quot;ko&quot;&gt;
  14448. 하지만 제가 이 분야에 전문가는 아니기 때문에, 아래에 어떤 댓글이라도 달아서 의견을 나눠 주세요.
  14449. &lt;/p&gt;
  14450. &lt;p class=&quot;pt&quot;&gt;
  14451. Mas eu não sou especialista nisso, portanto, compartilhe suas sugestões nos comentários abaixo.
  14452. &lt;/p&gt;
  14453. &lt;p class=&quot;ru&quot;&gt;
  14454. Но я в этом не специалист, так что, пожалуйста, делитесь любыми предложениями в комментариях ниже.
  14455. &lt;/p&gt;
  14456. &lt;p class=&quot;zh&quot;&gt;
  14457. 但我不是专家，所以请在下面的评论中分享任何建议。
  14458. &lt;/p&gt;
  14459. &lt;script&gt;
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  14469. document.title = title + &#39; | Derek Sivers&#39;;
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  14484. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/sculptor.jpg&quot;&gt;</content>
  14485.    <id>https://sive.rs/tra</id>
  14486.    <link href="https://sive.rs/tra"/>
  14487.    <title>To hone your writing, hire a translator.</title>
  14488.    <updated>2017-06-21T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  14489.    <dc:date>2017-06-21T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  14490.  </entry>
  14491.  <entry>
  14492.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  14493. A friend asked &lt;strong&gt;why I don’t write more often&lt;/strong&gt;.
  14494. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14495. I told her it’s my minimalism, not wanting to put anything into the world unless necessary.
  14496. And because of the size of my mailing list, I don’t want to bother people unless it’s really important.
  14497. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  14498. She said, “Or maybe it’s ego.”
  14499. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14500. Ouch.
  14501. She was right.
  14502. Very right.
  14503. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14504. I re-read my notes on the book “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/EgoEnemy&quot;&gt;Ego is the Enemy&lt;/a&gt;”.
  14505. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;
  14506. “Ego is the unhealthy belief in our own importance.”
  14507. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14508. Yep.
  14509. Confirmed.
  14510. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  14511. I feared releasing something unimportant, so I didn’t release anything at all.
  14512. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14513. If you would have asked me if I think I’m so important, I would have said no.
  14514. But &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/arv&quot;&gt;actions, not words, reveal our real values&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;.
  14515. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14516. So, sorry that I’ve been so silent.
  14517. I let my ego make excuses, then believed them.
  14518. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14519. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/EgoEnemy&quot;&gt;Read the book “Ego is the Enemy”&lt;/a&gt; if this sounds like you, too.
  14520. &lt;/p&gt;
  14521. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/EgoEnemy&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/EgoEnemy.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;</content>
  14522.    <id>https://sive.rs/ego</id>
  14523.    <link href="https://sive.rs/ego"/>
  14524.    <title>Ego is the Enemy</title>
  14525.    <updated>2017-06-16T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  14526.    <dc:date>2017-06-16T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  14527.  </entry>
  14528.  <entry>
  14529.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  14530. I told my old coach that I really wanted to start my new company.
  14531. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14532. He said, “No, you don’t.”
  14533. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14534. I said, “Yes, I do!
  14535. This is really important to me!”
  14536. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14537. He said, “No, it’s not.
  14538. Saying it doesn’t make it true.”
  14539. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14540. I said, “You can’t ignore what I’m saying.
  14541. I know myself well.
  14542. I’m telling you what’s important to me.”
  14543. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14544. He said, “Yes, I can ignore what you’re saying and just look at your actions.
  14545. Our actions always reveal our real values.”
  14546. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14547. I thought about that, but it sounded wrong to me.
  14548. What about people who want to learn languages, or create businesses, but haven’t started yet?
  14549. What about people who want to quit smoking or quit their jobs, but haven’t been able to yet?
  14550. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14551. He said, “&lt;strong&gt;If they really wanted to do it, they would have done it.&lt;/strong&gt;
  14552. You’ve been talking about this new company idea since 2008, but never launched it.
  14553. Looking at your actions, and knowing you, I’d say that you don’t really want to start another company.
  14554. You actually prefer the simple life you have now, focused on learning, writing, and playing with your kid.
  14555. &lt;strong&gt;No matter what you say, your actions reveal the truth.&lt;/strong&gt;”
  14556. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14557. Wow.
  14558. Yep.
  14559. He was right.
  14560. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14561. I had been fooling myself for years, telling myself I wanted to do this, but my actions proved otherwise.
  14562. Yes, I wanted it a little bit, but I wanted something else more.
  14563. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14564. Now I’ve been sharing this thought with friends who talk about wanting something, but aren’t making it happen.
  14565. Each time, they have the same reaction I did.
  14566. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14567. No matter what you tell the world or tell yourself, your actions reveal your real values.
  14568. &lt;strong&gt;
  14569. Your actions show you what you actually want.
  14570. &lt;/strong&gt;
  14571. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14572. There are two smart reactions to this:
  14573. &lt;/p&gt;
  14574. &lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  14575. Stop lying to yourself, and admit your real priorities.
  14576. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  14577. Start doing what you say you want to do, and see if it’s really true.
  14578. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;</content>
  14579.    <id>https://sive.rs/arv</id>
  14580.    <link href="https://sive.rs/arv"/>
  14581.    <title>Actions, not words, reveal our real values</title>
  14582.    <updated>2017-06-16T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  14583.    <dc:date>2017-06-16T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  14584.  </entry>
  14585.  <entry>
  14586.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  14587. Imagine the Olympics, where you have the three winners of a race standing on the podium: the gold, the silver, and the bronze.
  14588. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14589. Imagine what it’s like to be the silver medalist.
  14590. If you’d been just one second faster, you could have won the gold!
  14591. Damn! So close! Damn damn damn!
  14592. Full of envy, you’d keep comparing yourself to the gold winner.
  14593. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14594. Now imagine what it’s like to be the bronze medalist.
  14595. If you’d been just one second slower, you wouldn’t have won anything!
  14596. Awesome!
  14597. You’d be thrilled that you’re officially an Olympic medalist and get to stand on the winner’s podium.
  14598. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14599. Comparing up versus comparing down:
  14600. Your happiness depends on where you’re focusing.
  14601. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14602. The metaphor is easy to understand, but hard to remember in regular life.
  14603. If you catch yourself burning with envy or resentment, think like the bronze medalist, not the silver.
  14604. Change your focus.
  14605. &lt;strong&gt;
  14606. Instead of comparing up to the next-higher situation, compare down to the next-lower one.
  14607. &lt;/strong&gt;
  14608. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14609. For example, if you aim to buy “the best” thing, you may feel like gold when you get it, but when the new “best” thing comes out next year, you’ll feel that silver envy.
  14610. Instead, if you aim to buy the “good enough” thing, it will keep you in the bronze mindset.
  14611. Since you’re not comparing to the best, you’ll feel no need to keep up.
  14612. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14613. I’ve met a lot of famous musicians.
  14614. The miserable ones were upset that they weren’t more famous, because they’d bitterly compare themselves to the superstars.
  14615. The happiest ones were thrilled to be able to make a living making music.
  14616. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14617. On the other hand, when you’re being ambitious, trying to be the best at a specific skill, it’s good to be dissatisfied, like that silver medalist focusing on the gold.
  14618. You can use that drive to practice and improve.
  14619. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14620. But most of the time, you need to be more grateful for what you’ve got, for how much worse it could have been, and how nice it is to have anything at all.
  14621. Ambition versus gratitude.
  14622. Comparing up versus comparing down.
  14623. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14624. For funnier thoughts on this, search the web for &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=louis+ck+everything+amazing+nobody+happy&quot;&gt;Louis C.K.’s “everything is amazing and nobody is happy”&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=seinfeld+silver+medal&quot;&gt;Jerry Seinfeld’s “silver medal”&lt;/a&gt; routines.
  14625. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  14626.    <id>https://sive.rs/bronze</id>
  14627.    <link href="https://sive.rs/bronze"/>
  14628.    <title>Think like a bronze medalist, not silver</title>
  14629.    <updated>2017-03-13T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  14630.    <dc:date>2017-03-13T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  14631.  </entry>
  14632.  <entry>
  14633.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  14634. Art is useless by definition.
  14635. &lt;strong&gt;
  14636. If it was useful, it would be a tool.
  14637. &lt;/strong&gt;
  14638. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14639. For the past twenty years, I was obsessed with being useful.
  14640. That one measure drove all of my daily decisions:
  14641. “How can I be the most useful to the most people today?”
  14642. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14643. That question served me well but had its downsides.
  14644. It kept me from playing and doing things just for me.
  14645. It’s no coincidence that I stopped making music twenty years ago.
  14646. It didn’t qualify as the most useful thing I could be doing.
  14647. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14648. A few months ago, I decided to stop trying so hard to be useful.
  14649. I needed a little more me-time.
  14650. I stopped spending hours per day answering strangers’ emails.
  14651. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14652. I started seriously learning my first foreign language.
  14653. It’s totally useless to anyone else, but I love it.
  14654. Now I realize why all my previous attempts to learn a language didn’t happen.
  14655. It was always a lower priority under all of my useful goals.
  14656. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14657. I started playing music again, for the first time in twenty years.
  14658. Not trying to be famous this time.
  14659. No care whether anyone else ever hears it or not.
  14660. This is just for me — just playing for its own sake and loving it.
  14661. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14662. It’s hard to relax into this mindset, after twenty years of the opposite.
  14663. It’s such a luxury to not think about you, out there, and how you might value me.
  14664. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14665. At the top of every page of my website, I used to have a sentence that describes what I do — another way of saying how I might be useful to the stranger browsing my site.
  14666. But I erased it last week.
  14667. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14668. For now, I’m nobody’s tool.
  14669. &lt;/p&gt;
  14670. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/hammer.jpg&quot;&gt;
  14671. &lt;div class=&quot;small&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.flickr.com/photos/39718079@N00/261054170/&quot;&gt;Hammer photo by David Blaine&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;
  14672. &lt;p class=&quot;small&quot;&gt;P.S.  The original source of the “art is useless” idea is Oscar Wilde.  See &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/useless#comment-61585&quot;&gt;see J.J. Vicars’ comment, below&lt;/a&gt;, with a letter further explaining the thought.&lt;/p&gt;</content>
  14673.    <id>https://sive.rs/useless</id>
  14674.    <link href="https://sive.rs/useless"/>
  14675.    <title>Art is useless, and so am I</title>
  14676.    <updated>2017-03-10T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  14677.    <dc:date>2017-03-10T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  14678.  </entry>
  14679.  <entry>
  14680.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  14681. &lt;strong&gt;
  14682. Personal change needs some space to happen.
  14683. &lt;/strong&gt;
  14684. To bring something new into your life, you need somewhere to put it.
  14685. If your current habits are filling your day, where are these new habits supposed to go?
  14686. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14687. The English word “quit” comes from old French, meaning “to free” or “to release”.
  14688. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14689. We know about quitting something that’s bad for you, or something you hate.
  14690. But what about quitting something you love?
  14691. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14692. I rebel against anything that feels like addiction.
  14693. When I hear myself saying “I need this,” I want to challenge that dependency and prove my independence.
  14694. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14695. It’s usually something tiny.
  14696. For example, I used to keep mints in the car.
  14697. One day when I ran out, I thought, “Oh no! I need more!”
  14698. But as soon as I felt that need, no — time to quit.
  14699. No mints in the car since that day.
  14700. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14701. Sometimes it’s something big.
  14702. I used to have an awesome job.
  14703. I loved it so much that I became too comfortable.
  14704. So &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/nq&quot;&gt;I made myself quit&lt;/a&gt;.
  14705. That made me figure out how to be a full-time musician.
  14706. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14707. Ten years ago, I felt addicted to America.
  14708. It was my comfort zone.
  14709. I loved it too much.
  14710. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
  14711. So I made myself quit.
  14712. I haven’t lived there in ten years, and probably never will again.
  14713. People often ask if I miss it.
  14714. Any regrets?
  14715. Not at all.
  14716. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14717. I still love everything I quit.
  14718. But not as much as I love all this room for change.
  14719. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  14720.    <id>https://sive.rs/quit</id>
  14721.    <link href="https://sive.rs/quit"/>
  14722.    <title>Quitting something you love</title>
  14723.    <updated>2016-12-30T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  14724.    <dc:date>2016-12-30T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  14725.  </entry>
  14726.  <entry>
  14727.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  14728. For the past ten years, I’ve answered up to two hundred emails per day.
  14729. I sit alone in my little office for hours, engaging with everyone’s stories and questions for a few minutes each.
  14730. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14731. Then when friends want to hang out with me, I say I need some me-time first.
  14732. They wonder why, since I’ve been alone all day, so I explain how I’ve actually been very social and connected with so many people.
  14733. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14734. I like what I do, so I’m not complaining — just explaining.
  14735. &lt;strong&gt;
  14736. It’s unusual to be physically alone, but extremely social.
  14737. &lt;/strong&gt;
  14738. A solitary socialite.
  14739. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14740. At first I thought this was a new internet thing.
  14741. But for decades, there have been people who talk on the phone all day.
  14742. Before that, there were people who just answered paper mail all day.
  14743. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14744. It works for me.
  14745. I love people one-on-one.
  14746. When I’m not answering emails, I’m often talking on the phone with one of my dear friends across the world, getting into great conversations for hours.
  14747. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14748. But it’s a strange life.
  14749. The solitary socialite.
  14750. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  14751.    <id>https://sive.rs/soso</id>
  14752.    <link href="https://sive.rs/soso"/>
  14753.    <title>Solitary socialite</title>
  14754.    <updated>2016-12-27T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  14755.    <dc:date>2016-12-27T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  14756.  </entry>
  14757.  <entry>
  14758.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  14759. In the last ten years, I have answered over 200,000 emails from 86,000 people.
  14760. It’s my part-time job — my community service.
  14761. These are the most common questions.
  14762. &lt;/p&gt;
  14763. &lt;hr id=&quot;career&quot;&gt;
  14764. &lt;h3&gt;
  14765. What should I do about my career?
  14766. &lt;/h3&gt;
  14767. &lt;p&gt;
  14768. Read the book “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/career&quot;&gt;So Good They Can’t Ignore You&lt;/a&gt;”.
  14769. &lt;/p&gt;
  14770. &lt;hr id=&quot;life&quot;&gt;
  14771. &lt;h3&gt;
  14772. What should I do with my life?
  14773. &lt;/h3&gt;
  14774. &lt;p&gt;
  14775. Read “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/hsu&quot;&gt;Happy, Smart, and Useful&lt;/a&gt;”.
  14776. &lt;/p&gt;
  14777. &lt;hr id=&quot;intro&quot;&gt;
  14778. &lt;h3&gt;
  14779. Can you introduce me to (famous person)?
  14780. &lt;/h3&gt;
  14781. &lt;p&gt;
  14782. No, sorry.
  14783. Definitely not on request.
  14784. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14785. If my friends &lt;em&gt;ask&lt;/em&gt; me if I know someone who’s doing what you’re doing, or have a specific need, then I’ll be glad to recommend you.
  14786. But not if they don’t ask.
  14787. &lt;/p&gt;
  14788. &lt;hr id=&quot;promote&quot;&gt;
  14789. &lt;h3&gt;
  14790. Will you promote my thing?
  14791. &lt;/h3&gt;
  14792. &lt;p&gt;
  14793. Read “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/nopr&quot;&gt;Why I don’t promote&lt;/a&gt;”.
  14794. &lt;/p&gt;
  14795. &lt;hr id=&quot;invest&quot;&gt;
  14796. &lt;h3&gt;
  14797. Will you invest in my company?
  14798. &lt;/h3&gt;
  14799. &lt;p&gt;
  14800. No, sorry.
  14801. I never had investors.
  14802. I have never invested in anyone or anything.
  14803. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14804. I don’t know anything about investing, and I’m not interested in it.
  14805. &lt;/p&gt;
  14806. &lt;hr id=&quot;use&quot;&gt;
  14807. &lt;h3&gt;
  14808. Can I use your video / article?
  14809. &lt;/h3&gt;
  14810. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  14811. Yes.
  14812. Anything I put on &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/&quot;&gt;sive.rs&lt;/a&gt; is free forever.
  14813. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14814. It would be nice if you could credit me and link back to sive.rs
  14815. But honestly I don’t care either way.
  14816. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14817. For the “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/ff&quot;&gt;First Follower — How to Make a Movement — Leadership Lessons from a Dancing Guy&lt;/a&gt;” dancing guy video, please get my original from &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/ff&quot;&gt;sive.rs/ff&lt;/a&gt; instead of &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_how_to_start_a_movement&quot;&gt;the one from the TED Conference&lt;/a&gt;.
  14818. &lt;/p&gt;
  14819. &lt;hr id=&quot;podcast&quot;&gt;
  14820. &lt;h3&gt;
  14821. Will you be on my podcast?
  14822. &lt;/h3&gt;
  14823. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  14824. Maybe.
  14825. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/contact&quot;&gt;Email me&lt;/a&gt; a few questions you’d like to ask.
  14826. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14827. I enjoy interviews when the questions are interesting, and haven’t been covered before.
  14828. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14829. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/i&quot;&gt;Here is the archive&lt;/a&gt; of my past podcast interviews.
  14830. &lt;/p&gt;
  14831. &lt;hr id=&quot;event&quot;&gt;
  14832. &lt;h3&gt;
  14833. Will you speak at my event?
  14834. &lt;/h3&gt;
  14835. &lt;p&gt;
  14836. Sorry, I don’t do public speaking anymore.
  14837. &lt;/p&gt;
  14838. &lt;hr id=&quot;mine&quot;&gt;
  14839. &lt;h3&gt;
  14840. I’ve got content for your site.
  14841. &lt;/h3&gt;
  14842. &lt;p&gt;
  14843. No, this is my personal site, completely non-commercial, for my personal expression only.
  14844. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14845. No advertising, no income, no analytics, no tracking, nobody else’s stuff.
  14846. &lt;/p&gt;
  14847. &lt;hr id=&quot;focus&quot;&gt;
  14848. &lt;h3&gt;
  14849. I can’t focus.
  14850. &lt;/h3&gt;
  14851. &lt;p&gt;
  14852. First understand the do-or-die importance of focus.
  14853. &lt;strong&gt;
  14854. If you don’t learn to focus, you will have a shallow and unrewarding life without any meaningful achievements.
  14855. &lt;/strong&gt;
  14856. So make it a priority.
  14857. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14858. Read the book “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/DeepWork&quot;&gt;Deep Work&lt;/a&gt;”.
  14859. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14860. Read “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/donkey&quot;&gt;Trying to pursue many different directions at once?&lt;/a&gt;”.
  14861. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14862. Practice meditation.
  14863. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14864. Yes it’s hard.
  14865. Websites, phone apps, and media in general are designed to be as addictive as possible.
  14866. Treat them as you would other harmful addictions.
  14867. &lt;/p&gt;
  14868. &lt;hr id=&quot;balance1&quot;&gt;
  14869. &lt;h3&gt;
  14870. I have a boring well-paying job. Should I quit my job to pursue my art full-time?
  14871. &lt;/h3&gt;
  14872. &lt;p&gt;
  14873. Read “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/balance&quot;&gt;How to do what you love and make good money&lt;/a&gt;”.
  14874. &lt;/p&gt;
  14875. &lt;hr id=&quot;balance2&quot;&gt;
  14876. &lt;h3&gt;
  14877. I’m a full-time artist, but can’t make money. What should I do?
  14878. &lt;/h3&gt;
  14879. &lt;p&gt;
  14880. Read “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/balance&quot;&gt;How to do what you love and make good money&lt;/a&gt;”.
  14881. &lt;/p&gt;
  14882. &lt;hr id=&quot;idea&quot;&gt;
  14883. &lt;h3&gt;
  14884. What do you think of this business idea?
  14885. &lt;/h3&gt;
  14886. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  14887. It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks, except your customers.
  14888. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14889. Nobody can predict whether it will work or not.
  14890. So stop asking “in-theory” and go find out.
  14891. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14892. Find just one paying customer, and please that person.
  14893. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/startnow&quot;&gt;
  14894. Start lo-fi, right now.
  14895. &lt;/a&gt;
  14896. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14897. Read “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/LeanStartup&quot;&gt;The Lean Startup&lt;/a&gt;” book, for more thoughts on this.
  14898. &lt;/p&gt;
  14899. &lt;hr id=&quot;mentor&quot;&gt;
  14900. &lt;h3&gt;
  14901. Where can I find a mentor?
  14902. &lt;/h3&gt;
  14903. &lt;p&gt;
  14904. First read “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/ment&quot;&gt;How to ask your mentors for help&lt;/a&gt;”.
  14905. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14906. Then read “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/advice&quot;&gt;A warning to anyone receiving advice&lt;/a&gt;”.
  14907. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14908. Then read the best books about the challenges you face, and &lt;strong&gt;let those books be your mentors.&lt;/strong&gt;
  14909. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  14910. It’s dangerous to think that there is one special person that can give you all the answers and help you.
  14911. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14912. Talk with many people, not just experts.
  14913. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/WisdomOfCrowds&quot;&gt;
  14914. Get a diverse group of opinions.
  14915. &lt;/a&gt;
  14916. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14917. I never had a mentor.
  14918. When stuck on a problem, I’ve always called many friends for feedback.
  14919. Some of the best and most helpful insights came from random friends asking naïve questions.
  14920. &lt;/p&gt;
  14921. &lt;hr id=&quot;faster&quot;&gt;
  14922. &lt;h3&gt;
  14923. Why isn’t my business or audience growing faster?
  14924. &lt;/h3&gt;
  14925. &lt;p&gt;
  14926. I worked on CD Baby for 12-18 hours per day, 7 days per week, for &lt;strong&gt;four years&lt;/strong&gt; before it really took off.
  14927. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14928. As for an audience, I’ve been creating and posting things online for free non-stop since 1994.
  14929. Yep, that’s &lt;strong&gt;25 years&lt;/strong&gt; now.
  14930. And &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/hundreds&quot;&gt;keeping in touch&lt;/a&gt; with everyone I met that whole time.
  14931. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14932. Keep pushing, but be patient.
  14933. &lt;/p&gt;
  14934. &lt;hr id=&quot;prog&quot;&gt;
  14935. &lt;h3&gt;
  14936. How should I learn programming?
  14937. &lt;/h3&gt;
  14938. &lt;p&gt;
  14939. First master HTML and CSS, as described in “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/prog&quot;&gt;Should you learn programming? Yes.&lt;/a&gt;”
  14940. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  14941. Then learn JavaScript, as described in “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/learn-js&quot;&gt;How to learn JavaScript&lt;/a&gt;”.
  14942. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14943. If you just want to get a job or make a website, you can ignore the curiosity about other languages.
  14944. Just master JavaScript, and it will take you far.
  14945. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14946. But if you still find programming fascinating, make a point of learning the basics of three or four other vastly different languages, like
  14947. &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/head-first-sql/9780596526849/&quot;&gt;SQL&lt;/a&gt;,
  14948. &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.python.org/&quot;&gt;Python&lt;/a&gt;, and
  14949. &lt;a href=&quot;https://racket-lang.org/&quot;&gt;Racket&lt;/a&gt;,
  14950. because something clicks once you understand a few different ways of getting the end result you want.
  14951. You don’t need to master them.
  14952. Just spend a month with each, going through a couple tutorial books about it, and making something happen with it.
  14953. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14954. Definitely read “&lt;a href=&quot;https://pragprog.com/titles/tpp20/&quot;&gt;The Pragmatic Programmer&lt;/a&gt;”, no matter what.
  14955. &lt;/p&gt;
  14956. &lt;hr id=&quot;writer&quot;&gt;
  14957. &lt;h3&gt;
  14958. How do I become a better writer?
  14959. &lt;/h3&gt;
  14960. &lt;p&gt;
  14961. First read “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/OnWritingWell&quot;&gt;On Writing Well&lt;/a&gt;”.
  14962. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14963. Then read “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/MadeToStick&quot;&gt;Made to Stick&lt;/a&gt;”.
  14964. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14965. Write publicly every week.
  14966. Post it somewhere people see it.
  14967. Something changes when your writing is out in the public, being seen by strangers.
  14968. Seeing it through their eyes helps more than anything.
  14969. &lt;/p&gt;
  14970. &lt;hr id=&quot;review&quot;&gt;
  14971. &lt;h3&gt;
  14972. Will you read or review my book?
  14973. &lt;/h3&gt;
  14974. &lt;p&gt;
  14975. I don’t review books.
  14976. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  14977. I only read for my own self-improvement, based on my own needs at the time, then &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book&quot;&gt;take notes&lt;/a&gt; for my own reflection.
  14978. &lt;/p&gt;
  14979. &lt;hr id=&quot;musician&quot;&gt;
  14980. &lt;h3&gt;
  14981. I’m a musician. What should I do?
  14982. &lt;/h3&gt;
  14983. &lt;p&gt;
  14984. Read “&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.amazon.com/dp/1631494791/&quot;&gt;How To Make It in the New Music Business&lt;/a&gt;” by Ari Herstand, and do what he says.
  14985. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  14986. This is the single best book on the current music business.
  14987. An absolute must-read for every musician.
  14988. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  14989. &lt;hr id=&quot;cdbaby&quot;&gt;
  14990. &lt;h3&gt;
  14991. Blah blah blah blah CD Baby?
  14992. &lt;/h3&gt;
  14993. &lt;p&gt;
  14994. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/done&quot;&gt;
  14995. I left CD Baby in 2008.
  14996. &lt;/a&gt;
  14997. I haven’t talked with anyone there since then.
  14998. I don’t even know who works there anymore.
  14999. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15000. I know nothing about what they’re doing.
  15001. So I have no insights and no opinions.
  15002. &lt;/p&gt;
  15003. &lt;hr id=&quot;models&quot;&gt;
  15004. &lt;h3&gt;
  15005. What should I do about my relationship, or lack of?
  15006. &lt;/h3&gt;
  15007. &lt;p&gt;
  15008. Read “&lt;a href=&quot;https://markmanson.net/books/models&quot;&gt;Models&lt;/a&gt;” by Mark Manson.
  15009. (Only guys ask me for relationship advice.)
  15010. &lt;/p&gt;
  15011. &lt;hr id=&quot;sad&quot;&gt;
  15012. &lt;h3&gt;
  15013. I’m really sad.
  15014. &lt;/h3&gt;
  15015. &lt;p&gt;
  15016. Read “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/WhenThingsFallApart&quot;&gt;When Things Fall Apart&lt;/a&gt;” by Pema Chödrön.
  15017. &lt;/p&gt;
  15018. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/notlost.jpg&quot;&gt;</content>
  15019.    <id>https://sive.rs/faq</id>
  15020.    <link href="https://sive.rs/faq"/>
  15021.    <title>Frequently Asked Questions</title>
  15022.    <updated>2016-12-22T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  15023.    <dc:date>2016-12-22T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  15024.  </entry>
  15025.  <entry>
  15026.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  15027. People with a well-paying job ask my advice because they want to quit to become full-time artists.
  15028. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15029. But full-time artists ask my advice because they’re finding it impossible to make money.
  15030. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15031. (Let’s define “art” as anything you do for expression, even just blogging or whatever.)
  15032. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15033. For both of them, I prescribe the lifestyle of the happiest people I know:
  15034. &lt;/p&gt;
  15035. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  15036. Have a well-paying job.
  15037. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  15038. Seriously pursue your art for love, not money.
  15039. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  15040. &lt;p&gt;
  15041. Let’s look at the ingredients of this plan.
  15042. First: &lt;strong&gt;balance&lt;/strong&gt;.
  15043. You’ve heard about balancing heart and mind, or right-brain left-brain, or whatever you want to call it.
  15044. We all have a need for stability &lt;em&gt;and&lt;/em&gt; adventure, certainty &lt;em&gt;and&lt;/em&gt; uncertainty, money &lt;em&gt;and&lt;/em&gt; expression.
  15045. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15046. If you have too much stability, you get bored.
  15047. If you don’t have enough stability, you panic.
  15048. So keep the balance.
  15049. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15050. Do something for love and something for money.
  15051. Don’t try to make one thing satisfy your entire life.
  15052. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15053. &lt;strong&gt;
  15054. Each half of your life becomes a remedy for the other.
  15055. &lt;/strong&gt;
  15056. You get paid stability for part of your day, but then need creative time for expression.
  15057. So you push yourself creatively, expose your vulnerable art to the public, feel the frustration of rejection and apathy, and then long for some stability again.
  15058. Each half is a remedy for the other.
  15059. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15060. &lt;strong&gt;
  15061. About the job:
  15062. &lt;/strong&gt;
  15063. Be smart, and choose &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/images/jobwages.jpg&quot;&gt;something that pays well with a solid future&lt;/a&gt;.
  15064. Look for statistics in your area about what pays the best when factoring in the required training.
  15065. You’ll probably need to study for a few years to build up the rare skills that are well-rewarded.
  15066. &lt;strong&gt;This is a head choice, not a heart choice,&lt;/strong&gt; since you’re not trying to make your job your entire life.
  15067. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15068. &lt;strong&gt;
  15069. About your art:
  15070. &lt;/strong&gt;
  15071. Pursue it seriously.
  15072. Take lessons.
  15073. Make weekly progress.
  15074. Keep improving, even if you’ve been doing it for decades.
  15075. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15076. If you don’t progress and challenge yourself creatively, it won’t satisfy the balance.
  15077. Release and sell your work like a professional.
  15078. Find some fans.
  15079. Let them pay you.
  15080. But your attitude is different than someone who needs the money.
  15081. You don’t need to worry if it doesn’t sell.
  15082. You don’t need to please the marketplace.
  15083. You don’t need to compromise your art or value it based on others’ opinions.
  15084. &lt;strong&gt;
  15085. You’re just doing this for yourself — art for its own sake.
  15086. &lt;/strong&gt;
  15087. And you’re releasing it because that’s one of the most rewarding parts — important for self-identity — and gives you good feedback on how to improve.
  15088. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15089. &lt;strong&gt;
  15090. Your main obstacle to this amazing life will be self-control.
  15091. &lt;/strong&gt;
  15092. You’ll need good time management to stop addictions like social media and video-watching, and make your art your main relaxing activity.
  15093. You’ll need good mind management to not think of your job after you leave the office.
  15094. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15095. Most full-time artists I know only spend an hour or two a day actually doing their art.
  15096. The rest is spent on the boring work that comes with trying to make it a full-time career.
  15097. So skip the art career and just do the art.
  15098. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15099. And that’s my advice for a rewarding life.
  15100. I’ve met thousands of people over the last twenty years — many of them full-time musicians, many of them not — but the happiest people I know are the ones that have this balance.
  15101. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15102. Don’t expect your job to fulfill all your emotional needs.
  15103. Don’t taint something you love with the need to make money from it.
  15104. &lt;strong&gt;
  15105. Don’t try to make your job your whole life.
  15106. Don’t try to make your art your sole income.
  15107. &lt;/strong&gt;
  15108. Let each be what it is, and put in the extra effort to balance the two, for a great life.
  15109. &lt;/p&gt;
  15110. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/seesaw.jpg&quot;&gt;
  15111. &lt;div class=&quot;small&quot;&gt;See-Saw by Osch aka Otto Schade. Photo by &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.flickr.com/photos/maureen_barlin/14946472205/&quot;&gt;Maureen Barlin&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;</content>
  15112.    <id>https://sive.rs/balance</id>
  15113.    <link href="https://sive.rs/balance"/>
  15114.    <title>How to do what you love and make good money</title>
  15115.    <updated>2016-12-19T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  15116.    <dc:date>2016-12-19T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  15117.  </entry>
  15118.  <entry>
  15119.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  15120. Motivation is delicate.
  15121. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15122. When you notice your motivation fading, you have to seek out the subtle cause.
  15123. &lt;strong&gt;
  15124. A simple tweak can make all the difference between achieving something or not.
  15125. &lt;/strong&gt;
  15126. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15127. An hour outside my city, there’s a little mountain range.
  15128. The other side is gorgeous.
  15129. But the road that crosses the mountains is very twisted, with sharp turns every few seconds.
  15130. The first two times I drove across, my kid threw up in the back seat.
  15131. It’s also stressful because I’m surrounded by mountain scenery but I can’t take my eyes off the winding road.
  15132. Though I drive at a normal speed, the other cars follow impatiently on my tail, because many of them drive this road every day.
  15133. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15134. Crossing the mountains takes only half an hour, but I always arrive exhausted.
  15135. The stress was affecting my motivation enough that I wanted to stop visiting.
  15136. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15137. So one day I tried a new approach: I drove really slowly.
  15138. Now the turns didn’t make my kid sick.
  15139. Now I could afford to take a few seconds to glance sideways and appreciate the scenery.
  15140. Now it wasn’t stressful, except for one thing: the impatient queue of cars behind me.
  15141. I care (perhaps too much) about other people, so just seeing them in my mirror made me go back to driving faster than I wanted, which brought back all the original problems.
  15142. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15143. So I made one simple tweak:
  15144. I tilted my rear-view mirror up towards the ceiling so I couldn’t see anything behind me.
  15145. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15146. That little tweak changed everything!
  15147. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15148. Now it feels like I’m almost alone on this gorgeous mountain drive.
  15149. Going at my own pace, not influenced or stressed by anyone else.
  15150. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15151. There’s a passing lane every few minutes, so when it comes, the other cars whiz by me.
  15152. But for thirty minutes, they’re not my problem.
  15153. When I get to the other side of the mountain, I put my mirror back.
  15154. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15155. Now I visit all the time — no stress at all.
  15156. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15157. You know I’m going for the metaphor here:
  15158. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  15159. Social media comments
  15160. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  15161. Distracting environments
  15162. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  15163. Discouraging family members
  15164. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  15165. Your email inbox
  15166. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15167. Even the toughest of us have delicate motivation.
  15168. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15169. When you notice that something is affecting your drive, find a way to adjust your environment, even if that’s a little inconvenient for others.
  15170. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  15171.    <id>https://sive.rs/tilt</id>
  15172.    <link href="https://sive.rs/tilt"/>
  15173.    <title>Tilting my mirror (motivation is delicate)</title>
  15174.    <updated>2016-12-05T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  15175.    <dc:date>2016-12-05T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  15176.  </entry>
  15177.  <entry>
  15178.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  15179. It’s crucial to know why you’re doing what you’re doing.
  15180. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15181. Most people don’t know.
  15182. They just go with the flow.
  15183. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15184. Social norms are powerful.
  15185. The inputs that influence you are powerful.
  15186. A great talk, book, or video can instantly change how you think.
  15187. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15188. But on your death bed, you don’t want that horrible regret, feeling like you spent your life pursuing what someone said you should want, instead of what you actually wanted.
  15189. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15190. For example, if you want to make a lot of money, you need to admit that.
  15191. If you want to be famous, you need to pursue that.
  15192. If you want freedom and no responsibilities, or want to learn as much as possible, or whatever else, you need to realize it and embrace it.
  15193. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15194. &lt;strong&gt;
  15195. Whatever you decide, you need to optimize for that goal, and be willing to let go of the others.
  15196. &lt;/strong&gt;
  15197. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15198. You can’t diffuse your energy, trying to do a little bit of everything, or you’ll always be in conflict with yourself.
  15199. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15200. For example, one way to make money is to take on a lot of responsibility, which means letting go of some freedoms.
  15201. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15202. One way to get famous is to let others make more money, while you take the spotlight.
  15203. I learned this while living in Los Angeles, when I got to know some famous Hollywood actors and realized they’re not as rich as you’d think.
  15204. The richest people in Hollywood are the ones you’ve never heard of, because they’ve optimized their careers for money.
  15205. They know that others are willing to take less money in return for more fame, so they profit from the other side of that deal.
  15206. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15207. Maybe the most important thing to you is learning, or creating, or giving.
  15208. Maybe it’s how many people’s lives you can influence.
  15209. Maybe it’s how deeply you can influence just a few people’s lives.
  15210. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15211. Once you realize what you really want and admit it, you need to pursue it.
  15212. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15213. If you want freedom, then own a business but delegate all the work.
  15214. You won’t be learning or creating or giving as much as you could with a different strategy, but that’s OK.
  15215. You know freedom is what you’re after.
  15216. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15217. Sometimes your best strategy is counter-intuitive.
  15218. If you have a high paying job, but realize that charitable giving is what matters most to you, then the best strategy is not to quit your job to go hang mosquito nets in Africa, but actually to keep your job and make as much money as you can, while funding organizations in Africa that hang thousands of mosquito nets.
  15219. (Unless your goal is just to look charitable.  Then admit that to yourself, too.)
  15220. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15221. But whatever you choose, brace yourself, because people are always going to tell you that you’re &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/wrong&quot;&gt;wrong&lt;/a&gt;.
  15222. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15223. That’s why you need to know why you’re doing what you’re doing.
  15224. Know it in advance.
  15225. Use it as your compass and optimize your life around it.
  15226. Let the other goals be secondary so that when those decision moments come, you can choose the value that you already know matters most to you.
  15227. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  15228.    <id>https://sive.rs/why</id>
  15229.    <link href="https://sive.rs/why"/>
  15230.    <title>Why are you doing?</title>
  15231.    <updated>2016-09-05T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  15232.    <dc:date>2016-09-05T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  15233.  </entry>
  15234.  <entry>
  15235.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  15236. When a friend says something interesting to me, I usually don’t have a reaction until much later.
  15237. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15238. When someone asks me a deep question, I say, “Hmm. I don’t know.”
  15239. The next day, I have an answer.
  15240. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15241. I’m a disappointing person to try to debate or attack.
  15242. I just have nothing to say in the moment, except maybe, “Good point.”
  15243. Then a few days later, after thinking about it a lot, I have a response.
  15244. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15245. This probably makes me look &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/ss&quot;&gt;stupid&lt;/a&gt; in the moment, but I don’t mind.
  15246. I’m not trying to win any debates.
  15247. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15248. In fact, I’ll tell you a secret.
  15249. When someone wants to interview me for their show, I ask them to send me some questions a week in advance.
  15250. I spend hours writing down answers from different perspectives, before choosing the most &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/counter&quot;&gt;interesting&lt;/a&gt; one.
  15251. Then when we’re in a live conversation, I try to make my answers sound spontaneous.
  15252. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15253. People say that your first reaction is the most honest, but I disagree.
  15254. &lt;strong&gt;
  15255. Your first reaction is usually outdated.
  15256. &lt;/strong&gt;
  15257. Either it’s an answer you came up with long ago and now use instead of thinking, or it’s a knee-jerk emotional response to something in your past.
  15258. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15259. When you’re less impulsive and more deliberate like this, it can be a little inconvenient for other people, but that’s OK.
  15260. Someone asks you a question.
  15261. You don’t need to answer.
  15262. You can say, “I don’t know,” and take your time to answer after thinking.
  15263. Things happen.
  15264. Someone expects you to respond.
  15265. But you can say, “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/horses&quot;&gt;We’ll see&lt;/a&gt;.”
  15266. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15267. And maybe, through example, you can show them that they can do the same.
  15268. &lt;/p&gt;
  15269. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/treetroll.jpg&quot;&gt;
  15270. &lt;div class=&quot;small&quot;&gt;(Tree sculpture by &lt;a href=&quot;http://kimbeatonstudios.com/&quot;&gt;Kim Beaton&lt;/a&gt;.)&lt;/div&gt;</content>
  15271.    <id>https://sive.rs/slow</id>
  15272.    <link href="https://sive.rs/slow"/>
  15273.    <title>I’m a very slow thinker</title>
  15274.    <updated>2016-08-26T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  15275.    <dc:date>2016-08-26T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  15276.  </entry>
  15277.  <entry>
  15278.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  15279. Until yesterday, I called myself an entrepreneur.
  15280. Now, I don’t.
  15281. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15282. It’s been years since I started a company, so I can’t keep using that title.
  15283. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15284. Someone who played football in high school can’t call himself an athlete forever.
  15285. Someone who did something successful long ago can’t keep calling himself a success.
  15286. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15287. You have to keep earning it.
  15288. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15289. Holding on to an old title gives you satisfaction without action.
  15290. &lt;strong&gt;
  15291. But success comes from doing, not declaring.
  15292. &lt;/strong&gt;
  15293. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15294. By using a title without doing the work, you fool yourself into thinking that future success is assured — thinking, “This is who I am!”
  15295. But that &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/zipit&quot;&gt;premature sense of satisfaction&lt;/a&gt; can keep you from doing the hard work necessary.
  15296. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15297. Stop fooling yourself.
  15298. Be honest about what’s past and what’s present.
  15299. Retiring outdated titles lets you admit what you’re really doing &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/now&quot;&gt;now&lt;/a&gt;.
  15300. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15301. And if you don’t like the idea of losing your title, then do something about it!
  15302. This goes for titles like “leader,” “risk-taker,” and “good friend,” too.
  15303. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15304. Today I updated my &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/&quot;&gt;website&lt;/a&gt; to reflect which of my accomplishments are in the past.
  15305. It’s liberating to speak in the past tense about what you’ve done, and &lt;strong&gt;only speak in the present tense about what you’re actually doing.&lt;/strong&gt;
  15306. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  15307.    <id>https://sive.rs/expire</id>
  15308.    <link href="https://sive.rs/expire"/>
  15309.    <title>Keep earning your title, or it expires</title>
  15310.    <updated>2016-08-04T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  15311.    <dc:date>2016-08-04T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  15312.  </entry>
  15313.  <entry>
  15314.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  15315. Like everyone, I get those times when I’m unmotivated to do anything.
  15316. Brain dead.
  15317. No energy.
  15318. Everything feels like, “Why bother? What’s the point?”
  15319. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15320. But I’ve finally figured out what to do with those times.
  15321. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15322. Like everyone, I have a list of boring chores that need to be done but that I’ve been putting off for years.
  15323. I never do them because I’m always more excited about something else.
  15324. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15325. During my last unmotivated funk, I realized that because nothing is exciting me, that means nothing is exciting me more than this boring necessary stuff.
  15326. And since I don’t want to waste my inspired times on brainless work, &lt;strong&gt;this is a perfect time to do those dull tasks&lt;/strong&gt;.
  15327. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15328. So I made a list of these necessary things.
  15329. I grumbled and complained, but I used some caffeine and got through them.
  15330. It actually felt pretty good.
  15331. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15332. Conventional wisdom tells us to do the important and difficult thing first.
  15333. But doing this boring work moves me from a state of doing nothing to doing something.
  15334. It makes me feel like doing something important again.
  15335. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15336. So the next time you’re feeling extremely unmotivated, do those things you never want to do anyway.
  15337. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  15338.    <id>https://sive.rs/unmo</id>
  15339.    <link href="https://sive.rs/unmo"/>
  15340.    <title>When you’re extremely unmotivated</title>
  15341.    <updated>2016-08-02T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  15342.    <dc:date>2016-08-02T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  15343.  </entry>
  15344.  <entry>
  15345.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  15346. All the best, happiest, and most creatively productive times in my life have something in common: being disconnected.
  15347. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15348. No internet.
  15349. No TV.
  15350. No phone.
  15351. No people.
  15352. Long uninterrupted solitude.
  15353. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15354. When I was twenty-two, I quit my job and spent five months alone in a house on a remote part of the Oregon coast.
  15355. Practicing, writing, recording, exercising, and learning.
  15356. No internet.
  15357. No TV.
  15358. No phone.
  15359. No people.
  15360. I drove into the city only once a month to see friends and family.
  15361. The rest of the time, I was completely disconnected.
  15362. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15363. In those five months, I wrote and recorded over &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/music&quot;&gt;fifty songs&lt;/a&gt;, made huge improvements in my musicianship, read twenty books, and got into the best physical shape of my life.
  15364. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15365. When I was twenty-seven, I moved to the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.jpfolks.com/ECRoadTrip00/ECpages/cdbaby.html&quot;&gt;woods of Woodstock&lt;/a&gt; and did that again.
  15366. Months and months of lovely solitude.
  15367. That’s how I started CD Baby.
  15368. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15369. It’s not that I hate people.
  15370. The other best times in my life were with people.
  15371. But it’s interesting how many highlights were just sitting in a room in that wonderful creative flow, free from the chatter of the world.
  15372. No updates.
  15373. No news.
  15374. No pings.
  15375. No chats.
  15376. No surfing.
  15377. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15378. Silence is a great canvas for your thoughts.
  15379. That vacuum helps turn all of your inputs into output.
  15380. That lack of interruption helps you &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_%28psychology%29&quot;&gt;flow&lt;/a&gt;.
  15381. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15382. Every business wants to get you addicted to their infinite updates, pings, chats, messages, and news.
  15383. But if what you want out of life is to &lt;strong&gt;create&lt;/strong&gt;, then those are your obstacles.
  15384. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15385. People often ask me what they can do to be more successful.
  15386. I say disconnect.
  15387. Even if just for a few hours.
  15388. Unplug.
  15389. Turn off your phone and Wi-Fi.
  15390. Focus.
  15391. Write.
  15392. Practice.
  15393. Create.
  15394. &lt;strong&gt;
  15395. That’s what’s rare and valuable these days.
  15396. &lt;/strong&gt;
  15397. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15398. You get no competitive edge from consuming the same stuff everyone else is consuming.
  15399. It’s rare, now, to focus.
  15400. And it gives such better rewards.
  15401. &lt;/p&gt;
  15402. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/disconnect.jpg&quot;&gt;
  15403. &lt;div class=&quot;small&quot;&gt;Illustration © 2018 John Warner&lt;/div&gt;</content>
  15404.    <id>https://sive.rs/dc</id>
  15405.    <link href="https://sive.rs/dc"/>
  15406.    <title>Disconnect</title>
  15407.    <updated>2016-07-27T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  15408.    <dc:date>2016-07-27T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  15409.  </entry>
  15410.  <entry>
  15411.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  15412. “My two cents” is American slang for adding a small opinion or suggestion.
  15413. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15414. An employee says to the boss, “I’ve been working for the past two weeks on this new design. What do you think?”
  15415. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15416. The boss says, “Good job. Maybe just change the blue to gold, change the word ‘giant’ to ‘huge’, and get rid of the border. Other than that, it’s great!”
  15417. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15418. Now, because the boss said so, the employee will have to make those changes.
  15419. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15420. But there’s a big downside:
  15421. The employee no longer feels full ownership of their project.
  15422. (Then you wonder why they’re not motivated!)
  15423. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15424. Imagine this instead:
  15425. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15426. The employee says, “I’ve been working for the past two weeks on this new design. What do you think?”
  15427. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15428. The boss says, “It’s perfect. Great work!”
  15429. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15430. This slight change made a huge difference in the psychology of motivation.
  15431. Now that person can feel full ownership of this project, which is more likely to lead to more involvement and commitment for future projects.
  15432. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15433. The boss’s opinion is not necessarily better than anyone else’s.
  15434. But &lt;strong&gt;once you become the boss, your opinion is dangerous&lt;/strong&gt; because it’s not just one person’s opinion anymore — it’s a command!
  15435. So adding your two cents can really hurt morale.
  15436. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15437. A business should not focus on the boss, so this restraint is healthy.
  15438. You shouldn’t give your opinion on everything just because you can.
  15439. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15440. Obviously, if there’s more than “two cents” worth of stuff that needs to change, then this rule does not apply.
  15441. But if your contribution is small and just an opinion, let it go.
  15442. Let the other person feel full ownership of the idea, instead.
  15443. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  15444.    <id>https://sive.rs/2c</id>
  15445.    <link href="https://sive.rs/2c"/>
  15446.    <title>Don’t add your two cents</title>
  15447.    <updated>2016-07-25T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  15448.    <dc:date>2016-07-25T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  15449.  </entry>
  15450.  <entry>
  15451.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  15452. I occasionally get a big vision for my future — a huge project that will take many months or years.
  15453. Something exciting and very worth doing.
  15454. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15455. I’ll do a bunch of research, make a bunch of plans, and feel like I’ve made a big decision on a new direction in life.
  15456. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15457. Then a month later, I have a completely different vision.
  15458. Something unrelated to the previous one.
  15459. Something I’m &lt;em&gt;more&lt;/em&gt; excited about.
  15460. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15461. And the process repeats.
  15462. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15463. I used to feel bad about this.
  15464. Like I should stop having new ideas for the future, and just stick with one.
  15465. I used to feel bad for not acting on them.
  15466. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15467. Then I made a little change that made a big difference: on my computer, I made a folder called “Possible Futures.”
  15468. For each big plan, I make a new file in that folder and put all of my ideas and research into it.
  15469. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15470. Now I can daydream all I want, not feeling bad that I’m not taking action, because it’s clear that &lt;strong&gt;each plan is just one of many possible futures.&lt;/strong&gt;
  15471. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15472. This collection of plans also reminds me that &lt;strong&gt;I love daydreaming, just for its own sake.&lt;/strong&gt;
  15473. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15474. I’ve got seventy-two different futures in there as of today.
  15475. A few times a year, I read through them all.
  15476. Some seem stupid now, but some get more and more enticing with time.
  15477. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15478. When I finish a big project and I’m feeling ready for a new future, I open this folder and pick one to make real.
  15479. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  15480.    <id>https://sive.rs/futures</id>
  15481.    <link href="https://sive.rs/futures"/>
  15482.    <title>Possible futures</title>
  15483.    <updated>2016-04-27T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  15484.    <dc:date>2016-04-27T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  15485.  </entry>
  15486.  <entry>
  15487.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  15488. My advice and opinions may sound strange on their own.
  15489. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15490. Do you know what &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterpoint&quot;&gt;musical counterpoint&lt;/a&gt; is?
  15491. Underneath the main melody, you have a &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=counter-melody&quot;&gt;counter-melody&lt;/a&gt; that goes against it, and together they make harmony.
  15492. This is different from harmonizing, where someone sings along with the melody at an interval.
  15493. The counter-melody is a separate melody that could stand on its own, but is mainly there to complement the main melody.
  15494. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15495. Well, if my advice and opinions sound strange, it’s because I’m just the counter-melody.
  15496. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15497. I know I’m not the only voice you hear.
  15498. There’s a common message we all hear these days.
  15499. Let’s call that the melody.
  15500. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15501. I may love that melody, too, but I don’t want to just duplicate it.
  15502. So I try to think of a good counter-melody.
  15503. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15504. I do it to &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/compensate&quot;&gt;compensate&lt;/a&gt; for something I think is missing in the common message.
  15505. &lt;strong&gt;
  15506. My public writing is a counterpoint meant to complement the popular point.
  15507. &lt;/strong&gt;
  15508. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15509. Of course I don’t think the stuff I say is the only way to go.
  15510. I’m just the counter-melody.
  15511. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15512. Really I hope you listen to the combination.
  15513. Eventually you’ll find yourself singing along with the melody you like best, or making up your own.
  15514. &lt;/p&gt;
  15515. &lt;a href=&quot;https://marcinryczek.com/portfolio-item/blackwhitegallery/&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/swans.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
  15516. &lt;div class=&quot;small&quot;&gt;“A Man Feeding Swans in the Snow” photo © &lt;a href=&quot;https://marcinryczek.com/portfolio-item/blackwhitegallery/&quot;&gt;Marcin Ryczek&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;</content>
  15517.    <id>https://sive.rs/counter</id>
  15518.    <link href="https://sive.rs/counter"/>
  15519.    <title>Singing the counter-melody</title>
  15520.    <updated>2016-04-21T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  15521.    <dc:date>2016-04-21T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  15522.  </entry>
  15523.  <entry>
  15524.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  15525. (part of &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/d1&quot;&gt;the “do this” directives&lt;/a&gt;)
  15526. &lt;/p&gt;
  15527. &lt;h3&gt;1.
  15528. Prioritize lifestyle design.
  15529. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15530. You’ve made it, so it’s all about you, now.  Make your dreams come true.
  15531. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15532. Shape your surroundings to please your every desire.
  15533. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15534. Make your &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/TimeParadox&quot;&gt;immediate gratification&lt;/a&gt; the most important thing.
  15535. &lt;/p&gt;
  15536. &lt;h3&gt;2.
  15537. Chase that comparison moment.
  15538. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15539. You have the old thing. You want the new thing.
  15540. Yes! Do it! Be happy for a week.
  15541. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15542. Ignore the fact that the &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/StumblingOnHappiness&quot;&gt;happiness only comes from the moment of comparison between the old and new&lt;/a&gt;.
  15543. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15544. Once you’ve had your new thing for a week, and it becomes the new norm, seek happiness from another new thing.
  15545. &lt;/p&gt;
  15546. &lt;h3&gt;3.
  15547. Buy, not rent.
  15548. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15549. Why rent a house, castle, boat, or car, when you can buy?
  15550. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15551. It’s not about the thing, it’s about identity.
  15552. This shows who you are now.
  15553. &lt;/p&gt;
  15554. &lt;h3&gt;4.
  15555. Internalize your new status.
  15556. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15557. You worked hard to get here.
  15558. Celebrate. Relax.
  15559. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15560. Admit you are in a different class of people now, with different needs.
  15561. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15562. Understand there is no going back.
  15563. &lt;/p&gt;
  15564. &lt;h3&gt;5.
  15565. Be a connoisseur.
  15566. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15567. Learn what others say is the finest.
  15568. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15569. Insist on only the finest.
  15570. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15571. You will now be &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/StoicJoy&quot;&gt;unhappy&lt;/a&gt; with anything but the finest.
  15572. &lt;/p&gt;
  15573. &lt;h3&gt;6.
  15574. Get to know your possessions.
  15575. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15576. Now that you own the best, it’s time to focus on what you’ve got.
  15577. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15578. Learn all about the features of your new possessions.
  15579. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15580. Spend more time getting your surround sound and heated floor just right.
  15581. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15582. Work out the solar panel charging of your Tesla car.
  15583. This is important.
  15584. &lt;/p&gt;
  15585. &lt;h3&gt;7.
  15586. Acclimate to comfort.
  15587. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15588. Eliminate every discomfort from your life.
  15589. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15590. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/WhenThingsFallApart&quot;&gt;Blame others&lt;/a&gt; when the world seems hard, and is not living up to your standards.
  15591. &lt;/p&gt;
  15592. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/thinking.jpg&quot;&gt;</content>
  15593.    <id>https://sive.rs/d1x</id>
  15594.    <link href="https://sive.rs/d1x"/>
  15595.    <title>How to stop being rich and happy</title>
  15596.    <updated>2016-04-18T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  15597.    <dc:date>2016-04-18T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  15598.  </entry>
  15599.  <entry>
  15600.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  15601. (part of &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/d1&quot;&gt;the “do this” directives&lt;/a&gt;)
  15602. &lt;/p&gt;
  15603. &lt;h3&gt;1.
  15604. Get famous.
  15605. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15606. Do everything in public and for the public.
  15607. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15608. The more people you &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/ShowYourWork&quot;&gt;reach&lt;/a&gt;, the more useful you are.
  15609. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15610. The opposite is hiding, which is of no use to anyone.
  15611. &lt;/p&gt;
  15612. &lt;h3&gt;2.
  15613. Get rich.
  15614. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15615. Money is neutral proof you’re adding value to people’s lives.
  15616. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15617. So, by getting &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/HowToGetRich&quot;&gt;rich&lt;/a&gt;, you’re being useful as a side-effect.
  15618. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15619. Once rich, spend the money in ways that are even more useful to others.
  15620. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15621. Then getting rich is double-useful.
  15622. &lt;/p&gt;
  15623. &lt;h3&gt;3.
  15624. Share strong opinions.
  15625. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15626. Strong opinions are &lt;a href=&quot;http://musicthoughts.com/t/99&quot;&gt;very useful&lt;/a&gt; to others.
  15627. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15628. Those who were undecided or ambivalent can just adopt your stance.
  15629. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15630. But those who disagree can solidify their stance by arguing against yours.
  15631. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15632. Even if you invent an opinion for the sole sake of argument, boldly sharing a strong opinion is very useful to others.
  15633. &lt;/p&gt;
  15634. &lt;h3&gt;4.
  15635. Be expensive.
  15636. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15637. People given a placebo pill were twice as likely to have their pain disappear when told the pill was expensive.
  15638. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15639. People who paid more for tickets were more likely to attend the performance.
  15640. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15641. People who spend more for a product or service &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/aopv&quot;&gt;value it more&lt;/a&gt;, and get more use out of it.
  15642. &lt;/p&gt;
  15643. &lt;hr/&gt;
  15644. &lt;p&gt;
  15645. &lt;a href=&quot;http://elvindantes.com/&quot;&gt;Elvin Dantes&lt;/a&gt; made &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UbixCFJ2DA&quot;&gt;this great video&lt;/a&gt;:
  15646. &lt;/p&gt;
  15647. &lt;iframe width=&quot;853&quot; height=&quot;480&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/5UbixCFJ2DA?rel=0&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; allowfullscreen&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;
  15648. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/thinking.jpg&quot;&gt;</content>
  15649.    <id>https://sive.rs/d1u</id>
  15650.    <link href="https://sive.rs/d1u"/>
  15651.    <title>How to be useful to others</title>
  15652.    <updated>2016-04-18T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  15653.    <dc:date>2016-04-18T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  15654.  </entry>
  15655.  <entry>
  15656.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  15657. (part of &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/d1&quot;&gt;the “do this” directives&lt;/a&gt;)
  15658. &lt;/p&gt;
  15659. &lt;h3&gt;1.
  15660. Prepare for the worst.
  15661. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15662. Since you have no idea what the future may bring, be open to the best and the worst.
  15663. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15664. But the best case scenario doesn’t need your preparation or your attention.
  15665. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15666. So mentally and financially prepare for the worst case, instead.
  15667. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15668. Like insurance, don’t obsess on it.
  15669. Just prepare, then carry on appreciating the good times.
  15670. &lt;/p&gt;
  15671. &lt;h3&gt;2.
  15672. Expect disaster.
  15673. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15674. Every biography of a successful person has that line, “And then, things took a turn for the worse.”
  15675. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15676. Fully expect that disaster to come to you at any time.
  15677. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15678. Completely assume it’s going to happen, and make your plans accordingly.
  15679. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15680. Not just money, but health, family, freedom.
  15681. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/StoicJoy&quot;&gt;Expect it all to disappear&lt;/a&gt;.
  15682. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15683. Besides, you appreciate things more when you know this may be your last time seeing them.
  15684. &lt;/p&gt;
  15685. &lt;h3&gt;3.
  15686. Own as little as possible.
  15687. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15688. Depend on even less.
  15689. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15690. The less you own, the less you’re affected by disaster.
  15691. &lt;/p&gt;
  15692. &lt;h3&gt;4.
  15693. Choose opportunity, not loyalty.
  15694. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15695. Have no loyalty to location, corporation, or your past public statements.
  15696. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15697. Be an absolute &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/Antifragile&quot;&gt;opportunist&lt;/a&gt;, doing whatever is best for the future in the current situation, unbound by the past.
  15698. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15699. Have loyalty for only your most important human relationships.
  15700. &lt;/p&gt;
  15701. &lt;h3&gt;5.
  15702. Choose the plan with the most options.
  15703. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15704. The best plan is the one that lets you change your plans.
  15705. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15706. (Example: renting a house is buying the option to move at any time without losing money in a changing market.)
  15707. &lt;/p&gt;
  15708. &lt;h3&gt;6.
  15709. Avoid planning.
  15710. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15711. For maximum options, don’t plan at all.
  15712. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15713. Since you have no idea how the situation or your mood may change in the future, wait until the last moment to make each decision.
  15714. &lt;/p&gt;
  15715. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/thinking.jpg&quot;&gt;</content>
  15716.    <id>https://sive.rs/d1t</id>
  15717.    <link href="https://sive.rs/d1t"/>
  15718.    <title>How to thrive in an unknowable future</title>
  15719.    <updated>2016-04-18T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  15720.    <dc:date>2016-04-18T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  15721.  </entry>
  15722.  <entry>
  15723.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  15724. (part of &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/d1&quot;&gt;the “do this” directives&lt;/a&gt;)
  15725. &lt;/p&gt;
  15726. &lt;h3&gt;1.
  15727. Change yes to “Hell yeah!” or no.
  15728. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15729. Once successful, you need to &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/switch&quot;&gt;switch&lt;/a&gt; strategies.
  15730. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15731. To get successful, you had to say yes to everything.
  15732. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15733. Now if you continue doing that, you’ll drown in all the opportunities.
  15734. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15735. Now say no to anything that makes you say anything less than “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/hellyeah&quot;&gt;Hell yeah!&lt;/a&gt;”
  15736. &lt;/p&gt;
  15737. &lt;h3&gt;2.
  15738. Keep momentum.
  15739. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15740. The temptation is to take it easy.
  15741. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15742. But &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/tarzan&quot;&gt;like swinging on jungle vines&lt;/a&gt;, if you stop that forward motion you can never get it back.
  15743. &lt;/p&gt;
  15744. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/thinking.jpg&quot;&gt;</content>
  15745.    <id>https://sive.rs/d1s</id>
  15746.    <link href="https://sive.rs/d1s"/>
  15747.    <title>What to do when you get successful</title>
  15748.    <updated>2016-04-18T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  15749.    <dc:date>2016-04-18T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  15750.  </entry>
  15751.  <entry>
  15752.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  15753. (part of &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/d1&quot;&gt;the “do this” directives&lt;/a&gt;)
  15754. &lt;/p&gt;
  15755. &lt;h3&gt;1.
  15756. Live where luck strikes.
  15757. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15758. Live where everything is happening,
  15759. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15760. where the money is flowing,
  15761. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15762. where careers are being made,
  15763. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15764. where your role models live.
  15765. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15766. Once there, be as in the game as anyone can be.
  15767. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15768. Be right in the &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/2014-02-baker&quot;&gt;middle of everything&lt;/a&gt;.
  15769. &lt;/p&gt;
  15770. &lt;h3&gt;2.
  15771. Say yes to everything.
  15772. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15773. Meet &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/hundreds&quot;&gt;everyone&lt;/a&gt;.
  15774. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15775. Pursue every opportunity.
  15776. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15777. Nothing is too small.
  15778. Do it all.
  15779. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15780. Like lottery tickets, you never know which one will win.
  15781. So the more, the better.
  15782. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15783. Follow-up and keep in touch with everyone.
  15784. &lt;/p&gt;
  15785.  
  15786. &lt;h3&gt;3.
  15787. Learn the multiplying skills.
  15788. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15789. Speaking, writing, psychology, design, conversation, 2nd language, persuasion, programming, meditation/focus.
  15790. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15791. Not pursued on their own, they’re skills that &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/HowToFail&quot;&gt;multiply&lt;/a&gt; the success of your main pursuit.
  15792. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15793. (A pilot who’s also a great writer and public speaker.)
  15794. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15795. (A chef with a mastery of psychology, persuasion, and design.)
  15796. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15797. These skills multiply the results of your efforts, and give you an edge over others in your field.
  15798. &lt;/p&gt;
  15799. &lt;h3&gt;4.
  15800. Pursue market value not personal value.
  15801. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15802. Do what pays well.
  15803. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15804. Do not be the &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/starving-artist&quot;&gt;starving artist&lt;/a&gt;, working on things that have great &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/PersonalDevelopmentForSmartPeople&quot;&gt;personal value&lt;/a&gt; to you, but little &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/PredictablyIrrational&quot;&gt;market value&lt;/a&gt;.
  15805. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15806. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/SoGood&quot;&gt;Follow the money&lt;/a&gt;.
  15807. It tells you where you’re most valuable.
  15808. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15809. Don’t try to make a career out of everything you love.  For example, sex.
  15810. &lt;/p&gt;
  15811. &lt;h3&gt;5.
  15812. Shamelessly imitate success.
  15813. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15814. Imitate the best strategies of your competitors.
  15815. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15816. The market doesn’t care about your personal need to be unique.
  15817. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15818. It’s selfless and humble to use the best ideas regardless of source, to create the best service or product for your clients.
  15819. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15820. Get great at executing other people’s ideas as well as your own.
  15821. &lt;/p&gt;
  15822. &lt;h3&gt;6.
  15823. Be the owner, not just inventor.
  15824. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15825. It’s tempting to try to be the ideas person, having someone else do the dirty work of making those ideas happen.
  15826. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15827. Ideas don’t make you rich.
  15828. Great execution of ideas does.
  15829. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15830. A rule of capitalism: whoever takes the most financial risk gets the rewards.
  15831. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15832. The biggest rewards will always go to those that fund it and own it.
  15833. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15834. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/HowToGetRich&quot;&gt;To get rich&lt;/a&gt;, be the owner.
  15835. Own as close to 100% as possible.
  15836. &lt;/p&gt;
  15837. &lt;h3&gt;7.
  15838. Benefit from human nature.
  15839. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15840. Instead of complaining about the downside of human nature, find ways to benefit from it.
  15841. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15842. Instead of complaining about the rules, just learn the game, then &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/MeInc&quot;&gt;play it&lt;/a&gt;.
  15843. &lt;/p&gt;
  15844. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/thinking.jpg&quot;&gt;</content>
  15845.    <id>https://sive.rs/d1r</id>
  15846.    <link href="https://sive.rs/d1r"/>
  15847.    <title>How to get rich</title>
  15848.    <updated>2016-04-18T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  15849.    <dc:date>2016-04-18T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  15850.  </entry>
  15851.  <entry>
  15852.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  15853. (part of &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/d1&quot;&gt;the “do this” directives&lt;/a&gt;)
  15854. &lt;/p&gt;
  15855. &lt;h3&gt;1.
  15856. Assume it’s their last day.
  15857. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15858. Everyone talks about living like it’s your last day on earth.
  15859. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15860. Instead, to appreciate someone, live like it’s &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/PowerOfNo&quot;&gt;their&lt;/a&gt; last day on earth.
  15861. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15862. Treat them accordingly.  Try to fulfill their dreams for the day.
  15863. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15864. Really listen to them.  Learn from them.
  15865. &lt;/p&gt;
  15866. &lt;h3&gt;2.
  15867. Be who you’d be when alone.
  15868. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15869. You could live in a crowd, pleasing only others.
  15870. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15871. You could live in solitude, pleasing only yourself.
  15872. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15873. But ideally, when in a crowd, be the same person you’d be when alone.
  15874. &lt;/p&gt;
  15875. &lt;h3&gt;3.
  15876. Assume men and women are the same.
  15877. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15878. Men think women are so different from them.
  15879. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15880. Women think men are so different from them.
  15881. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15882. But the differences &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/mw&quot;&gt;among&lt;/a&gt; men and differences &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/mw&quot;&gt;among&lt;/a&gt; women are far greater than the differences between men and women.
  15883. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15884. So &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/compensate&quot;&gt;counteract&lt;/a&gt; your tendency to exaggerate the differences.
  15885. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15886. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/Mindwise&quot;&gt;Assume men and women are the same&lt;/a&gt;.
  15887. &lt;/p&gt;
  15888. &lt;h3&gt;4.
  15889. Always make new friends.
  15890. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15891. As you grow and change, old friends and family will be unintentionally invested in maintaining you as you were before.
  15892. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15893. Let go of people that don’t welcome and encourage your change.
  15894. &lt;/p&gt;
  15895. &lt;h3&gt;5.
  15896. Avoid harming the relationship.
  15897. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15898. For long-term relationship success, it’s more effective than seeking the positive.
  15899. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15900. A friendship that may take years to develop can be ruined by a single action.
  15901. &lt;/p&gt;
  15902. &lt;h3&gt;6.
  15903. Act calm and kind.
  15904. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15905. Regardless of how you feel.
  15906. &lt;/p&gt;
  15907. &lt;h3&gt;7.
  15908. Don’t try to change them.
  15909. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15910. ... unless they asked you to.
  15911. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15912. Don’t teach a lesson.
  15913. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15914. Stop trying to change people who don’t think they have a problem.
  15915. &lt;/p&gt;
  15916. &lt;h3&gt;8.
  15917. Find wisdom in your opponents.
  15918. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15919. Really engage those who think &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/Mindwise&quot;&gt;opposite&lt;/a&gt; of you.
  15920. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15921. You already know the ideas common on your own side.
  15922. &lt;/p&gt;
  15923. &lt;h3&gt;9.
  15924. Purge the vampires.
  15925. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15926. Get &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/PowerOfNo&quot;&gt;rid&lt;/a&gt; of people that drain you, that don’t make you feel good about yourself.
  15927. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15928. They make you hate all people.
  15929. &lt;/p&gt;
  15930. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/thinking.jpg&quot;&gt;</content>
  15931.    <id>https://sive.rs/d1p</id>
  15932.    <link href="https://sive.rs/d1p"/>
  15933.    <title>How to like people</title>
  15934.    <updated>2016-04-18T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  15935.    <dc:date>2016-04-18T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  15936.  </entry>
  15937.  <entry>
  15938.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  15939. First see “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/2do&quot;&gt;just tell me what to do&lt;/a&gt;” for context.
  15940. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15941. These directives will take another form some day, with more details and references.
  15942. And there are many more to come.
  15943. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15944. But I decided to post this outline now, because so many people have asked for these since &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/2015-12-ferriss&quot;&gt;Tim’s show&lt;/a&gt;.
  15945. &lt;/p&gt;
  15946. &lt;hr/&gt;
  15947. &lt;ol&gt;
  15948. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/d1u&quot;&gt;How to be useful to others&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  15949. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/d1r&quot;&gt;How to get rich&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  15950. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/d1t&quot;&gt;How to thrive in an unknowable future&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  15951. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/d1p&quot;&gt;How to like people&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  15952. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/d1s&quot;&gt;What to do when you get successful&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  15953. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/d1x&quot;&gt;How to &lt;strong&gt;stop&lt;/strong&gt; being rich and happy&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  15954. &lt;/ol&gt;
  15955. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/thinking.jpg&quot;&gt;
  15956. &lt;hr/&gt;
  15957. &lt;h3&gt;
  15958. Responses:
  15959. &lt;/h3&gt;
  15960. &lt;p&gt;
  15961. &lt;a href=&quot;http://elvindantes.com/&quot;&gt;Elvin Dantes&lt;/a&gt; made &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UbixCFJ2DA&quot;&gt;this great video&lt;/a&gt;:
  15962. &lt;/p&gt;
  15963. &lt;iframe width=&quot;853&quot; height=&quot;480&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/5UbixCFJ2DA?rel=0&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; allowfullscreen&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;
  15964. &lt;p&gt;
  15965. &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/CBE&quot;&gt;Cheryl B. Engelhardt&lt;/a&gt; wrote “&lt;a href=&quot;http://livingongigging.com/do-this-instead/&quot;&gt;Do This Instead&lt;/a&gt;”, which I love.
  15966. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  15967.    <id>https://sive.rs/d1</id>
  15968.    <link href="https://sive.rs/d1"/>
  15969.    <title>Do this. Directives — part 1</title>
  15970.    <updated>2016-04-18T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  15971.    <dc:date>2016-04-18T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  15972.  </entry>
  15973.  <entry>
  15974.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  15975. When you bake a cake, you need to do first things first.
  15976. You need to get the ingredients before you turn on the oven.
  15977. You need to bake it before you frost it and slice it.
  15978. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15979. I meet a lot of people who want to start a business.
  15980. Some don’t have an idea yet.
  15981. I don’t understand this.
  15982. It’s like wanting to wear a bandage when you don’t have a wound.
  15983. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15984. Most have an idea but no customers.
  15985. For them I always say, “Don’t start a business until people are asking you to.”
  15986. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15987. This is not meant to be discouraging.
  15988. It just means you need to get the ingredients before you turn on the oven.
  15989. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15990. First you find real people whose problem you can solve.
  15991. You listen deeply to find their dream scenario.
  15992. You make sure they’re happy to pay you enough.
  15993. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  15994. Don’t &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/zipit&quot;&gt;announce&lt;/a&gt; anything.
  15995. Don’t choose a &lt;a href=&quot;https://seths.blog/2003/06/naming_a_busine/&quot;&gt;name&lt;/a&gt;.
  15996. Don’t make a website or an app.
  15997. Don’t build a system.
  15998. &lt;strong&gt;
  15999. You need to be free to completely change or ditch your idea.
  16000. &lt;/strong&gt;
  16001. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16002. Then you get your first paying customer.
  16003. Provide a one-on-one personal service.
  16004. Then you get another paying customer.
  16005. &lt;strong&gt;
  16006. Prove a real demand.
  16007. &lt;/strong&gt;
  16008. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16009. Then, &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/walkways&quot;&gt;as late as possible&lt;/a&gt;, you officially start your business.
  16010. &lt;/p&gt;
  16011. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/ingredients.jpg&quot;&gt;</content>
  16012.    <id>https://sive.rs/asking</id>
  16013.    <link href="https://sive.rs/asking"/>
  16014.    <title>Don’t start a business until people are asking you to</title>
  16015.    <updated>2016-04-13T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  16016.    <dc:date>2016-04-13T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  16017.  </entry>
  16018.  <entry>
  16019.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  16020. I’ve been the guest on 54 interview shows, most of them in the past year.
  16021. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16022. Now you can hear or read them all in one place: &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/i&quot;&gt;sive.rs/i&lt;/a&gt;
  16023. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16024. You might find them interesting because I put a lot of heart into them, getting personal in a way I don’t in my succinct blog posts or stage talks.
  16025. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16026. You might find them interesting because I put a lot of work into them, too.
  16027. The host will email me some questions in advance and I’ll spend like six hours writing, thinking, writing, editing, and writing before we do the call and hit record.
  16028. I try to go beyond the first answer that comes to mind, to get to the more surprising and useful answer.
  16029. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16030. If you like to listen, I made an easy MP3 download link for each one.
  16031. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16032. If you’d rather read, there’s a full transcription on each page.
  16033. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16034. There’s also a link to the original website where you can find out more about the interviewer, and follow their work.
  16035. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16036. Since websites come and go, but sive.rs will be alive longer than me, I figured I should start archiving all these interviews in one place.
  16037. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16038. So, &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/i&quot;&gt;sive.rs/i&lt;/a&gt;
  16039. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16040. I’m announcing this now because the one I posted yesterday is going to be my last interview for a long time.
  16041. So now is the best time to go listen or read, if interested.
  16042. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  16043.    <id>https://sive.rs/interviews</id>
  16044.    <link href="https://sive.rs/interviews"/>
  16045.    <title>Interviews at sive.rs/i</title>
  16046.    <updated>2016-03-27T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  16047.    <dc:date>2016-03-27T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  16048.  </entry>
  16049.  <entry>
  16050.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  16051. Every day, someone asks me to promote or announce something they’ve created.
  16052. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16053. Every day, I have to say no, no matter who or what it is.
  16054. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16055. It upsets me every time.
  16056. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16057. Almost everyone I know is a creator.
  16058. Everyone has made a song, site, video, book, business, or project.
  16059. Most of them are quite good.
  16060. I want them all to succeed.
  16061. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16062. I hate to play favorites.
  16063. But if I announced them all, my site and feed would be a daily firehose of “check it out”.
  16064. Or if I was a discerning curator, it would be a full-time job.
  16065. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16066. I admire the curators.
  16067. They click every link, hear every idea, listen to every song, watch every video, read every article, assess every project, then share the best stuff they find.
  16068. I’m so glad those people exist, but that’s the opposite of the life I want.
  16069. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16070. I’ve never been a fan.
  16071. Even as a musician, I was never that into other people’s music.
  16072. I just liked the creative process of making my own music.
  16073. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16074. Even now, I don’t check out much.
  16075. If I said OK to every “check it out”, I’d have to spend hours a day just surfing, browsing, listening, and watching.
  16076. But what I really love is making, making, making, and making.
  16077. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16078. Sometimes a friend says, “Please. For me.”
  16079. I have to say no to them, too.
  16080. It wouldn’t be fair to everyone else.
  16081. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16082. So, &lt;strong&gt;a sincere apology&lt;/strong&gt; to everyone who wants me to announce their thing.
  16083. I try to be helpful in other ways.
  16084. But &lt;strong&gt;I’m just not a promoter.&lt;/strong&gt;
  16085. &lt;/p&gt;
  16086. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/stepping.jpg&quot;&gt;
  16087. &lt;div class=&quot;small&quot;&gt;Photo © &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.flickr.com/photos/pss/1359407958/&quot;&gt;Paul Stevenson&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;</content>
  16088.    <id>https://sive.rs/nopr</id>
  16089.    <link href="https://sive.rs/nopr"/>
  16090.    <title>Why I don’t promote</title>
  16091.    <updated>2016-03-17T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  16092.    <dc:date>2016-03-17T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  16093.  </entry>
  16094.  <entry>
  16095.    <content type="html">&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/hsu.gif&quot;&gt;
  16096. &lt;p&gt;
  16097. There are three things to consider when making life-size decisions:
  16098. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  16099. What makes you happy
  16100. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  16101. What’s smart — meaning long-term good for you
  16102. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  16103. What’s useful to others
  16104. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16105. We have a tendency to forget one of these.
  16106. For example:
  16107. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;
  16108. Smart and useful (but not happy)
  16109. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16110. This is the stereotype of the strict parent who says, “You will go to the best school, get perfect grades, get a degree in law or medicine, and make lots of money. What you want does not matter. This is what’s best for you and your family.”
  16111. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16112. Smart and useful isn’t bad.
  16113. It’s rational, like a machine.
  16114. &lt;strong&gt;
  16115. But happiness is the oil.
  16116. &lt;/strong&gt;
  16117. Without it, the friction kills the engine.
  16118. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;
  16119. Happy and smart (but not useful)
  16120. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16121. This is the stereotype of the “lifestyle design” or self-help addict: always learning, always improving, and obsessively focused on how to be happy and create the perfect life.
  16122. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16123. They look for “passive income” instead of focusing on doing something that’s &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/starv&quot;&gt;really valuable to others&lt;/a&gt;.
  16124. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16125. Happy and smart isn’t bad.
  16126. The self-focus feels great at first.
  16127. But you can’t actually &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pull_oneself_up_by_one%27s_bootstraps&quot;&gt;pull yourself up by your bootstraps&lt;/a&gt;.
  16128. &lt;strong&gt;
  16129. Ultimately you must be lifted by those around you.
  16130. &lt;/strong&gt;
  16131. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;
  16132. Happy and useful (but not smart)
  16133. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16134. This is the stereotype of charity volunteers.
  16135. After getting expensive university degrees, they spend years flying to exotic impoverished places to dig wells and thatch roofs.
  16136. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16137. But if a graduate’s time could be worth $200 per hour, yet they’re doing work that locals could do better for $10 per hour (and without airfare and hotels), then they’re actually doing a disservice to others.
  16138. (For more thoughts on this, find two articles online: “&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/pC47ZTsPNAkjavkXs&quot;&gt;Efficient Charity: Do Unto Others&lt;/a&gt;” and “&lt;a href=&quot;https://medium.com/the-development-set/the-reductive-seduction-of-other-people-s-problems-3c07b307732d&quot;&gt;The Reductive Seduction of Other People’s Problems&lt;/a&gt;.”)
  16139. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16140. In this same category are people who stay at the same jobs for life without improvement, and the musicians who always perform at the local venues but never make good recordings.
  16141. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16142. Happy and useful isn’t bad.
  16143. These people are doing good for the world, so it’s hard to find fault.
  16144. &lt;strong&gt;
  16145. They have great intentions but lame strategies — wasted effort and unused potential.
  16146. &lt;/strong&gt;
  16147. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;
  16148. Just happy (not smart or useful)
  16149. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16150. This is the &lt;a href=&quot;https://duckduckgo.com/?q=mexican+fisherman+american+business&quot;&gt;parable of the Mexican fisherman&lt;/a&gt;.
  16151. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16152. Some say, “Just be happy. That’s all that matters.”
  16153. It sounds so simple, it must be profoundly true, right?
  16154. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16155. But, as in Aesop’s fable of “&lt;a href=&quot;https://duckduckgo.com/?q=ant+grasshopper+fable&quot;&gt;The Ant and the Grasshopper&lt;/a&gt;,” you’ll be full of regret if you think of nothing but today and don’t prepare for tough times.
  16156. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16157. And you’ll be very unrewarded if you serve only yourself, not others.
  16158. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;h3&gt;
  16159. So…?
  16160. &lt;/h3&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16161. When life or a plan feels ultimately unsatisfying, I find it’s because I’ve forgotten to find the intersection of all three:
  16162. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  16163. What makes me happy
  16164. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  16165. What’s smart
  16166. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  16167. What’s useful to others
  16168. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  16169. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/hsu.gif&quot;&gt;</content>
  16170.    <id>https://sive.rs/hsu</id>
  16171.    <link href="https://sive.rs/hsu"/>
  16172.    <title>Happy, Smart, and Useful</title>
  16173.    <updated>2016-03-03T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  16174.    <dc:date>2016-03-03T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  16175.  </entry>
  16176.  <entry>
  16177.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  16178. Men say, “Women can never make up their minds.”
  16179. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16180. But actually both men and women are equally indecisive.
  16181. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16182. Women say, “Men think one thing but say another.”
  16183. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16184. But actually both men and women are equally indirect.
  16185. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16186. &lt;strong&gt;
  16187. We think the differences between our group and another group are greater than they are.
  16188. &lt;/strong&gt;
  16189. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16190. But the differences &lt;em&gt;among&lt;/em&gt; men, and the differences &lt;em&gt;among&lt;/em&gt; women, are much bigger than the differences &lt;em&gt;between&lt;/em&gt; men and women.
  16191. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16192. So instead, &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/compensate&quot;&gt;to compensate for your tendency to exaggerate those differences&lt;/a&gt;, just assume that men and women are the same.
  16193. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16194. They’re not the same, but if you follow this rule, your thinking will be closer to correct than not.
  16195. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  16196.    <id>https://sive.rs/mw</id>
  16197.    <link href="https://sive.rs/mw"/>
  16198.    <title>Assume men and women are the same</title>
  16199.    <updated>2016-02-28T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  16200.    <dc:date>2016-02-28T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  16201.  </entry>
  16202.  <entry>
  16203.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  16204. Imagine that you hand someone your camera, and ask him to take a photo of you.
  16205. He does, but when you look at the photo later, you notice that he took a photo of himself by mistake.
  16206. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16207. Imagine you’ve got a big question like, “Should I quit my job and start my own company?”
  16208. You go ask the advice of some successful people you respect.
  16209. Because they can’t know everything about you and your unique situation, they’ll give advice that’s really just a reflection of their own current situation.
  16210. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16211. So let’s look at some ways that advice is biased.
  16212. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  16213. Lottery numbers:
  16214. &lt;/strong&gt;
  16215. When successful people give advice, I usually hear it like this:
  16216. “Here are the lottery numbers I played: 14 29 71 33 8. They worked for me!”
  16217. Success is based on so many factors.
  16218. Some are luck.
  16219. Some are not.
  16220. It’s hard to know which are which.
  16221. So which do you learn from?
  16222. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  16223. Underdog opinion in their context:
  16224. &lt;/strong&gt;
  16225. Someone giving advice doesn’t want to say what’s been said too much already.
  16226. But he’s basing that on his surroundings, not yours.
  16227. So if everyone around him is quitting their jobs, his advice to you will be to keep your job.
  16228. That advice has nothing to do with what’s best for you — it’s just the opinion that seems under-represented in his environment that day.
  16229. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  16230. Creative sparks:
  16231. &lt;/strong&gt;
  16232. You ask, “What should I do, option A or B?”
  16233. He replies, “Zebra!”
  16234. He’s treating the situation as an invitation to brainstorm, giving a crazy suggestion just to open up &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/options&quot;&gt;more options&lt;/a&gt;.
  16235. Like an &lt;a href=&quot;https://duckduckgo.com/?q=oscar+wilde+quotes&quot;&gt;Oscar Wilde quip&lt;/a&gt;, it was meant to be mostly entertaining, maybe useful, and probably not correct.
  16236. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16237. The problem is taking any one person’s advice too seriously.
  16238. Ideally, asking advice should be like &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_echolocation&quot;&gt;echolocation&lt;/a&gt;.
  16239. Bounce ideas off of all of your surroundings, and listen to all the echoes to get the whole picture.
  16240. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16241. &lt;strong&gt;Ultimately, only you know what to do&lt;/strong&gt;, based on all the feedback you’ve received and all your personal nuances that no one else knows.
  16242. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  16243.    <id>https://sive.rs/advice</id>
  16244.    <link href="https://sive.rs/advice"/>
  16245.    <title>Beware of advice</title>
  16246.    <updated>2016-02-25T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  16247.    <dc:date>2016-02-25T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  16248.  </entry>
  16249.  <entry>
  16250.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  16251. You have something you want to change: a thought process or habit you want to fix.
  16252. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16253. Let’s use the metaphor of a bunch of bricks on a seesaw.
  16254. Right now all the bricks are stacked on one side.
  16255. This is the way you have been.
  16256. &lt;/p&gt;
  16257. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/compensate-l.jpg&quot;&gt;
  16258. &lt;p&gt;
  16259. To make a change, &lt;strong&gt;most people don’t do enough.&lt;/strong&gt;
  16260. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16261. If you do something small and sensible, it’s like moving one brick to the other side.
  16262. You’re still unbalanced.
  16263. &lt;/p&gt;
  16264. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/compensate-l1.jpg&quot;&gt;
  16265. &lt;p&gt;
  16266. You think you made the change, but it’s not accounting for:
  16267. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  16268. a lifetime of doing it the other way,
  16269. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  16270. the environment that made you that way, and
  16271. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  16272. the pressure from friends to stay that way.
  16273. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16274. &lt;strong&gt;
  16275. To make a change, you have to be extreme.
  16276. &lt;/strong&gt;
  16277. Go all the way the other way.
  16278. &lt;strong&gt;It will feel like overcompensating&lt;/strong&gt;, but you have to stack a huge pile of bricks on the other side.
  16279. &lt;/p&gt;
  16280. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/compensate-r.jpg&quot;&gt;
  16281. &lt;p&gt;
  16282. This new you sounds extreme and exciting.
  16283. You’ll think you’re going to be completely changed.
  16284. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16285. But actually the old stuff is still there.
  16286. So really this is what you needed to do to balance — to compensate for that cultural baggage, self-identity, habit, and history.
  16287. &lt;/p&gt;
  16288. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/compensate-b.jpg&quot;&gt;
  16289. &lt;p&gt;
  16290. Once you’re balanced, the new perspective will sink in and become your new normal.
  16291. &lt;/p&gt;
  16292. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/compensate-b2.jpg&quot;&gt;
  16293. &lt;br/&gt;
  16294. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/compensate-b3.jpg&quot;&gt;
  16295. &lt;div class=&quot;small&quot;&gt;Illustrations by &lt;a href=&quot;http://portfolios.ru/cherry_inspiration&quot;&gt;Victoria Medvedeva&lt;/a&gt; in Saint Petersburg, Russia.  They are free for you to use.&lt;/div&gt;</content>
  16296.    <id>https://sive.rs/compensate</id>
  16297.    <link href="https://sive.rs/compensate"/>
  16298.    <title>Overcompensate to compensate</title>
  16299.    <updated>2016-02-23T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  16300.    <dc:date>2016-02-23T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  16301.  </entry>
  16302.  <entry>
  16303.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  16304. You would think this would be a basic life skill, but it seems almost nobody knows it, so please spread the word.
  16305. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  16306. When someone gives you a compliment, what should you do?
  16307. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16308. Do you say, “What? No! Not at all. That’s ridiculous.”
  16309. Do you give details of why you disagree?
  16310. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16311. That’s what most people do.
  16312. They refuse it.
  16313. They deny it.
  16314. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16315. But think of how &lt;strong&gt;inconsiderate&lt;/strong&gt; that is.
  16316. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16317. It takes &lt;strong&gt;courage&lt;/strong&gt; to give you a compliment.
  16318. It’s a little &lt;strong&gt;vulnerable&lt;/strong&gt; for someone to admit they like something about you, and then to go up to you and tell you so.
  16319. So when they do, is that nice of you to &lt;strong&gt;argue&lt;/strong&gt; with them about it?
  16320. How do you think that makes them feel in that moment?
  16321. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16322. So, when someone gives you a compliment, what should you do?
  16323. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  16324. Just say, “Thank you.”
  16325. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16326. Nothing more.
  16327. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16328. It feels strange, but it’s the right thing to do.
  16329. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16330. It doesn’t mean you agree.
  16331. You’re just thanking them for their vulnerable courage in that moment, for taking the trouble to tell you something nice.
  16332. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16333. Then sincerely return their interest.
  16334. Ask their name, or something more about them.
  16335. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16336. This advice came from &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livingston_Taylor&quot;&gt;Livingston Taylor&lt;/a&gt;, and was originally aimed at musicians, since they often get compliments after a gig, and always actively disagree with these compliments.
  16337. But everyone can use this simple life skill.
  16338. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  16339.    <id>https://sive.rs/thx</id>
  16340.    <link href="https://sive.rs/thx"/>
  16341.    <title>How to take a compliment</title>
  16342.    <updated>2016-02-18T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  16343.    <dc:date>2016-02-18T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  16344.  </entry>
  16345.  <entry>
  16346.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  16347. About once a month, someone asks for my mailing address because they want to send me something.
  16348. They liked something I wrote, and want to send me a gift in return.
  16349. I’m very thankful, but have to say no.
  16350. Here’s why.
  16351. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16352. I live in a little pre-furnished apartment with no stuff, and I love it this way.
  16353. I have no books, knicknacks, decorations, and really no personal items at all.
  16354. Just some minimal clothing, my laptop, headphones, and not much else.
  16355. All the kitchenware and furniture just came with the place, and will stay here when I leave.
  16356. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16357. I just moved into this place a few weeks ago.
  16358. I’ve moved every year or two since I was 17.
  16359. I do it because I can, and living this way makes me happy.
  16360. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16361. Every year, I erase my computer’s hard drive and re-install my operating system from scratch.
  16362. Every week, I erase my phone’s log of texts and calls.
  16363. I just love that uncluttered feeling.
  16364. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16365. So when I receive something in the mail, no matter how thoughtful it is, it kinda sucks because &lt;strong&gt;now I have to figure out how to get rid of it.&lt;/strong&gt;
  16366. I feel really wasteful if I just throw it in the trash, so I have to figure out who to give it to.
  16367. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16368. Then I feel bad for whoever spent a bunch of money and time to get and send me something.
  16369. &lt;strong&gt;I appreciate the thought&lt;/strong&gt;, but really a nice compliment by email is actually much more appreciated than some thing that shows up in the mail.
  16370. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16371. My family and friends know this about me, so I haven’t received anything for Christmas or my birthday in almost 20 years.
  16372. I’ve been living this way a long time.
  16373. It makes me really happy when another Christmas or birthday has passed and I didn’t receive anything.
  16374. It makes me feel understood.
  16375. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16376. I’m not saying anyone else should be this way.
  16377. Back when I was a full-time musician, I had a whole recording studio full of stuff.
  16378. But these days, everything I want to do is on my laptop.
  16379. If I had a different hobby, I’d have a different situation.
  16380. I’m in awe of my friends with a steady home and huge collections that make them happy.
  16381. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16382. It’s not even a problem.
  16383. I’m not complaining or bragging.
  16384. I’m incredibly grateful that I even have to write this.
  16385. But because it comes up often, I thought I should explain it here.
  16386. &lt;/p&gt;
  16387. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/transparentchurch.jpg&quot;&gt;
  16388. &lt;div class=&quot;small&quot;&gt;“&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.design.spotcoolstuff.com/cool-archiecture/transparent-church-belgium&quot;&gt;Reading Between the Lines&lt;/a&gt;” transparent church in Belgium. It’s worth a trip if you’re near. Photo by &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.flickr.com/photos/88100135@N02/24634580891/&quot;&gt;Tom Davidson&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/div&gt;</content>
  16389.    <id>https://sive.rs/gifts</id>
  16390.    <link href="https://sive.rs/gifts"/>
  16391.    <title>Why I don’t want stuff</title>
  16392.    <updated>2016-02-16T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  16393.    <dc:date>2016-02-16T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  16394.  </entry>
  16395.  <entry>
  16396.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  16397. When I was 14 years old, my guitar teacher told me something important:
  16398. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  16399. “You need to learn to sing. Because if you don’t, you’re always going to be at the mercy of some asshole singer.”
  16400. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16401. His point was about self-reliance.
  16402. If you ever have any ideas, whether for songs or apps, you need to have some basic skills to turn those ideas into reality.
  16403. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16404. One of the most common things I hear from aspiring entrepreneurs is, &lt;strong&gt;“I have this idea for an app or site. But I’m not technical, so I need to find someone who can make it for me.”&lt;/strong&gt;
  16405. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16406. I point them to my advice about &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/how2hire&quot;&gt;how to hire a programmer&lt;/a&gt;, but most programmers are already busy and expensive.
  16407. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16408. Imagine if someone said, “I have this idea for a song.  But I’m not musical, so I need to find someone who will write, perform, and record it for me.”
  16409. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16410. You’d probably advise them to just learn enough guitar or piano so they can play their song.
  16411. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  16412. It’s like learning to drive or make dinner.
  16413. You only need to learn enough so you’re not helpless.
  16414. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16415. So, yes, you should learn some programming.
  16416. Basic HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are enough to start.
  16417. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  16418. I recommend &lt;a href=&quot;http://shop.oreilly.com/product/9780596159924.do&quot;&gt;Head First HTML and CSS&lt;/a&gt; first, then &lt;a href=&quot;http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920010906.do&quot;&gt;Head First HTML5 Programming&lt;/a&gt;.
  16419. &lt;/strong&gt;
  16420. Those are very fun, visual books where you need to see the detailed illustrations, so get the paper book or PDF.
  16421. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16422. If you prefer a course and community, use &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.freecodecamp.org/&quot;&gt;Free Code Camp&lt;/a&gt;.
  16423. Ideally, do those books and this course at the same time, to really reinforce what you’re learning.
  16424. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16425. You could go through those books or courses in a few weeks, and you’d already know as much as half of the people that call themselves web developers.
  16426. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16427. It’s a really amazing feeling.
  16428. The mystery is lifted.
  16429. You’ll look at all websites in a new way.
  16430. You’ll understand what’s going on behind the scenes.
  16431. You’ll know how to do it yourself.
  16432. It’s really empowering.
  16433. (It’s definitely been the most rewarding thing I’ve ever learned.)
  16434. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16435. For an inspiring example &lt;a href=&quot;http://blog.jenniferdewalt.com/post/56319597560/im-learning-to-code-by-building-180-websites-in&quot;&gt;see Jennifer Dewalt&lt;/a&gt;, who learned to code by building &lt;a href=&quot;http://blog.jenniferdewalt.com/post/62998082815/after-180-websites-im-ready-to-start-the-rest-of&quot;&gt;180 websites in 180 days&lt;/a&gt;, with no previous experience.
  16436. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16437. Next, &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/learn-js&quot;&gt;read my advice on learning JavaScript&lt;/a&gt;.
  16438. &lt;/p&gt;
  16439. &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/plarsen/35590387/&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/bicycle-repair.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;</content>
  16440.    <id>https://sive.rs/prog</id>
  16441.    <link href="https://sive.rs/prog"/>
  16442.    <title>Should you learn programming? Yes.</title>
  16443.    <updated>2016-02-14T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  16444.    <dc:date>2016-02-14T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  16445.  </entry>
  16446.  <entry>
  16447.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  16448. Life is like any journey.
  16449. You need to change directions a few times to get where you want to go.
  16450. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16451. &lt;strong&gt;
  16452. Early in your career, the best strategy is to say yes to everything.
  16453. &lt;/strong&gt;
  16454. The more things you try, and the more people you meet, the better.
  16455. Each one might lead to your lucky break.
  16456. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16457. Then when something is extra-rewarding, it’s time to switch strategies.
  16458. &lt;strong&gt;
  16459. Focus all of your energy on this one thing.
  16460. &lt;/strong&gt;
  16461. Don’t be leisurely.
  16462. Strike while it’s hot.
  16463. Be a freak.
  16464. Give it everything you’ve got.
  16465. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16466. If by chance it was a dead-end road, then switch your strategy back to trying everything.
  16467. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16468. Eventually your focus on something will pay off.
  16469. Because you’re successful, you’ll be overwhelmed with opportunities and offers.
  16470. You’ll want to do them all.
  16471. But this is when you need to switch strategies again.
  16472. &lt;strong&gt;
  16473. This is when you learn to say “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/hellyeah&quot;&gt;hell yeah or no&lt;/a&gt;” to avoid drowning.
  16474. &lt;/strong&gt;
  16475. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16476. Now you admit you’ve arrived at your first destination.
  16477. This is where you stop following old directions, and decide where you’re going next.
  16478. The new plan means you need to switch strategies again.
  16479. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  16480.    <id>https://sive.rs/switch</id>
  16481.    <link href="https://sive.rs/switch"/>
  16482.    <title>Switch strategies</title>
  16483.    <updated>2016-01-27T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  16484.    <dc:date>2016-01-27T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  16485.  </entry>
  16486.  <entry>
  16487.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  16488. A month ago I announced &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/nowff&quot;&gt;the /now page movement&lt;/a&gt;, where many personal websites are adding a “/now” page to answer the question, “What are you focused on now?”
  16489. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16490. At the time, only ten websites had a /now page.
  16491. Now there are over 280.
  16492. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16493. It’s incredible.
  16494. People are saying it helps them prioritize and focus.
  16495. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16496. &lt;a href=&quot;http://gregalbritton.com/now&quot;&gt;Greg Albritton&lt;/a&gt; emailed to say he made a list of everyone with a /now page.
  16497. So I turned that into its own website: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://nownownow.com/&quot;&gt;nownownow.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;.
  16498. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16499. It’s been a fun programming project.
  16500. I’ve been doing it full-time for the past month.
  16501. (Thanks to &lt;a href=&quot;https://github.com/SaschaKrause&quot;&gt;Sascha Krause&lt;/a&gt; in Berlin for contributing a better design.)
  16502. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16503. Then Greg wanted to do feature profiles, so he came up with six questions that I asked everyone.
  16504. Now if you click the (+) by any link on &lt;a href=&quot;http://nownownow.com/&quot;&gt;nownownow.com&lt;/a&gt;, it will bring you to a page where you can get to know the person behind the site.
  16505. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16506. It’s addicting and inspiring to browse these profiles, and visit their sites.
  16507. There’s a Twitter account — &lt;a href=&quot;https://twitter.com/NowNowNow&quot;&gt;@NowNowNow&lt;/a&gt; — that tweets out a link to a new profile every hour.
  16508. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16509. People have told me they are getting a good amount of traffic to their site from people browsing &lt;a href=&quot;http://nownownow.com/&quot;&gt;nownownow.com&lt;/a&gt;, so…
  16510. &lt;/p&gt;
  16511. &lt;h3&gt;
  16512. How to add yours?
  16513. &lt;/h3&gt;
  16514. &lt;p&gt;
  16515. &lt;strong&gt;If you already have a website&lt;/strong&gt;, just add a new page.
  16516. If you’re using WordPress, look for “Pages” on the left, and choose “Add New”.
  16517. Give it a “permalink” of /now.
  16518. (Sorry I can’t help with tech support.)
  16519. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16520. Write something about what you’re doing now, and publish.
  16521. &lt;strong&gt;Once it’s online, email me the link at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:derek@sivers.org&quot;&gt;derek@sivers.org&lt;/a&gt;, and I’ll add it to nownownow.com.&lt;/strong&gt;
  16522. After it’s up, I’ll ask you the questions for a profile page.
  16523. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16524. &lt;strong&gt;If you don’t have a website&lt;/strong&gt;, but have been meaning to get one, create a free one at &lt;a href=&quot;https://wordpress.com/&quot;&gt;wordpress.com&lt;/a&gt;.
  16525. Before you announce it, I highly recommend getting your own domain name at &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.hover.com/&quot;&gt;hover.com&lt;/a&gt;.
  16526. Point your domain to your WordPress blog, and use that.
  16527. (Again, sorry I can’t help with tech support, but this is very common stuff, so anyone else can.)
  16528. &lt;/p&gt;
  16529. &lt;h3&gt;
  16530. What now?
  16531. &lt;/h3&gt;
  16532. &lt;p&gt;
  16533. Someone asked me what my vision is for the /now page movement.
  16534. But I’ve never had one.
  16535. I just enjoy being of service.
  16536. &lt;strong&gt;
  16537. People tell me what they want, and if it’s something I can do, I do.
  16538. &lt;/strong&gt;
  16539. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16540. So if you have a good idea for what this could use or could be, please leave a comment here, or email me at &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:derek@sivers.org&quot;&gt;derek@sivers.org&lt;/a&gt;.
  16541. &lt;/p&gt;
  16542. &lt;a href=&quot;http://nownownow.com/&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/nowclock.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;</content>
  16543.    <id>https://sive.rs/now3</id>
  16544.    <link href="https://sive.rs/now3"/>
  16545.    <title>nownownow.com</title>
  16546.    <updated>2015-11-20T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  16547.    <dc:date>2015-11-20T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  16548.  </entry>
  16549.  <entry>
  16550.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  16551. People often ask me what I’m doing now.
  16552. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16553. Each time I would type out a reply, describing where I’m at, what I’m focused on, and what I’m not.
  16554. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16555. So earlier this year I added a &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/now&quot;&gt;/now&lt;/a&gt; page to my site:
  16556. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/now&quot;&gt;sive.rs/now&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;
  16557. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16558. A simple link.
  16559. Easy to remember.
  16560. Easy to type.
  16561. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16562. It’s a nice reminder for myself, when I’m feeling unfocused.
  16563. A public declaration of priorities.
  16564. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16565. (If I’m doing something that’s not on my list, is it something I want to add, or something I want to stop?)
  16566. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16567. It helps me &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/no2&quot;&gt;say no&lt;/a&gt;, too.
  16568. When I decline invitations, I point them to that page to let them know it’s not personal.
  16569. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16570. Anyway, &lt;strong&gt;today&lt;/strong&gt; the brilliant Gregory Brown announced that &lt;strong&gt;he added &lt;a href=&quot;http://practicingdeveloper.com/now/&quot;&gt;a /now page&lt;/a&gt; to his site!&lt;/strong&gt;
  16571. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16572. I re-tweeted his announcement, and &lt;strong&gt;within hours, 8 more people made a /now page!&lt;/strong&gt;
  16573. &lt;/p&gt;
  16574. &lt;ul&gt;
  16575. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://mikevial.com/now/&quot;&gt;mikevial.com/now&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  16576. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.theubergeekgirl.com/now/&quot;&gt;theubergeekgirl.com/now&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  16577. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://blitzprog.org/now&quot;&gt;blitzprog.org/now&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  16578. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.notkindacool.com/now/&quot;&gt;notkindacool.com/now&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  16579. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.marclittlemore.com/now/&quot;&gt;marclittlemore.com/now&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  16580. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://marcjenkins.co.uk/now/&quot;&gt;marcjenkins.co.uk/now&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  16581. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://lewiswalsh.com/now/&quot;&gt;lewiswalsh.com/now&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  16582. &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://garrickvanburen.com/now/&quot;&gt;garrickvanburen.com/now&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  16583. &lt;/ul&gt;
  16584. &lt;p&gt;
  16585. I love it!
  16586. I wish &lt;em&gt;everyone&lt;/em&gt; had one!
  16587. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16588. &lt;strong&gt;If you make a /now page on your site, please add the URL in the body of a comment, below.&lt;/strong&gt;
  16589. Use the full http:// URL, so it will be a clickable link.
  16590. &lt;/p&gt;
  16591. &lt;h4&gt;Update: all /now pages listed at &lt;a href=&quot;http://nownownow.com/&quot;&gt;nownownow.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
  16592. &lt;p&gt;
  16593. (You do get what’s going on here, don’t you?
  16594. Gregory Brown has &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/ff&quot;&gt;started a movement&lt;/a&gt;!)
  16595. ☺
  16596. &lt;/p&gt;
  16597. &lt;a href=&quot;http://nownownow.com/&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/nowclock.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;</content>
  16598.    <id>https://sive.rs/nowff</id>
  16599.    <link href="https://sive.rs/nowff"/>
  16600.    <title>The /now page movement</title>
  16601.    <updated>2015-10-21T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  16602.    <dc:date>2015-10-21T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  16603.  </entry>
  16604.  <entry>
  16605.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  16606. A few years ago, I lived in Santa Monica, California, right on the beach.
  16607. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16608. There’s a great bike path that goes along the ocean for seven and a half miles.
  16609. So, fifteen miles round trip.
  16610. On weekday afternoons, it’s almost empty.
  16611. It’s perfect for going full speed.
  16612. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16613. So a few times a week, I’d get on &lt;a href=&quot;https://surlybikes.com/bikes/straggler&quot;&gt;my bike&lt;/a&gt; and go as fast as I could for the fifteen-mile loop.
  16614. I mean really full-on, 100 percent, head-down, red-faced sprinting.
  16615. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16616. I’d finish exhausted and look at the time:
  16617. &lt;strong&gt;
  16618. forty-three minutes.
  16619. &lt;/strong&gt;
  16620. Every time.
  16621. Maybe a minute more on a really windy day, but basically always forty-three minutes.
  16622. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16623. After a few months, I noticed I was getting less enthusiastic about this bike ride.
  16624. I think I had mentally linked it with being completely exhausted.
  16625. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16626. So one day I decided &lt;strong&gt;I would do the same ride, but just chill&lt;/strong&gt;.
  16627. Take it easy, nice and slow.
  16628. OK, not &lt;em&gt;super&lt;/em&gt; slow, but dialing it back to about 50 percent of my usual effort.
  16629. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16630. And ahhh… what a nice ride.
  16631. I was relaxed and smiling and looking around.
  16632. I was barely giving it any effort.
  16633. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16634. I saw two dolphins in the water.
  16635. A pelican flew right over me in Marina del Rey.
  16636. When I looked up to say “wow!” he shit in my mouth.
  16637. I can still remember that taste of digested shellfish.
  16638. I had to laugh at the novelty of it.
  16639. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16640. I’m usually so damn driven, always doing everything as intensely as I can.
  16641. It was so nice to take it easy for once.
  16642. I felt I could do this forever, without any exhaustion.
  16643. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16644. When I finished, I looked at the time: &lt;strong&gt;forty-five minutes.&lt;/strong&gt;
  16645. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16646. Wait — what?!?
  16647. How could that be?
  16648. Yep.
  16649. I double-checked: forty-five minutes, as compared to my usual forty-three.
  16650. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16651. So apparently all of that exhausting, red-faced, full-on push-push-push I had been doing had given me only a &lt;strong&gt;4 percent&lt;/strong&gt; boost.
  16652. I could just take it easy and get &lt;strong&gt;96 percent of the results&lt;/strong&gt;.
  16653. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16654. And what a difference in experience!
  16655. To go the &lt;em&gt;same&lt;/em&gt; distance, in about the &lt;em&gt;same&lt;/em&gt; time, but one way leaves me exhausted, and the other way, rejuvenated.
  16656. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16657. I think of this often.
  16658. When I notice that I’m all stressed out about something or driving myself to exhaustion, I remember that bike ride and try dialing back my effort by 50 percent.
  16659. It’s been amazing how often everything gets done just as well and just as fast, with what &lt;em&gt;feels&lt;/em&gt; like half the effort.
  16660. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16661. Which then makes me realize that half of my effort wasn’t effort at all, but just unnecessary stress that made me &lt;em&gt;feel&lt;/em&gt; like I was doing my best.
  16662. &lt;/p&gt;
  16663. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/bikesand.jpg&quot;&gt;
  16664. &lt;div class=&quot;small&quot;&gt;Bicycle photo &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.flickr.com/photos/mike-dean/12008975114&quot;&gt;© Mike Dean&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content>
  16665.    <id>https://sive.rs/relax</id>
  16666.    <link href="https://sive.rs/relax"/>
  16667.    <title>Relax for the same result</title>
  16668.    <updated>2015-10-02T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  16669.    <dc:date>2015-10-02T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  16670.  </entry>
  16671.  <entry>
  16672.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  16673. &lt;a href=&quot;https://stevenpressfield.com/about/&quot;&gt;Steven Pressfield&lt;/a&gt; called himself an author for years, but he’d never actually finished a book.
  16674. Eventually, the psychological pain of not finishing kept building until he couldn’t stand it anymore.
  16675. He decided to finally beat the devil he calls “The Resistance”.
  16676. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16677. He created a situation with no escape.
  16678. He rented a cabin, brought his typewriter, and shut off all other options.
  16679. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16680. He said,
  16681. &lt;/p&gt;
  16682. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  16683. “I didn’t talk to anybody during that year…
  16684. I didn’t hang out.
  16685. I just worked.
  16686. I had a book in mind and I had decided I would finish it or kill myself.
  16687. I could not run away again, or let people down again, or let myself down again.
  16688. This was it, do or die.”
  16689. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  16690. &lt;p&gt;
  16691. After a difficult year of wrestling with those inner demons and avoiding all temptations, he did it.
  16692. He finished his first book.
  16693. It wasn’t a success, but it didn’t matter.
  16694. He had finally beat The Resistance.
  16695. He went on to write many successful novels.
  16696. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16697. He told this story in the great book &lt;i&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/TurningPro&quot;&gt;Turning Pro&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/i&gt;, the third in his series of little books about the creative struggle, including &lt;i&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/WarOfArt&quot;&gt;The War of Art&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/DoTheWork&quot;&gt;Do the Work&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/i&gt;.
  16698. Read all three.
  16699. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16700. “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/hellyeah&quot;&gt;Hell yeah or no&lt;/a&gt;” is a filter you can use to decide what’s worth doing.
  16701. But this is simpler and more serious.
  16702. &lt;strong&gt;
  16703. This is a decision to stop deciding.
  16704. &lt;/strong&gt;
  16705. It’s one decision, in advance, that the answer to all future distractions is “no” until you finish what you started.
  16706. &lt;strong&gt;
  16707. It’s saying yes to one thing, and no to absolutely everything else.
  16708. &lt;/strong&gt;
  16709. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  16710.    <id>https://sive.rs/no2</id>
  16711.    <link href="https://sive.rs/no2"/>
  16712.    <title>Saying no to everything else</title>
  16713.    <updated>2015-09-23T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  16714.    <dc:date>2015-09-23T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  16715.  </entry>
  16716.  <entry>
  16717.    <content type="html">&lt;h3&gt;
  16718. Internalizing books
  16719. &lt;/h3&gt;
  16720. &lt;p&gt;
  16721. Wanting to be successful, I’ve always read every book I thought could help.
  16722. Even if a book had just one useful insight, it was worth the $20 and my time spent reading and thinking.
  16723. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16724. A few years ago, I realized I was forgetting the lessons I’d learned from past books.
  16725. So I started taking detailed notes while reading, saving every important idea.
  16726. I wanted to permanently remember what I’d learned, and act on it.
  16727. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16728. I saved these notes as text files and put them on my phone, so I could review them often.
  16729. Now I also share them on my site at &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book&quot;&gt;sive.rs/book&lt;/a&gt;.
  16730. There are over 200 books there now, with my top recommendations at the top. Enjoy.
  16731. &lt;/p&gt;
  16732. &lt;h3&gt;
  16733. “Just tell me what to do.”
  16734. &lt;/h3&gt;
  16735. &lt;p&gt;
  16736. When I’d tell my friends about a great book I’d just read, they didn’t want to read it.
  16737. They didn’t want 300 pages of anecdotes, explanations, and supporting arguments.
  16738. They’d say, “Just tell me what to do.”
  16739. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16740. I realized that for some things, I also don’t want the full 20-hour explanation.
  16741. I’d be happier with just the conclusions — the actions — the directives.
  16742. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16743. For example, I’d heard great things about Michael Pollan’s book “&lt;a href=&quot;http://michaelpollan.com/books/the-omnivores-dilemma/&quot;&gt;The Omnivore’s Dilemma&lt;/a&gt;”.
  16744. But 450 pages about the history of food?  Eh...
  16745. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16746. Then two years later he wrote “&lt;a href=&quot;http://michaelpollan.com/books/in-defense-of-food/&quot;&gt;In Defense of Food&lt;/a&gt;”.
  16747. It sounded like a tighter argument at 250 pages, but... eh....
  16748. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16749. Then he wrote “&lt;a href=&quot;http://michaelpollan.com/books/food-rules/&quot;&gt;Food Rules&lt;/a&gt;”, a tiny little book that &lt;strong&gt;compresses all of his advice into 64 sentences&lt;/strong&gt;.
  16750. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/hellyeah&quot;&gt;Hell yeah!&lt;/a&gt;
  16751. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16752. It takes only 30 minutes to read, with succinct advice like “Eat only foods that will eventually rot.” and “Avoid food products that make health claims.”
  16753. Each point has just a few sentences of explanation.
  16754. That’s all I needed, because I already trust him.
  16755. But you can reference his previous book if you want the supporting evidence behind the advice.
  16756. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16757. Compressing wisdom into directives — (“Do &lt;em&gt;this&lt;/em&gt;.”) — is so valuable, but so rarely done.
  16758. It feels arrogant and imperial to tell people what to do.
  16759. Who am I to order people around?
  16760. On the other hand, who am I &lt;em&gt;not&lt;/em&gt; to?
  16761. It’s useful to people, so do it.
  16762. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16763. I’m humble.
  16764. I don’t expect anyone to actually do what I say.
  16765. It’s just a succinct and powerful way to communicate an idea.
  16766. Focus on the action.
  16767. &lt;/p&gt;
  16768. &lt;h3&gt;
  16769. Compressing all this wisdom into directives
  16770. &lt;/h3&gt;
  16771. &lt;p&gt;
  16772. So I spent the last few months going through all my notes for 220 books.
  16773. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16774. First I extracted just the most essential and counterintuitive points.
  16775. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16776. Then the hardest part was turning observations into advice.
  16777. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16778. For example, this observation —
  16779. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;
  16780. “Behavioral psychologists Stephen M. Garcia and Avishalom Tor showed that merely knowing there are more competitors in a competition decreases our performance.”
  16781. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16782. — turns into this advice:
  16783. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;
  16784. “Avoid awareness of competitors.”
  16785. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16786. But what about this observation?
  16787. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;
  16788. “Half a group was shown that extraverts are more successful.  Other half shown that introverts are more successful.  Then when asked to recall events from their past to help determine which they were, they remembered just the events that support the successful group they were told.”
  16789. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16790. How would you turn that into advice?
  16791. &lt;/p&gt;
  16792. &lt;h3&gt;
  16793. The result?
  16794. &lt;/h3&gt;
  16795. &lt;p&gt;
  16796. I’ve now got hundreds of these wise directives.
  16797. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16798. I tried turning them into a 30-minute talk for a conference, but it was a disaster.
  16799. Fun for the first three minutes, then overwhelming.
  16800. A 30-minute TO-DO list that would take a lifetime to complete.
  16801. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16802. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/d1&quot;&gt;I list many of them at sive.rs/d1&lt;/a&gt;, but I think a list is not as useful.
  16803. I prefer presenting &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/1idea&quot;&gt;one idea at a time&lt;/a&gt;.
  16804. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16805. Maybe I’ll turn them into a book.
  16806. (I like the title “Do This”.)
  16807. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16808. &lt;strong&gt;Any other ideas?&lt;/strong&gt;
  16809. &lt;/p&gt;
  16810. &lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/images/bonsai.jpg&quot;&gt;
  16811. &lt;div class=&quot;small&quot;&gt;(Bonsai photo by &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.flickr.com/photos/grufnik/408948777&quot;&gt;Grufnik&lt;/a&gt;.)&lt;/div&gt;</content>
  16812.    <id>https://sive.rs/2do</id>
  16813.    <link href="https://sive.rs/2do"/>
  16814.    <title>“Just tell me what to do”: compressing knowledge into directives</title>
  16815.    <updated>2015-08-29T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  16816.    <dc:date>2015-08-29T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  16817.  </entry>
  16818.  <entry>
  16819.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  16820. If you are a web or API developer, programming code that uses an SQL database, this is for you.
  16821. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16822. I’ve found a very different and useful way to structure code.
  16823. It’s made such a big difference for me that I had to share it here.
  16824. &lt;/p&gt;
  16825. &lt;h3&gt;
  16826. How things are
  16827. &lt;/h3&gt;
  16828. &lt;p&gt;
  16829. Most web development — whether custom or using frameworks like Rails, Django, Laravel, Sinatra, Flask, and Symfony — tends to work the same way:
  16830. &lt;/p&gt;
  16831. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  16832. At the core is a &lt;strong&gt;database&lt;/strong&gt;, which is just the storage of data.
  16833. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  16834. &lt;strong&gt;All intelligence&lt;/strong&gt; is in Ruby/Python/PHP/JavaScript classes.
  16835. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  16836. &lt;h3&gt;
  16837. Why that’s bad
  16838. &lt;/h3&gt;
  16839. &lt;p&gt;
  16840. These norms have some dangerous implications:
  16841. &lt;/p&gt;
  16842. &lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  16843. &lt;strong&gt;Everything&lt;/strong&gt; must go through these Ruby/Python/PHP/JavaScript classes — including shell scripts and other things not part of this application.
  16844. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  16845. &lt;strong&gt;Nothing&lt;/strong&gt; else may access the database directly, since doing so may break the rules defined by these surrounding classes.
  16846. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  16847. The &lt;strong&gt;database is treated as dumb storage&lt;/strong&gt;, even though the database is smart enough to have most of this logic built-in.
  16848. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  16849. But if you add data logic into the database itself, it’s now &lt;strong&gt;duplicated&lt;/strong&gt;, requiring changing in multiple places if the rules change.
  16850. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  16851. These two systems — the database and its surrounding code — are &lt;strong&gt;coupled and dependent&lt;/strong&gt; on each other.
  16852. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  16853. If it’s ever advantageous to &lt;strong&gt;switch applications&lt;/strong&gt; (say from a web app to mobile app, or Python to JavaScript), you’re going to have to &lt;strong&gt;re-write all of that data logic&lt;/strong&gt;.
  16854. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  16855. &lt;h3&gt;
  16856. Simple vs complex
  16857. &lt;/h3&gt;
  16858. &lt;p&gt;
  16859. Please go watch this amazing 35-minute talk as soon as possible:
  16860. &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI8tNMsozo0&quot;&gt;Simplicity Matters by Rich Hickey&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;.
  16861. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16862. Here are his important points for this article:
  16863. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  16864. “&lt;strong&gt;Complex&lt;/strong&gt;” is objective.
  16865. It means &lt;strong&gt;many things tied together&lt;/strong&gt;.
  16866. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  16867. “&lt;strong&gt;Simple&lt;/strong&gt;” is objective.
  16868. It means &lt;strong&gt;one ingredient&lt;/strong&gt; — the opposite of complex.
  16869. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  16870. These are unrelated to “easy”.
  16871. It is easy to install and bind yourself to something very complex (like &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object-relational_mapping&quot;&gt;ORM&lt;/a&gt;), and can be hard to build something simple.
  16872. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  16873. Classes, models, and methods (&lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object-oriented_programming&quot;&gt;OOP&lt;/a&gt;) are an &lt;strong&gt;unnecessary complication&lt;/strong&gt;.
  16874. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  16875. Information is simple, so &lt;strong&gt;don’t hide it&lt;/strong&gt; behind a micro-language.
  16876. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  16877. &lt;strong&gt;Work with values directly&lt;/strong&gt;: hash/map of strings.
  16878. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;
  16879. Since a &lt;strong&gt;JSON API&lt;/strong&gt; — a hash/map of strings — is often the eventual interface, it’s even more reason to skip the abstractions and work with values directly.
  16880. &lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  16881. &lt;h3&gt;
  16882. Why this hit home for me
  16883. &lt;/h3&gt;
  16884. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  16885. Databases outlive the applications that access them.
  16886. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16887. I’ve been using the same SQL database since 1997: same data, values, and SQL tables.
  16888. But the code around it has changed so many times.
  16889. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16890. In 1997, I started in Perl.
  16891. In 1998, I switched to PHP.
  16892. In 2004, a rewrite in Rails.
  16893. In 2007, &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/rails2php&quot;&gt;back&lt;/a&gt; to PHP.
  16894. In 2009, minimalist Ruby.
  16895. In 2012, client-side JavaScript.
  16896. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16897. &lt;strong&gt;Each time I’d have to re-write all of the logic around the database&lt;/strong&gt;:
  16898. how to add a new person into the database,
  16899. how to verify an invoice is correct,
  16900. how to mark an order as paid, etc.
  16901. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16902. But &lt;strong&gt;that whole time, my trusty PostgreSQL database stayed the same&lt;/strong&gt;.
  16903. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16904. Since most of this is &lt;a href=&quot;https://rob.conery.io/2015/02/21/its-time-to-get-over-that-stored-procedure-aversion-you-have/&quot;&gt;data logic, not business logic&lt;/a&gt;, it should be in the database.
  16905. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16906. So I’m putting this data logic directly into &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.postgresql.org/about/&quot;&gt;PostgreSQL&lt;/a&gt;, since I plan to stay with it for many more years, but plan to keep experimenting with programming languages.
  16907. (&lt;a href=&quot;https://nim-lang.org/&quot;&gt;Nim&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;https://elixir-lang.org/&quot;&gt;Elixir&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;https://racket-lang.org/&quot;&gt;Racket&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.lua.org/about.html&quot;&gt;Lua&lt;/a&gt;, whatever.)
  16908. &lt;/p&gt;
  16909. &lt;h3&gt;
  16910. How things could be
  16911. &lt;/h3&gt;
  16912. &lt;p&gt;
  16913. Web developers have been treating the database as dumb storage, but it’s actually &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/server-programming.html&quot;&gt;quite smart&lt;/a&gt;.
  16914. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16915. It’s &lt;strong&gt;simple&lt;/strong&gt; to have all of this intelligence &lt;strong&gt;in the database itself&lt;/strong&gt;.
  16916. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16917. It’s &lt;strong&gt;complex&lt;/strong&gt; to have it tied to surrounding outside code.
  16918. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16919. Once you put all of the intelligence directly into the database, then the outside code disappears!
  16920. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16921. Then &lt;strong&gt;the database is self-contained, and not tied to anything&lt;/strong&gt;.
  16922. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16923. Your outside interface can &lt;strong&gt;switch&lt;/strong&gt; to JavaScript, Haskell, Elixir or anything else with ease, because your core intelligence is all inside the database.
  16924. &lt;/p&gt;
  16925. &lt;h3&gt;
  16926. How to do it
  16927. &lt;/h3&gt;
  16928. &lt;h4&gt;
  16929. Table constraints
  16930. &lt;/h4&gt;
  16931. &lt;p&gt;
  16932. The easiest place to start is &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/ddl-constraints.html&quot;&gt;constraints&lt;/a&gt;:
  16933. &lt;/p&gt;
  16934. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;
  16935. create table people (
  16936.  id serial primary key,
  16937.  name text not null constraint no_name check (length(name) &gt; 0),
  16938.  email text unique constraint valid_email check (email ~ &#39;\A\S+@\S+\.\S+\Z&#39;)
  16939. );
  16940. create table tags (
  16941.  person_id integer not null references people(id) on delete cascade,
  16942.  tag varchar(16) constraint tag_format check (tag ~ &#39;\A[a-z0-9._-]+\Z&#39;)
  16943. );
  16944. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;
  16945. &lt;p&gt;
  16946. Define what is considered valid/invalid data here.
  16947. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16948. In my people example above, it says name can’t be empty, email must match that pattern with “@” and “.” and no whitespace.
  16949. Then it says tags.person_id has to exist in the people table, but if the person is deleted then delete the tags, too.
  16950. And the tag has to fit that regexp pattern of lowercase letters, numbers, dot, underscore, dash.
  16951. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  16952. It helps to name your constraints for later use in error catching.
  16953. &lt;/p&gt;
  16954. &lt;h4&gt;
  16955. Triggers
  16956. &lt;/h4&gt;
  16957. &lt;p&gt;
  16958. For things that happen before or after you alter data, use &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/trigger-definition.html&quot;&gt;triggers&lt;/a&gt;:
  16959. &lt;/p&gt;
  16960. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;
  16961. create function clean() returns trigger as $$
  16962. begin
  16963.  new.name = btrim(regexp_replace(new.name, &#39;\s+&#39;, &#39; &#39;, &#39;g&#39;));
  16964.  new.email = lower(regexp_replace(new.email, &#39;\s&#39;, &#39;&#39;, &#39;g&#39;));
  16965. end;
  16966. $$ language plpgsql;
  16967. create trigger clean before insert or update of name, email on people
  16968.  for each row execute procedure clean();
  16969. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;
  16970. &lt;p&gt;
  16971. This example cleans the input before it’s put into the database, in case someone accidentally put a space in their email address, or a line-break in their name.
  16972. &lt;/p&gt;
  16973. &lt;h4&gt;
  16974. Functions
  16975. &lt;/h4&gt;
  16976. &lt;p&gt;
  16977. Make little re-usable functions for things you’ll use often inside your code.
  16978. &lt;/p&gt;
  16979. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;
  16980. create function get_person(a_name text, a_email text) returns setof people as $$
  16981. begin
  16982.  if not exists (select 1 from people where email = a_email) then
  16983.    return query insert into people (name, email)
  16984.      values (a_name, a_email) returning people.*;
  16985.  else
  16986.    return query select * from people where email = a_email;
  16987.  end if;
  16988. end;
  16989. $$ language plpgsql;
  16990. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;
  16991. &lt;p&gt;
  16992. That’s one I use often:
  16993. Given someone’s name and email, if they’re not already in my database, add them.
  16994. Then, either way, return the database info for this person.
  16995. &lt;/p&gt;
  16996. &lt;h4&gt;
  16997. Views for JSON
  16998. &lt;/h4&gt;
  16999. &lt;p&gt;
  17000. Instead of requiring outside code to convert your data into JSON, you can have the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/functions-json.html#FUNCTIONS-JSON-CREATION-TABLE&quot;&gt;database create JSON directly&lt;/a&gt;.
  17001. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17002. For this, use &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/sql-createview.html&quot;&gt;views&lt;/a&gt; as JSON structure templates.
  17003. Inside the view, use &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/functions-aggregate.html&quot;&gt;json_agg&lt;/a&gt; for nested values.
  17004. &lt;/p&gt;
  17005. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;
  17006. create view person_view as
  17007.  select *, (select json_agg(t) as tags from
  17008.    (select tag from tags where person_id=people.id) t)
  17009.  from people;
  17010. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;
  17011. &lt;p&gt;
  17012. This will be used in the API functions, below:
  17013. &lt;/p&gt;
  17014. &lt;h4&gt;
  17015. API functions
  17016. &lt;/h4&gt;
  17017. &lt;p&gt;
  17018. These are the only functions your outside code will access.
  17019. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17020. They return only JSON.
  17021. &lt;/p&gt;
  17022. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;
  17023. create function update_password(p_id integer, nu_pass text, out js json) as $$
  17024. begin
  17025.  update people set password=crypt(nu_pass, gen_salt(&#39;bf&#39;, 8)) where id = p_id;
  17026.  js := row_to_json(r) from (select * from person_view where id = p_id) r;
  17027. end;
  17028. $$ language plpgsql;
  17029. create function people_with_tag(a_tag text, out js json) as $$
  17030. begin
  17031.  js := json_agg(r) from
  17032.    (select * from person_view where id in
  17033.      (select person_id from tags where tag = a_tag)) r;
  17034. end;
  17035. $$ language plpgsql;
  17036. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;
  17037. &lt;p&gt;
  17038. No matter what you need to do with your database, the &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/xplang.html&quot;&gt;procedural languages built-in to PostgreSQL&lt;/a&gt; can do it.
  17039. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17040. &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/plpgsql-overview.html&quot;&gt;PL/pgSQL&lt;/a&gt; is &lt;strong&gt;not the most beautiful language&lt;/strong&gt;, but the &lt;strong&gt;simplicity&lt;/strong&gt; of having everything in the database is worth it.
  17041. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17042. If you like JavaScript, check out the promising &lt;a href=&quot;https://plv8.github.io/&quot;&gt;plv8&lt;/a&gt;.
  17043. &lt;/p&gt;
  17044. &lt;h3&gt;
  17045. Now, if you need a REST API:
  17046. &lt;/h3&gt;
  17047. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;
  17048. require &#39;pg&#39;
  17049. require &#39;sinatra&#39;
  17050. DB = PG::Connection.new(dbconfig)
  17051. def qry(sql, params=[])
  17052.  @res = DB.exec_params(&#39;select js from &#39; + sql, params)
  17053. end
  17054. after do
  17055.  content_type &#39;application/json&#39;
  17056.  body @res[0][&#39;js&#39;]
  17057. end
  17058. get &#39;/people&#39; do
  17059.  qry(&#39;get_people()&#39;)
  17060. end
  17061. get %r{/people/([0-9]+)} do |id|
  17062.  qry(&#39;get_person($1)&#39;, [id])
  17063. end
  17064. put %r{/people/([0-9]+)} do |id|
  17065.  qry(&#39;update_password($1, $2)&#39;, [id, params[:password]])
  17066. end
  17067. get &#39;/people/tagged&#39; do
  17068.  qry(&#39;people_with_tag($1)&#39;, [params[:tag]])
  17069. end
  17070. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;
  17071. &lt;h3&gt;
  17072. Or if you need a client library:
  17073. &lt;/h3&gt;
  17074. &lt;pre&gt;&lt;code&gt;
  17075. require &#39;pg&#39;
  17076. require &#39;json&#39;
  17077. DB = PG::Connection.new(dbconfig)
  17078. def js(func, params=[])
  17079.  res = DB.exec_params(&#39;select js from &#39; + func, params)
  17080.  JSON.parse(res[0][&#39;js&#39;])
  17081. end
  17082. def people
  17083.  js(&#39;get_people()&#39;)
  17084. end
  17085. def person(id)
  17086.  js(&#39;get_person($1)&#39;, [id])
  17087. end
  17088. def update_password(id, newpass)
  17089.  js(&#39;update_password($1, $2)&#39;, [id, newpass])
  17090. end
  17091. def people_tagged(tag)
  17092.  js(&#39;people_with_tag($1)&#39;, [tag])
  17093. end
  17094. &lt;/code&gt;&lt;/pre&gt;
  17095. &lt;h3&gt;
  17096. That’s it!
  17097. &lt;/h3&gt;
  17098. &lt;p&gt;
  17099. Now whether a REST API or client library, &lt;strong&gt;all it really has to do is pass the arguments into the database functions, and return the JSON&lt;/strong&gt;.
  17100. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17101. I’m not trying to convince everyone to do things this way.
  17102. But I hope you find it useful or at least interesting to consider.
  17103. &lt;/p&gt;
  17104. &lt;img src=&quot;/images/postgresql.png&quot; alt=&quot;postgresql logo&quot;&gt;</content>
  17105.    <id>https://sive.rs/pg</id>
  17106.    <link href="https://sive.rs/pg"/>
  17107.    <title>Simplify: move code into database functions</title>
  17108.    <updated>2015-05-04T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  17109.    <dc:date>2015-05-04T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  17110.  </entry>
  17111.  <entry>
  17112.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  17113. The last time I was in really bad state of mind, I used these five steps to get out of it.
  17114. I’ve shared this with a few friends in a similar situation, and they said it helped.
  17115. I hope it works for you too.
  17116. &lt;/p&gt;
  17117. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  17118. 1.
  17119. Ask myself what’s wrong in this very second.
  17120. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17121. Am I in physical pain or danger?
  17122. No.
  17123. I’ve got mental pain, but that’s just me imagining things or remembering things.
  17124. None of it is real.
  17125. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; If I put aside the mental torture I’m giving myself, the only thing that’s real is this physical moment.
  17126. Is it so bad?
  17127. No.
  17128. It’s not perfect, but not horrible.
  17129. I look around and appreciate that I’m not in hell.
  17130. It’s a nice place, nice trees, nice food, and has some nice people.
  17131. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17132. Of course the mental anguish is still there, but this question is a nice reminder that the pain is all in my head.
  17133. &lt;/p&gt;
  17134. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  17135. 2.
  17136. Observe now. Act later.
  17137. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17138. When I’m feeling cloudy, my decisions and actions will be cloudy too.
  17139. So I wait a few days before acting on anything.
  17140. I watch the emotions pass by like a thunderstorm.
  17141. And the longer I wait, the &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/walkways&quot;&gt;smarter I get&lt;/a&gt;.
  17142. &lt;/p&gt;
  17143. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  17144. 3.
  17145. Raise standards.
  17146. Say no to anything less than great.
  17147. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17148. When I’m down, I avoid anyone who doesn’t rejuvenate me.
  17149. They’re not allowed in my life right now, not even for a minute.
  17150. No big explanation needed.
  17151. No compromise.
  17152. No favors.
  17153. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17154. Everything I’m doing that isn’t good for me.
  17155. Everything I’m eating or drinking that isn’t making me more healthy.
  17156. People who are “fine” or who I “kill time” with, but don’t actually love and enjoy?
  17157. Nope.
  17158. Not good enough.
  17159. I say no.
  17160. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17161. Raising the bar not only gives me a huge feeling of self-worth, but also empties my time.
  17162. Empty time helps me think clearly, because there’s more time to process and reflect.
  17163. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17164. Empty time has the potential to be filled with great things.
  17165. Time filled with little things has little potential.
  17166. &lt;/p&gt;
  17167. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  17168. 4.
  17169. Focus on my goal
  17170. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17171. The empty space from #3 helps me remember what I’m really doing with my life.
  17172. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17173. Creating, learning, improving, whatever.
  17174. It’s the ten-year-plan type of stuff.
  17175. Clearing the clutter helps me see the horizon.
  17176. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17177. It’s a huge energy-filled feeling of “Oh yeah! That’s where I’m going! I had forgotten! I can see it now! Let’s go!”
  17178. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17179. Focus helps me say no, because once you can clearly see where you’re heading, you’re less likely to let anything get in your way.
  17180. &lt;/p&gt;
  17181. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  17182. 5.
  17183. Do all the necessary stuff
  17184. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17185. When I’m upset, I don’t feel like doing anything but wallowing in it.
  17186. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17187. But despite feeling that way, I brush my teeth, make healthy meals, take the kid out to play, do the dishes, pay the bills, take my vitamins, clean up, and go to bed early.
  17188. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17189. These tasks are so mundane, but they help me to feel on top of things.
  17190. When everyday responsibilities are done, my mind is less distracted.
  17191. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17192. When I ask, “What’s wrong right now?” — and I see this clean house, paid bills, and happy child — I can answer “nothing!”
  17193. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17194. Going through the motions, even though I don’t feel like it, is peaceful.
  17195. I think and process in the background as going about real life.
  17196. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17197. It’s a great reminder that I have to eat, even if I’m not feeling hungry.
  17198. I have to clean the house, even if my mind is a mess.
  17199. I have to sleep, no matter what!
  17200. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17201. Like #1, above, this step separates the mental anguish from the physical reality.
  17202. It keeps me focused on what’s real versus what I’m just imagining.
  17203. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  17204.    <id>https://sive.rs/bad</id>
  17205.    <link href="https://sive.rs/bad"/>
  17206.    <title>Getting out of a bad state of mind</title>
  17207.    <updated>2015-02-01T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  17208.    <dc:date>2015-02-01T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  17209.  </entry>
  17210.  <entry>
  17211.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  17212. I get emails from many people wanting to change or build their career.
  17213. I always recommend the best book on the subject: “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/SoGood&quot;&gt;So Good They Can’t Ignore You&lt;/a&gt;” by Cal Newport.
  17214. Here are a few of its best points:
  17215. &lt;/p&gt;
  17216. &lt;h3&gt;
  17217. Forget passion and purpose
  17218. &lt;/h3&gt;
  17219. &lt;p&gt;
  17220. Forget “follow your passion” or “find your true calling”.
  17221. Stop thinking like that.
  17222. Here’s why:
  17223. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17224. Words like “passion” and “purpose” are dangerous because they sound huge and romantic.
  17225. If you think you haven’t found your passion yet, you’re probably &lt;strong&gt;expecting it to be overwhelming&lt;/strong&gt; — to hit you like lightning.
  17226. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17227. Looking for your passion, purpose, or calling is an example of the &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/mindset&quot;&gt;fixed mindset&lt;/a&gt;.
  17228. You’re assuming that this is an inherent and unchanging thing inside of you, like trying to read your DNA or blood type.
  17229. But you won’t find passion and purpose there, because &lt;strong&gt;that’s not where those feelings come from.&lt;/strong&gt;
  17230. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17231. Passion and purpose are &lt;strong&gt;emotions that come after expertise and experience.&lt;/strong&gt;
  17232. The way to get them is to commit to &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/Mastery&quot;&gt;the path of mastery&lt;/a&gt;, get great at something, and do great work.
  17233. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17234. So instead of looking for passion and purpose, just keep mastering whatever work you’ve started, becoming more and more valuable in your field.
  17235. Passion and purpose will follow a great career.
  17236. &lt;/p&gt;
  17237. &lt;h3&gt;
  17238. Great careers are only for the rare and valuable
  17239. &lt;/h3&gt;
  17240. &lt;p&gt;
  17241. Think of what makes a great career:
  17242. &lt;/p&gt;
  17243. &lt;ul&gt;
  17244. &lt;li&gt;
  17245. good pay
  17246. &lt;/li&gt;
  17247. &lt;li&gt;
  17248. room to grow
  17249. &lt;/li&gt;
  17250. &lt;li&gt;
  17251. freedom and control
  17252. &lt;/li&gt;
  17253. &lt;li&gt;
  17254. positive impact
  17255. &lt;/li&gt;
  17256. &lt;li&gt;
  17257. emotionally rewarding
  17258. &lt;/li&gt;
  17259. &lt;/ul&gt;
  17260. &lt;p&gt;
  17261. Jobs like this are rare and valuable.
  17262. A great career isn’t something you &lt;strong&gt;find&lt;/strong&gt; — it’s something you &lt;strong&gt;earn&lt;/strong&gt; when you’ve got &lt;strong&gt;rare and valuable skills to offer in return.&lt;/strong&gt;
  17263. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17264. In other words, you can only earn a great career by building your expertise and experience.
  17265. &lt;/p&gt;
  17266. &lt;h3&gt;
  17267. Solution: focus on the craft, not passion.
  17268. &lt;/h3&gt;
  17269. &lt;p&gt;
  17270. The solution to this problem is what’s called “the craftman’s path” — the long-term path to mastery.
  17271. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17272. Everyone who became great at something has a similar story:
  17273. For years, they worked on their craft every day, even if they weren’t in the mood.
  17274. Always pushing, practicing, working, and improving.
  17275. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17276. It doesn’t matter if you’re feeling passionate about it that day or even that month.
  17277. You keep working and keep improving.
  17278. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17279. It doesn’t matter whether your work environment is ideal or you’re being wonderfully rewarded yet.
  17280. You keep working and keep improving.
  17281. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17282. Yes it takes thousands of hours of practice, but that’s good news!
  17283. &lt;strong&gt;It’s a clear path and it’s under your control&lt;/strong&gt;, instead of dwelling on unanswerable questions like “What is my true calling?”
  17284. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17285. You forget the self-centered concerns about your passion and purpose, and instead just keep improving and getting really damn good.
  17286. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17287. It doesn’t matter if your current job isn’t perfect.
  17288. &lt;strong&gt;You just keep improving&lt;/strong&gt;, no matter where you are, &lt;strong&gt;becoming more and more valuable&lt;/strong&gt;.
  17289. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17290. By building your skills, experience, and value, you earn a great career.
  17291. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17292. By building your skills, experience, and value, &lt;strong&gt;passion and purpose come to you&lt;/strong&gt;.
  17293. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17294. By building your skills, experience, and value, you are building your “career capital”.
  17295. &lt;/p&gt;
  17296. &lt;h3&gt;
  17297. Career capital: use it to make a change
  17298. &lt;/h3&gt;
  17299. &lt;p&gt;
  17300. “Career capital” is a metaphor.
  17301. Think of it like gold tokens you’re earning over years of building your expertise, experience, connections, and reputation.
  17302. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17303. The important point is to &lt;strong&gt;remember how valuable it is&lt;/strong&gt;.
  17304. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17305. When you want to make a change to your career, you spend this career capital you’ve earned.
  17306. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17307. But if you’re really sick of your current field and want to switch to another field, &lt;strong&gt;don’t just quit and throw away all the career capital you’ve built up!&lt;/strong&gt;
  17308. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17309. &lt;strong&gt;
  17310. If you’re thinking of quitting your job to follow your passion, please don’t miss this point!
  17311. &lt;/strong&gt;
  17312. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17313. Think of ways you can &lt;strong&gt;use the value you’ve built up&lt;/strong&gt; to make the transition to another field.
  17314. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17315. &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/tarzan&quot;&gt;Like Tarzan&lt;/a&gt;, use your connections, reputation, experience, and expertise to &lt;strong&gt;transition&lt;/strong&gt; into a better situation in the new field before leaving the old one.
  17316. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17317. Realize the career capital you’ve built up already, and don’t just throw it away.
  17318. &lt;/p&gt;
  17319. &lt;h3&gt;
  17320. Starting from scratch?
  17321. &lt;/h3&gt;
  17322. &lt;p&gt;
  17323. If you’re starting from scratch anyway, jump into any growing field and start building your skills, expertise, connections, and reputation.
  17324. Pick a niche and dominate it.
  17325. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17326. If you have no ideas, check out &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ycombinator.com/rfs/&quot;&gt;this list of what startup investors want to invest in&lt;/a&gt;.
  17327. And &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.google.com/search?q=jwt+things+to+watch&quot;&gt;JWT’s “Things to Watch”&lt;/a&gt; is always fun and inspiring.
  17328. &lt;/p&gt;
  17329. &lt;h3&gt;
  17330. Read “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/SoGood&quot;&gt;So Good They Can’t Ignore You&lt;/a&gt;”
  17331. &lt;/h3&gt;
  17332. &lt;p&gt;
  17333. The ideas here are just a little incomplete intro to an amazing book.
  17334. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17335. “&lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/SoGood&quot;&gt;So Good They Can’t Ignore You&lt;/a&gt;” by &lt;a href=&quot;http://calnewport.com/&quot;&gt;Cal Newport&lt;/a&gt;, is the best I’ve ever read on the subject of building or changing your career.
  17336. &lt;a href=&quot;https://commoncog.com/blog/so-good-they-cant-ignore-you/&quot;&gt;Here is a great summary of it.&lt;/a&gt;
  17337. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17338. I just searched my email out-box and found out that I’ve personally recommended it to people over a hundred times in the past two years.
  17339. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17340. If this subject interests you at all, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/SoGood&quot;&gt;get and read the full book&lt;/a&gt;, not just my summary.
  17341. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  17342.    <id>https://sive.rs/career</id>
  17343.    <link href="https://sive.rs/career"/>
  17344.    <title>How to change or build your career</title>
  17345.    <updated>2014-10-06T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  17346.    <dc:date>2014-10-06T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  17347.  </entry>
  17348.  <entry>
  17349.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  17350. One of the most important concepts I’ve learned is the difference between the “fixed” mindset and the “growth” mindset.
  17351. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17352. It’s a little bit like “nature vs nurture”:
  17353. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17354. People in a &lt;strong&gt;fixed&lt;/strong&gt; mindset believe you either are or aren’t good at something, based on your inherent nature, because it’s just who you are.
  17355. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17356. People in a &lt;strong&gt;growth&lt;/strong&gt; mindset believe anyone can be good at anything, because your abilities are entirely due to your actions.
  17357. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17358. This sounds simple, but it’s surprisingly deep.
  17359. &lt;strong&gt;The fixed mindset is the most common and the most harmful&lt;/strong&gt;, so it’s worth understanding and considering how it’s affecting you.
  17360. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17361. For example:
  17362. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17363. In a fixed mindset, you believe “She’s a natural born singer” or “I’m just no good at dancing.”
  17364. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17365. In a growth mindset, you believe “Anyone can be good at anything. Skill comes only from practice.”
  17366. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17367. &lt;strong&gt;
  17368. The fixed mindset believes trouble is devastating.
  17369. &lt;/strong&gt;
  17370. If you believe, “You’re either naturally great or will never be great,” then when you have any trouble, your mind thinks, “See? You’ll never be great at this. Give up now.”
  17371. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17372. The growth mindset believes trouble is just important feedback in the learning process.
  17373. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17374. Can you see how this subtle difference in mindset can change everything?
  17375. &lt;/p&gt;
  17376. &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;
  17377. More examples:
  17378. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  17379. &lt;p&gt;
  17380. In a &lt;strong&gt;fixed&lt;/strong&gt; mindset, you want to hide your flaws so you’re not judged or labeled a failure.
  17381. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17382. In a &lt;strong&gt;growth&lt;/strong&gt; mindset, your flaws are just a TO-DO list of things to improve.
  17383. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17384. In a &lt;strong&gt;fixed&lt;/strong&gt; mindset, you stick with what you know to keep up your confidence.
  17385. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17386. In a &lt;strong&gt;growth&lt;/strong&gt; mindset, you keep up your confidence by always pushing into the unfamiliar, to make sure you’re always learning.
  17387. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17388. In a &lt;strong&gt;fixed&lt;/strong&gt; mindset, you look inside yourself to find your true passion and purpose, as if this is a hidden inherent thing.
  17389. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17390. In a &lt;strong&gt;growth&lt;/strong&gt; mindset, you commit to mastering valuable skills regardless of mood, knowing passion and purpose come from doing great work, which comes from expertise and experience.
  17391. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17392. In a &lt;strong&gt;fixed&lt;/strong&gt; mindset, failures define you.
  17393. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17394. In a &lt;strong&gt;growth&lt;/strong&gt; mindset, failures are temporary setbacks.
  17395. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17396. In a &lt;strong&gt;fixed&lt;/strong&gt; mindset, you believe if you’re romantically compatible with someone, you should share all of each other’s views, and everything should just come naturally.
  17397. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17398. In a &lt;strong&gt;growth&lt;/strong&gt; mindset, you believe a lasting relationship comes from effort and working through inevitable differences.
  17399. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17400. In a &lt;strong&gt;fixed&lt;/strong&gt; mindset, it’s all about the outcome. If you fail, you think all effort was wasted.
  17401. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17402. In a &lt;strong&gt;growth&lt;/strong&gt; mindset, it’s all about the process, so the outcome hardly matters.
  17403. &lt;/p&gt;
  17404. &lt;hr/&gt;
  17405. &lt;p&gt;
  17406. And yes, the mindset itself is not fixed.
  17407. You can change your mindset just by thinking it through.
  17408. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17409. I’ve talked about this in &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/ml&quot;&gt;my “Meaning of Life” talk&lt;/a&gt;, and &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/failure&quot;&gt;my “Why You Need to Fail” talk&lt;/a&gt;, if you’re interested in checking those out, too.
  17410. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17411. But I get no credit for these insights.
  17412. This is all from &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/Mindset&quot;&gt;Carol Dweck’s book, “Mindset”&lt;/a&gt;, and &lt;a href=&quot;https://sive.rs/book/ArtOfLearning&quot;&gt;Josh Waitzkin’s book, “The Art of Learning”&lt;/a&gt;, both of which I highly recommend.
  17413. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  17414.    <id>https://sive.rs/mindset</id>
  17415.    <link href="https://sive.rs/mindset"/>
  17416.    <title>Fixed mindset vs Growth mindset</title>
  17417.    <updated>2014-09-21T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  17418.    <dc:date>2014-09-21T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  17419.  </entry>
  17420.  <entry>
  17421.    <content type="html">&lt;p&gt;
  17422. Most of the time, I feel smart, successful, and driven — like I’ve got it all figured out.
  17423. But last month a bunch of stuff knocked me on my ass.
  17424. I’ve never felt so wrong.
  17425. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17426. I vulnerably called on friends for help.
  17427. They gave me a bunch of good advice, and helped me see things from a new point of view.
  17428. Each different perspective made me feel good for a while.
  17429. Then I fell back into the whirlpool of destructive thoughts.
  17430. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17431. Whenever something has gone wrong in my life, I’ve asked myself, “What’s great about this?”
  17432. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17433. Usually I find an answer.
  17434. But this time, my only answer was, “Nothing. This just sucks.”
  17435. I tried asking it again every day or two, but the answer was the same.
  17436. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17437. Eventually, I had an epiphany.
  17438. &lt;strong&gt;I actually love being wrong&lt;/strong&gt;, even though it cracks my confidence, &lt;strong&gt;because that’s the only time I learn.&lt;/strong&gt;
  17439. &lt;strong&gt;I actually love being lost&lt;/strong&gt;, even though it fuels fears, &lt;strong&gt;because that’s when I go somewhere unexpected.&lt;/strong&gt;
  17440. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17441. I pursue being wrong and lost in small doses.
  17442. I love little lessons that surprise my expectations and change my mind.
  17443. If we’re not surprised, we’re not learning.
  17444. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17445. So I finally figured out what’s great about this.
  17446. Getting knocked on my ass made me humble as hell.
  17447. It’d been years since I’d called for help.
  17448. It’d been years since I was so open to advice.
  17449. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;
  17450. I smiled, thinking of how much I’d learned from my friends this past month.
  17451. I realized how ultimately happy it makes me to be so empty, even if it really hurts at first.
  17452. &lt;strong&gt;
  17453. It’s better than thinking I’ve got it all figured out.
  17454. &lt;/strong&gt;
  17455. &lt;/p&gt;</content>
  17456.    <id>https://sive.rs/lw</id>
  17457.    <link href="https://sive.rs/lw"/>
  17458.    <title>I love being wrong</title>
  17459.    <updated>2014-09-09T00:00:00+00:00</updated>
  17460.    <dc:date>2014-09-09T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  17461.  </entry>
  17462.  <dc:date>2000-01-01T00:00:00+00:00</dc:date>
  17463. </feed>
  17464.  

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