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Compare yourself to you
I barely use social media these days but whenever I do login Instagram, I do get the feeling of insecurity from not doing enough. There is definitely a lot of fake posts and embellished wins on Instagram, but my lizard brain can’t understand that. I instantly compare myself to whoever that person on Instagram is. …
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Simple is beautiful
The guitar is one of my favorite physical things in the world. It boggles my mind how six steel strings and a hollow piece of wood can make such beautiful music. This simple wood-and-string combination provides entertainment, calms the mind, relieves stress and anxiety, and brings people together. I’ve been in the web design space…
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Accepting suffering, not escaping it
The older I get, the more I realize how much suffering is simply part of life. Like Rocky said—it’s not always sunshine and rainbows. There are days when I just want to escape. I don’t want to go to the office. I don’t want to put out another fire in operations. I don’t want to…
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Clarity through action
Go start that thing. You don’t need all the answers yet. You’ll gain clarity through action. Action breeds information. You failed? Good. Now you have feedback — you know why it didn’t work. Journaling, writing, and planning can only take you so far. Real clarity comes from action. Do it now.
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Where do I see myself in the next few years?
Right now, I’m in a phase where I’m not entirely sure where I see myself in the next few years. I don’t have a detailed plan—and that’s okay. Honestly, I’m still trying different things out and figuring out what fits. But here’s what I do know: I’m at my happiest when I’m giving value to…
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Mark Manson is shutting down his podcast
I’ve followed Mark since the very beginning, though I’ve barely checked his content over the past few years. I recently came across his announcement about shutting down his podcast. It’s a bold move—and one that really reflects Mark’s character and integrity. There’s a trade-off that comes with being a content creator on the internet. As…
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No solutions, only trade-offs
Thomas Sowell’s Basic Economics is one of my favorite economics books of all time. Why? Because it skips all the complicated formulas and charts you usually see in macro and microeconomics classes. I took both in university, and I still get haunted by those isoquants and isocost curves! Anyway, Sowell is such a clear thinker,…
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Trust your gut
I just saw a post on X from Sahil Bloom, and it instantly reminded me of how many times my gut pointed me in the right direction. It’s something so profound that it deserves a closer look. I think we all know that feeling—when your body tells you a decision feels right, or when something…
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Vetting fitness influencers on social media
I’m passionate about exercise, movement, and biomechanics. So it’s no surprise that my Instagram feed is flooded with content related to fitness. Earlier today, I was watching a few short reels from fitness influencers and couldn’t help but notice how many of them give out advice without any real credentials. Sure, they have great physiques—but…
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Say Less
If there’s one thing I learned from living in Finland, it’s that you can get by saying less. The Finns are straight to the point—precise with their words. They don’t need a lot to get their message across. Before moving to Finland, I lived in America. Coming from a culture where people love to speak…
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I need to relax my mind
I’m on vacation right now, yet here I am—with my laptop and books in tow. I’ve realized I have this constant urge to be productive, to always be on. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from sports, it’s that the body absolutely needs recovery. In fact, I’ve always performed better after a period of…
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Stress from information overload
We’re on a five-day vacation at a peaceful resort in Da Nang, Vietnam. But as soon as I open social media (especially X) or browse YouTube, the deluge of information leaves me feeling stressed! It’s wild how much information and news we now have at our fingertips. Our brains aren’t wired for this. We should…
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Don’t take life too seriously
I have been listening to Chris Williamson and Naval Ravikant podcast for 3 different days now. And every time Naval throws out an idea, I immediately pause to ponder. This stood out: The more seriously you take yourself, the unhappier you are going to be. Naval Ravikant He explains that if you take life too…
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Don’t play status games
Don’t chase recognition. Don’t play status games. Don’t chase high fives. Don’t let your ego run wild. Just do the work and live a happy quiet life with the people that you love.
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Go fail at something
The traditional school system taught us that failure is bad. But school is a controlled environment—real life isn’t. In the real world, failure is your greatest teacher. It’s how you learn more about yourself, your career, or your business. What if we stopped calling it failure and started calling it learning? That shift alone removes…
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Embrace the suck
It’s 8 p.m. now in Davao City, and I just came out of the gym. I am physically and mentally exhausted. Three rounds of jump rope, three rounds of shadow boxing, three rounds of heavy bag, four rounds of mitt work, and two rounds of light sparring. That has been the routine since January, when…
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Be consistently not crazy
Charlie Munger had this interview where he said that, “if you’re consistently not crazy, you get a big advantage in life.” It sounds funny how he words it but in essence it basically means to have the mental stability to make the right decisions in the long haul. A few advice from Charlie Munger I…
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The mission
Develop skills and expertise.Use these skills and expertise to help people.Give value.And don’t take advantage of people.Don’t cheat. Remember your mission is to use your skills and expertise to help.Don’t chase the money.Chase where you can give value. You have skills, knowledge, background unique to you.Understand your unique skillsets and use it to give value.Stay in…
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Problem? GOOD. Now take action.
One of the things I’m working to change in our company is how we deal with problems. Right now, the default is to talk about the problem — sometimes endlessly. And what happens when that’s the focus? Emotions get stirred up. People get frustrated. We overanalyze. There’s too much talk and too little action. The…
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What’s the worst that could happen?
I am an overthinker and a worrier. I have read Nassim Taleb’s books (Incerto Series) so many times that I always wait for a Black Swan. Everything is all good and dandy, and then boom, a Black Swan shows up and catches you off guard. Robert Sapolsky in his book, Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcer,…
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Real friendship is not transactional
I recently came to know of Arthur Brooks, an author and Harvard Professor, through a podcast with Jordan Peterson. He had many ideas on happiness that stood out to me, but I really liked his take on friendship. He says that “real friends are useless.” It is quite a statement and is really memorable. Real…
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Don’t follow your passion
In order to succeed, you need to “follow your passion.” We all have heard this phrase. But I feel uncomfortable with this. I know people who have become extremely successful not because they followed their passion. They simply pursued an opportunity, put their head down, overcame a lot of obstacles, and eventually became successful. Their…
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Don’t be hostage to your ideas
I am pretty sure 5-10 years from now, I will have ideas here that I no longer believe. Growth. Learning. Change in perspective. Experience. I remember being a vegan for about 3 years. At that point in my life, I really thought that veganism was the way. I watched a few convincing documentaries about it.…
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Sell with authenticity
I come from a family of entrepreneurs. Since I was exposed to business at a very young age, I could already spot a snake oil salesman from a mile away. These type of sales people usually talk a lot. They are masters at manipulating emotions and getting you to feel comfortable with them. They sell…
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Begin with the end in mind
It starts by asking “What do you want out of life.” Once you know what you want, begin to visualize what the end goal is. Work your way backwards from that end goal. What are the major and minor steps that you need to get to that? What are the sacrifices that you need to…
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What do you want out of life?
In my 20’s, I backpacked extensively trying to understand myself and the world. I have also lived in different countries, which gave me a lot of perspective in how people live, what their value system is, and how they view the world. What do I want out of this life? Essentially, what I want is…
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Don’t go where chaos lives
Don’t go where chaos lives. Choose your friends.Choose your workplace.Choose your gym.Choose your neighborhood.Choose your community.Choose which part of the internet you enter.Choose who gets access to your energy. Go where there is peace.Go where the air feels lighter.Go where conversations heal, not harm.Go where silence is safe, not awkward. Go where there is love.Go…
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Don’t over engineer
In my quest to have super fast websites for clients, I tend to over engineer the site. I recently implemented NGINX Page Caching Method and Redis Object Cache on a website. This is a WordPress multisite so imagine the complication! GTmetrix page speed performance was at 91% but I wanted it to be 99%. Now,…
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What is a business?
A business solves a problem. It creates value by providing solutions to a problem. Answer these two question and you have yourself a business. The answer needs to be succint. If you wrote an essay answering these two questions, you have an overcomplicated business. It will probably not work.
