Focus is one of your most valuable resources. It acts as a multiplier on the value of your time. An hour of absorbing focus can be worth ten times that of a distracted one. Unfortunately, focus is also hard. Distractions are everywhere. Even when they aren’t, it can often be difficult to get into a […]
How to Be Nice (Without Being a Pushover)
We live in an age of snark. Meanness is celebrated as wit. Vicious attack is considered brave honesty. Niceness, the apologists for this current state of affairs claim, is an inferior virtue. Truth is what matters. Those who refuse to listen to harsh truths are really to blame. Or perhaps it’s confidence and strength which […]
Book Club: The Wizard And The Prophet (June 2018)
This month we read The Wizard And The Prophet by Charles C. Mann. If you would like to stream audio on your browser, click here listen on Soundcloud. Like many great books, this one works on multiple levels. On a first level, it’s a story of two men: Norman Borlaugh and William Vogt with different […]
Read my articles on WeChat now!
I now have a WeChat account which is posting Chinese/English versions of some of my more popular articles. You can check them out here: Chinese version and English version It’s still fairly new, but I’ll be deciding how much I want to pursue this direction depending on how popular it becomes. If you like subscribing […]
I'm a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, podcast host, computer programmer and an avid reader. Since 2006, I've published weekly essays on this website to help people like you learn and think better. My work has been featured in The New York Times, BBC, TEDx, Pocket, Business Insider and more. I don't promise I have all the answers, just a place to start.