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tiny thoughts & quick notes

^{_{:: go to dots mapping… :: go journal springboard… ::}}

These notes are helpers for sparking creativity! They make it easy to find and see what I’ve jotted down before to connect random tiny thoughts, ideas and foster new insights.

^{Use the timeline + as your go-to spot to capture other things like news and articles, enabling items to be tracked and revisited later, even if some entries eventually become outdated.}

• Sun, Sep 14, 2025 - 2025a09m14d
  • “What we see in people is determined, in large part, by what we expect to find.” - Author Paul Smith, on seeing what we want to see.
• Sat, Sep 13, 2025 - 2025a09m13d
  • While most devices are designed to do it all ^{_{(a device with yet another display to distract you from what you’re doing)}}, the irony is, when they try to do everything all at once — including battling for your attention — the quality of your thinking or creativity can slip.
• Sat, Sep 13, 2025 - 2025a09m13d
  • Laws of Human Nature - dark psychology lessons
    • Always Say Less Than Necessary
      • “A man’s best treasure is his thrifty tongue.”
      • A loose tongue can land you in trouble, and the more you say, the less in control you appear.
      • Real power isn’t about being loud and trying to force things with your words but about keeping things under wraps and saying less.
      • The less you say, the more weight your words carry, and the more meaningful they become.
    • Never Appear Too Perfect
      • “People want you to do well, just not better than them.”
      • People hate perfection because it makes them feel inferior. There are three ways to be “better” without appearing so: making your mistakes obvious, keeping things to yourself, and using self-deprecation.
      • Three different ways to be ‘better’ but not appear to be so: (i) make your mistakes obvious, (ii) keep things to yourself, (iii) use self-deprecation.
• Sat, Sep 13, 2025 - 2025a09m13d
  • “Men are moved by two levers only: fear and self-interest.”
    • A lot of the decisions we make as human beings boil down to two questions: What do I fear? And, What’s in it for me? We do everything we can to avoid pain, failure, and loss. And the truth is, and as harsh as it sounds, we humans are selfish creatures. Subconsciously (or consciously) we always want to know how we can benefit. We want to know how to gain power, status, and satisfaction from a situation. Is there anything wrong with that? Not always. That’s just who we are.
• Sat, Sep 13, 2025 - 2025a09m13d
  • Thoughts from Benjamin Franklin
    • “You may delay, but time will not.”
      • Time doesn’t wait for anyone, and it’s essential to have a sense of urgency because sooner or later, our time will come to an abrupt end.
    • “Well done is better than well said.”
      • Talk is cheap, and what matters is following through on actions.
    • “The wise man draws more advantage from his enemies than the fool from his friends.”
      • Keep enemies closer and pay attention, as they can teach more than friends.
• Fri, Sep 12, 2025 - 2025a09m12d
  • Principles and importance of personal knowledge management (PKM)
    • Nobody cares how many times you change your Obsidian theme or re-calibrate your Notion databases. They care about in what way you can help them out or improve their lives (we’re selfish creatures).
    • A good note-taking system should be simple, effective, and flexible, allowing individuals to focus on their work and create value for others.
• Fri, Sep 12, 2025 - 2025a09m12d
  • “The first rule of happiness is low expectations.” A Charlie Munger classic. It never gets old!
  • Money buys happiness in the same way drugs bring pleasure: incredible if done right, dangerous if used to mask a weakness, and disastrous when no amount is enough.
    • At the end of the day, money is a tool. It’s not the be-all and end-all of life. Money is one of those things you’d rather have than not have. Yet at the same time, it should never fully take over one’s life.
  • Big fast changes happen only when they’re forced by necessity.
    • They say diamonds are made under pressure, don’t they? Well, as it turns out, so are we as human beings. When put under immense pressure, change happens at a tremendous speed, and we can accomplish things we never thought were possible.
  • The best financial plan is to save like a pessimist and invest like an optimist.
    • Save for the sake of saving and invest like you’re financial life depends on it, because in more ways than one, it does.
• Sun, Sep 07, 2025 - 2025a09m07d
  • When your primary goal is to be liked, you can’t take risks. You can’t disagree. You can’t push boundaries. You become a prisoner of other people’s expectations.
• Sun, Sep 07, 2025 - 2025a09m07d
  • AI degrades over time due to the loss of context and its inability to fill gaps in unstructured data.
    • AI models are based on unstructured data, which is prone to degradation over time.
    • By understanding these limitations and approaches, users can better leverage AI to achieve their goals without encountering unwanted outcomes.
    • A key issue is that AI degrades data over time due to limitations in context window size and the difficulty of capturing all contextual details.
• Sun, Sep 07, 2025 - 2025a09m07d
  • Core mindset shifts that help to go from burned out to bulletproof, including prioritizing clarity over hustle, cutting down on inputs, and designing environments that trigger focus.
    • These mindset shifts can help with burnout and improve productivity.
      • Time management is a trap. It assumes every hour is equal. It’s not. Upgrade: Track your energy curve.
      • “If you don’t know what game you’re playing, you’ll always feel behind.”
      • We don’t lack information–we drown in it.
      • You don’t need better focus. You need fewer distractions.
      • “The most powerful story is the one you tell yourself when no one’s watching.”
      • Want better strategy, leadership, or clarity? Start with hydration, movement, and sleep. They’re not “health tips”–they’re performance systems.
    • Other key takeaways include the importance of self-talk, creating decision templates, and tracking energy levels to optimize productivity.
• Fri, Sep 05, 2025 - 2025a09m05d
  • Simple one liners out of complicated truths.
    • “The Big Money Is Not in the Buying and Selling, but in the Waiting.”
    • “You Don’t Have to Be Smarter Than the Rest; You Have to Be More Disciplined Than the Rest.”
• Tue, Sep 02, 2025 - 2025a09m02d
  • Respond with Stories, Not Statements.
    • One of the biggest reasons someone runs out of things to say is they give dead-end answers.
      • Instead, turn even the most boring questions into opportunities for connection.
• Mon, Sep 01, 2025 - 2025a09m01d
  • Sensations are a quick, easy, effective way to change your mood.
    • I’m talking about music. About movement. About the minor miracle of biting into something that tastes like happiness compressed into carbohydrate form.
  • How to increase emotional intelligence…
    • Sensation: The song, the walk, the mango, the dog. They bring you back to your body, back to the moment, back to a baseline of sanity.
• Mon, Sep 01, 2025 - 2025a09m01d
  • Behaviors, such as routine, contemplation, humility, and gratitude, are rational and beneficial for individuals and society as a whole, regardless of belief in a higher power.
    • Foundational behaviors common to dominant religions, such as routine, contemplation, humility, gratitude, accountability, compassion, sobriety, and judiciousness, are beneficial for individuals and society, regardless of religious belief.
• Sun, Aug 31, 2025 - 2025a08m31d
  • Weird but Strangely Effective Tips for Life
    • Invest in the things that keep you off the ground—beds, chairs, shoes.
    • Be a good person, but don’t waste your time trying to prove it.
    • If you’re the smartest one in the room, find a new room.
    • Never forget, you can be right - or you can be happy.
• Sun, Aug 31, 2025 - 2025a08m31d
  • First And Foremost: Address basic needs (hunger, tiredness, overstimulation) before anything else. Biology > Psychology.
  • Give information instead of orders (e.g., “The iPad is very delicate” instead of “Don’t be so rough!”).
  • Use “I” not “you” (e.g., “I’d like it if those toys were cleaned up”).
  • These strategies won’t eliminate all challenges, but they can reduce stress and improve the parent-child relationship.
• Thu, Aug 21, 2025 - 2025a08m21d
  • The One Who Wins Every Argument Often Loses the People Around Them §
    • – –
    • Imagine a man is always right. Razor sharp. Every conversation is a duel he must win.
    • To value victory over connection is to walk alone.
    • To silence others with your brilliance is to invite silence into your own life.
    • Winning arguments often loses relationships.
    • An argument is about belonging, not truth.
    • Marcus Aurelius: be right and kind if possible. If you must choose, choose kindness. An argument is never about truth.
    • You can be right, and you can be kind. Choose both if possible. If not, choose kind.—Marcus Aurelius
    • Winning isn’t worth it if it costs the people who matter.
  • Prioritizing relationships over being right
    • Winning arguments can lead to losing relationships, and it’s more important to be kind and understanding.
• Mon, Aug 18, 2025 - 2025a08m18d
  • “If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.” by Author Haruki Murakami on acquiring knowledge
• Sun, Aug 10, 2025 - 2025a08m10d
  • “Everything We Hear Is an Opinion, Not a Fact. Everything We See Is a Perspective, Not the Truth.” We don’t see the world as it is. We see it through our own window. Two people watch the same rain. One is glad for the crops. One curses the sky. Maybe your aunt’s Facebook status is cringe for you, but not to her and her friends. You conserve enormous energy by being mindful of the difference. Half of your arguments could be avoided if you simply say, “This is my idea, not a law for everyone.”
  • Telling yourself you’ll do it tomorrow is how dreams die.
  • People think good decision-making is about being right all the time. It’s not. It’s about lowering the cost of being wrong and changing your mind. When the cost of mistakes is high, we’re paralyzed with fear. When the cost of mistakes is low, we can move fast and adapt. Make mistakes cheap, not rare.
• Tue, Aug 05, 2025 - 2025a08m05d
  • Similarities between the current AI boom and the dot-com crash. Do we live in a bubble? Most likely. Is it going to burst? History says yes. When it does, will AI vanish? Not at all. Markets always correct when expectations exceed reality, not because the technology is fake or ineffective. The dot-com crash destroyed the weaker companies, an AI correction would likely have the same effect. The issue isn’t the technology - it’s the timeline and expectations.
  • “No-Code is the New Technical Debt”. As AI assists in every level of operations, parts of your business hidden behind other people’s abstractions become blind spots. The more layers you rent from vendors, the more of your business you lose control over. § ^{+ ++}
• Mon, Aug 04, 2025 - 2025a08m04d
  • There are aspiration-driven desires, and obligation-driven desires. ⁺
    • Our obligations come from a sense of duty to ourselves and others.
      • We want to make money and participate in society. We want to make our families feel proud. We want to stay consistent with our identities as reliable people.
    • Our aspirations come from within.
      • We often can’t put them into words. We want to write novels, make music, and build beautiful software, or just kinda ya know, do things.
  • Aphorism: “Find what you love and let it kill you.” - Charles Bukowski
  • Acknowledging the challenges of office politics. § ⁺⁺
    • Fairness is not always a determining factor in career advancement and that having leverage, such as a higher position, access to resources, or a good reputation, can significantly impact one’s career.
      • Understanding office politics doesn’t mean you’ve sold your soul; it means you’ve bought a better map.
      • We need to understand this game to get ahead. I know, it’s gross. But we’re not here to save souls; we’re here to get a raise and better health insurance.
        • You’re probably not gonna like everything you read below but I don’t make the rules. It’s time to learn how to play the game better, how to be smarter with our behavior, and, above all, to be strategic.
• Sun, Aug 03, 2025 - 2025a08m03d
  • Studies show that people need to hear a message at least seven times before it sticks.
    • Over-Communicate Until It Feels Excessive
      • How to apply this: Use the Rule of 7, make your message visual, and use different formats to reinforce your message.
• Tue, Jul 22, 2025 - 2025a07m22d
  • The Distinction Most Men Miss
    • Woman is never wrong about how she feels. That’s the distinction most men miss—and it’s a costly one.
    • When someone tells us they’re unhappy - especially someone we love - we don’t hear them. We hear failure. And failure triggers fear.
    • Stop trying to be right. Start trying to connect. Because the space between “I’m right” and “Woman is wrong” is where your relationship is either quietly dying… or where it can come roaring back to life.
    • It highlights that women are never wrong about how they feel, and men often miss this distinction, leading to costly misunderstandings.
    • It emphasizes the importance of improving emotional fluency rather than following blueprints or trying to fix problems.
• Mon, Jul 21, 2025 - 2025a07m21d
  • “The people who are right most of the time,” Bezos says, “are the people who change their minds the most.”
  • Bezos’ leadership style emphasizes intellectual flexibility over consistency. He doesn’t view changing your mind as weakness but as a crucial success mindset.
• Mon, Jul 21, 2025 - 2025a07m21d
  • Understood reciprocity: humans are biologically wired to return favors, even those that are unearned.
• Mon, Jul 21, 2025 - 2025a07m21d
  • The same story can have different takeaways.
    • This is roughly what a mental model is: it’s the lens through which you view the world.
    • Mental models matter because they help you see patterns that others don’t.
  • Mental Models
    • Mental models are the lenses through which we view the world, influencing our decisions, relationships, work, and money.
    • It introduces mental models to help think like a genius: Resistance, Fosbury Flop, Antifragility, Regret Minimization Framework, The 10/1 Rule, The 5/25 Rule, Exponential Thinking, and Information Arbitrage.
    • Each model provides a unique perspective on how to approach challenges, make decisions, and grow.
      • The 10/1 Rule
        • The one that resonate to me most today.
        • Be worth ten times what you ask for.
        • The concept is easy to grasp: give 10x what you receive in exchange. Not in cash alone, in time, effort, value, surprise.
        • You are trusted by others. And trust is the only proper currency.
        • They know you. Even though they do not say so in words.
        • Being good at something is great. But being generous gets people to care.
• Wed, Jul 09, 2025 - 2025a07m09d
  • Nobody wants to be “taught”; they want to be affirmed.
    • Readers respond better to a shared journey than a lecture.
  • You don’t win arguments by being intelligent; you win people over when they feel smart for agreeing with you. Most people don’t like being told what to think, but they feel good when they figure something out by themselves or feel like they did. §
    • – –
  • Most people don’t like being told what to think.
    • The best way to explain something is to say just enough so the other person can figure out the rest by themselves.
• Sun, Jul 06, 2025 - 2025a07m06d
  • Impatience is an expensive emotion.
    • Every app wants your decision in seconds. Every employer wants results this quarter. Every investment platform profits when you trade. Meanwhile, the boring investor who indexed and touched nothing decades ago owns your neighborhood.
    • Who’s winning? The patient inherit everything the impatient leave behind.
• Mon, Jun 30, 2025 - 2025a06m30d
  • Avoid everything that could ruin you. In your finances, health, relationships, everything.
• Sun, Jun 29, 2025 - 2025a06m29d
  • The gift with the highest return: believing in someone before they believe in themselves.
  • Everyone wants the summary. But the summary is what’s left after someone else decided what matters.
    • Their priorities aren’t yours. Their filters aren’t yours.
    • When you operate on summaries, you’re thinking with someone else’s brain.
• Fri, Jun 27, 2025 - 2025a06m27d
  • The concept of “cognitive offshoring” is where humans outsource thought and cognitive processes to machines.
    • Automation can impact personal thought by reducing the need for individuals to engage in deep thinking and reflection. §
      • ++
• Thu, Jun 26, 2025 - 2025a06m26d
  • Things about ourselves, our patterns, and our thoughts. §
    • ++
    • Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.
    • Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens.
• Mon, Jun 23, 2025 - 2025a06m23d
  • Tiny habits that quiet the mind
    • Name the thing you’re avoiding: Writing down the task and reason for avoidance helps calm the brain.
    • Use your eyes like a calm animal: when you soften your gaze-looking wide instead of narrow-your nervous system shifts from a fight-or-flight response into a rest-and-digest state. So when I’m feeling tense, I stare out a window or at the horizon. It’s subtle. But it works.
      • Your eyes are not just for seeing. They’re for regulating.
    • Name the thing you’re avoiding
      • Just to name it. Sometimes that’s all it takes.
        • Not for to-do lists, but for unspoken fears. And the relief they feel, just from saying it out loud, is palpable.
      • Uncertainty keeps the brain on high alert. Naming the fear is the first step toward calming it.
• Fri, Jun 20, 2025 - 2025a06m20d
  • Consistency beats intensity, and small, daily choices shift everything.
  • Habits are not hacks but anchors for improving mental well-being.
• Sat, Jun 14, 2025 - 2025a06m14d
  • Not All Criticism Is Helpful
    • Criticising for the sake of criticising is unproductive. Pointing out issues without offering solutions drains energy and motivation. As such, criticism should aim to better the initial idea, leaning in to help shape it.
  • Don’t Criticise. Challenge.
    • Critics should become challengers, asking rather than exclaiming, and fuelling rather than draining momentum.
• Sat, Jun 14, 2025 - 2025a06m14d
  • Who you choose to spend time with is important, as your close contacts will have a large influence on you.
  • It takes courage to do what you want. Other people have a lot of plans for you.
  • Deciding what kind of people you want to associate with is crucial, as they will significantly influence you, either positively or negatively.
• Fri, Jun 13, 2025 - 2025a06m13d
  • Let Silence Speak:
    • Don’t reply instantly to every message. People will learn that you’re always available if you do. A delay creates spacing and resets expectations.
    • Slight delay retrains people. It introduces a pause—and in that pause, expectations shift.
    • You’re not on standby. You’re not tech support. You’re a human being with rhythms, routines, and energy that deserves to be honored.
  • Let Silence Train People Too:
    • Silence can be a powerful tool for training others to respect one’s time. By not responding immediately to every message or request, one can create space and set boundaries.
    • Sometimes the most powerful boundary isn’t something you say. It’s what you don’t say.
    • The moment you reply instantly to everything, you’ve taught people a silent rule: “My time is free. I’m always available. Interrupt me anytime.”
    • Silence, on the other hand, creates spacing. It sends a message without friction: “This isn’t urgent for me right now.”
• Fri, Jun 13, 2025 - 2025a06m13d
  • A quick history lesson - a quick lesson about AI:
    • “Every major breakthrough in computing has been about doing more with less effort.”
    • The 1880 census took nearly a decade to process by hand, so we invented machines to do the counting. Then we invented programming languages so we didn’t have to wire circuits. Then we created frameworks so we didn’t have to write everything from scratch. Now we have AI so we don’t have to write every line of code.
    • The pattern is always the same: identify the tedious, repetitive work that humans are doing, then build tools to automate it so humans can focus on the creative, strategic thinking. §
      • ++
• Wed, Jun 11, 2025 - 2025a06m11d
  • Data Scientists have long said (about ML models) that “garbage in means garbage out” - in other words, your models are only as good as the data you’ve used to train them.
• Mon, Jun 09, 2025 - 2025a06m09d
  • The way something is said often fuels relationship stress, and this is mostly governed by our nervous systems.
    • Instead of rushing into resolutions, which can be counterproductive, try slowing down and regulating your nervous system jointly.
    • Often, the real stress in a relationship isn’t about what’s said but how it’s said. And the “how” is almost always shaped by the state of our nervous systems.
  • See conflict not as a threat but as a compass pointing towards unresolved emotions.
    • You’re not reacting to the present; you’re caught up in past stories and unmet needs.
    • When caught in a conflict, try saying: “Neither of us has the full truth”, and share your interpretation of the argument.
    • The real stakes aren’t “who’s right.” The real question is: What can we invent together?
      • Conflict resolution in relationships isn’t about winning - it’s about creating.
• Sun, Jun 08, 2025 - 2025a06m08d
  • Biggest mistakes killing your second brain:
    • The collector’s conundrum: You become a curator of other people’s ideas, not your own. §
      • – ++
    • This is a thinking problem: Avoiding the hard work of critical thinking, drafting, and shaping ideas.
• Sun, Jun 08, 2025 - 2025a06m08d
  • The courage isn’t in taking on more, it’s in cutting off everything that doesn’t feed your goal.
  • Focus requires subtraction.
  • Conversation enriches the understanding, but solitude is the school of genius.
• Wed, Jun 04, 2025 - 2025a06m04d
  • Just collecting info is not thinking - pieces of info need to be connected and combined. §
    • – ++
• Tue, Jun 03, 2025 - 2025a06m03d
  • An apple a day keeps the doctor away. An article a day? That’s how you keep the boss away.
• Mon, Jun 02, 2025 - 2025a06m02d
  • The 3-word phrase that makes people instantly like you.
    • The 3-word phrase: “tell me more” §
      • – ++
      • “Tell me more” works because it validates the speaker, encourages reciprocity, and creates curiosity.
      • “Tell me more” is a valuable tool for building rapport.
• Tue, May 27, 2025 - 2025a05m27d
  • Most people don’t really want to know themselves.
    • What they want is to feel good about their bad habits, see their past in a quote that makes them feel seen, and call that “healing”.
• Tue, May 27, 2025 - 2025a05m27d
  • When everything feels hard to do, focus on the “MAT” rule.
    • The simple trick that changed how I get things done (and made it a habit) is what I call The Minimal Action Trigger (MAT).
      • What’s MAT? It’s the smallest possible action that triggers motion. It’s so simple your brain can’t say no.
• Tue, May 27, 2025 - 2025a05m27d
  • People will believe almost anything, and that’s a dangerous reality. It’s no wonder why con artists succeed or why crooked politicians can lie and increase in popularity. We tend to believe what we want to be true. We’re all susceptible to sometimes letting self-interest, greed, fear, and ignorance get in the way of truth.
    • The human tendency to believe what we want to be true, making us vulnerable to manipulation and misinformation.
• Sun, May 25, 2025 - 2025a05m25d
  • If you’re sacrificing everything else in your life - family ties, friends, community involvement, good activities - in service. you’ll likely stop work only to find you have nothing meaningful to fill your days.
    • A healthy work-life balance during one’s career is key to a good retirement.
    • While money is important, sacrificing everything else for savings can lead to an empty and meaningless retirement.
• Sun, May 25, 2025 - 2025a05m25d
  • The best things in life - trust, talent, luck - have one thing in common: the harder you chase them, the faster they run.
  • The best things in life - trust, talent, luck - have one thing in common: the harder you chase them, the faster they run. Your reputation is the only magnet strong enough to make them come to you.
• Sun, May 25, 2025 - 2025a05m25d
  • Don’t rush any decision that isn’t urgent. Don’t let the relief of scratching something off your to-do list cause you to rush. Some things will go away on their own. And if you rush a decision, you might have to undo it later, or solve a problem that decision created.
    • Think ahead, but don’t overwhelm yourself. You don’t have to figure everything out in one day. You won’t be able to anyway.
    • It emphasizes the importance of avoiding hasty choices, especially when something isn’t urgent.
    • Many problems resolve themselves naturally and rushing into decisions can lead to regret or further complications.
• Sun, May 18, 2025 - 2025a05m18d
  • Your emotions are not problems to fix. They’re messages to hear. Ignore them, and they’ll show up and make things worse. Listen to them. They will guide you back to yourself. You’re not weak for feeling. You’re human.
• Sun, May 18, 2025 - 2025a05m18d
  • You have two choices when something annoys you—ignore it or try to fix it.
    • Two primary choices: ignoring the issue or attempting to fix it.
      • Ignore it: Most things won’t be fixable, and wasting energy on them only drains you.
      • It highlights that most problems are not fixable, and expending energy on them can be draining.
• Fri, May 16, 2025 - 2025a05m16d
  • Ancient Philosophies
    • “What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you do, you create” - Buddha
    • “We suffer more in imagination than in reality.”
• Fri, May 16, 2025 - 2025a05m16d
  • Meditation is an Information Fast
    • Meditation is becoming practically a requirement for survival in our world. With the amount of information we encounter every day, and the speed at which we can use technology tools, it’s essential to take time for silence and let your brain de-fragment:
      • “Information is the food of the mind, and the same way that people have food diets, they need information diets… A very important part of any information diet is to have periods of fasting.” - Yuval Noah Harari
• Thu, May 15, 2025 - 2025a05m15d
  • As you acquire new things and accomplish new goals, you lose something else: time.
    • Make sure your pursuits are worth your time, otherwise why pursue them?
• Sun, May 04, 2025 - 2025a05m04d
  • What separates good work from great isn’t talent but persistence. The most successful people aren’t those who feel motivated all the time; they’re the ones who work even when they don’t feel like it.
• Mon, Apr 28, 2025 - 2025a04m28d
  • Creativity isn’t something you have or don’t have - it’s something you express.
• Mon, Apr 28, 2025 - 2025a04m28d
  • Paradoxes That Are True - Save Your Time
    • The More You Try to Control, the More You Lose Control
      • Ask anyone who has tried to fix a teenager. Or a spouse. Or a friend. Or a bad haircut. The more you squeeze something with urgency, the sooner it wriggles away into your palms.
    • Letting Go Often Brings You Closer
    • True Freedom Requires Structure and Limits
      • Too many choices overwhelm. Boundaries are what make freedom feel safe.
        • Boundaries bring clarity
        • Too much freedom overwhelms
      • You need boundaries as a river needs banks.
    • The Harder You Chase Happiness, the More It Eludes You
      • Pursuit leads to pressure, not peace. Focus on meaning and joy follows quietly.
    • Vulnerability Is Your Greatest Strength
    • Rest Is What Makes You Productive
    • Strength Looks Like Softness
      • Toughness protects. Softness transforms. Power isn’t force; it’s presence.
    • Growth Begins Where Certainty Ends
  • Several paradoxes that are true, focusing on personal growth, relationships, and happiness. The main points include:
    • The more you try to control things, the more you lose control.
    • Letting go and giving space can bring people closer.
    • True freedom requires structure and limits.
    • Chasing happiness can make it more elusive; instead, focus on meaningful activities.
    • Vulnerability is a strength, not a weakness.
    • Rest is essential for productivity, and burnout is not something to be proud of.
    • Strength is often associated with softness, kindness, and compassion.
    • Growth and learning occur when we are uncomfortable and uncertain.
• Sun, Apr 27, 2025 - 2025a04m27d
  • The clearer you are about your priorities, the easier it is to say no.
  • The quicker you want something, the easier it is to manipulate you.
  • “To know what you are going to draw, you have to begin drawing.” Picasso
  • Thomas Mitchell on finding happiness where we are:
    • “People are always looking for happiness at some future time and in some new thing, or some new set of circumstances, in possession of which they some day expect to find themselves. But the fact is, if happiness is not found now, where we are, and as we are, there is little chance of it ever being found. There is a great deal more happiness around us day by day than we have the sense or the power to seek and find.”
  • Roger Federer on the kind of talent you can practice:
    • “Yes, talent matters. I’m not going to stand here and tell you it doesn’t. But talent has a broad definition. Most of the time, it’s not about having a gift. It’s about having grit. In tennis, like in life, discipline is also a talent. And so is patience. Trusting yourself is a talent. Embracing the process—loving the process—is a talent. Managing your life, managing yourself. These can be talents, too. Some people are born with them. Everybody has to work at them.”
  • There are two types of truth: ⁺
    • Political truth: true because many other people think they are.
    • Technical truth: true for physical or technical reasons.
• Sun, Apr 27, 2025 - 2025a04m27d
  • Time is not just numbers on a clock.
    • Clock Time: The hours and minutes we schedule.
      • Clock time is our method of organizing the day.
      • It’s the 9-to-5 schedule, the calendar appointments, and the deadlines that matter.
      • It’s necessary for efficiency.
    • Experience Time: How I feel time passing.
      • This is subjective. It’s how time feels. An hour can fly by when you’re enjoying yourself or drag when you’re bored.
      • Henri Bergson called this “duration”—the time we live, not just measure.
      • When I’m fully engaged in an activity, like writing or better conversations, time feels different.
        • I lose track of time.
  • The book Anti-Time Management, Richie Norton argues that there are two ways to put time to good use now:
    • Decide who you want to be.
    • Act from that identity immediately.
• Sun, Apr 27, 2025 - 2025a04m27d
  • “You come to understand that most people are neither for you nor against you; they are thinking about themselves.
  • You learn that no matter how hard you try to please, some people in this world are not going to love you, a lesson that is at first troubling and then really quite relaxing.”
  • Most people I know or come across are not for me or against me. They are not plotting my success or downfall. They’re not sitting around analyzing my choices or judging my every move. They are just thinking about themselves.
  • If someone wouldn’t text back–don’t wonder what you did wrong. It’s not you. It’s them.
  • They will put their interests first.
    • It’s natural and a basic human instinct.
  • “It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own.” - Marcus Aurelius
  • “I am not what you think I am. You are what you think I am.”-Sociologist Charles Horton Cooley’s “looking-glass self” explains that quote better.
  • People’s opinions of you say more about them than they do about you.
• Sat, Apr 26, 2025 - 2025a04m26d
  • Once you let others cross your boundaries, they’ll keep doing it again and again until you are used completely for their own good.
    • Why? Because you taught them it’s okay. It was your fault all along and the worst part is, you knew.
• Fri, Apr 18, 2025 - 2025a04m18d
  • We go to school primarily to learn how to be good workers, not good thinkers.
    • If you want to be different and be more than a cog in a wheel, you need to think differently from most.
• Thu, Apr 17, 2025 - 2025a04m17d
  • People Believe What They Already Believe, Even If It’s Wrong
    • Facts don’t change minds; feelings do. People decide first and justify later.
  • Fake it till you become it. Every great speaker was once a mess. The difference? They knew how to act as if.
    • Fake it till you make it. Even great speakers were once nervous; the difference is they learned to act confidently.
• Tue, Apr 15, 2025 - 2025a04m15d
  • Aurelius knew this 2,000 years ago: “You suffer more in imagination than reality.”
    • Quote from Paulo Coelho: “You drown not by falling into a river, but by staying submerged in it.”
    • “The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is, and the future less resolved than it will be.” - Marcel Pagnol
• Mon, Apr 14, 2025 - 2025a04m14d
  • The quality of our emotions is largely determined by the quality of our thinking.
  • Psychology of Forgiveness
    • Forgiveness Is Behavior, not a Feeling
    • Forgiveness from a psychological perspective is a behavior, not a feeling—it’s something you do, not something that happens to you.
    • Forgiveness Is a Commitment, not an Event
    • Forgiveness Is About the Future, not the Past
• Sun, Apr 13, 2025 - 2025a04m13d
  • Brain Food:
    • Everyone dreams big until they see the price tag.
    • “A man is a gregarious animal, and much more so in his mind than in his body. He may like to go alone for a walk, but he hates to stand alone in his opinions.”
      • by Philosopher George Santayana on why we follow the crowd
• Sat, Apr 12, 2025 - 2025a04m12d
  • Stop Wasting Hours
    • The problem isn’t a lack of information, it’s something much deeper
      • not knowing how to organize it in a way that leads to real insight or action.
    • “The biggest productivity challenge of the 21st century isn’t finding information—it’s managing the tsunami of data we create daily.”
    • Everything feels important, but all of it competes for our mental energy.
    • The more we collect, the less we use.
      • “Without context, information is just noise.”
      • We spend more time searching for information than using it.
      • Most of the tools we use to organize knowledge are designed to store information, not transform it.
    • “The goal isn’t to manage information, it’s to make it work for you.” - Tiago Forte.
• Mon, Apr 07, 2025 - 2025a04m07d
  • Brain Food
    • The loudest signals come from the emptiest sources. Those who truly possess something rarely need to announce it.
    • Those who fear appearing foolish rarely discover anything new. The genius of tomorrow often looks like an idiot today.
    • “Success in investing isn’t about making a lot of money in a short period of time. It’s about earning reasonable returns over very long periods.”
• Sat, Apr 05, 2025 - 2025a04m05d
  • Quote from Daniel Schmachtenberger:
    • “Traditional education and hyperspecialization is a way to make people subservient to the dominant paradigm/ system. Study the generalized principles of nature and be a deep generalist.”
      • It’s unreasonable to expect individuals to know their life’s purpose or career at age 18. Society often pushes people towards a traditional path of job, marriage, and conventional life milestones, which might not suit everyone, especially those with multiple interests.
      • Individuals are not taught to think critically but to memorize and conform.
      • This system prepares individuals for replaceable roles in society, not for personal freedom or creativity.
    • The Role of AI in Specialization:
      • AI is replacing predictable, repetitive tasks, reducing the need for specialists. §
        • ++
      • Creative work requires taste, which AI cannot fully replicate.
    • Role of AI: AI can replace repetitive tasks, but true creative work involves synthesizing unique ideas, which requires human taste and experience.
  • Traditional education and hyperspecialization make people subservient to the dominant paradigm/system.
    • It’s insane to think that by age 18, one should know what they want to do with their life:
      • What to study
      • What career to pursue
      • How their life will turn up
    • Most follow a path set by their parents:
      • A job-A spouse
      • A mortgage
      • A few vacations
      • A few nice dinners
      • Maybe a pet or kids
    • Yet societal pressures push you towards a “safe” route:
      • Become a doctor or lawyer
      • Get a high-paying degree
    • Society often discourages having multiple interests, labeling it as “shiny object syndrome.”
    • The system was designed to create obedient workers, not thinkers, which is still reflected in today’s education:
      • Students are taught to work, not think
    • Employment vs. Entrepreneurship
      • Employment : Often leads to a life of repetition, reducing the magic and challenge that drives personal growth.
      • Entrepreneurship : Offers continuous challenges, fostering growth and agency.
  • Have you ever worked with Chinese teams on global software projects?
    • It’s amazing–if you know how to do it.
    • Hierarchy in Chinese teams stifles creativity (debunked)
      • Respect for seniority: In our projects, Shenzhen engineers often looked to their senior counterparts for direction. It’s not any different in Europe, everyone looks to their seniors. In China, it just felt a bit more pronounced, with an element of actual deference to their opinions.
      • Action over discussion: When asked about adding a data quality alert, the Shenzhen team implemented the feature rather than discussing it first. We had to be careful with how we framed questions initially.
        • Clarity in expectations for specific meetings: Framing meetings with clear agendas like “Brainstorming the orchestration sequencing of our ranking model” and preparing Miro boards allowed for open idea sharing.
• Mon, Mar 31, 2025 - 2025a03m31d
  • What annoys us about other people often points to what we dislike about ourselves. Understanding what we dislike about ourselves is just as important for self-awareness as understanding what we like.
  • Ask for Targeted Feedback
    • Think of an aspect of your personality or behavior you’d like to be more self-aware about.
      • Ask people for specific feedback about you and your behavior in that situation. For example: Instead of asking your manager How am I doing at work? try I’m working on getting better at presenting in group situations. Do you have any feedback for me specifically on how I deliver presentations with our leadership team? Note that keeping the feedback domain-specific and behavioral in nature makes it much less threatening for the other person to give you honest feedback.
• Sun, Mar 30, 2025 - 2025a03m30d
  • Quote: “The meaning of life is the experience of life,” Michael Singer. Core Idea: Life isn’t about achieving, fixing, or accumulating; it’s about living and experiencing.
    • Accepting life as it is, not trying to control or arrange it, leads to wholeness.
• Thu, Mar 27, 2025 - 2025a03m27d
  • Shane Parrish on Procrastination: “Today, not tomorrow. What you avoid today is harder to do tomorrow. Today’s choices become tomorrow’s position. Don’t wait till tomorrow; it’s where dreams go to die.”
    • Today, Not Tomorrow: Shane Parrish says, “Today, not tomorrow. What you avoid today is harder to do tomorrow. Today’s choices become tomorrow’s position.”
    • Act today, not tomorrow. Shane Parrish emphasizes the importance of immediate action to avoid future burdens. Procrastination only adds to the list of tasks.
• Mon, Mar 24, 2025 - 2025a03m24d
  • Facts About Human Behavior
    • People Believe What They Already Believe, Even If It’s Wrong
      • Facts don’t change minds; feelings do. People decide first and justify later.
    • The More Choices You Offer, The Less People Decide
      • Too many options can overwhelm people. If you want them to choose, then simplify. Less is more.
    • Always Give Someone a Way Out, Saving Face Defuses Disagreements
      • No one likes being proven wrong. Give them a non-humiliating exit route, allowing them to rethink and change their mind without feeling embarrassed. §
        • – –
    • Criticism Lands Better When Wrapped in Praise
      • A compliment before and after makes feedback feel like advice instead of an attack.
• Sun, Mar 23, 2025 - 2025a03m23d
  • What did someone mean by “put down roots like a tree”?
    • Trees don’t rush. They don’t panic when winter comes. They don’t waste energy fighting the indifferent weather. They just keep growing their roots, anchoring themselves before they reach higher.
      • When life feels stuck, instead of forcing movement, try going inward:
        • Reflect
        • Learn
        • Calm
        • Be Still
• Sat, Mar 22, 2025 - 2025a03m22d
  • Life isn’t about figuring it all out–it’s about letting yourself feel it all. That’s the experience. That’s the gift. That’s the meaning.
• Wed, Mar 19, 2025 - 2025a03m19d
  • The Hot & Cold Method
    • A file organization system that helps you manage your digital files and folders.
      • Hot Folder: For active projects and things you’re working on right now.
      • Cold Folder: For everything else like reference materials, templates, old projects, and anything you might need later.
    • Hot & Cold Method:
      • Also from Tiago Forte, this method reduces the organization to just two folders:
      • Hot Folder: Contains active projects and immediate work.
      • Cold Folder: Houses everything else, including past projects, reference materials, etc.
      • The method promotes focus by limiting visible files to current tasks and uses tags and subfolders within the Cold Folder to keep everything searchable.
    • The benefits of the Hot & Cold Method:
      • Focus: Reduces distractions by showing only relevant files.
      • Time Efficiency: Eliminates the need for extensive sorting.
      • Scalability: Allows for future refinement of the system.
• Sun, Mar 16, 2025 - 2025a03m16d
  • “The activist is not the man who says the river is dirty. The activist is the man who cleans up the river.” by Ross Perot
• Tue, Mar 04, 2025 - 2025a03m04d
  • Naming Stressors:
    • Work Stress: Taught me I needed better boundaries.
    • Financial Stress: Taught me I needed a better budget.
    • Relationship Stress: Taught me I needed to communicate better.
  • Naming your stressors is powerful. It takes away their power, turning them from monsters into teachers. Stress shows you where you need to change. Don’t fight them; don’t ignore them. Face them, learn from them.
    • Pain shows you where you need to grow and heal.
    • Naming your stressors is powerful. It takes away their power and turns them from monsters into teachers. Stress shows you where you need to change.
    • “It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.”—Lena Horne
• Mon, Mar 03, 2025 - 2025a03m03d
  • The Magic of Starting Small
    • 1-minute micro habits are so easy to do that they automatically eliminate our stupid excuses like “I don’t have time” or “It’s too hard.”
    • It doesn’t have to push yourself, and it seemed so easy to your brain that you couldn’t find an excuse to skip it.
      • “It felt effortless because I wasn’t forcing the changes — they happened organically.”
      • “One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that consistency matters more than intensity.”
• Thu, Feb 27, 2025 - 2025a02m27d
  • bizarre psychology fact that may change how we see people
    • people will judge us based on their mood, not logic
  • our brains are forgetting machines
    • this is a concept from Quiroga’s book “The Forgetting Machine”
    • there explains why remembering everything woulb be energetically and computationally impossible/expensive for our brains
    • why we can’t remember everything we study? because we don’t link information from short-term to long-term memory §
• Tue, Feb 11, 2025 - 2025a02m11d
  • A stupidly simple fix for procrastination
    • Little trick:
      1. If something takes less than 2 minutes, just do it.
      2. If it’s longer, just start for 2 minutes.
    • That’s it. No commitment beyond that.
      • The 2-Minute Rule
        • To overcome procrastination, start tasks with just a two-minute commitment. This small step can lead to continued action as the task becomes less daunting.
• Mon, Feb 03, 2025 - 2025a02m03d
  • How to get teens to do what you want?
    • Motivation Techniques:
      • Mentorship: Parents should act as mentors, providing high standards with supportive guidance.
      • Wise Feedback: Criticism should be paired with affirmations of the teen’s potential to encourage improvement without crushing their confidence.
      • Vegemite Method: A respectful approach involving asking rather than telling, honoring competence, validating feelings, and presuming agency.
      • Purpose and Meaning: Linking tasks to meaningful future outcomes or interests of the teenager.
    • How to motivate teenagers with fewer tears?
      • The “Vegemite Method”:
        • This four-step method improves compliance:
          1. Ask, don’t tell: Respects autonomy. §
             • –
          2. Honor their competence: Let them decide the specifics.
          3. Validate their feelings: Acknowledge their difficulties.
          4. Presume agency: Treat them like co-workers.
• Wed, Jan 29, 2025 - 2025a01m29d
  • You teach people how to treat you.
    • People learn how to treat you based on what you allow. If you always say yes when you want to say no, they’ll expect that from you. If you laugh off disrespect, they’ll assume it’s fine.
    • Boundaries are not walls; they’re guidelines. They show people how to engage with you respectfully.
    • You take back your power when you teach others how to treat you.
    • You teach people how to treat you by how you treat yourself.
    • Boundaries: Teach others how to treat you by setting and maintaining your boundaries.
• Tue, Jan 28, 2025 - 2025a01m28d
  • “Everything changes when you realise diet isn’t just what you eat; it’s what you watch, read, who you follow, and who you spend time with.” Diet applies to everything. Your career, your relationships, your mental health. Give yourself the mental detox you deserve.
    • Broader Definition of Diet: The concept of diet is extended beyond food to include what we consume mentally and socially, advocating for a mental detox.
• Sat, Jan 25, 2025 - 2025a01m25d
  • “Everything changes when you realise diet isn’t just what you eat; it’s what you watch, read, who you follow, and who you spend time with.”
    • Diet is bigger than food.
      • It applies to everything. Your career, your relationships, your mental health. Feed your mind with good stuff. Surround yourself with positive influences. Give yourself the mental detox you deserve.
      • It’s what you consume in every sense-what you watch and read, who you follow, and the people you let close. The phrase “you are what you eat” should really be “you are what you consume.”
• Thu, Jan 23, 2025 - 2025a01m23d
  • Instead of organizing notes by where they should go, start organizing them by how I’d search for them later. Think of it like leaving a note for future-you in a language future-you will actually understand.
    • The best system isn’t the most organized one, it’s the one that works with your brain instead of against it.
• Sun, Jan 19, 2025 - 2025a01m19d
  • “Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.”
    • Adapting yourself to circumstances:
      • “We should not try to alter circumstances but to adapt ourselves to them as they really are, just as sailors do. They don’t try to change the winds or the sea but ensure that they are always ready to adapt themselves to conditions. In a flat calm they use the oars; with a following breeze they hoist full sail; in a head wind they shorten sail or heave to. Adapt yourself to circumstances in the same way.”
• Sat, Jun 17, 2024 - 2024a06m17d
  • When rewarding the candor, it is more likely to get more of it.
  • Did you like what the colleague have done? Thanks them in public. Let them know. Both gain in this win-win game. It shows gratitude. Also, and a thankful word is a fuel to keep a good habit last.
• Tue, Jan 09, 2024 - 2024a01m09d
  • “Remember, consistency is more important than intensity. It’s about progress, not peefection.”

other stuff

• below is a reference sample to create a jump to a note to 2000a01m01d-21h21m01s

  <a href="#2000a10m01d-20001001212101">§</a> <a id="2000a10m01d-20001001212101"></a>
  

  • a vim shortcut to create a timestamp is <c-k>ts
• RAG § ⁺
  ...

  cd pages
  aichat --rag quick-notes
  # PROMPT example:
  #  `list quick notes related to "[topic/keyword/text]"`
  #  `list quick notes related to "Most people don't like being told what to think"`
  #  ...
  #  `give me contents related to "[topic/keyword/text]"`
  #  `give me contents related to [topic/keyword/text] - e.g. [sample and explanation]`
  #  `list notes that relates to "[topic/keyword/text]"`
  #  `list notes that relates to "emontions"`
  

  • GitHub tips:
    • if a specific branch has been merged
      • is:pr is:merged base:target-branch head:source-branch
      • is:pr is:merged base:master head:20250911-1558
  • VIM commands:
    • search
      • hashtags: ]]i [[i
        • e.g. @bm #what
      • quick-notes.md (1-267,1-95,1-93,1-266,1-199)
        • /^\s\+0:
          • /^\s\+1:
          • /^\s\+2:
          • /^\s\+3:
        • /^\s\{4}-
          • 5/^\s\{4}-
          • 15/^\s\{4}-
          • 95/^\s\{4}-

  - lorem ipsum dolor sit amet <a href="#2000a10m01d-20001001212102">§</a> <a id="2000a10m01d-20001001212102"></a>
    - [--](#2000a10m01d-20001001212101) [--](#2000a10m01d-20001001212100)
  

  .sources rag
  .rebuild rag
  .info rag
  
  vi ~/Library/Application\ Support/aichat/rags/quick-notes.yaml
  rm ~/Library/Application\ Support/aichat/rags/quick-notes.yaml
  :e ~/Library/Application Support/aichat/rags/quick-notes.yaml
  

  > Select embedding model: gemini:text-embedding-004 (max-tokens:2048;max-batch:100;price:0)
  > Set chunk size: 200
  > Set chunk overlay: 50
  > Add documents: quick-notes.md
  

• the sketch drafting and design section has some tips for creating internal cross-references ¹

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