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entries eventually become outdated.}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, 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.
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 informtion 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:
        
        Ask, don’t tell: Respects autonomy.
        
        Honor their competence: Let them decide the specifics.
        
        Validate their feelings: Acknowledge their difficulties.
        
        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.

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

sketch drafting session ↩