I am good at giving advice. This is not to say I'm good at giving good advice. Honestly, I'm just good at giving advice I like. The hard thing about getting advice is, as humans, we have a tendency to ignore and discredit advice we don't like, while heavily weighing advice we do like. The dangers of this approach are that we still don't know what to do and end up just doing … [Read more...]
A Little Marketing to Master the Job Search
Given these tough economic times (aka the ”tets”), I often get asked for career advice from friends and family. Everyone is looking for improvement in their career, whether it’s to land that first job, get a promotion or strike an independent consulting path. To them, I always say that half the battle is in landing the opportunity. It’s not about flashy suits and shiny shoes … [Read more...]
Open Thread: Who’s Your Hero?
A true and great hero died last week. Most knew him as Robert Succop Whiteside - a decorated (for heroism) World War II naval officer, distinguished graduate of Carnegie Tech (Carnegie Mellon) at a time when it was more prestigious than Yale, successful business man, epic world traveler, and more. I knew him as Opa - my grand-dad. I was one of the lucky ones. We need … [Read more...]
How Buddhism Taught Me Lifestyle Design
I live in a monastery in SE Asia. I've been living here since April when I admitted myself to a Zen retreat. It's kind of like admitting yourself to a mental hospital, only more peaceful. I kid. But it's one of the craziest decisions I've ever made in my short, 20-somethings existence. It's been one heck of a (dare I say) enlightening experience, and has taught me a lot about … [Read more...]
Step One of the Wealth Building Process Starts with Your Career
How many people do you know that have achieved financial independence simply through their investments? Me? Hardly any. But I do do know countless individuals who have busted their tail to become experts in their field of work, saved a healthy portion of their earnings and then wisely invested that capital and achieved a decent return. And for many of these people the … [Read more...]