There are plenty of great stories of persistence. J.K. Rowling living on welfare, while writing Harry Potter. Thomas Edison and his team, attempting thousands of different materials, before eventually settling on tungsten filaments for the lightbulbs that created an industrial empire. Albert Einstein, failing to find work in physics, dreaming up his revolutionary ideas for […]
The Real Way to Improve Your Reading Speed
I’ve written before about how I first got interested in speed reading. I had read a book teaching it, and noticed it helped me read almost twice as fast. A few years after, however, I mostly stopped using the technique I had learned and went back to the normal approach to reading. A few years […]
The Six Morning Routines that Will Make You Happier, Healthier and More Productive
Of all the different things you can try to improve your productivity, a morning routine is one of the most effective. There are a few reasons why morning routines are so useful. The first is obvious to anyone who has ever procrastinated, just getting started is often the hardest part. If you can start out […]
How to Learn Chinese: 8 Things I Wish I Had Known Before I Started
I’ve been learning Chinese now for roughly five years. Including a burst of intensive immersion during three months in China near the beginning, plus plenty of practice since, I now feel fairly comfortable with the language. I’m still a long way from perfect fluency, but I’m at a point where conversing in Chinese is pretty […]
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.