“I wrote for twelve years and collected 250 rejection slips before getting any fiction published, so I guess outside reinforcement isn’t all that important to me.“Â – Lisa Alther “Talent is helpful in writing, but guts are absolutely essential.” – Jessamyn West “Oh, great reviews are the worst. They mislead you more than the bad […]
Avoid the Zero-Sum Mind Trap
In life, few things are truly zero-sum. A zero-sum game has winners and losers. If you believe that in order to make $100, someone else needs to lose $100, that’s zero-sum. While there are often tradeoffs in life, in most situations having a winner doesn’t mean there needs to be a loser. Unfortunately, I think […]
Is It Better to Read Books You Disagree With?
In the last two weeks I’ve been reading Friedrich Hayek’s, The Road to Serfdom. Hayek argues in this book that any form of collectivism (whether left or right) inevitably leads to a totalitarian state. My views are mostly libertarian, so I agree with almost all of the arguments Hayek presented. Reading through the book, however, […]
Why Good Deeds and Money Don’t Mix
Would you rather serve soup at a homeless shelter for free, or for $2 per hour? If you’re in a country with a high minimum wage like Canada, you would probably rather volunteer. For the same reasons, your mother-in-law would be offended if you offered to pay her $20 for making a family dinner. I […]
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.