I read to improve myself. Despite this, I actually read very few self-help books. Most of books I read are completely outside the self-help or business book genres. The world rewards unique thinking. If your entire library looks like the self-help section of a bookstore, you probably don’t have enough varied perspectives to handle the […]
Humility is More Important Than Confidence
Humility is an underrated virtue. For every ten articles I see written about how to improve self-confidence, I only see one that suggests humility might be important at all. I did a quick Google search of “improving confidence” and came up with 9,580,000 results. I did another search with “improving humility” and only got 499,000 […]
Average Doesn’t Mean Secure
Just because it’s common, that doesn’t mean it’s not risky. Many people fall into the misconception that if a lot of people are doing something, it must be the safest path. If you were born several decades ago, you would have thought smoking was safe because everyone was doing it. Is Having a Job Safer? […]
In Praise of Solitude
Much of the depression and angst people face comes from one source: the inability to sit in the solitude of one’s own thoughts. A few days ago, I had the privilege of doing nothing. Not something relaxing or unproductive, but nothing. I sat in a chair and just thought. At first it was uncomfortable, 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.