Notes to Thyself

You are capable of being nice. You do not have to speak harshly to others to prove your points. You deserve to be treated nicely, and so do others. Remember that you are capable of becoming a better and nicer person, the nicest person ever to have lived.

Don't fight against the current.

Don't balance life. Let it balance you. It's like trying to balance on a dancing bridge. The only way you can stay balanced on a dancing bridge is to dance with it.

Design is how it works. Looks are the residue. - Remove until it breaks. Put one thing back. - A label explaining a control is a failed control. - One obvious path. A second way to do the same thing is a defect. - Decide the default. A setting is an unmade decision handed to the user. - Say no to a thousand good ideas. Every element taxes every other. - Start from what the person feels and work back to the code. Never forward from the schema. - The detail nobody notices is the work: the logo under the banner, the label that wraps, the target too small for a thumb. - Ship what a tired person sees on a small screen in bad light. - Nothing ships that you have not looked at on the screen.

Expect nothing from others. People will act with malice—that is their nature, just as a thorn bush produces thorns. When they try to infect you with their bitterness, do not accept the gift. The damage they try to do to you only reaches you if you allow your own mind to consent to it. Protect your inner citadel.

Stop looking for escapes. You long for the mountains or the countryside, thinking a change of scenery will fix your mind. This is standard foolishness. You can retreat into your own soul this very second if you choose. Look at your city, your food, your companions. They do not shape your mind; your judgment of them does. You were content in this city once. The place hasn't changed; its nature is completely indifferent. Leaving it is a mere choice, not a necessity. You are not forced to flee. If your mind is healthy, you can thrive in a ditch. If your mind is sick, a palace will feel like a prison. Put a man with a fever on a bed of gold, and he still burns. The problem is not the city. The problem is you. When you are miserable, stop blaming your surroundings. Look inward. Find the rotten opinion causing the rot in your soul. Strip away the self-pity, face the truth of your own weakness, and fix it immediately. You rule your mind, not the world. Act like it.

Aim away from your failure, you will succeed.

Aim away from your failure you will succeed.

There are different ways to start a startup. One way is to start with what you want to do. What interests you. What you know how to do. What you have the skills and competency for, or what you are willing to learn and develop. The other way is to start with what people are willing to pay for. Find a problem. Find a product people need. Build something people are willing to buy. It is a trade-off. If I start with what I want to do, at least I know I will enjoy being in the company. I have some skills for it. I understand the problem better. I can learn along the way. It may be easier for me to operate because it is something I care about. But the problem is that what I want to do may not necessarily be something people want to pay for. It may not become a good business. If I start with what people are willing to pay for, the business may have a better chance of making money. But it may not be the company I want to spend my life working on. So there is always a trade-off between building what I want and building what the market wants. I most likely will choose the first one. Not because making money is not important. It is important. A business needs to survive. But I also have to live with the company I build. I have to spend years of my life with it. So I would rather build something I understand, something I care about, something I have the ability to become good at, and then find a way to make it useful enough that people are willing to pay for it. Maybe the real challenge is not choosing between what I want and what people want. Maybe it is finding the place where the two meet.

Less programs, more companies. Less pitching, more customers. Less government money, more private capital. Less local thinking, more regional ambition.

Ask yourself: do you perceive reality as it truly is, or do you perceive it merely as your own imagination? Do you live within the delusion of the spotlight, believing you possess the capacity to perform actions superior to others? Do you think the person who drives faster than you is careless and the one who is slower than you is an idiot? Watch the delusion you feed to yourself.

Music is food for the soul. Sing, dance, play. Don't be too serious.

Plants being green is somewhat accidental, but having life is essential.

A weak, undisciplined mind merely stumbles. But a strong, unbridled mind actively forges its own ruin; power without a ruler is just a sharper blade to cut yourself with. Stand as a vigilant sentry. Watch the birth of every impression and the architecture of your thoughts. If you do not rule your mind, it will rule you.

If you are going to overthink, then overthink the positives. Overthink the best outcomes. Overthink how good and peaceful life could be. Overthink how incredible it feels when things slowly and quietly work out. Overthink how you are going to achieve every single one of your goals. Overthink how the whole world is cheering you on. Now, breathe out the noise and let your hands do the building.

Look at your feet. You have walked this earth for nearly half a century, carrying the weight of years, duties, and ambitions. Yet only now do you realize your feet are a size 43, while you have been forcing them into a 42 all this time. You bound yourself to a tight fit and called it reality. If you could misjudge the very foundation that holds you up, what else have you misunderstood? Consider what other illusions you are wearing out of sheer habit or stubbornness. Examine what assumptions you have long outgrown but still refuse to change. Reflect on what false constraints you have needlessly placed on your mind, your work, or your judgments. If the shoe does not fit, it is not the fault of the foot. Correct the measure, acknowledge the error without regret, and walk forward in truth.

Money signals competence; beauty signals health. Women are attracted to competent men; men are attracted to healthy women.

មនុស្សជោគជ័យក្នុងសង្គមមានតិចតួចណាស់ ព្រោះជ័យជំនះជារឿងកម្រ។ ប៉ុន្តែអ្វីដែលកម្រជាងនេះទៅទៀត គឺមនុស្សដែលអាចស៊ូទ្រាំនឹងការបរាជ័យជាច្រើនលើកច្រើនសារ ហើយនៅតែបន្តតស៊ូ និងជឿជាក់លើគោលដៅរបស់ខ្លួន។ ព្រោះនៅទីបំផុត ជ័យជំនះមិនមែនជារបស់អ្នកដែលមានទេពកោសល្យបំផុតនោះទេ ប៉ុន្តែជារបស់អ្នកដែលមិនបោះបង់។

មនុស្សជោគជ័យក្នុងសង្គមមានតិចតួចណាស់។ ជ័យជំនះក្នុងជីវិតរបស់មនុស្សម្នាក់ៗគឺជារឿងកម្រ ប៉ុន្តែអ្វីដែលកម្រជាងនេះទៅទៀត គឺមនុស្សដែលអាចស៊ូទ្រាំនឹងការបរាជ័យជាច្រើនលើកច្រើនសារ ហើយនៅតែបន្តតស៊ូ និងជឿជាក់លើគោលដៅរបស់ខ្លួន។ ព្រោះនៅទីបំផុត ជ័យជំនះមិនមែនជារបស់អ្នកដែលមានទេពកោសល្យបំផុតនោះទេ ប៉ុន្តែជារបស់អ្នកដែលមិនចេះលះបង់។