I Left My Job at 22
Three years ago I was given an unexpected choice. I could shut down my side project to keep my first job out of school, or leave and go full-time on it.…
Balancing Satisfaction, Patience, and Ambition
Ambition looks like the opposite of satisfaction on first glance. We're supposed to be happy with what we have right now. And we know that we'll return to a satisfaction baseline upon gaining new achievements or things. So isn't ambition — the desire for more than I have now — a fool's…
Living in Austin for $24k/year
No, I don't obsess over living expenses. I just have low living expenses by default because I don't need much to be content, and like the elimination of stress. Here are my consistent monthly expenses: RentI live right next to downtown Austin, TX on the East Side. It's walking distance…
Building Friendcatchers - Part 1
I don't like relying on luck to make close friendships. It takes too much time, energy, and serendipity to find another person who cares about the same topics as me. The data already exists to make this easy. But it's not organized in a place to make it useful. That's…
Making Decisions
Most decisions are reversibleYet we agonize over them for hours, days, weeks(?!). Researching pros and cons, asking others, aggregating advice. You could have chosen one, tried it, and then adjusted from there. Often the research behind a decision takes longer than trying one option. Few decisions are irreversible. So when…
Peanut Butter Banana Raisin Oatmeal
I've been hooked on oatmeal for about 2 years, and have constantly been refining my recipe. I look forward to it every morning and have to share it. You can even cut it in half for a more normal sized portion (the portion I do is a lot of food…
Where I Was 10 Years Ago
I started my first business a decade ago. At the end of 2009 I was 13 years oldAfter selling candy at school in 6th grade and tinkering with Amazon Affiliate e-commerce unsuccessfully in 7th grade, I recall having a burning urge to create and sell something new in 8th grade.…