Author Archives: John

Greet like they threw you a surprise party.

Don’t be the one who ends the hug.

Talking about jobs kills conversation. Use only if that’s the goal.

Take lots of photos. And text them around immediately.

Compliment your friend to their partner.

If you actually want to catch up with someone, you can only do it one-on-one.

Avoid talking about your age. Everyone feels old, no one needs to be reminded.

Dance in a circle and mirror your friends’ dance moves.

There’s a way to be nostalgic without denigrating the present. This is a sacred moment too.

It’s great to listen to your favorite songs sped up or slowed down. Hearing music at different pitches changes the emotional quality.

Everyone is just as scared as you are.

If running late, be dropped off at arrivals and walk to departures. It’s much faster.

Fast on the flight, eat when you land.

The argument for working hard is a selfish one. Slacking off is well and fine. But the reason to work hard is that the skill acquisition curve is exponential. For a very, very long time, you are completely useless—you miss deadlines because you underestimate how little you know, you procrastinate because you don’t even know where to begin. And this feeling is miserable.

The only solution is to accelerate your skills to the point where you get out of this low valley. When that happens, your abilities shoot through the roof. It’s compound interest. More begets more. Skill begets skill. Things become fun. You get to focus on the big picture; you have better ideas; you see the chessboard fifteen moves ahead.

I’m all for working less, but if the goal is to avoid work life misery, skill is the only antidote. For your own well-being, it’s important to work hard.

No one will save you. There is no authority. There are no experts. The buck stops with you.

The cure for imposter syndrome is competency.