Almost four years ago (April 11, 2021), I published a book about managing your well-being as a solopreneur. It was a deeply personal account about my struggles working independently for 10 years. Now, I’m almost at the 15 year mark! The pandemic, higher costs of living, and new technology has only accelerated the movement toward […]
Category: Upstartist Diaries
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Writing & Healing
I wanted to share a piece I wrote for my college magazine: A Father’s Death Leads to a Healing Mother-Son Road Trip Across Croatia As entrepreneurs and marketers, we often write with brutal efficiency. Get to the point. Be inspiring. Be useful. Be clear. Whether for our sales page or social media posts, we’re taught to […]
One week after Dad entered intensive care and was on life support, the neurointensivist, Dr. Swami, asked: “What quality of life do you want for your dad?” “We can keep him on the ventilator, break his ribs to resuscitate him, but would he want that? Would you want that? Your dad may have already had […]
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Your Day is a Garden
This world operates on a miracle-like law of cause and effect. Your every thought, word, and action has an effect. Just as every bit of soil, sunlight and water shapes a garden. How quickly your body changes with two beers — or two workouts! How immediately your stories can imprison or empower you! Everything is […]
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#32 Mindful Meals
Can you taste the sunshine, water & earth in every bite?
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Be Yoda
We all want to be the hero. But when it comes to business, always remember, your customer is the hero. Not you or your brand. You are old, shriveled, hairy Yoda who teaches Luke Skywalker to use the force. You are the eccentric guide dedicated to helping your customer – the hero – reach his […]
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How Much Money is Enough?
I’ve been thinking a lot about money lately. I don’t have much of a choice. It’s in my face every day, the engine driving so much fear and action in America. “The S&P 500 is down 4% today.” “How much is he making? Why can’t you get a job like that?” “The Jones are doing […]
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My Favorites from 2021
Now is a great time to look back at 2021, learn from its highs and lows, and set our sights on making 2022 a banner year. Each year around Christmas, I also thank creators whose work inspired and changed me. Most creators hear from 3% of their audience – if they’re lucky. Personally, I know […]
Our lives and hard drives are filled with clutter. What digital documents do adults absolutely need? By adult, I mean an emotionally and mentally mature person (or trying to be!) responsible for doing life’s necessary but mundane tasks. In other words, a responsible person in society. I haven’t read a single blog post on […]
A 10-year relationship with The Tropical MBA Podcast comes full circle
What do all successful consumer companies have in common? One thing for sure: a lot of easily accessible buy buttons. Those buy buttons could be on your devices or even offered by physical vendors near you. A humble bánh cuốn vendor in Ho Chi Minh City could have their buy buttons in their store, on […]
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Where Experts Fall Short
When it comes to learning, I believe books offer the greatest return on investment. Hundreds of self-help and business books pack my Kindle. Where else can I get someone’s hard-earned lessons, distilled and painstakingly written, for $15? It’s an astounding, almost comical bargain. Yet, I discovered that even books have limits. In 2017, I was […]
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Don’t Lose Two in a Row
From age 9 to 22, I played competitive tennis, practicing every day for 2-3 hours. Tennis was my life and identity. Last Sunday, I stayed up until 3am to watch the Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic French Open semifinal. Both men were chasing history, to win the most Grand Slams ever. Djokovic had 18 titles, […]
Limits focus, so set yours!
So why not make it fun, expected and social with “challenge masterminds?”
We still need tribes for work and well-being
Guilt-free time off should be planned – and required.
It’s been a rough few days. Just feeling down. Can’t explain why. Footsteps from my apartment is an alley full of families serving office lunches for 30,000 VND ($1.30 USD). I sit down at the cơm trưa stall and start eating. Lost in thought. This soup is delicious though… Suddenly a large man hovers over […]
Reading hundreds of obituaries over the years has taught me three lessons about living well.
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The In-Between
Changing an identity feels like death. From the hero’s journey, we know it IS death. But at the end of the tunnel new life awaits.