Staying Focused
By Shivan Sivakumaran
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show your work!
Kia ora e hoa,During days, weeks and months, I'm drawn back to the ideas shared in "Show your Work!" by Austin Kleon.The main notion is implicit in the title, show your work!I've been learning how to code for the last 2 years almost, and I feel like now it's …
the male advantage
Kia ora e hoa,I’ve been consuming a bit of 1STMAN content lately.At first, I thought this guy was a misogynistic alpha male. Then, I opened my mind. I listened. It made me think about my life.A common concept in his video is about the male advantage. What is …
you think it's public but it's actually private
Kia ora e hoa,"Aren't you worried if your parents find out? What about your friends? Your boss?"They won't.The internet is huge.Take YouTube for example. It's the second largest search engine behind YouTube. It's one of the most traffic in the world, ever.Tha…
do you feel stupid sometimes?
Kia ora e hoa,I feel stupid.Yes, that's what the voice in my head is saying right now and I can't shut it up."Be authentic" was its previous chant.That's what I did.Now it's regret. It's shame."Why did you post that?""What will your friends think, stupid?"Wha…
a conversation with my boss
Kia ora e hoa,I was having a meeting for poor performance.I checked out of the job. My situation at the time was dire. My ties to my family were non-existent. My relationship with my girlfriend at the time had ended.I complained about how I felt my job was me…
my contiki story
"Do you have condoms?" She whispered.No. This isn't my extravagant story of how I got laid on a trip overseas. It was my incumbent roommate's.They tried being quiet.I tried pretending I was asleep.Contiki Japan 2017! And I still get occasional flashbacks (tur…
thank you
Kia ora e hoa,When I was young, I really want to be good at something.I would enviously applaud those we celebrated walking across stage to collect their awards.What would it be like? I wondered.To feel special. To feel talented. To feel worth celebrating.I w…
perfectionism is ruining your progress
Kia ora e hoa,I'm having a break, they said. After noticing they haven’t published in a while.On further questioning:The analytics are depressing.Not all of us can make it to the top.And every video is a lottery ticket.Perfectionism and self-belief — that’s w…
your input would be greatly appreciated ;)
Kia ora e hoa,I had an epiphany. While sitting in my examination room at work, the idea came: I don't have to publish this newsletter once a week. Instead, I can post more often. Daily!So I put a poll on Instagram to see what people thought.And, the votes fav…
you'll see finish what i am building. i promise.
Kia ora e hoa,I've been blessed to be in the presence of many talented individuals. Let me introduce you to a few.Recently, a number of athletes qualified for the Commonwealth Games at Auckland International. However, what was just as impressive was all the b…
the 168 hour gig
Book Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving I've started reading this book by Pete Walker. It talks about how adult mental health problems stem deep from how they were treated as children.Article Write Plain Text Files I think I have mentioned this before b…
why aren't you confident?
Course The Science of Wellbeing This course was designed by Yale professor Laurie Santos and is entirely free. It's a 10-week course centred around what makes us happy. At the moment, I'm just beginning, but here is a quick preview. Much of what we think make…
a secret i want to share with you
Here is a thread of life advice that I use that you might use.
why am I afraid of Jack Steiner?
Article Six healthcare problems I care about Chris Lovejoy provides us with a paradigm shift. Solve problems and not find solutions. It’s interesting what Chris brings up in healthcare and data protection. It seems GDPR does protect us against a lot of data m…
Telling better stories through vulnerability
Book Originals Adam Grant writes about the entrepreneurial pursuit. Entrepreneurs aren’t crazy individuals who take crazy risks. They take calculated risks — i.e. they wait for the business to boom before quitting their full-time jobs. There is a risk but it’…
If you work for yourself, you will fail
Kia ora e hoa,I have a confession to make. Since starting YouTube, I thought this was a pathway to working for yourself. How awesome is that? Be your own boss!This is what MJ Demarco has to say about it in “A Millionaire Fastlane”:The greatest myth of busines…
Making friends drift away and sticking to your dreams
Podcast The Diary of A CEO — How To Fix Your Focus & Stop Procrastinating: Johann Hari Facebook came up with the idea of short video content but decided to not implement it because of its negative effects. Tiktok then adopted the idea — a perfect example …
Starting work and Cracking 100 almost
Podcast Bootstrap Your Life Episode 6 — The importance of self-reflection in business This is particularly important because how can you change and adapt as a business if you do not look improving from past teachings.Video How To Find & Start Your Passion…
Dealing with dubious YouTube comments
Kia ora e hoa,I hope you are enjoying the start of the year.The YouTube journey is off to a good start. As I draft this newsletter, I am happy to say that when I post a video I now wake up to comments.Most of them are positive. Some are a bit dubious.Here are…
Welcome 2022: my finances and plans
Book The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ Demarco This is a roast over the conventional way of living, which is the “slowlane” and “sidewalk”. Excellent book I’m reading at the moment, which gave me inspiration for this recent blog post.Book The Magic of Thinking B…