Purpose of Life

On purpose of life, what a heavy subject.

Adam Leipzig, an Adjunct Professor at Haas teaching communication to MBAs, wants you to answer 5 questions. These 5 questions will help you to find the purpose of life

1. who are you?
2. what do you do?
3. who do you do it for?
4. what are these people’s needs?
5. how have they changed as a result?

By answering these 5 questions, we are shifting the focus from our inward self to the outward environment. By taking care of others and putting others’ needs in front of ours, we feel taken care of at the same time. He also teaches a quick tip on shaping up your elevator pitch and creating the perfect conversation opener when you are asked “what do you do?”.

“The busiest people I have known in my life always have time enough to do everything. Those who do nothing are always tired and pay no attention to the little amount of work they are required to do. They complain constantly that the day is too short. The truth is, they are afraid to fight the good fight.”  ― Paulo Coelho, The Pilgrimage

Jobs are like your relationships

You tend to idealize the unattained jobs and the good-looking guy at the bar

After you going through a honeymoon stage, you will realize your expectation is different from reality

There will be ups and downs, no smooth sail. You will have your excited moments and doubts, stay open-minded and you will learn something invaluable that you can apply to other aspects of your life

Every job is unique just like every relationship, no one company share the same culture

Hard work is a key to success, but you also need to be rewarded accordingly, your work needs to be appreciated, just like how reciprocation works in a relationship

Compatibility

Sometimes you may walk into a job thinking it’s going to be short term but you may grow comfortable of it and turn it into a long term relationship

On the other hand, a job you stayed in for many years doesn’t guarantee you that corner office either

Sometimes a change is good; even though the breakup will be difficult as you are leaving a family that you are close to, you may find the next job provide you with more fitted culture, better care, and more expected growth

When you realize your startup is not working out, just like your bf is not compatible, cut your losses early, so you can move onto something greater

Every job is like every relationship, your skill set and world view will be expanded, but you also get to know yourself better and become clearer on what you want

Every job and relationship will be unique and special in its own way, cherish every moment and make the most out of it

Conflicts

Yes, we have many desires that conflict with each other.

The desire to have an unconventional carefree life, the desire to have a high-flying life. The desire to have children, the desire to pursue a dream career. The desire to aspire, the desire to abstain.

When there’s a dual reality in the choices we make, we realize that we can’t have it all. That’s when we must be willing to make sacrifices and be willing to choose what’s important to us.

Escalation

A Managing Director taught me the fact-based approach when escalating issues

1. this is what i know
2. this is what i’m trying to accomplish
3. this is what i need to meet the goals

Oprah on career, life, and leadership

Arts

Sometimes the best arts are not necessarily the most original, but they depict the truest and rawest forms of human emotions

Who are you top 5 minions?

Since the Beaker project went live, we have been fortunate enough to get a lot of supports from a team of minions. It is both tremendous amount of work and incredibly rewarding to lead a team. Among the minions, there are fresh grads out of high school, college and mid-life crisis. Definitely a diverse bunch with different experiences and skill sets. As such, each of them has their strengths and weaknesses. The young kids are quick learners, but tend to possess poor attitudes. The older folks are thorough investigators, but tend to over-report with unnecessary details.

One day, someone on the core team posed the question: “who are your top 5 minions?”

I thought about it briefly, and a few names came up. My top choices aren’t necessarily the best technical chops in the bunch; but they possess a balance of open-mindedness to help and the ability to get things done. As part of the support crew, the most important measure of performance is the ability to resolve issues in a timely manner in order to ensure patient care isn’t disrupted. On the other hand, as operations stabilize, there isn’t necessarily fire everywhere. With down time on hand, those who show the willingness to get their hands dirty with unglamorous grunt work usually shine through the crowd. For example, there is a 19 year-old who is a fast learner, but is unreceptive to others’ coaching as he thought he knew how to do it all. One time, the team found him complaining to the client about the lack of work. If he reached out with a positive attitude, there would have been other works that could use his help. With that ego and poor attitude, he quickly started carrying a target on his back. A few leads started to perceive him as a poor performer and escalated to his manager several times.

In workplaces, perception perhaps only reflects a part of you, but it is everything to other people who work with you. Every subtle interaction marks your impression in other people’s minds. These little marks accumulate over the years help build relationships, and ultimately will become what you use to springboard your career to the next big level. Tuck in that ego, and think twice before you act.

Dieter Rams 10 Design Principles

Two years ago, I visited sfMoMa for a Dieter Rams exhibit. As a non-designer, his works were beautiful yet foreign. If anything, I walked away with a little more understanding of what good design is. Over the weekend, after watching the documentary, Objectified, I found myself contemplating more about his 10 golden design principles, which is essentially the bible to good design

1. Good design is innovative

2. Good design makes a product useful

3. Good design is aesthetic

4. Good design makes a product understandable

5. Good design is unobtrusive

6. Good design is honest

7. Good design is long lasting

8. Good design is thorough down to the last detail

9. Good design is environmentally friendly

10. Good design is as little design as possible

Behind the scenes of This American Life

If you love Ira Glass as much as I do, you’d love this talk

“There’s a lot of things wrong with this country and the world, but our computers and phones, we’re doing great”