Self awareness

“5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins” – A Must Read to Transform Your Life

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Last weekend, I opened my Audible to decide what to listen to for a long walk. I forgot I bought the “5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins” a few months back. I don’t even remember why I bought it. I figured I would listen to the first chapter and see if it grabs me.

I have been listening to this book since last Sunday and am now on Chapter 8. It’s a must read (or must listen :-)) for anyone that want to transform their work or life. She shares her own gut-wrenching story of defeat, frustration, and shame in her work and personal life and how she accidentally discovered the “5 second rule” that forever changed her life. Her book and her ted talk “How to stop screwing yourself over” is now transforming the lives of millions around the world. ...  read more

It’s My 7th Year, but I Really Didn’t Think I Would Finish Today

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With the pandemic raging, my hot chocolate 15K race today was virtual. I really thought about not doing it this year or reducing the distance. I had all the excuses in my head last night. 🙂

Excuses to Skip the Run

  • My friend who has always ran with me decided not to do it today. She was worried about her knees, which have been hurting
  • I haven’t trained for this 15K, although that has been the case for the last 6 years.
  • My left calf and ankle feel super tight from the last few weeks of moving. Yes, we moved apartments in San Francisco. It took 10 days of packing, unpacking and lots of standing and walking.
  • There won’t be a crowd! I love the energy of the other runners and that usually gave me the energy to finish this run.
  • There won’t be any water or marshmallow stations to reenergize during the run

I can go on with my list of excuses but you get the idea. On the other hand, I had some good reasons to do the run ...  read more

Impostor Syndrome – Definition and How to Use it To Your Benefit

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I had no idea what Imposter Syndrome was for many years. However I clearly remember feeling like a fraud when I graduated from college. Even though I graduated with honors in Electrical Engineering, I was convinced someone was going to find out that I didn’t know anything. What was worse was I took a strategic consulting job with McKinsey. What did I know about strategy or business? Nothing. I believed that I passed the case interviews only because I got help from a McKinsey associate on how to ace case interviews and I read the Mind of the Strategist.  ...  read more

Steve Jobs Didn’t Say These Words, But You Should Read Them Anyway

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A few months ago, “Janet”, one of my best friends, sent me a shocking message. She was diagnosed with nerve deafness! “What the heck is that?”I asked. It meant she is mostly deaf in one ear and only salvages the hearing in her other ear with strong drugs and mandatory rest. 🙁 She added her doctors did not know the root cause.  ...  read more

How to Be Happy at Work – Ask Yourself 3 Questions Every Two Years

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Are you happy at work? A 2019 study conducted by CNBC of 8600 professionals across multiple industries showed that 85% of American professionals are somewhat or very satisfied at work. Ironically the same study also shared “30% have seriously considered quitting their job in the last three months.”  ...  read more

Why Do Incompetent Men Become Leaders & What We Can do About it

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Do you work for leaders that are incompetent? Do you think our political leaders are incompetent? If either is true for you, read on and find out from Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic – why do so many incompetent men become leaders? This 9 min Ted talk is hilarious, eye-opening, and actionable.

Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders – A summary

I have probably watched this Ted talk 5 times in the last few weeks. The facts he share are true and frustrating. Each of us is still contributing to helping incompetent men become leaders. Here are the three aspects of why so many incompetent men become leaders. This unfortunately also applies to incompetent women leaders.  ...  read more

Focus on What I Want Instead of What I Don’t Want

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stressful work

Work has been stressful. At a macro level, there are massive organizational changes in motion and definitive news of layoffs coming this year. At the micro level, my leader resigned last week and I have to deal with lots of politics, ineffective processes, and incompetence.  I guess “work” is not called “play” for a reason.  🙂 ...  read more