In my experience, the most common obstacle holding back highly intelligent people from achieving their potential is that they’re so smart that they always think they’re right, but not quite humble enough to realize that they’re frequently wrong. It took me a long time to understand this, but it was a pivotal epiphany that changed…
Worrying isn’t inherently bad, but worrying about the wrong things is. I humbly share my reminders to myself: • Don’t worry about brand,worry about relationships. • Don’t worry about network,worry about community. • Don’t worry about detractors,worry about champions. • Don’t worry about outcomes,worry about progress. • Don’t worry about circumstances,worry about choices.
50 years ago, my parents were two ambitious young Egyptians living in Cairo, contemplating marriage, and trying to figure out how to better their lives and the lives of their future children. 40 years ago, I was an insecure, 7-year-old schoolboy trying to figure out the cultural norms in England, how to make new friends,…
I humbly share five life lessons I learned from my parents:
1. Seek to understand why you might be wrong, not to prove why you might be right. You aren’t as smart as you think you are, so find mentors who are A) smarter and more experienced in life than you, and B) have your best interest in mind and no reason to misguide you; then, consider their counsel seriously no matter how difficult it is to hear.
I know it’s hard for many of my friends to appreciate the severity of the tension and helplessness that many African Americans feel towards law enforcement. To Americans of European descent, especially those in the upper socio-economic classes, the fear and antagonism directed towards a police force that is, by and large, hard-working and committed…
I’m once again in a bit of a contemplative mood thanks to a thoughtful coffee discussion with a good friend this morning. I’m more convinced than ever that, while it’s been the most tragic event of our lifetimes, we’ll exit this epidemic in a dramatically better place than we entered it. First and foremost, we…
I write to reflect. Nothing helps me think through an idea and reach a defensible position than composing an article on the matter. I write to escape. Some find intellectual and emotional escape in outdoor activities, watching a movie, or reading a book; for me, writing provides that mental escape. I write to endure. It…
I’ve long preferred real estate over financial assets. The 2008 crisis taught me a lot of lessons about real estate investing. Most of them were expensive. But, hey, education is worth paying for. However, unlike that last financial crisis over a decade ago, the current COVID crisis doesn’t have at its core a connection to…
In order to begin formulating plans for a hopeful return to normalcy, I realized it was important for me to understand how all of the measures we’ve all become accustomed to discussing related to one another: physical distancing, PPE, antibody testing, herd immunity, and so on. This short video is my attempt at explaining all of these concepts to myself as a layperson. Think of it as Epidemiology for Dummies :-).
Over the coming month, one topic will overshadow Coronavirus/COVID-19: reopening the economy. Because I consider this much more than a “reopening” – beyond the bounds of any state or country, and much broader in scope than the economy – I prefer to use the phrase “rebooting the world.”
Against the Herd 