Gouache illustration of a child's bicycle with training wheels standing alone on warm pale ground, its shadow stretching to one side, for Carol Dweck's mindset and the grade of not yet

Mindset: Carol Dweck, My Perfectionism, and the Grade of Not Yet

Carol Dweck's Mindset found me when I was deep into building Golden Pines and quietly wondering whether I was the kind of person who could build it at all…

Oct 01, 2026
Pen-and-ink drawing of a spiral stairwell seen looking upward from below, for the 7 habits book I keep growing back into

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: The Book I Keep Growing Back Into

I first read Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People at twenty-five, as a young Financial Adviser who thought he was learning sales technique…

Sep 24, 2026
Gouache illustration of a heavy dark wool coat hanging on a wall hook, a second hook beside it empty, for Viktor Frankl and the last of the human freedoms

Man's Search for Meaning: Viktor Frankl and the Last of the Human Freedoms

Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning is usually shelved with the self-help books, and it never quite belongs there. it was dictated in about nine days by…

Sep 17, 2026
Still-life photograph of the first snow lying in a thin even line along a weathered wooden porch rail on a grey morning, for Warren Buffett and the art of sitting still

The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Art of Sitting Still

The third book in my series, and I planned it this way from the start. After two studies in intensity. Jobs and his focus, Musk and his fire. I wanted the…

Sep 10, 2026
Vintage archival photograph of a wooden library card-catalog wall, several drawers pulled part-way open with handwritten index cards standing above them in late afternoon light, for when the number everyone quotes and the document disagree

Roundup: When the Number Everyone Quotes and the Document Disagree

Nvidia's China quarter says the opposite of what the selloff said. Brussels turned the chatbot rules on while the coverage said it turned them off. Twenty AI…

Sep 04, 2026
Gouache painting on textured cream paper of two older men in dark coats sitting apart on a weathered bench at the end of a long wooden pier, looking out over still grey water toward a thin band of orange sunset under heavy cloud, the heartache of unspoken truths

The Remains of the Day: The Heartache of Unspoken Truths

Kazuo Ishiguro's butler is not ruined by serving the wrong man. He is ruined because he could not say true things out loud. On shame, silence, and the years…

Sep 03, 2026
Vintage archival photograph of a wall of brass post office pigeonhole boxes, a few of the doors standing open in late afternoon light, for the AI jobs story becoming a count

Roundup: The AI Jobs Story Stopped Being a Forecast and Became a Count

Seven weeks of catching up in one sitting. The AI IPO race, a landmark pancreatic cancer approval, a blood test that predicts dementia a decade out, a robot…

Aug 31, 2026
Gouache illustration of a worn dirt footpath cutting across a green lawn, the desire path a habit loop leaves behind

The Power of Habit: The Loops That Run Us

After three biographies of men I admire, a different kind of book. a practical one I've actually used, and argued with, for years. Charles Duhigg's The Power…

Jul 16, 2026
Gouache illustration of an empty loading dock at dawn with the bay door half open, standing in for the entry-level hiring AI is quietly closing off

Roundup: The First Real Sign of What AI Is Doing to Jobs

Half a trillion dollars went into startups and almost all of it chased AI, while the first hard evidence of what that does to hiring showed up in the youngest…

Jul 07, 2026
Gouache illustration of an abandoned mine headframe standing against a dusk sky, for Think and Grow Rich, the first self-help book I ever read

Think and Grow Rich: The First Self-Help Book I Ever Read

Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich was the first self-help book I ever picked up, and it cracked something open in me that has never closed. the idea that…

Jul 02, 2026
Pop-surrealist painting of a vast empty auditorium, hundreds of identical dark red seats in long rows receding into shadow with not one occupied, and a tall closed door at the back of the hall with cold pale light leaking underneath it and spilling down the centre aisle, for a rule about who you are rather than what the software does

Roundup: A Rule About Who You Are, Not What the Software Does

Commerce told Anthropic to cut off two models by the nationality of the user. It couldn't draw that line, so it shut them off for everyone. That, the biggest…

Jun 23, 2026
Gouache illustration of an empty porch swing caught mid-swing in late afternoon light, for Tuesdays with Morrie, a book about dying that is really about how to live

Tuesdays with Morrie: A Book About Dying That Is Really About How to Live

Mitch Albom is one of ours. a Detroit man. and Tuesdays with Morrie is his account of flying back, week after week, to sit with his old dying professor for…

Jun 18, 2026
Gouache illustration of an empty subway platform in the quiet between trains, for the White House asking early access to the most powerful models

Roundup: The White House Asked for Early Access to the Most Powerful Models

My weekly running list of what actually happened in the world. ten stories from AI, medicine, money, and the bigger picture that caught my attention the week…

Jun 09, 2026
Cinematic photograph of a single lit window high on a dark office tower at night, every other window black, for Isaacson's biography of Elon Musk and the cost of the drive

The Drive and the Damage: Reading Isaacson's Elon Musk

The second book in my series. After Steve Jobs I said Elon Musk would be next, and I meant it. Walter Isaacson shadowed Musk for two years and came back with…

Jun 04, 2026
Warm editorial photograph looking down a long stockroom aisle, tall shelving stacked with plain boxes under a single overhead light, for an AI disproving an eighty-year-old math problem on its own

Roundup: An AI Disproved an Eighty-Year-Old Math Problem On Its Own

My new weekly running list of what is actually happening in the world. Twenty stories from AI, medicine, senior care, money, and the bigger picture that…

May 29, 2026
Gouache illustration of a worn fabric sofa in a dim living room at the end of the day, a patchwork quilt folded over one arm and a cushion still dented, low warm lamplight from the right, for Anthropic finding thousands of zero-days and locking the model away

Roundup: Anthropic Found Thousands of Zero-Days and Locked the Model Away

A running list of what is actually going on in the world right now. Twenty stories from tech, AI, medicine, and senior care that caught my attention in April…

May 19, 2026
Pen-and-ink line drawing of a single empty wooden chair alone in a large bare room, light falling across the floorboards, for Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs

Reading Steve Jobs at Forty: What Walter Isaacson's Biography Taught Me

I am rereading Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs. The first time was in 2011, fast, slightly stunned. This time, in my forties, with a pen. These are…

May 17, 2026
A small antique brass lantern hanging from a low pine branch in a misty forest clearing at dawn, warm amber light spilling into the swirling mist, for Marianne Williamson on our deepest fear, pop-surrealism dreamlike illustration

Our Deepest Fear: What Marianne Williamson and Akeelah Taught Me

Marianne Williamson wrote that our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. I first heard the line…

May 08, 2026
Cinematic photograph of a dirt trail winding through a misty pine forest at dawn, the path disappearing into a golden patch of warm light in the distance, the process itself as the reward

The Process Is the Reward: What Andrew Huberman Got Right About Motivation

Dr. Andrew Huberman's research changed how I understand motivation. Dopamine rewards the pursuit, not the finish line. The process is not something to endure.

Mar 02, 2026
Gouache illustration of a park bench under an autumn tree, a stack of well-worn books and one open book resting on the slats, fallen leaves scattered across the ground

The Books That Changed How I Think: A Reading List for Builders

These books arrived at the right moments in my life and changed how I see the world. Not a listicle. A story about how reading rebuilt me.

Feb 27, 2026
Gouache illustration of a mug of black coffee and a closed leather journal on a wooden table beside a sunlit window and a potted plant, energy management in place of chasing the clock

Energy Management Over Time Management: Why I Stopped Chasing the Clock

I used to be proud of how many hours I worked. Then I discovered that the real currency of high performance is not time. It is energy.

Feb 23, 2026
A tall stack of well-worn hardback books on a wooden floor beside an old armchair with an open book on the seat, pen-and-ink line drawing in the style of a literary magazine

Why I Read 40 Books a Year

It started with a reading competition in elementary school and a stack of books I was not supposed to finish that fast. It never stopped.

Feb 21, 2026
Gouache illustration of an open handwritten journal and a mug on a wooden desk by a window, a stack of books behind it and running shoes on the floor beneath, what gives me energy rather than more time management

What Gives Me Energy. Secret To Time Management

The ultimate life hack: Energy Management instead of time management. Stay on tasks and activities that give you energy instead of draining it.

Dec 02, 2025
Gouache illustration of a single line of bare footprints pressed into wet sand at low tide, running toward the water, the nearest prints crisp and the far ones already softening as the tide fills them

The Basics of a Productivity System

A summary of the Ultimate Productivity System inspired by Ali Abdaal. Get everything off your brain so it can be free to be creative.

Jul 21, 2025
A pair of worn brown leather football cleats resting on a wooden bench in an empty locker room at dusk, with autumn leaves drifting through an open doorway, those who stay will be champions, cinematic editorial photograph

Those Who Stay Will Be Champions

The Michigan Wolverines' motto transcends athletics. It's about grit, perseverance, and staying the course even in extreme adversity.

Jan 05, 2024
A weathered hardback book lying open on a wooden craftsman's workbench beside hand tools and wood shavings, pen-and-ink line drawing in the style of a literary magazine

Mastery by Robert Greene: 12 Key Lessons From the Book

Robert Greene's Mastery provides a clear roadmap for achieving excellence. Here are 12 key lessons that stood out to me personally.

Nov 04, 2023
A small wooden sailboat alone on calm dark open water at dawn, a single white sail catching the first warm light, drifting fog low across the water, on being master of my fate and captain of my soul, cinematic editorial photograph

Master of My Fate, Captain Of My Soul

Growing up in the Philippines and finding my way to Michigan has shaped my unique perspective. The poem Invictus captures my philosophy on life.

Jul 09, 2023
Gouache illustration of a woodworker's shop floor at the end of a day, deep drifts of curled shavings across the boards and a hand plane resting among them, low light from a window at the left

Things I've Come Across

Inspirational wisdoms found across the internet, with reflections on overthinking, failure, and the importance of trying.

Jan 24, 2023
A pair of well-worn red leather boxing gloves hanging from a wooden hook in an empty boxing gym at dawn, golden light streaming through tall industrial windows with floating dust motes, cinematic editorial photograph

Courage Is A Muscle

Like most things in life, the more you use courage the easier it becomes. Courage is a skill that we can hone, nurture, and grow.

Jan 18, 2023