Discover great authors from HEY World

The purpose of role models

Having successful role models can be dangerous. Role models should inspire you. Role models should not make you feel envious or jealous in any way. The power of having role models across different areas of life and business is that they make you realise that you can do it too. Anything! Not to make you feel unworthy or separate from th...

Magic is real, but it's not special

The most unrealistic part of fantasy stories is that there are people in them who think magic is amazing or special. Anyone who has: • graduated from school • taken out a loan • gotten married • had a kid • used a passport has done magic. What did you think you were doing when you imbued your sigil on a piece of parchment with special ...

Ten journal questions for you today

Journaling changed my life and I recommend it to everyone. If you're not sure how to get started, here are ten questions you could journal on right now. 1. What does my perfect day look like? 2. What are the things I do that I don’t want to? 3. What really matters? 4. What will I regret not doing? 5. Looking back in one year’s time, wh...

Nothing personal, it's just business.

I used to take everything in business so personally. If an idea was shot down, it was an attack on me. If I was passed up for a special project, it must’ve been because the manager didn’t like me. If I didn’t get a pay raise or bonus, the only answer was clearly that the boss wasn’t my biggest fan. I was such a damn child. I can’t beli...

Telling the truth like a standup comedian

Alan Watts was a translator of Eastern philosophy to Western audiences. There were many who did the same, but what took him to another level was that we talked philosophy like a standup comedian. He described deep truths the way a Jerry Seinfeld crafts jokes. Masterfully using tension. For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxDNW...

Expectations are everything

It's well established that Olympians who finish 2nd are less satisfied than the ones who finish 3rd. It's "I was so close to winning" vs "I'm just happy to have made the podium". Expectations at work! I got reminder of just how true this is racing at Spa in the European Le Mans Series yesterday. We started the race with the absolute lo...

Overnight success

No one is an overnight success. It just doesn’t happen. For every story you hear that looks like an overnight success is happening, there were probably years and years of planning, working, banging on doors and getting rejected. It’s only from consistent action in the right direction that momentum moves and then it starts to snowball. ...

Aging programmer

Back in college, they told me that I would start my career writing code, but eventually, I would move to a position where I would ask others to code my designs. To celebrate that this turned out to be completely false, here are some assorted reflections as a 40-year-old programmer that looks back: • Compared to my younger versions, I f...

What a paradox

partly by necessity, partly by choice devoid of taste, somehow richer with restraints, somehow freer i’m more aware and that what I’ll remember as I die

There’s little point making little plans

There’s little point making little plans. There is little point because no one cares. But more importantly, you don’t care. Making goals and plans that don’t fill you with excitement is pointless, because you won’t be motivated to see them through. Even if you do, you won’t care enough to celebrate or they won’t make a noticeable diffe...