freedom
What Burning Man Taught Me About Following My Joy
"Choose intimacy," my new friend Mark said to me, as we stood outside a geodesic dome at Anahasana Village at Burning Man. "There are a thousand things you could be doing at any moment at the Burn," he continued. "Pick the one thing that'
Heading to My First Burn — and Finding Joy in the Ephemeral
In a few days, I'll be heading out to my first Burning Man and joining 80,000 people in a temporary metropolis in the middle of the Nevada desert. I'm feeling super excited. My wife and I decided just a week ago that we'd
Chasing Freedom
I spent much of my life chasing freedom. Growing up, I chased the freedom of escaping my family’s roots in San Francisco Chinatown and living a richer life. I felt so proud when I graduated from MIT and landed my first engineering job at Google — they were my golden
How Your Feelings, Not Your Thoughts, Create the Freedom You Want
“What's the cage that you're breaking people free from?” Jonny asked. I closed my eyes. The question had unexpectedly touched a chord in my heart. Before I could open my mouth to even respond, I already found tears streaming down my face. It was my turn
Build Your Tension Muscle and Create the Success You Want in Life
Several years ago, I committed to a daily Uncomfortable Conversation challenge. At the time, I was working with an amazing coach on taking up more space in conversations. I'd been struggling with telling engaging stories, with interrupting when I had something to add, and with being more vulnerable
I'm Quitting Engineering and Taking My Next Big Leap
The conversation that would change the trajectory of my life's work happened just before the pandemic hit. My dear friend Elenna and I were celebrating at E&O Kitchen and Bar in downtown San Francisco — we had just finished running a workshop for leaders in tech on
How Kilimanjaro Dared Me to Dream Bigger
At 18,000 feet, the nausea and loss of appetite starting kicking in, compounding the dreaded headache that I was already feeling. My body felt perennially out of breath with every small step. At that altitude, the oxygen levels had dropped to 50% of what was available at sea level,
Following the Call
Tomorrow, I'll be flying to Tanzania to scale Kilimanjaro. It'll be the most epic and physically challenging feat that I've ever attempted. When I decided to do this trip a few weeks ago, I didn't know why I was doing it. I&
Choose Aliveness and Create the Life You Truly Desire
This is a message to my past self and to those of you who may be living in a dark moment.
