Jul 10, 2022Lessons from the Harvard Program on NegotiationFor this essay, I reinterpreted and reorganized parts of the Harvard course material — and drew on some of my own experiences, examples, and ideas — solely for educational purposes under Fair Use. I also asked for and got Harvard’s permission to write this. So: Please don’t sue me, Harvard…Negotiation17 min readNegotiation17 min read
Jun 12, 2022Lessons from My Father — Volume IThe original draft of this essay was titled: “Lessons from My Biological Father”. I wrote it during the winter of 2021, and it was the heaviest thing I had ever written, to the point where, as you can tell, I decided to not share it. It made Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime…Lessons14 min readLessons14 min read
Published inAge of Awareness·Aug 21, 2021Lessons from My Childhood NannyDedicated to my childhood nanny, Paulina — I decided to write a series of Lessons essays for the people who are closest to me and who are still here. After all, they’ve taught me the most important lessons I’ve learned. This is the third essay of that series. …Lessons12 min readLessons12 min read
Published inThe Startup·Sep 7, 2020Lessons in Writing from My Literary GrandmotherDedicated to my grandmother — I recently decided to write a series of Lessons pieces for the people who are closest to me and who are still here. After all, they’ve taught me the most important lessons I’ve learned. This is the second piece of that series. …Writing12 min readWriting12 min read
Published inDataDrivenInvestor·Aug 16, 2020Lessons in Personal Finance from My Galician GrandfatherDedicated to my grandfather — I have written two of these Lessons pieces as tributes to great people who had sadly passed away. This led to me being asked the following: Do I need to die for you to write a Lessons piece about me? To which I responded: Donald Trump? …Personal Finance12 min readPersonal Finance12 min read
Jul 18, 2020Lessons in Learning from Professor Anders EricssonDedicated to Professor Anders Ericsson — Professor Anders Ericsson was an earned genius, and his research on learning and expertise changed my life. I used to have countless limiting beliefs about my abilities and potential, all of which have disappeared thanks to Professor Ericsson’s work. So, when I learned of his passing, I decided to write…Psychology10 min readPsychology10 min read
Jul 3, 2020Lessons from Travel — Volume II try not to date what I write, but I must mention that I’m writing this in the year 2020, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, which people in the future will call by the same name I first used to refer to the 1918 H1N1 pandemic: “There was…Philosophy11 min readPhilosophy11 min read
Apr 19, 2020On the Powers of Internal LanguageMuch is written about the powers of what I call external language, or language that is used to have an effect on external reality, mainly on other people. This has left me wanting for a resource that explores the powers of what I call internal language, or language that is…Language9 min readLanguage9 min read
Mar 24, 2020Lessons in Songcraft from Kenny RogersDedicated to Kenny Rogers — When I learned that Kenny Rogers had passed away, I wasn’t sad. That came later. First, I picked up my acoustic guitar, and I played “The Gambler”, one of the most iconic songs he recorded. I sang the first few lines with my eyes closed: On a warm summer’s evening On…Kenny Rogers8 min readKenny Rogers8 min read
Published inThe Startup·Feb 16, 2020Lessons from the 2020 Sundance Film FestivalHaving already written an article on lessons I learned at SXSW 2019, I was more aware than normal when I arrived in Park City, UT for the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, knowing that I wanted to learn as much as I could, so I could then distill what I learned…Sundance10 min readSundance10 min read
