Chiara Cokieng

Learning SQL with The SQL Murder Mystery

I just solved the SQL Murder Mystery, a fun 'whodunnit' game designed to practice basic SQL concepts and commands. If you've been wanting to learn SQL, I highly recommend it! I thought I'd finally pick up some SQL skills. I got the book SQL QuickStart Guide by Walter Shields, and

How I manage my time and energy while job hunting (and working)

If you check my LinkedIn Recommendations, people say I work at ‘an incredibly high speed’, am ‘the best organized person I know’, and am ‘somehow, always simultaneously thoughtful and expeditiously efficient.’ So I thought it would be fun and useful to share how I manage my time and energy while

My most used keyboard shortcuts in Craft

I was talking to a friend who was sharing his screen while typing in Craft. It was a little painful to see him slow his thought process down by having to use the trackpad to format his text. One of the reasons I love Craft is that my typing can

Sorry, you're not Dave 😅

Today, I wrote an email update to Gen Propel's subscribers on what we're up to. I haven't done this in four months. It showed. To make my writing more personal, I always start by addressing it to a hypothetical person, ex – "Hi Dave". And that's exactly what I did. I

aText and Google Drive

Today, I simplified some of the apps I use, specifically: I decided to go back to aText and stop my Text Expander subscription. Originally, I wanted to use Text Expander for two reasons: (1) Formatting didn't transfer well from aText to Craft for 'metadata' info. However, I don't use this

Rocket German Walk + Anki

Today, I felt a little feverish, probably from the second shot of the COVID-19 vaccine. I didn't work at all, but I still did my "Rocket German Walk + Anki" habit. I've been doing it almost every weekday for a month. It's the only process for learning German that I've found

YouTube Comedian?

Motivated by how unhappy I was with my video skills, I asked my friend if she'd consider starting a YouTube channel with me. But on what? I want to get better at video. It's a key skill in 2021. But I'm not interested in self help or 'influencing'. While browsing

Skillshare course intro v2

Today, I rewrote our Skillshare course's intro based on what I learned from studying three Skillshare class intros. Here's the before and after: And here's me practicing the part on "Who am I?":

My handwriting is illegible - something I knew for sure that just ain’t so

There’s a quote often attributed to Mark Twain that goes like this: It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.I’ve always agreed in my mind, thinking, “Hmmm. That’s so

My ideal Skillshare intro, lessons learned from studying three Skillshare classes

I scheduled for us to record our Skillshare class yesterday. While we were setting up, I realized I forgot to buy the lightning to 3.5mm jack connector for the lapel mic, so we had to reschedule. To make use of the time, we decided to practice filming, starting with

Learning visual note-taking with Verbal to Visual

I was talking to a fellow course creator about the Skillshare course we're creating. He mentioned that including simple illustrations work super well for him. The ideas are more 'sticky' for students. I'm in love with words. I love reading and writing. However, I lean too much on words. Many

Using Craft Docs for narrative project planning

One week ago, I tweeted about experimenting with using Craft Docs to drive my projects forward. I've been experimenting with using @craftdocsapp to drive my projects forward. — Chiara Cokieng (@chiaracokieng) August 12, 2021 Instead of a laundry list of context-less obligations in a task manager... I write

Giant Swarm observability stack, finally :)

As my time with Giant Swarm draws to a close, one of my last contributions is the documentation of our managed observability stack. I feel nostalgic as I reflect on this task. Looking way back to my notes in December 2019, one of my goals in the first 30 days

Resources: First 90 Days for Product Managers

I hope to write a proper post about it soon... But for the purposes of today's post, it's three more weeks until I start a new role 🥳 Today, I thought about how I might approach the first 90 days. In general, what's worked for me has been: Schedule 1 on

Ask for testimonials, always.

One of the most underrated, most useful habits I've built: When completing some work, leaving a job, etc. ask for testimonials on LinkedIn. I learned this from Sebastian multiple times. First, when he wrote me my first LinkedIn testimonial, after which I felt compelled to write him one. Not that

Project 100 origin story

If we talk regularly, I will at some point mention "Project 100." For example, I allude to it in Gen Propel's course page and in How I change career so 'easily': Every time I want to try a new career, I conduct a sales campaign and aim to talk to

Gen Propel Skillshare course: Introduction

From yesterday's studying YouTube Success with MKBHD... He scripts 98% of what he will say on camera, in order to share as many useful things in the shortest amount of time possible. He literally writes the whole thing, from the beginning to "thanks for watching."...as well as remembering that

YouTube Success with MKBHD and the value of an MBA in 2021

I took a break from outlining our Skillshare course to learn from how others do it. I'm definitively a reader and not a video person, so this exercise is valuable to me. I studied the course: YouTube Success: Script, Shoot & Edit with MKBHD. Some points I found interesting: a/

Talking about yourself

Today, one section I outlined is "Talking about yourself." Most people perceive this section to be the most important. How do I talk about myself? How do I sell myself? etc. This is actually not that important. In sales, it’s not the most smoothest-talking people who perform the best.

Follow up is everything

Today, I continued outlining our Skillshare course, focusing on three sections: (1) Your LinkedIn Profile, (2) Analyzing people via their LinkedIn profile, and (3) Following up. I want to share 9 points I brainstormed for the "Following up" section: a/ Follow up is everything. This is well known in sales.

What I'm reading

1. Sam Walton by Sam Walton and John Huey. A mentor recently recommended this to me. I posed this question, "Do you really think being good to employees — treating them really well, making sure they are growing, all the stuff they write about in leadership books, etc. – actually leads to

Milestone: Short back and forth in German with a barista in Berlin

Yesterday marks a milestone in my “learning German” journey. I met a UPAA Germany (UP Alumni Association) alumna in Oslo Kaffebar, a coffee shop here in Berlin. The barista didn’t switch to English the moment he heard me speak. Not only did I order in German, we also had

Currently Writing: “Are you good enough to find work abroad? It's likely you are. You just don’t know it, yet.”

While working on outlining Gen Propel’s Skillshare course, an idea for an article arose. The working title is, “Are you good enough to find work abroad? It's likely you are. You just don’t know it, yet.” I'm still organizing my thoughts. But here are three of the points

Planning the intro video for Gen Propel's Skillshare course

Today, I wrote the key concepts and talking points for the (1) Intro and the (2) Class Project of our Skillshare course. Here’s a screenshot for the Intro: One reason we decided to create on Skillshare is so we can use their resources to create a focused, digestible, and

Caveday

Yesterday, while searching for 'online coworking' services, I discovered Caveday. Caveday facilitates daily group focus sessions on Zoom. To my delight and surprise, I was able to sign up for a session less than an hour after I discovered it. It was magic. After procrastinating for weeks, I finally started

Monthly-ish Personal Update (Jul 2021)

At Gen Propel, we completed the first cohort of our job hunting abroad course. I was a mentor in Building a Second Brain (course on personal knowledge management) and did five talks with up to 150+ participants. I'm inline skating and playing the harmonica.

Health and fitness should be public goods

Why? Because people’s health has a decisive impact on the outcome of their work. This quote from Epidemics and Society solidified it for me. In its turn, disease frequently had a decisive impact on the course of military campaigns and therefore on international politics and the fate of political

My terror of phone calls: A story

"Find 100 people and talk to them." is the advice I give the most, especially when searching for a job, changing careers, and starting a business. A common objection, shown in both words and inaction, is fear and lack of confidence in talking to people. People assume I've always been

Tiago Forte on Procrastination

I was reviewing Building a Second Brain 11 and Tiago expressed one of the most profound ideas I’ve ever encountered on procrastination. A student asked a question, Do you have tasks that are just forever on your To-Do List?And here’s Tiago’s answer (edited for brevity): Almost

How I invest

Some people ask me how I invest so I wrote down the answer here. Please note: I’m not an expert. This is not financial advice. I’ve only read a few books on personal finance and this is how I act on that information. What I do: I don't

Monthly-ish Personal Update (Mar 2021)

Starting a cohort-based course on job hunting abroad. Finding scenius in Compound Writing. Moved chiaracokieng.com to Ghost.

The product challenge of creating Tools for Thought

There's an interesting discussion going on in Craft's Slack Community. Thread. The gist: In his podcast with Metamuse, CEO and Founder Balint talks about Craft being primarily a tool for thought. A real tool for thought must remove all friction for users to dump thoughts easily anywhere … knowing that they

Finding scenius in Compound Writing

Image by Austin Kleon via austinkleon.com. I first learned about ‘sceniuses’ from Austin Kleon’s book Show Your Work! If you look back closely at history, many of the people who we think of as lone geniuses were actually part of “a whole scene of people who were supporting

How to save a tweetstorm to Craft Docs

Update: Or just use https://the.rip/ 🤦‍♀️ I loved Andrew Barry’s tweetstorm on delivering student transformations at scale. I wanted to save it as a note in Craft and just learned how. Let's talk about delivering student transformations at scale How do you ensure 150-200 students all

How to automatically group all todo items in Craft Docs

Similar to Roam's TODO page.

How I use Pages vs Blocks in Craft Docs

In my post on why I replaced Bear, Obsidian, and Roam Research with Craft, Jeff asks, I am still rather confused about Craft’s Pages vs. Blocks. They seem to work just about the same, but I don’t think I’m using it as intended. Maybe I’m missing

What's it like to be a Product Manager in a very technical domain you're not familiar with?

A Twitter thread.

Job hunting in a new country? I'm starting a cohort-based course 👀

Sun, 14. Mar 2021 Update: Pilot cohort will go live on April 2021. Applications are open until Mar 31, 2021. 6 slots only. Read the course details. I’m creating a cohort-based course on job hunting! 🥳 The goal is to help people learn the skills to find a job in

Just-In-Time Reading: How to smash through books to solve problems

I recently changed my relationship with books I read to solve work problems. Not only has it helped me actually solve work problems, it has also freed up my personal time to read books for personal enjoyment. Here’s the tl;dr: When you’re looking for a solution to

Monthly-ish Personal Update (Feb 2021)

I was so close to quitting my job. I've finally built the habit of building habits. Passed the German B1 exam.

Lean B2B: Build Products Businesses Want

Customer Development & Lean Startup in B2B

Getting to Plan B

I smashed through Getting to Plan B: Breaking Through to a Better Business Model. Below are my notes. The ProcessFind suitable analogs and antilogs, identify leaps of faith time and again, and build a dashboard with metrics to guide your journey and keep track of the results of your hypothesis

How to get an English-speaking job in Germany, from abroad

My biggest tip: Don’t try to convince people to do something they’re not already looking to do. Instead, find people and companies are who are already looking for people like you. Your goal is to find and talk to 100 such people. I write about this in How

Cognitive Distortions

For a coaching client, I had it on my list to “research how to handle negative thoughts.” She is a high performing product person, one of the most talented and driven people I know. Her negative thoughts cause feelings of low self-confidence, which sometimes leads to unsatisfactory action or inaction.

Churchill cried a lot, too.

In The last time I cried, I wrote about crying a lot and being easily moved to tears. It took at least 28 years for me to accept it as a fact and not see it as a sign of weakness. It was comforting to read in The Last Lion

To get to the good stuff, get it all out and purge the need to write self help

I love to write. I would love to write about product management, operations, even history. The problem is, I keep writing about self help. Why do I keep writing about self help? It might be because my experience so far has been on helping and improving myself. Initially, I needed

Should you focus on process or results?

Bill Walsh has a saying I love, The score takes care of itself. Concentrate on what will produce results rather than on the results, the process rather than the prize. (Source: Nat Eliason) But Patty Azzarello also has a quote that makes a lot of sense, You don’t win

Customer Service is overrated

There’s this theory that good customer service goes a long way towards compensating for a mediocre product. I used to believe this. In fact, I used to work for a startup that advocates for “Helpful Marketing.” The idea was: Prioritize helping your customers over selling your product. Build

Why I replaced Bear, Obsidian, and Roam Research with Craft

I used to use and pay for Bear, Obsidian (free), and Roam Research. These days, Craft (https://www.craft.do/) is my notes app of choice because: I find it the most pleasurable app to read, write, and annotate (bold and highlight) with. With Obsidian, I found it a pain

When does one learn ethics in technology and business?

I was talking to a lawyer friend about the Netflix show, The Social Dilemma. To most people not in tech, the negative impact of technology on our lives is shocking. As someone who’s worked in tech all her life, I am not surprised at all. In law, they take

My implementation of Zettelkasten in Craft

I have been using a new notes app called Craft.do. I love it and have been obsessively using it for the past three days. In this blog post, I share how I’m implementing the Zettelkasten method in Craft. For the best experience and links to work, view this

How to not waste your youth while you are young

Youth is wasted on the young. I first heard this quote from Adam Levin’s song Lost Stars. Ever since, I’ve been mindful not to waste my youth while I am young. Here are some directives I have for myself: Build good habits.Learn. Don’t act like an

3 Rules on How to Be Happy, according to Alexander Green

Rule #1: Don’t pursue it. Searching for happiness is a chief source of unhappiness. Why? Because happiness is a by-product, not of searching for it, but of getting busy with other things. Which things? See Rule #2. Rule #2: Get busy on things that produce happiness as a

Nothing worth doing is all fun and games. Not even fun and games.

Sometimes, people ask what my biggest learning was during my time wrestling. My answer: I learned not to blame my job for my unhappiness. Before wrestling, whenever I felt unhappy, I would tend to blame my job. Something about this job is hard. Frustrating, Stressful. If only I had that

Why I moved to Germany

It was easier to move from the Philippines to Germany than it was to move from Caloocan to BGC. I think it’s the Filipino-Chinese. Perhaps, it’s just my family. Either way, it was frowned-upon and kind of unacceptable to live on my own. When you already

The last time I cried

was 6 days ago. It was during a 1 on 1 with Timo, our CTO. Oli and Lukasz had told him that I seem to be feeling much better about my work these days. That is true. Ironically, it prompted me to tears. The thing is, I cry a lot.

Notes: How do I prepare for my German B1 Exam?

Update: I took and passed the B1 Exam in December 2020. These were very helpful: I took SmarterGerman's B1 Exam Preparation course taught by Michael Schmitz (the person in the YouTube video).For speaking practice, I hired Andrea from Lively German. She taught me a general flow for the speaking

Monthly-ish Personal Update (Oct 2020)

Overcoming anxiety, Coaching Project aka "Gen Propel", learning German.

Chiara's Monthly Personal Update (Jul 2020)

An update on the not-so-new job, Write of Passage, and Coaching Project.

Meetings can be the best type of work.

Most people hate meetings. We’ve been indoctrinated with the belief that meetings take us away from our “real work.” In this post, I share a belief I have about the world that others don’t realize. It is that meetings can be the best type

How I change careers so "easily"

In 8 years of working, I’ve held 4 different roles in 6 companies, based out of 3 countries. I went from Management Consultant to Product Marketer. From People Manager to Product Manager. I’ve worked for companies based in the Philippines, the US, and Germany. This has

Don't make a hundred (product) decisions when one will do

One thing that pains me at work is when people perceive me to overthink. I don’t agree that I do 🤪 What I try to do is articulate decision criteria, product principles, and similar things, not for mental masturbation, but in order to make one generic decision that makes

Platform Product Owner as vehicle and storyteller (and not domain expert)

In Julia Cameron’s book The Right to Write, she says, When we are just the vehicle, the storyteller and not the point of the story, we often write very well—we certainly write more easily. This is true. I’m coming to see a big part of

That’s okay. This is the game I choose to play.

I have been randomly bursting into tears at work. It has nothing to do with the company or the people I work with. It has everything to do with me. Why? I am not sure. Out of frustration, I guess. All I know is, this happens in the first six

Sparring above your weight class

In high school, most of my friends were smarter than me. They went on to attend Harvard, Stanford, MIT… So, yeah, graduating magna cum laude in the best university in the Philippines? It was practically a requirement for me. Professionally, I sign up for things I do not qualify for.

Thesis: Infrastructure Product Management is a unique category of PM-ing and needs its own best practices

To address this, I started by asking a Product Owner colleague of mine at Giant Swarm, “How is doing product here different from doing product in your previous company?” The answer: Omg I don’t think there’s one thing that is the same 😂 I’ll start

A mini enlightenment

I had a mini enlightenment today. I checked my morning run on Strava. It reminded me that I haven’t “kudos”-ed anyone on Freeletics recently. /And that I should go do that now./ Here’s the mini enlightenment. I stopped. And I thought, “You know

How do you measure if your product is providing real value? It’s enough to measure if your user is using it.

In this post, I want to make two arguments: Usage is positively correlated with Real Value.To measure if the user is getting Real Value from your product, it’s good enough to measure if the user Is Using your or Is Getting Nominal Value from your product. 1-Generic Metrics

[H] Managing Oneself (Harvard Business Review Classics) by Peter Ferdinand Drucker

Summary What are my strengths? How do I perform?Am I a reader or a listener? How do I learn? Do I work well with people, or am I a loner? And if you do work well with people, you then must ask, in what relationship? (i.e. as subordinate,

Decade in Review: 2010-2019

2010 I am a junior in the University of the Philippines. I am fighting to maintain my magna cum laude standing. Someone tags me in this photo. I realize that, holy shit, I am fat. Holy shit. I am fat. 2011 My uncle treats me and my sister to a

Q&A to: Filipino’s Guide to Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) for Direct Hires

I am grateful to Nicole Kalagayan’s Filipino’s Guide to Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) for Direct Hires, as well as Ayra’s guide. I am also grateful to Lee’s generosity in answering my questions. Finally, there is also a Facebook Group that might be helpful

No one is coming to save us

No one is coming to save you. Nathaniel Branden, Six Pillars of Self-Esteem Don’t get me wrong — I didn’t sit around waiting for someone to save me. But when I was ten, I thought a person goes from grade school to high school to university

Book: Gateless by Sebastian Marshall and Kai Zau

Co-authored by my hero and mentor, Sebastian Marshall. A guidebook for the modern career. Provides a useful framework of “the Four Currencies” you need to manage to create your own path in this new world – Capacity, Network, Signal, Assets. If you’re a person who’s always had “a lot

Job Hunting Directives from Knock 'em Dead

This is the book that taught me that like anything else, job searching is a skill. It can be learned and honed.  Job searching is a personal sales campaign. The goal is to get into as many conversations as quickly and as often as possible with the people who

A meditation on operations

I’m in the process of acquiring an Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) from the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA). One of the requirements is that the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) verify my work contract. I’ve been thinking about these government agencies. I wonder what their operating

How I’m evaluating if I can use Bear Notes as my “Second Brain” again

Why I am moving from Notion to Bear: Speed. To search, write, and edit. Similar to Evernote, the abundance of Notion’s features just cannot compensate for its slowness.Related to speed and performance, multitasking. Specifically, to take notes while on a Zoom or Hangouts video call. Notion slows way

@DeutschChiara

I’m trying a new and fun way to practice and learn German. 1-I created a new Twitter account @DeutschChiara exclusively for tweeting in German. Google Translate not allowed. Mein Zap arbeitet! Ich bin glücklich! — Chiara Lernt Deutsch 🙇🏻‍♀️ (@DeutschChiara) October 16, 2019 2-I created a Zap to automatically

Tip: Keep a "Smile File"

Anytime someone tells you something that makes you smile – a compliment, that you made an impact on them, or just any touching messages, save it to your Smile File. Whenever you feel down, doubtful of yourself, when the imposter syndrome monster visits, review your Smile File. Remind yourself of

True learning requires doing

True learning requires actual doing and deliberate practice. When learning “soft” or knowledge-based skills, e.g. customer development or doing user interviews, it’s easy to delude ourselves that we’ve “learned” something merely by reading about it. This is why learning a new

How I organize my commonplace book in Notion

Fri, 12. Feb 2021 Update: I now use Craft and wrote about why I prefer it over Bear, Obsidian, Roam Research, and yes, Notion. While I still have a BASB-inspired folder structure, my main ‘organizational system’ for my ‘commonplace book’ is now more akin to densely

How strongly does business leadership correlate with extraordinary financial success?

Something I’ve always been suspicious about: Does good leadership really correlate with “breakthrough” financial success in business? I’ve worked with some pretty good managers and leaders. We’ve done great work together, but obviously not “unicorn” level success. Don’t

Book Review and Notes: Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy by Cathy O'Neil

Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy by Cathy O’Neil My rating: 5 of 5 stars The subtitle says this book is about how big data increases inequality and threatens democracy. And it is exactly that. It’s a good overview for

Is the altMBA worth it?

I took altMBA24 (batch) in October 2018. A lot of people ask if the altMBA is worth it. This is my answer. tl;dr: It will lay a good business foundation, help you create a new network of support and friends, and help you “get reps” in doing leader-y things.

Predicting Your Future by Believing in Statistics + The Hallway Test

Summer in Hamburg I want to share two mental models that have been helpful to me. One is to believe in statistics. The second is to do the hallway test. Together, they help me predict likely futures for me and choose actions that tend to produce those outcomes. First, believe

Confidence

You need enough to know you can learn anything. At the very least, up to the level of the average person doing the thing you fear you are too stupid to learn. Be it driving, programming, or rocket science. Not even the best, just average.   Not too much that you

What are business and self-help books for?

Many people shit on business and self-help books. They say you should think for yourself. That you should trust yourself and do what feels instinctual. This is bullshit. If you’re doing something new, you have no right to trust yourself. You have no knowledge or experience with regards to

Should you stay at home and take care of your parents, or move out and live independently?

She’s leaving home by Linh Nguyen   One of the hardest issues for Asians if deciding to leave home is who will take care of their parents. Here are three ideas on the issue. First, you are not responsible for other people. You are not responsible for their

How fast to make change as the new person

There is a popular idea that says to curtail your urge to immediately contribute and change things when you are new to a job. That your job is to first listen and get context. I agree. I’d also like to add some nuance. It is not so much, “Don’

What I'm reading (January 2019)

Recently liking Stranger in a Strange Land. Scifi. Human was born on Mars. So, this guy is genetically human but culturally a Martian who went back to earth. Listening to The Hate U Give on Audible. Friend saw black friend shot randomly by police officer. Tells the story of her

How to account for Alexander’s rise to the top? It’s more than just being nonstop

With altMBA classmates from 6 countries coworking online on a Friday night altMBA24 ends this Friday. This post is originally published in our #gratitude channel. I’m in the Philippines and I work London hours. So I am part of the London cohort. That means Learning Group meetings are 1am

Q&A with Jeffrey Wan on Turing School, Flatiron School, and coding bootcamps — reasons people fail, how to prepare, minimizing regret, and more

I’m researching programming schools / bootcamps (mostly decided on either Flatiron School or Turing School). I reached out to Jeffrey Wan because of his insightful responses on Quora: Is the Turing School of Software & Design a good school? He generously responded with comprehensive and honest answers. Thanks so much,

Be OK being misunderstood

I attended our high school year reunion (10 years!). It magnified my chronic problem of answering two simple questions: What do you do? And what have you been up to? I’m currently Research Director, managing global operations, of a New York-based tech startup called OnFrontiers. Before that, I did

Being nice as the opposite of being truthful

When I onboard a new teammate and talk about our values, the first value I bring up is truth. At face value… It’s like, of course. Be honest. Don’t lie. But to be truthful, I don’t just mean don’t lie. I mean something more than that.

Saying no to the things that don’t matter

January 3rd in The Daily Stoic: How many have laid waste to your life when you weren’t aware of what you were losing, how much was wasted in pointless grief, foolish joy, greedy desire, and social amusements — how little of your own was left to you. You will realize

My reading year, 2017

These are the books that stuck with me in 2017. 2017 is the year I learned how to do my job. What is my job? It is to not tell grand stories to myself about how great and talented I am, how full of potential, how awesome the things I

Sometimes, to take control means asking for help

Or, asking for help doesn’t mean ceding control In life the chief business is this: distinguish and separate things, and say, “Externals are not in my power: will is in my power. Where shall I seek the good and the bad? Within, in the things which are my

Books and highlights - Week of 4 December 2017

Books opened week of Monday, 4 December 2017 Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate The Three Essential Virtues The Advantage, Enhanced Edition: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization The Four Obsessions

Reminiscing a four-year friendship with Sebastian Marshall

I’m rereading Ikigai which I bought four years ago, in 2013. At that time, it was a major decision to spend $9.77 to buy an ebook on Amazon. I remember buying a Kindle so I could illegally download and read ebooks for free. I don’t do that

Why I quit my first job

I was 22 years old. I was earning PHP 40,000 a month and traveling to a different city every weekend. That Sunday, I flew to LA to watch Jack’s Mannequin’s last concert. Six months later, while preparing to leave for Hawaii, I quit. Why? Because I was

Why I quit being an Olympic hopeful

I wanted to be an Olympic Wrestler. Or at least a World or Asian one. My hypothesis: I could condense twenty years of training into four, through heart, intelligence, and a willingness to invest time and money. After 1.5 years of training, competing, and collecting data, the verdict is

My three words for 2017

The three words are a mantra to guide my behaviors and actions in 2017. 2017 is my first year being a manager. I am Director of Research at OnFrontiers. For the first time in my work life, my results are a consequence of my team’s work and output, not

Favorites from the Archives: 2015-2016

I’ve been writing on and off this blog since 2013. There’s a lot, especially stream of consciousness crap, in the Archives. Here are my favorites. Me at my most truthful. 2016 The battle against letting people manipulate us with guilt A Fountainhead moment Why do you

On good management with Paulo Ribeiro

Interview and editing by Chiara Cokieng Thursday, 10 August 2017 This is the first interview in the Good Management series. Fools say that they learn by experience. I prefer to profit by others’ experience. — Otto von Bismarck People say you can’t learn management from reading books. Or, you

Letters from a Self-Made Merchant to His Son by George Horace Lorimer

As Ryan Holiday wrote, “Packed with good advice.” Work, money, having fun, management, marriage. It’s all here. Readable, practical, and funny. Date read: 25 June 2017 How strongly I recommend: 4/5 (Compelling if relevant to you today.) — My notes Character The first thing that

The Godfather by Mario Puzo

Date read: 9 July 2017 I was looking for a fiction book that is readable, does not require me to think too much, and will not feel like mental junk food. This is it. The Godfather was gripping from the first word to last. Tucker Max writes, “In a

How to find the answer when it’s not on Google

I am planning a trip to NYC to meet the OnFrontiers team there. Problem is, I don’t know my schedule. I’ve been preparing for more than a year to compete in the Philippine National Games. It’s an annual event. If I miss it this year,

The day you become happy

Or shit happens. Journey by Pai Shih, on FlickrHappiness is grasping the fact that shit happens. I know this now because I just finished reading Shoe Dog, Nike’s founder’s memoir. A lot of shit happened to Phil Knight. Knight: I’ve spent a fair portion of my

If You Can: How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly by William J Bernstein

If You Can: How Millennials Can Get Rich Slowly by William J. Bernstein (5/5) A comprehensive primer on personal finance for young people. A good read, as well as reference book. It’s a 30min read that will inform your financial life going forward. Recommended investment strategy Takes

I am participating in Book Riot’s 2017 Read Harder Challenge

Here’s my reading list and why BOOK RIOT’S 2017 READ HARDER CHALLENGE My most important criteria is it has to be good on audio, as I’ll be doing my “functional” reading in print, and my “curiosity” reading (this list!) on Audible. Here we go. Read a book

Should you start reading “great” books in 2017?

A good book can teach you about the world and yourself? I’m reading a book. The title is “How to Read a Book.” It’s about learning how to read a book for understanding, rather than information or entertainment (ex — popular fiction, business, self-help). Books from authors

The battle against letting people manipulate us with guilt

I just finished The Truth: An Uncomfortable Book About Relationships by Neil Strauss. One scene had a significant impact on me. Neil’s wrestling against Sage’s attempts to use guilt to manipulate him Just when Neil felt like he was finally getting his shit together, Neil’s ex-girlfriend Sage,

A Fountainhead moment

This is my view from my window seat in an airplane flying from Manila to Puerto Princesa in Palawan. It’s a short flight. Only one hour. People tend to rail and hate against flights. How they are constantly delayed. How uncomfortable the seats are. How disgusting the food. I’

Be a woman who wrestles

Me (in green) at the Buno at Dumog Takedown Challenge, May 2016, Manila, Philippines I was on a 2-month North America speaking tour, we were in Boulder, Colorado, and I was the only female speaker. During Q&A, a young woman asked me, How do you overcome biases against

How was the Vipassana course? My response.

I completed my first 10-day Vipassana silent meditation course last Sunday, May 22, 2016. Upon returning, people asked me how the course was. I have never had a harder time responding to this question. Now that I’ve reflected on it, this is my response — why it’s tough to

Break the opponent's balance before you attack

WRESTLING – I will be competing in my first takedown challenge in April 30. I have been thinking a lot about tactics. Which takedowns should I own and practice? Should I focus on offense or defense? (Offense) Should I train to be powerful, flexible, or nimble? These seemed to be

Are your problems worse than mine?

These days, all I talk about are wrestling and biotechnology. Less than a month ago, I knew nothing about them. My friends are all strangers to them, as I am. They want to know, “Isn’t that hard?” I don’t know. Probably? The thing is, I don’t think

Why do you climb mountains?

On top of Mt. Pamitinan in Rizal, Philippines Personal experience would seem to be a no-brainer but very, very few people will trust their own experience against the word of either many people or a single “expert.” Sgt. Rory Miller on how you decide what is true; from Meditations on

The day I got it in my head to join the Olympics

Jimmy Angana – the #1 freestyle wrestler in the Philippines today – was laughing at me, pulling me up, and cajoling me to stand up and fight. Albert Balde – then-president of the Wrestling Association of the Philippines – was at the edges of the mat, looking at his stopwatch,

Book: Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom (8/10)

A reread from my teens, just like The Alchemist. This is way better. Morrie’s life is a story on how to live your life as a novel, not a textbook. He wasn’t a superhero who always lived up to his ideals and never felt bad for

Why and how Coins.ph can improve retention in the next 60 days

Isn’t bitcoin a scam? That’s what my aunt asked me when I mentioned wanting to work for Coins.ph, which I consider the most promising tech startup in the Philippines. Is it a scam? For five minutes, I talked about why it’s not a scam, that the

Book: The six pillars of self-esteem by Nathaniel Branden (8/10)

I read this based on Neil Strauss’s recommendation in A Seducer’s Library: The Top Game Books: Despite what they may say, women do not actually look for confidence in a man. Confidence can easily be faked. What they look for is self-esteem. And, in fact, the journey

Tried and True or New and Improved?

I’ve always struggled between doing what’s “tried and true” versus the “new and improved.” Despite the popularity of blogging and social media, direct marketers will tell you mail order still works. Cold calling still works. They are time-tested and true, whereas blogging and social media may

Book: No B.S. Trust Based Marketing by Dan Kennedy (10/10)

If you’re trying to make high dollar engagements + you’re trained in direct response… you need less hype and ostentatious offers, more credibility, prestige, and exclusivity. This book will get you there. Get No B.S. Trust Based Marketing: The Ultimate Guide to Creating Trust in

Book: Go to Market Strategy (10/10)

One of the more practical books on go to market strategy for big companies. I expected the book to give me a framework for understanding how I can help clients (American tech companies) go to market in the Philippines, and that’s exactly what I got. Which is actually

I got laid off from my startup job – here’s what I learned

Grateful to be working in a cafe in Manila in the middle of the day, surrounded by books #1 Laying you off is one of the most difficult things your employer wishes he never has to do. I cried when Kevin and I talked about it. But his face told

Notes on leadership and strategy from Book: Ender's Game (9/10)

I’ve learned so little from books on strategy and leadership. I’m sure the directives are valid — tasks risks, empathize, think different — but as I read, I think, “I know this already.” But I know I’m wrong. I can regurgitate the best practices, but until I apply them

When to be a kid, when to be an adult

Explore like a kid. Move like a kid. Engage like a kid. With wonder, zeal, and a beginner’s mind. Eat like an adult. Decide like an adult. Follow through like an adult. With maturity, antifragility, and responsibility.

Stories download life lessons into your heart

Last Saturday, I watched Totally True Love, a Norwegian film. It’s about a ten-year old girl, Anne, who was in love with a boy named Jorgen. It was freaky. At the highest point of pre-teen jealousy, Anne cut the hair of her nemesis. This idea was inspired by

Book: The Art of Racing in the Rain (9/10)

Racing in the rain as a mental model for life. It made me cry. Your car goes where your eyes go. Read The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel by Garth Stein

Book: Write it down make it happen (4/10)

Write It Down, Make It Happen: Knowing What You Want And Getting It by Henriette Anne Klauser I expected some science and a few stories elucidating why writing things down makes you more likely to get what you want (RAS, etc.), as well as tips on effective journaling. Instead, it&

Not recognizing the fear (is the dream-killer) part 1

In June 2013, I quit my corporate consulting job to do my own thing. My dream was to make good money while controlling when, where, and with whom I work. My chosen method was to do marketing consulting. I knew that until someone gives me money in exchange for my

The real reason you should write everyday

I think one of the things people online have always wanted to do is publish everyday. That includes me. It’s also really hard, it takes a lot of time, which is why so few people stick to it. I was also convinced that that time is better spent working

Book: Never Let Go by Dan John

Philosophical, tactical, and pragmatic fitness wrapped in stories. You’re going to get philosophy — Dan explains why and how to build a body that matters to YOU. You’re going to get tactics — There’s lots of very specific programs in here regardless if your

Book: Triggers by Marshall Goldsmith

Most authors berate us for lack of mental toughness. In my experience, mental toughness is overrated. Steve Pavlina is right: Your environment will eat your goals for breakfast. It’s very, very true, but seldom talked about. That’s what Marshall discusses in this book: the fact that our environment

Unfashionable thoughts on death, grief, and dying

1. Death will happen. “The foolishness of people who are surprised by anything that happens. Like travelers amazed at foreign customs.” — Marcus Aurelius 2. …even if you avoid talking about it. “As you kiss your son good night, says Epictetus, whisper to yourself, “He may be

Review: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

Best book to kick your ass to action. I bought, read, and reread this in Kindle years ago. But last week, I bought a paperback copy to take with me everywhere. If, like me, you have a “technique and craft, not inspiration/Muse/etc.” approach to art and

Review: Principles by Ray Dalio

I read this book again because it was recommended to me as the “best book on learning how to be effective.” So far, I agree. Already, I am using an “issues log”, designing experiments, seeing every failure I make and every success I achieve as artifacts to analyze.

Review: Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

Do you know that feeling when you’re certain something pivotal just happened to you? You’re sure — you just know — that things will never be the same again… I’ve having one of those moments. The GiveGetWin tour just ended. Persistence. Air planes. Possibilities. There’s so many things

Review: Lincoln's Melancholy by Joshua Wolf Shenk

Read to cope during a very down time in my life. It’s a fact that You can feel bad… And still decide to take action — Stories of Lincoln helped me internalize this, in a way that self-help books couldn’t. This was just 150 years

Review: The Unpublished David Ogilvy

This is a short (I read most of it on a one-hour flight from Virac to Manila) collection of excerpts from Ogilvy’s private and public memos, letters, speeches, and interviews. Full of useful and insightful gems, Ogilvy felt real to me, like a mentor, not an author. Really

Review: Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

A stoic man’s reminders to himself. It’s amazing how someone, an emperor, who lived in 2nd century AD would have the same neuroses and issues as us. Read to both change your mindset and develop habits of thinking that will transform your life. Laziness / procrastination / akrasia,

Review: The The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris

Ryan Holiday sums it well: “Goddamn, TR was a good man.” Roosevelt was a man of intelligence and action. He became known as a man who was willing to do unpopular things. He lived in the arena and wrote about it. He was a politician, a writer, and

Serendipity and other overrated things

New York City 1. Serendipity 2. Independent travel 3. Walking off the beaten path For almost 2 hours, I walked 2 miles from East Village to Wall Street in New York City. These are the times when you’re supposed to have epiphanies, discover the city’s secrets,

You suck at meeting new people, and it's not your fault

Designing your life so you’re spending it with high quality people (i.e. networking) is one of the most high-impact things you could be doing… But at no point in life did anybody teach us to network and seek people out intentionally. Instead, we’ve been

10 fears disguising as plain, old bad habits

I used to think bad habits such as procrastination and not eating healthy are the consequences of a lack of will or discipline. But ever since I stopped accepting them at face value and started looking for the fear, I found them. Here’s 10 of the ‘bad

Don't forget the human on the other side of the screen

My biggest breakthrough in copywriting and marketing. Here it is: Regardless of how many people I am writing to, there’s only one person on the receiving end. And… She isn’t aware of how many people you are writing to.She doesn’t like being a mere line item

Today, I am happy with myself

Which is very rare. Sebastian suggested I track my time so I can find out and optimize where it’s going. Here’s the theory: I’m guessing I’m spending 2 hours working on something, but the reality is I probably spent 1 hour and

Things that scared me today

Sending out an email and cc-ing Sebastian and Kai so they can help me improve my email outreach. Realizing I wasn’t doing as much work as I thought I was, and admitting it. Getting on a call with a friend’s friend, someone who generously offered to

Recognize the fear keeping you stuck

I’ve always seen myself as brave. I used to be scared of the dark so I challenged myself to tiptoe our second floor every midnight until it no longer scared me. I knew quitting my comfortable corporate job was scary, so I said fuck it and quit it.

The "little things" that cause most relationships to fail

When a couple says there’s no specific reason why they broke up, they think they’re unique. That commonly, there’s a reason why. But from what I’ve seen and heard, the reason is usually “just little things that build up.” And

The decision to be patient and build self first

In 2013, I decided I need a change in my life. My job then — while rewarding in terms of money, travel, and prestige — wasn’t going anywhere. I discovered Location Rebel. Sean Ogle promised to teach me real skills that would enable me to do rewarding work online,

Sweat the small stuff

Consider some complex issue in your studies or life. Instead of tackling it in its entirety, find one small element of it and solve that part completely. Understand the subissue and its solution backwards and forwards. Understand all its connections and implications. Consider this small piece from many points of

"So, you are alive, then, as you are?"

You want to live – but do you know how to live? You are scared of dying – and, tell me, is the kind of life you lead really any different from being dead? Caligula was once passing a column of captives on the Latin Road when one of them,

Finally reading 33 Strategies of War

Despite Ryan Holiday recommending this so many times… I am so intensely aware of the weakness of my will, my procrastination, inability to follow through, of my humanity, that I put off reading this book indefinitely. I assumed it will be full of theories and intellectual ideas. I knew

Good at rationalizing poor behavior? Learn to ask better questions.

In school, one of my greatest strengths was rationalizing. I was really good at answering essay questions. I could get away with not knowing the “correct” answer, as long as i can defend my answer. When I joined the real world, I thought… Business only deals with

This is how motivated I am to go to the gym

You’re lucky you’re so motivated to go to the gym. I get this a lot from people who wish they also go. Even when I explain that it didn’t come naturally… That I started going to the gym in 2009, managed to go

Everything I’ve learned about the purpose of life

I get into a crisis of meaning whenever I can’t make myself do something I should be doing. I’ve read so much about this topic, trying to make sense of it all. There seems to be 4 theories on how to live a good life: Theory 1: Set

How to fail at almost everything and still win big by Scott Adams

One of the most important books I’ve read. I’d call this a handbook for life. One that encompasses both big-picture strategy and day-to-day living. Includes a lot of my favorite type of writing: the you-don’t-know you don’t know stuff. For example, his list of nonobvious universally-useful

No. B.S. Price Strategy by Dan Kennedy

No B.S. Price Strategy: The Ultimate No Holds Barred Kick Butt Take No Prisoner Guide to Profits, Power, and Prosperity Alter your strategic approach to price, and view it within the context of marketing, not as a separate task tied to price-book and calculator. Thoughts: Pricing is more art

My life from birth to 23

It’s been my goal to publish something everyday. I like the idea of using a blog as a self-invention tool. But I’m so stuck on the mindset that it’s a self-promotion tool… That I never publish anything I don’t think be

Fuck them

Something I read every so often. If you’re starting a business, trying to lose weight, or doing things normal people are not willing to do, you need to know this: If you try to become excellent, normal people will judge you. Fuck them. Seriously, I said it and

Richard Feynman - a guy worth reading

Recently finished Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character) Immediately said, “Wow, this guy is fantastic. The kind of person I want to be when I grow up.” What did Richard Feynman do, that made me like him so much? He was a

How to be grateful for vampires in your life

What are vampires? Vampires are people who take a lot from you emotionally. They complain incessantly, engage you in pointless arguments, defend their points to no end, and otherwise make a living out of stirring you up emotionally. Mostly to look smart. My general strategy is to avoid them. I

On becoming so good they can't ignore you

Don’t obsess over discovering your true calling. Instead, master rare and valuable skills. Once you build up the career capital that these skills generate, invest it wisely. – So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love I

Business should be fun

I can’t seem to sit still. It doesn’t feel like it… The days are long but the years are short and stuff. But as I learn more about how the world really works, my values change too. For example: I used to want to be

How I'm quitting chocolate cake

Tony Robbins’s mom is very smart. When Tony was a kid, he wanted to drink beer like dad does. ‘Cause if he did, he’d look cool and mature. Just like dad. Naturally, mom told him it’s bad for him. Tony persisted. So mom

Why people don't *let you know how you can help*

How will I get people to notice me? That’s what I obsessed with when I was just starting with this entrepreneurship thing. Every guru I listened to, every book I read…  said one thing: Provide value. Help people. OK! So I’d end emails and comments

How to stop self-sabotaging in 3 easy steps (really)

I’m addicted to buying books. Every time I finish training in the gym (3-4 days/week), I’ll get an idea to buy some book I’ve been meaning to read. I try to resist this because I already have about 20+ books open + 20+ more

Why aren't there mental gyms yet?

I’ve been thinking about the kind of person I have to become in order to do the things I want to do. My answer: A person who consistently takes action with chutzpah, resiliency, and outrageousness. A person who delivers WOW! I thought about how exactly I’m

Why high expectations may lead to lower achievement

I’ve always believed in setting high expectations. Because why not? Here’s how I saw it: If you set and reach high expectations, that’s awesome obviously. And true, you might risk disappointment if you fall short, but you also probably achieve something greater than if

Should you join the Damn Fine Words scholarship contest? (free tips on how to win inside)

7 months ago, life sucked. I read the Damn Fine Words scholarship post. And then something happened. Here’s what: I was a struggling freelance writer. I worked 12-hour days. Just enough time to write – at most – ten $7 SEO articles per week. The only requirement for

When stuck, ask "What's really going on here?"

You’re stuck. You feel paralyzed. You don’t know what to do next. And you don’t know why. Has this ever happened to you? Yeah, me too. I was writing an article for Location Asia on how you can get cheaper flights than Kayak. I

What Will You Do With Someone Who is Ready, Willing, and Able to Commit?

Note: Do NOT read if your name is not James Chartrand. However, if you want to learn how to turn $1399 into piles of cash, check out this post. — “We experience our moments of purest joy at precisely those moments when we are causing it in others.” – Gary Bencivenga