[This post is part of a series on my daily exercise and starting and keeping challenging habits. If you don’t see a Table of Contents to the left, click here to view the series, where you’ll get more value than reading just this post.] I refer to burpees so much I’m making a page to consolidate my burpee references (EDIT: now tomorrow’s post). As I’m writing this, I only have[…] Keep reading →

I’ve been meaning to record some thoughts on China, having been working here cumulatively maybe a couple months, mainly based on observations around Shanghai. I’m not trying to imply particular insight, just what struck me. People tell me I look at things differently than most, and in insightful ways. They wiped out most physical and architectural remnants of their history, apparently with the goal of modernizing. Their cities are all[…] Keep reading →

Today I visited the amazing terracotta army near Xian, China, which they bill as the eighth wonder of the world. I also had some geeky fun you might enjoy reading about after the pictures. I haven’t read the Wikipedia page on it yet, but from what I understood from I understood from our guide, who didn’t speak English so my co-worker had to translate, an emperor about 2,200 years ago[…] Keep reading →

Business brought me to the lovely city of Xian, not that far from Shanghai. My hosts brought me to a central area they covered with LEDs, I guess for tourists. I couldn’t help take pictures to post here. It was borderline garish, but just this side of too much. I don’t know if the pictures capture it. It almost felt like daytime at night. The city lit up a whole[…] Keep reading →

Two nights ago I walked with a friend past an exclusive resort she told me had a stunning rooftop infinity pool overlooking the city (pictures here). Entrance required getting a minimum $400 room. Instead I talked to a few people, got invited up, and we enjoyed the pool and view as invited guests. (I still had to swim in my boxer shorts because how was I supposed to know I[…] Keep reading →

I just visited a street lined with fruit stands serving durians. They sell other fruits — including mangoes, mangosteens, jack fruit, dragon fruits, and others — but only serve the durians at the tables. If you haven’t heard of or eaten durians, here are some pictures. You can see they are unusual — sharp on spiny on the outside, looking like guts on the inside — but the smell makes[…] Keep reading →

Clients and nearly everyone I talk to about it consider changing beliefs one of the hardest things to do. Changing beliefs voluntarily is fundamental to the Method, so I help people develop the ability a lot. Experience has made me pretty good at it, at least compared to my ability in the past. Based on how much I used to argue, I don’t think I started with any particular advantage[…] Keep reading →