Thoughts on being a better version of myself, helping people & organizations present better stories, and making the world a better place
In 2022, I lost ~20 pounds of weight, read 29 books, and moved out of my family's home. I hit some professional and financial goals, devoted time working on our non-profit organization, tried new things, and had the privilege to travel. I also found myself and lost myself - and learned that life will inevitably … Continue reading I Can Get There: 365 Days of Tiny Steps
And you get a head A head full of dreams You can see the change you want to Be what you want to be “A Head Full of Dreams” by Coldplay I grew up in a generation with a head full of dreams - dreams of peace and cohesion, sustainable development, and the power of … Continue reading GEN C: A Generation dreaming of Cohesion, struggling with Change
Wealth is not about having a lot of money; it's about having a lot of options.Chris Rock I recently read an amazing, no-nonsense book on wealth and finance called The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. I highly recommend this book to anyone - at any age and at any level of income - to … Continue reading Save More, Give More: My Psychology of Money
Trigger Warning*: Self-harm, suicide, violence Life was scary; it was unknowable. Even Malcolm's money wouldn't immunize him completely. Life would happen to him, and he would have to try to answer it, just like the rest of them. They all - Malcolm with his houses, Willem with his girlfriends, JB with his paints, he with … Continue reading Why We Need Difficult Stories
These past months have been tough. After the "precedented times" pre-2020, we've found ourselves getting hit by crisis after crisis. COVID-19. The lockdowns. Economic losses. Despite the world's heroic push for vaccination, we've still been hit by one variant after another. Delta. Omicron. In the Philippines, we've also faced super typhoons, and let's face it: … Continue reading How to Learn Science: More ‘Big Bang Theory’, Less Memorization
On ne règne sur les âmes que par le calme.One leads by calm.French maxim cited by Clementine Churchill to her husband I recently read The Splendid and The Vile by Erik Larson, a masterful story-telling of the The Blitz - the nearly year-long bombing of the United Kingdom by Nazi Germany during World War 2. … Continue reading Why You Need to Rest to Work Better
In the past months, I had the privilege of speaking in several youth leadership webinars. During these webinars, I usually talk about my experience leading a non-profit organization from when I was a teenager, the successes and failures I've had, and what I learned along the way. Lately, I noticed a trend. The most common … Continue reading Youth Leadership: Growing Slowly (and Compassionately) in a Pandemic
Earlier this year, I wrote about seven books which became close companions amid the lonely days of quarantine in Manila. To close my 2020 literary journey, I'd like to share about three more books which took me on a roller coaster ride of insights, emotions, and internal debates overlaid onto a similarly tumultuous year. I … Continue reading Van Gogh, Dune, and Lessons for the 21st Century
I've been reading voraciously this quarantine, almost as much as I did as a child. Many years ago, on rainy afternoons like today, I'd be slumped over our home's orange sofa, my head tilted towards the window beside it, rain pattering on our rooftop, an open book on my lap. The gentle sunlight from outside … Continue reading Reading Lolita in Quarantine
"Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel." Socrates Schools will never be the same after COVID-19. For the first time, many educational institutions have to radically rethink the process of learning from the ground up. As we struggle with possibly extended periods of physical distancing and the inequalities in … Continue reading 6 Make-or-Break Questions I Should’ve Asked Myself as a Student
The Pursuit of Excellence 