God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as He did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that He will make all things right,
If I surrender to His will,
That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with Him forever in the next.
Amen.

Part one of the prayer is start of every Alcoholic Anonymous meting.

It’s part surrender, part plead, part summoning of our inner wisdom.

The second half comes acceptance, embracing hardship and seeing the positive.

As I am learning in New Zealand, Maori meetings begin with a Karakia, a prayer too.

How it would be like to pray before meetings or in the morning, change the day?

An experiment worthy.

A lofty word, often used in high circles.

The meaning can be simple.

To treat people with respect.

To treat people like how you wish to be treated.

But perhaps more, to treat them like how they want to treated.

Each of us carries different hardship, opinions and preferences.

To honor this, it would cost us to slow down, listen, and share our power.

What we think is good for other might not be what they want.

Dignity ask us the question, is what we want for others truly, what they want?

And how, in return, do we wish to be treated ourselves?

If you suspect AI might take over your job, it probably will.

There is no doubt that many jobs will be replaced. Especially in coding, writing, design, marketing and finance, currently.

I predict it will take 2-3 years before the industry (and you) will reach stability.

Start saving and avoid big debts.

Electricity, internet and the steam engine didn’t eliminate all jobs. AI won’t either.

A bad move is clinging to our past experience and wishing things would return.

The interesting question is what kind of jobs or business would still be around that worth investing your time now?

In 1930s, when indicators lights were introduced to car, the familiar clicking sound came from the heating and cooling of metal as electricity went through the circuit.

But as technology change, they had to intentionally keep the sound.

A few days ago, the clicking sounded twice as fast in my car. And upon checking, one of my bulbs failed.

That early warning saved me from confusion and possibly from an accident.

It made me wonder…

For the most important things in life, health, finance, relationships, what’s is the signal to know if when something is not working?

Asking what it’s for is scary business.

Once you name it, people can judge it, debate it, argue with you about it.

Is it for your morals, to make money, or to make you feel important?

It’s tempting to avoid the question and continue blindly.

Perhaps the most honest answer is “I’m afraid I might fail.”

Perhaps, its better than being stuck.

I’ve been cutting my own hair for a few months now.

Surprised by the 3× cost of haircuts in New Zealand compared to Singapore, I walked into a chemist and found that a shaver cost less than a single haircut!

Of course, I bought it on a whim. What’s the worse? My hair can grow back,

With one battery-powered shaver and 20mins in the gym toilet, I figured out how to cut my hair. No comb, no scissors, no tutorial in the gym toilet. (Yes, I sweep up all the hair)

Just like living in a car, changing the law, working a four-hour week, or starting an experiment, people did it because they didn’t wait.

Today is a fine day to be curious and ask, “How did you do it?”

Apple chooses a high-end, price-insensitive audience.

IKEA, on the other hand, wins you over with value, cutting costs wherever they can.

Apple designs the interior of its Macs beautifully, even where no one will ever look.

IKEA doesn’t paint the backs of bookcases, where no one will see.

Both approaches are thoughtful.

Are they for different target customer?

I buy and love them both.

Standards run our lives.

Some are enforced with punishment, but the most delightful ones are invisible.

The size of paper that fits into every printer. A holiday that reminds us to be grateful. The ease of driving a rental vehicle in a new country.

Savvy business knows that embracing standards benefit everyone in the long-terms.

Or even better, raise the standards. Scientists gave away the COVID vaccine for free. Tesla open-sourced all their patents.

The thing about standard is that it’s created by people.

And we are people.