Shady people are smart. But smart people might not be shady.

Too often, there are looters in the system. Monopolising the market, increasing prices, ceasing innovation, in the end, the customer suffers.

Smart people might look shady working the system.

Crossing roads on green, taking the handicap seats.

But if there are no cars, or no one using the handicap seat, are they shady?

Between understanding the spirit of the rules and blindly following the rules, lies the difference between being smart and being shady.

What’s the point of a contract?

A stack of paper, with dense blocks of text, can be a great way to intimidate or cover your backside.

But, more often than not, a contract is an agreement for disagreement. A way to move forward in disagreements that sustains the interest of both parties.

When a disagreement occurs, and it always would, can you split the difference between a betrayal and a misunderstanding?

Why did you come together to do this thing? What are you trying to achieve? And what is the best outcome for each party?

Perhaps that is the spirit of the contract, before all the technical jargon.

Honest conversation, hash it out at the beginning, and put it in writing.

It’s entirely possible that things would turn out fine. It’s also possible to lose a lot of money, or worse, a dear dear friend.

Perhaps if you don’t have the time, maybe it’s not worth getting bed with that special someone.

Here’s the prequel.

Thank you Roger and Guy.

Amazon failed. The Fire Phone, Pets.com, Wallet.

You get it, the list goes on.

Part of success is failure. You won’t try, you won’t win.

Jia Jiang did a 100 days of rejections.

How did you learn how to fail?

I realized the other day, as I get older, life gets more interesting and complicated. Many opportunities, projects and situations come knocking on my door. At some point, it got overwhelming.

This all started after making enough to save. I decided that my work has to be more than saving and making money. I had ideas, not enough time and I didn’t know how to choose.

In the summer of 2018, I took time out to make sense of things in Hualien. I wrote a list of what I had learned and cared about.

The Life and Lessons of Bryan

I live honestly without contradictions
to fool no one, and myself
to find the nuance, from an assumption, 
an aphorism, to a fact of life.
To see reality as it is
and always be a fool to the truth.

I redefine possibilities.
First for myself, then for the world.
Because I’m a little crazy.
Because “good enough”, isn’t.
Because what I do says who I am.

I see the good.
From the person beside me,
to what has happened to me.
In changing my perspective,
I give others a new story.

I play long-term games,
because the best returns in life
comes from compounded interest.
In love, in relationships, in wealth, in health.

I find courage,
to admit my flaws,
to share my truth,
to act from love,
to do the right things when no one is looking,
to do it all over again tomorrow.

To live my life with fun, brilliance, agency, spaciousness, and above all, integrity.

[Last updated on 22 Jul 2025]

What a privilege for each of us to think about what makes a life worth living.

Between a rock and a hard thing is you.

All moves seem like wrong moves.

It could be mixed messages from a parent, a lover, or a boss. And everything feels too important to priortise.

The hard part about being in a bind, is not knowing what’s causing it.

The second hardest part is asking for help.

You can’t read the label from inside the jar.