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.
In this experiment, I wanted to find out if deleting social media apps increases focus time, without sacrificing friend connections.
Why: Busy busy busy, distracted by social media.
Summary: Deleted LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook App. Kept FB Messenger and Beeper.
Day 1: I caught myself trying to click on the apps as I got bored.
Day 5: Got used to not using the apps. I accessed them on the web browser.
For texting, LinkedIn and IG messaging are supported on Beeper, hence I didn’t miss out much.
For calling, I can’t call one friend who exclusively uses IG for calling. I texted her instead.
Day 8: I didn’t feel I was missing out without the apps. The lag from the web browser offered up enough time for me to quit before doom scrolling.
For sending images, Beeper sends full image files which is not ideal, but okay.
Day 10: More time and attention. I couldn’t get back to friends as quickly as before, but none of my friends were expecting a quick response. If it’s time-sensitive, I send them my phone number.
However, I found myself doom-scrolling on YouTube. Perhaps, another experiment.
In this experiment, I wanted to find out the trade-off when I put my devices in Lockdown mode and Advance Data Protection.
Why: With the rise of hacking, scams, and app tracking, I want to find out how much inconvenience there would be if I tightened things up.
Summary: Keep Advance Data Protection, stop Lockdown Mode.
iPhone (mini 13): Apps launch faster with less lag. The battery lasts 10-20% longer.
Wifi didn’t connect auto-connect to weaker security networks and I can’t connect to open networks at the library or the airport. AirDrop did not work for people that I haven’t added to my contacts.
Live Photos are unavailable. iPhone auto-blocks (a friend) from calling through FaceTime
Macbook (air, m2): The emoji menu couldn’t load (Beeper, Notion). Similarly, Wi-Fi did not connect automatically, and it couldn’t connect to open networks.
Advance Data Protection didn’t seem to affect much of my daily usage.
It certainly does not make you healthier. Neither does it prevent bad things from happening.
Prof Scott Galloway famously canceled his health insurance and saved hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Prof Scott canceled his health insurance and saved hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Most people are not Scott. And insurance is a good idea.
But how much insurance is enough?
It’s probably a huge waste of money to pay full coverage for everything bad that might happen. It might not. And mostly, because we’re paying for doctors and patients who are good at gaming the system, taking more tests and medication than necessary, jacks up the cost for everyone.
Insurance is really about a safety net and peace of mind. But biases and conflicted interests make it hard for most insurance agents to see clearly.
If you’re seeking advice, a financial advisor is better.
A hospitalisation deductible plan that covers big sudden expenses and affords the treatment you need is a good start. It might be worth paying extra for the option to skip the queue of your public healthcare system.
But don’t mistake insurance and treatment with habits.
A fit body, a calm mind, a house full of love. These things cannot be bought — they must be earned.
Now, how much insurance is enough for you?
Problems are distinguished by the fact that they have solutions. A hole in the wall. A leaky funnel. Something to fix.
The weather is a situation. So is traffic.
And situations, unlike problems, have no solution.
Smart sailors don’t try to solve the wind. They learn it, read it and work with it. And the sailors who we didn’t hear back from ignored it.
Oftentimes, naming what we can’t change is the first step of getting unstuck.
Should your organization be disciplined or creative? Stable or nimble? Existing customers or new ones?
Self-care or community? Freedom or structure? Play or work?
The trap is thinking that we need to pick a side. But perhaps we can have both. The upside without the downside.
The interesting question is How can we dance with the tension? Can we learn to see the relationship? When have we leaned too far? And when to shift?
What if the most valuable solution is knowing what not to solve, but to manage?
A good article to get started on polarity management.
(Thank you, Debbie.)
Who was the last person you regretted meeting for coffee?
Perhaps they tried convincing you to do something you didn’t want to. They pressured, spammed and pushed you.
Too often, we mistake pushiness for persistence. In doing so, we squander our reputation and the trust of a healthy community.
The difference between hustle and persistence lies in whether people feel grateful after knowing what you know.
Think of the teacher who stays back and offers extra tuition to struggling students. Or that friend who invites you one too many times to the gym.
Be that someone who persists on behalf of others.
Hustling is not generosity.
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