agency > intelligence

https://x.com/karpathy/status/1894099637218545984?s=46&t=nluSw7cwYGx8zFxfoYi5Iw

[BR]

Obviously Awesome by April Dunford

quick read, less than 200 pages

to the point guide on April’s 10-step positioning process for entrepreneurs/marketers

main takeaways:
- short listing your best-fit customers to find your best position
- considering competitive alternatives and they do not have to be competitors. it can be something like “hiring an intern”
- 5+1 effective positioning

fav quotes:

The future isn’t a place we are going to go, it’s a place we get to create.

If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.

4/5
good material for entrepreneurs/marketers

happy new year all!

after reflecting on 2025 and goal settings for 2026, here’s some that i’m aiming to do this year!

- to read 15 books this year, 8 of which must be fiction
- to continue being intentional in living life (fitness, reading, etc.)
- to spend more time with family
- focus on savviness
- maintain high agency and to continue working hard (no room for complacency)

+ more in holistic aspects like spiritual, social, and mental

hope you’ve done your necessary reflections into 2026 too and i hope that we’ll be able to achieve them !

[cc]

the pause between stimulus and response is where presence is

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DS-Py-sDT6x/?igsh=MWV4bDlyc253ZnpnMA==

Wabi-sabi

Wabi-sabi (侘び寂び) is a Japanese aesthetic and worldview centered on finding beauty in imperfection, impermanence, and incompleteness.

Nothing lasts and nothing is perfect.

https://intojapanwaraku.com/culture/264627/

We’re all a bit racist

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/busting-myths-about-human-nature/201607/we-re-all-bit-racist/amp

Prejudice v Racism v Discrimination

by ChatGPT

had some good chats about racism and i’ve just realised that maybe my society throws the term racism a bit too much because there are distinctions (see above chatgpt)

question:
do you think minorities can be racist?

JUST IN - Trump invades Venezuela, ordering U.S. special forces' boots on the ground to secure Venezuelan military facilities — CBS

@disclosetv

period of tension is real

i think we’re witnessing in real time how we’re about to enter a hot war era

things are escalating gradually across parts of the world by superpowers

one wrong catalyst/trigger will likely start a full fledged war

just like the assassination of the archduke

quite scary to think

[cc]

what’s meant for you won’t miss you

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTERroQipR6/?igsh=N2VmamsyM3VlY2dx

Books are not meant to remain in your mind, but in your heart…

At a crossroads in life, a forgotten sentence or a story from years ago can come back to offer an invisible hand and guide you to a decision.
__

felt that this is extremely relatable

The Matthew Effect refers to a pattern in which those who begin with advantage accumulate more advantage over time and those who begin with disadvantage become more disadvantaged over time. The result is ever-widening differences between the advantaged and disadvantaged.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/matthew-effect

if you’re given or have acquired a form of advantage, do remember to press it

don’t squander something so crucial away

something that millions of disadvantaged people want

counting your blessings i guess

drinking your coffee in peace is only enjoyable if it’s in contrast to doing something hard during the bulk of your day. you don’t need more special *you* time, you need way less of it.

https://x.com/justalexoki/status/2008321017224090084?s=20

[cc]

this is pretty interesting

daily curated anti slop content for your reading

the article pieces are good reads

https://www.antislop.xyz/

"Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while... you don't do things right once in a while... you do them right all the time. Winning is habit."

Vincent Lombardi

No man will change his old ways for the new, until he personally feels the need for it, that's why great teachers have always urged men to see the awful condition that they are actually in right now, rather than to live by pretty words and non-existent ideals.

found this written in my notebook from 2019 as i was clearing out my room today

The Man In The Glass by Dale Wimbrow

When you get what you want in your struggle for self.
And the world makes you king for a day.
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself,
and see what that man has to say.

For it isn't your father, or mother, or wife.
Whose judgment upon you must pass.
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life,
is the one staring back from the glass.

He's the fellow to please nevermind all the rest.
For he's with you, clear to the end.
And you've passed your most difficult, dangerous test,
if the man in the glass is your friend.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years,
and get pats on the back as you pass.
But your final reward will be heartache and tears.
If you've cheated the man in the glass.

AI-generated manga becomes top ranked ebook store in Japan

https://x.com/aisafetymemes/status/2008543556995096716?s=46&t=nluSw7cwYGx8zFxfoYi5Iw

South Korean teens spend more than three hours a day watching online videos: Survey

Instagram and YouTube were the most frequently used social media platforms.

Read more: https://bit.ly/3Nad8nt