Good Reads

These are great articles from various sources and writers which are worth a least a second read and thought. I keep them all here for future reference. This will be updated constantly, so bookmark it if necessary.

(English)

Lessons & Tips:

Fish don’t know they’re in water – Derek Sivers

We’re so surrounded by people who think like us, that it’s impossible to see that what we think are universal truths are just our local culture. We can’t see it until we get outside of it.”

Valuable to others, or only you? – Derek Sivers

When I’m hot, it’s hard for me to imagine that others in the room are cold. I think it really is hot, not that it’s hot only for me. It feels like fact, not opinion.”

Never Hurt to Ask – Darren Hardy

Ask, and Ye Shall Receive. Ye Have Not, Because Ye Ask Not

=> Before you ask: What have you tried?

Young people are screwed… Here’s how to survive  – Bryan Goldberg

Lesson No. 1: Learn to make something

Lesson No. 2: No, education is not the answer.

Lesson No. 3: Your parents and grandparents don’t understand your world. You should probably ignore them.

Lesson No. 4: Don’t worry about your network. Worry about your friends. [If you have successful friends, you will be successful.]

10 Smart Things I’ve Learned from People Who Never Went to College

10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job – Steve Pavlina

10 Reasons You Should Never Have a Religion – Steve Pavlina

Ten Ways To Ensure You’re Driving Your Bus Instead of Just Being a Passenger

There’s No Such Thing as the Worthy Poor – Scott Dannemiller

Tim Ferriss Interview – Derek Sivers

Fuck, I Need Some New Swear Words – davidbanks

Disconnecting Distractions – Paul Graham

The Imperfectionist – Sarah

Smarter Than Your Parents – Steve Pavlina

Journal/Blogging:

You Should Write Blogs – Steve Yegge

Why You Should Write Things Down – Henrik Edberg

Presentation

Presentation Zen

Skills:

3 Entrepreneurial Skills You Won’t Learn In Business School: How to code, sell & hire

Why are you in such a rush? Dan Shipper – slow is smooth and smooth is fast

Sucking Less Every Year

10 Skills You Need to Succeed at Almost Anything

Design:

Content Without Design is Dumb – Pat

User Experience

Please make your article title as a link – it helps me & others to share it easier. Steve Pavlina and many others do this!

“Fuck You.” – Brad Frost

Next time you find yourself intentionally depriving someone an experience—to acquire knowledge, to complete a task, to do something online that can make their life even just a little better—picture yourself standing in front of that person in real life, looking them square in the eyes, then firmly and definitively saying “Fuck you.”

Habits

Busting the 21 days habit formation myth
How Long to Form a Habit?
Habit Formation: The 21-Day Myth
>> It takes more or less 66 days to form a new habits

Simply Successful Secrets Roundup!

5 things to do everyday to be successful

Goals

Are Your Goals Holding You Back? – Dan Shipper

Money

The Power of Association – Robert Kiyosaki => I like the term “motivation killers” 😀

Passion:

Don’t Do It For The Money – do it because you love it. Do it because….

Do You Know?

Why Ideas Pop Into Your Head When You’re Trying to Fall Asleep – No distractions

Health

How to Need Less Sleep by Getting Better Sleep Every Night  – Better Sleep is More Important than More Sleep

Career

Job Titles in the Web Industry – CSS-trick.com

Are we designers or developers?

Go the F**k Home – an interesting post & speech!

If you can’t name two things you’re regularly doing outside of work, you’re spending too much time there.

Programming Is Like Dancing – Dan Shipper : The product isn’t eternal but the moment is. The feeling isn’t lasting but it’s worth chasing.

Why I Left Google

Entrepreneurship

10 Tips for Moving From Programmer to Entrepreneur  – Ian Landsman: Design!! vs Coding

Hackers

How to become a hacker?

Hackers vs. Coders – this not a real ‘hackers’ btw

They’ll be focused on solving user problems, rather than solving implementation problems. They spend more time hacking it and less time coding.

Are You An Expert?

How To Be A Great Developer – Ed Finkler – Poor communication

Learn to Code >> 4 non-coders

The Origins of the <Blink> Tag  – Getta know this when doing my current homepage

Bai tieng Viet:

Thời vắng những nhà văn hoá lớn? – Trần Hữu Dũng

Tuổi 16, ta đã làm được gì? – Dongsongxanh

Bài học kinh nghiệm về hợp pháp hóa mại dâm

Justin Khương: Phong ba bão táp không bằng Start-Up Việt Nam

Không thích đọc tình yêu lm buồn, oán trách kiểu này lắm nhưng hay:

Đàn ông ví mỏng – Trang Ha

“đàn ông kiếm tiền là năng lực và tiêu tiền là văn hóa”

Vì bạn không đủ tư cách để yêu (2) – Trang Ha

“Bởi vì nếu thật sự yêu, người con gái sẽ tự nguyện chờ đợi, vượt qua được những khoảng cách và không gian, mà không cần một lời hứa hẹn ràng buộc nào cả. Tôi tin thế.”

Lý do tui ghét chữ phượt

You should have a blog!

A summary of why you should have a blog:

• Don’t ever trust your mind
  10 or even just 5 years from now, you likely won’t remember even your most memorable moments today.
• Who were you yesterday?
  Time’s flying. As time goes by, you’re also likely to lose track of yourself. Jotting something down is one of the best ways to keep track of your progress.
• Your stories (experiences) are your life
  If you have a lot to say but nothing to write down. Do worry!
• Your experiences are invaluable! (even though you may think they’re not) So write them down & share with us. I’d love to read your blog

My Story

Many of my friends find it weird when I put a pocket pen inside my wallet. So do they feel when seeing me carry some “funny” notepapers…

You’ve got to write things down!

Don’t ever trust your mind

I and she – we had a great trip in Thailand. At the end of the trip, I asked if she will remember this trip. Un-reluctantly she said no, no, never, how would I forget these wonderful memory?

[keep things/events in perspective – what & who you love now may not last forever]

Well, our memory is certainly not as reliable as we may think it is. Write things down and you will know how much our memory can leak. This is even more important:

“Every time we remember something we recreate what happened rather than just replay a film from our mental archives. The recreation is directed by a number of things such our beliefs, our emotional state at the time and our self-image. What you remember about an event may differ quite a bit from what someone else remembers.” – Henrik Edberg

One year later for some reason we broke up. Now every time she thinks about the trip, she says it’s really bad and that she just wanna forget it all. Unsurprisingly, the trip now becomes a forgettable experience simply because it reminds her of our broken relationship.

By writing things down, you are not only able to remember it longer but also keep its perspective.

Keep track of your progress

If I’m this positive person, who would know & imagine that I was a completely negative person not long ago? No one maybe not even myself. By writing things down, you can track your progress. When realising that you’re improving, you will become more appreciated of what you’re having and that keeps you moving forward.

By keeping a written record of your life, you’ll be more accountable. By putting into writing the action steps that you’ve planned; you will easily see what works and what doesn’t.
Most people just try to get through the day; never writing anything down; never keeping track of their progress along the way…” – Jim Rohn

Also, you don’t have to occupy your mind by remembering every little thing. By writing them down and clearing them out, you will become less stressed and it will become easier for you to remember and think clearly.

So first, you’ve got to write things down. Second and probably one of the most important things I would ever say in my blog: you should have a blog.

Don’t over-think it BLOG

I know, many of you’ve already used some kind of the so-called “blog”. Journal, diary, notebook, phone tracking notes – whatever you want to name it. The interesting thing is when it comes to blog, many would think that it’s a super hard thing that only writers would use. Only those who have outstanding writing skill should have a blog. Or it’s meant for businesses, etc. The truth is:

You don’t need to have a flair in writing to write.

You don’t need to have a business to have a blog.

You don’t even need to spend a buck to have a blog of your own…

Blog is just a tool that helps you keep your journals easier.

Just do it

Your blog’s design may be ugly but who cares, it’s yours.

Your ideas may be ridiculous; your thoughts may be random but who cares, they are yours.

Your blog would suck but who cares, it’s yours.

I remember that awkward moment when I admitted I loved a girl in my class and my friends kept laughing at me when they read it. But… So what?

Now how about:

Someone gets useful information when reading your personal trip’s experience with your girl/boyfriend in Vietnam?

Someone gets inspired when reading some of your “nonsense” ideas?

Your stories are your life

Your experience is invaluable – which you may not realise until you look back on it. So don’t let those experience be just a topic of your daily gossip or chit chat. Save it for others. If you meet a weird strange person and find him interesting, jot it down. If you have a chance to go to Africa, jot down your experience there.

You may not realise. But… Your opinions count. Your ideas are original. Your stories are unique. Your journey is a wonderful lesson. And they are all interesting. So Keep them. Write them down & share them with us. I’d love to read your blog!

Updated on October 5th, 2013

Why Linux, not Windows

OpenSuse 10.3 copied from rtdptech.com

UNIQUE Beauty

Money won’t make you rich

I had two father, a rich one and a poor one. Both offer me advices, but not the same things – one of the rich man, and one of the poor man. The problem was, the rich man was not rich yet and the poor man not yet poor!* (“Rich Dad, Poor Dad” – Robert Kiyosaki)

Nowadays, people are highly obsessed with money and … money ($). With “How to make money”; “How to earn more, work less”; “Make money fast, get rich quick” and many, many more, MONEY has become a buzzword. Because of its high profile, money is also at the heart of many debates over the notions of wealth. “Will money make us rich?” is one of those…

Money is inherent in everyone’s life. We all want it. But will money really make us rich? Contrary to popular belief, the answer is probably and surprisingly NO. This article will go further and give you an intriguing point of view about the paradoxical question.

Although it’s a bit long, I hope you enjoy and benefit from it.

Rich!? Say it Right!

By convention ‘Rich’ means having a lot of money. The rich likewise are those who have a lot of money and properties. Truth be told, many so-called “rich people”, who earn and possess plenty of money, can’t stop working. Some even have to work harder! In contrast, many people who live “normal” lives enjoy doing what they love without working nor worrying about money. In other words, they’re financially independent! Are those two kinds of people different? Are those “rich” people whom we desire to become? Probably not.

Until now rich is always accompanied by money and money alone. Is it the time for us to give “rich” a better definition, a better name which doesn’t just sound right? Well, financial Freedom!? Why not? Who dare claim those with financial freedom don’t possess lots of money? If so, should a person have financial freedom first before being considered rich?
Keeping this in mind, money won’t make you rich. But the lack of money makes you poor!

Money is essentially important:

• Many people are dying of starvation in Africa because they can’t afford food and medical services.
• Many kids are growing up with low self-esteem because they don’t have what they deserve.
• Many marriages are broken because of stresses and arguments over the lack of money.

and many, many more examples…

Zig Ziglar once said “Money isn’t the most important thing in life, but it’s reasonably close to oxygen on the ‘gotta have it’ scale!” Yes, money is undoubtedly indispensable. But…

Money won’t make you rich

Many people are taught and believe that money will make them rich. That is the reason why they all go to school, getting good grades to go on to University; getting good grades to become doctors, lawyers and other professionals that will earn them a lot of money (have you well followed this path?). They think the more money they earn, the richer they become. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really work out that way. To illustrate, let’s me give you an example:

Let’s say, you income is ($) A. You also work part-time at night. So you multiply your income by 1.5 times. What’s more, you’re fortunately promoted for your hard working. Altogether all your income is 2*A.

Money won’t make you rich. Your “stupid emotion” and ignorance about money likewise make you not rich!

the fear

It’s the fear of not having enough money for paying bills, taxes, daily expenses, etc. that makes most of people working hard from day to day. The same fear makes them stressed all nights yet try waking up early to earn few bucks everyday. Some realize that hard and boring work, but keep working because of the same fear – the fear of not having enough money!! That old fear continues to scare them, make them stick to their work, hoping (in vain) that money will calm their fears. But it doesn’t! “Fear has them in this trap of working, earning money, working, earning money, again hoping the fear will go away. But everyday they get up, that old fear wakes up with them…” (Robert Kiyosaki). A vicious circle continues without ends. Their fears make money be running, controlling their lives. Thus if you continue to be afraid of money, you would become a slave to money.

… and greed

Money, in short, will not solve our problems. And if you don’t first handle that fear and greed about money, once you somehow get rich, you’ll only be a high-paid slave of money – no more, no less! (Robert Kiyosaki) The examples keep coming around. I know a friend who keep working hard even though he has plenty. Additionally and amazingly, there are many so-called “rich people” actually living fearful lives. They did think that money could eliminate the fear of not having money, of being poor. Now they’re, albeit rich, terrified of losing it – losing their money, their cars, their houses, their luxuries.. Some are even more afraid and scared now than when they were poor, although they look rich and have plenty of money.
Basically Ignorance causes Fear. But in many cases, the reverse also holds true. It’s the “ancient fear” that makes many so-called “highly educated people” fall into the trap of “money emotion” that they may never be able to escape!

Conclusion

You may now have a lot or just very little of money. But the fact is that money itself won’t make you rich. The ability to manage money will make you rich instead. Knowing what to do with your money determines how hard it will work for you. With a strong financial literacy, just a little bit of money can work very hard for you. Otherwise, you have to work for it (because it’s very important). Once you work for money, it’s very hard for you to stop working for it! Do remember, the rich never work for money! (Robert Kiyosaki) Sunday Adelaja in his same-title-book also confirms that: “It is time for people everywhere to understand that money will not make us rich, and it will not make us happy. True prosperity will come when we know the laws of money and learn how to abide by them – You can control your money without letting it control you”…

True Prosperity comes in

Heath and Happiness are the keys to true success and prosperity

We’ve tried to give a better name for “rich”. How about prosperity? What’s true prosperity? Do prosperity simply mean rich? Well, as someone has said- and I tend to 100% agree that if you wanna be truly prosperous, you must be:

1. Healthy
2. Happy
3. Wealthy

Two out of three are not bad (for many people, one is even enough!!). But true prosperity, I believe, takes all three!

“If your only goal is to become rich, you will never achieve it” – John D. Rockefeller (the richest person in the history of mankind)

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* Most of the quotes cited above are paraphrased
* You can read its previous version here.

Rewrite some ideas/sentences; but I’m kinda amazed that I could write this article at that time  (Review on March, 15, 12, April 14, 2013)