Category: mental models
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Beginner’s Mind for Better Judgment
Note: This post originally appeared on Substack. Subscribe here: timk.substack.com/ I had done it a thousand times. Yet I was doing it all wrong. Legs trembling, torso aching, face drenched in sweat. My mind is confused and racing. “How can I put myself out of this discomfort?” I frantically wondered. I’m in a windowless room full of aspiring…
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Use First Principles to Rebuild Beliefs
Note: This post originally appeared on Substack. Subscribe here: timk.substack.com/ An argument with my dad taught me to think clearer. My parents have sought a new car for at least 5 years. My dad has proclaimed, “I’m waiting for our neighbor’s car lease to end. We’ll get a deal if I pay the lease buyback price.”…
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Success: You’re probably measuring wrong
Whether in business or life, we’re often measuring metrics to miss our goal. Metrics abound, whether it’s revenue for a business or a target weight in our personal lives. Metrics are crucial to focus us and as feedback towards reaching goals. Clayton Christensen, famed business professor, has a book titled “How will you measure your…
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Decision Making – When High Standards Works Against Us
I’m a few days into a trip to Mexico with some friends. It’s midday and we’ve been sitting on the beach, catching up on stories. It’s been a few years since we’ve gotten together. The warmth of the sun and serenity of the beach make for a relaxing backdrop to detach ourselves from the usual…
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When Sh*t Happens. Overcoming Adversity.
It was a warm summer evening in Toronto. As I sat on the park bench I felt light headed. My stomach felt knotted and I was short of breath. I was confused. My life was derailed forever. I was 16 years old and my girlfriend had just told me she wanted to break up. For months…
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The Surprising Life Benefits of the Decorative Pillow
I despised decorative pillows. Decorative pillows, those colorful, oddly shaped pillows that seemed to adorn the beds of every hotel I’ve been to, always confused me as to their function. Every time I encountered these colorful-yet-uncomfortable pillows I wondered, “Is this a menu of pillows to select from?” “Are these special ergonomic pillows I’m not…
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How I Think Less and Accomplish More
Note: This post is derived from a talk I did at Amazon in Seattle. Based on some questions I received, I thought I would write further details. I also wrote about my experience in developing the talk in a different post. When I was in college, I got inspired to learn Mandarin Chinese. I decided…
Tim Kung 