Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
When I look around, I see a world where commitment is declining. I’m not speaking about the declines in the rates of marriage or having children, though these are certainly a matter for concern. I’m talking about the small commitments that most of us don’t even think about as commitments. Once upon a time, critics … Continue reading Commitment Is Declining (And Why You Should Resist)
Today, we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, marking the creation of the United States of America. Whether you call this nation the United States, USA, or America (which always seemed a bit unfair to all the other nations in North and South America), it has grown from a group of British … Continue reading America, Democracy, and Capitalism
It’s the NBA offseason, and the free agency period is in full swing. Every day brings new trades and free agency signings. Fans are either excited or despondent, and the only sure thing is that most of them are wrong about what they think these moves mean for their teams. We do know one thing … Continue reading LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers, and The Alliance
Back when I was a freshman at Stanford, one of the greatest challenges we faced was procrastination. Whenever our papers or problem sets were due, there was always a more tempting alternative activity, like a game of volleyball, a late night run to Taco Bell, or simply hanging out with friends. One of the great … Continue reading AI’s Procrastination Problem
People who have adopted agentic AI tools like Claude Code or Cowork run a real risk of becoming addicted to their detriment. I know, because I feel that same emotional tug of AI when I use it. But I think I’ve also figured out how to use AI without losing control. At this point, most … Continue reading Use AI For Productivity, Not For Feeling Productive
Many criticize American politics as broken, but misidentify the cause of the problem. The problem isn’t that the Founding Fathers failed to anticipate that bad men (and back then, they were only concerned with men) might win power. They anticipated this possibility, and designed the Constitution to address it through the separation of powers between … Continue reading The Founding Fathers’ Design Didn’t Fail
If you’re an American, you might be feeling sick, angry, and helpless right now. You see injustice and wrongdoing on your screen seemingly every day. One outrage after another. And you wonder what you can do and if you can possibly make a difference. These kinds of feelings are natural. I feel them too, as … Continue reading Democracy is the Answer
In December of 1955, a young Alabama pastor who had been on the job for just a year agreed to lead a citywide bus boycott. One of the reasons that much older and more experienced activists and leaders picked the young clergyman for this position was because being new in town, he hadn’t yet had … Continue reading You Can Make A Difference (in memory of MLK Jr.)
With my father visiting for the Christmas holiday, it was a great opportunity to visit one of the most interesting attractions in the Bay Area, the Walt Disney Family Museum. You may be wondering, “What was Walt’s connection to the Bay Area?” There isn’t one. The Walt Disney Family Museum was created by Walt’s daughter, … Continue reading Learning From The Life of Walt Disney
In 1996, I was home for the holidays. Just months prior, I had started working for D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P. in its Cambridge, Massachusetts office, and had endured my first encounter with a New England winter. As a child growing up in the Los Angeles area, I had always dreamed of living somewhere … Continue reading George Clooney and AI Magic