An open-source guide on how I try to live my life.

Preface

There’s no escaping ourselves.

I’ve been trying to improve myself for awhile, now. I remember when I was 13 years old and I would read Tony Robbins or Stephen Covey —my Mom’s basement is filled with hand-written schedules I wrote, where I would dedicate hours to specific tasks that self-help authors deemed to be productive.

Forty-four Ways to Live Like a Samurai

When I was younger, I had a developed a keen interest in the feudal time period of Japan. I mean, what boy doesn’t think, at one time or another, that Samurai are really cool? But the reality was that I wasn’t actually interested in the awesome fighting, or tactical wars.

I was interested in Bushido, the ethics and honor code of the soldiers — how selfless and admirable their behavior was. This also lead to an interest in the philosophical school of stoicism and the lifestyle of asceticism. I bought a beautifully illustrated version of the Hagakure __which included first-hand stories and precepts.

Death from a UX Standpoint

When I die, delete my browser history.
— Anonymous

As it stands, the large majority of the internet — and services that operated based on it — run under some contradictory principles. On one hand, everything you use is rather fragile —domains expire all the time, and we live in a world full of budding start-ups that could be bought or fail at any time. On the other, these companies operate as though they — and their users — are immortal.

Life as a kitchen sink.

“Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.” — Xinxin Ming

Since last August, I’ve worked casually as a housekeeper. I’ve been assigned to clean in a variety of environments such as hospitals, large business offices, and college campuses. Most of my friends have taken jobs in retail, and while it’s easy to joke about how I’d rather clean than deal with people, the reality is that it’s been a humbling — and sometimes daunting — experience.

It’s not something I aimed for, it just sort of ended up happening — as life often does. However, being a teenaged boy meant that I didn’t really have any experience in this field, so a lot of my initial training was haphazardly on-site. There are times when I’ve found myself without knowing where supplies are and only having an hour to do three hours worth of work.