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  1. Reflections & Insights/

Heroes

·2 mins
Career Personal

Follow up to my last post, the people I admire the most are usually startup founders or business people. And then creators of open source software.

This weekend, I also met my engineer turned entrepreneur friend and saw Jobs movie. It seems I know what I should do.

I want a business that gives a lot of freedom, especially freedom to be with my kids. If I can involve kids in the business, it would be even better. Would love low stress business but it is not a requirement.

A few businesses that I considered but found not ideal are:

  1. REALTOR - Love meeting new people, driving and exploring but it takes too much time away from kids. Maybe when they are older.
  2. Photography - Love it as a hobby but again too much time away from kids. Scalability might be an issue.

This brings me to what I am considering right now:

  1. Software startup - Of course, this is what I do all day. A SaaS may be the easiest option for me. Or I could look into gamedev. Harder but something different from the day-job and my kids may find it interesting. The biggest con is that I have done this before and whenever I put in 10+ hours programming each day, I would get burned out. Also hard to get kids involved.
  2. Sell stuff online - I have considered e-commerce many times. There are many things that are fun to sell. Unique toys and gadgets, plants, robotic kits, etc. My kids can not only enjoy but maybe even help with some aspects. This may be scalable too.

My friend really inspired me to think deeply about e-commerce.

Related

Digital Minimalism

·2 mins
Career Personal
Just the other day, I happened to skim a blog post, “My awakening moment about how smartphones fragment our attention span.” It struck a chord, and I realized that I’m in the same boat. It’s been ages since I’ve properly read a book. Even when I have audiobooks on, I’m doing something else and hardly ever genuinely enjoy them. I’ve got this habit too, of kicking off loads of projects and then ditching them once it’s time to roll up my sleeves and do the detailed work. Setting up a new project is a rush, but finishing something? That’s a snooze fest.

What you should do with your life

·1 min
Personal
“What should you do with your life?” This is the question I almost ask myself daily. I am still not sure what my long-term goals should be. I have gone back and forth between pursuing my hobbies as a career, focusing on corporate career, and starting businesses. Recently, I learned a simple question that can provide you insights into your deeper aspirations. The question is: Who are your heroes? # Ask yourself who are your heroes, who do you feel inspired by, who do you read about, and who were your heroes when you were a child.

Why Midlife Crisis?

·1 min
Personal
I am not sure if women experience midlife crisis but I know several men who have experienced or are still in the middle of a midlife crisis. I have a theory that every 20 years, men need a big change. Usually, there is a big change in 20s, people are moving out of their parents’ homes, going to college or starting their careers. And when people turn 60, they are getting ready to retire. Downsize their homes.