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Korea (South)1897 Posts
You know,
I really love Teamliquid, it's just a cool place, and it keeps me connected to a world where really I don't know if I belong to any more. Life is pushing one way and I really only started blogging when I started off on my own in business, and it has been a very difficult, but fulfilling process (not that I would ever want to do it again) ^^.
ON THE CLOCK OF FAMILY LIFE
I see my boys growing so quickly, now one is 7 and the other is 4, and I'm unable to hold two different priorities in terms of my own ambitions and setting the best enviroment for my sons. I don't feel as though I'm giving up anything because I'm a very traditional Korean man, in terms of family values, my children are my everything and I want to make them my priority over my ambition. It's not that I'm giving up my ambition, but I don't have the luxury of putting that first in every decision when it involves the sacrifices and participation of my family in terms of moving, lifestyle and general stability. Of course the kids are young, etc, but there is always a danger to take everyone for granted and to justify it because you're the breadwinner.
MY OWN DEV. WOW.
So I took on some other projects, very high profile ones, and I'm stretch a bit thin, but keeping things together, but the biggest thing that happened was that I finally made the jump into doing my own development - well not me personally, but made a joint venture/cooperation with a real legit software development house and for the first time in my career, I can actually develop the software that I use to exactly what I want - which is such a mind blowing experience because I've never really explored this side of the business before. Why now though?
TECHNOLOGY IS ALWAYS GETTING BETTER
Simply that the software platfroms in my main industry are fairly complex creatures, and at this point they've gone through 3 generations of new developments over the last 14 years or so, but what was impossible to pull off even 3 years ago without a massive infrastructure, it's possible now. I didn't believe it myself, but I was blown away by some new demos I saw and after a month of negotiation, got a new platfrom, which has a lot of development left to do on it, maybe 8 months, but it is good enough to show to the market.
10x BETTER
On that note, a friend of mine gave me my first audio book, 'Zero to One' by Peter Thiel, and I really enjoyed it because Peter is really out there, like he is a space cadet on one hand, but a prophet on the other hand - he doesnt' shy away from really hitting almost cosmic level topics, that is, cosmic for business and start-ups. The one point though that really stuck out to me was this: 10X, ten times better. I've found out that this is a very common term in Silicon Valley, that if you're going to compete with market leaders, then you should be 10x better than what is out there if you're going to get traction.
HOW THE FUCK DO YOU MAKE SOMETHING 10x BETTER?
Now for my entire career, I've never thought about being 10x better because you can't be 10x better if you're not considering the product directly. If you're looking at branding, marketing channels, promotions, mangement and resources, well, it's all about warfare and another group is never 10x better in tactics and strategy and execution. But when it comes to creating a product for the market, it is possible to be 10x better by hiting the next level or providing a new generation of products that make the old ones obsolete like cars to horses, lighters to matches etc. So I was challenged, how to make the product 10x better, and when something is 10x better, it's not about new features, it's about a new approach. And if you hit the 10x better, then, competition is really ever an issue- not that this is an easy task...
So for the last 3 months, I've stopped competing/strategizing and have simply focused on 2 questions, which platfom can I take on which allows me to have the opportunity to be 10x better and do I have the intellectual capacity or luck/insight to make the product 10x better? For the software platform side, yes, I think it's as good as a platfrom out there for the objective, but in terms of 10x better, I think I've gotten to 4x better in terms of product design/concept and I think that is a hevalla of an achievement, but 10x better seems to so fucking impossible I've resigned myself to 4x is pretty damn good.
NOOB PRODUCTS GUY
Now I'm not a product guy and I'm not a genius- of course I'm smart enough like everyone who is in my position, I'm very quick thinking, but this process of making something 10x better, it's beyond me because I get what 10x really is - I've been in business long enough to see what is 10x better and its about hitting some next level and I am just too set in my ways to break free to get to that next level. And I've spend just days, identifying what is old thinking and trying to let myself see things really freely, like, just looking at what the next result should be but being open to a totally new approach. i.e. net effect, go faster, but instead of just a better car, why not an airplane or why not orbital jumping.. etc.
But in failing to get to 10x, 4x I think is pretty good- maybe I'm giving myself too much credit, maybe it's just 2 times better, but for a guy who normally operations in, 10% better, this 300% increase looks pretty great to me.
But I haven't been this excited, refreshed, and hopeful in such a long time. That ever since I left my from executive life, I've been living on the margins of my industry, taking advantage of market timing issues and alway trying to figure out what weakness to exploit of my competitors rather than looking at what real innovation I can bring.
TO LEARN IN BUSINESS IS TO TAKE ON NEW ROLES
It's a funny thing about continually learning in business, its not that you learn and learn and become the greatet in your own industry, I think that is for the most part achievable because if you end up working for the market leader as the CEO, well, once you get there, it's hard to get dispute that you're the best and greatest at the moment. But business is not like physics or biochem, it's always relatively simple, give it 3 years, there is very little you won't know in any field of business.
But to really learn is to not be the best in your own industry in a single role, but to be the best in a series of interconnected roles. For instance, I'm an international multinational level executive, but I was a shit entreprenuer and finally when I think I'm not a bad at running my own business, I finally get the chance to get into products, which I'm not so shitty at relative to running my own business as an entreprenuer, but I'm sure anything that I'm learning now or in the next couple of years is basic common truths for anyone in the software product side. Nothing special.
THE ANTI-FOUNDER
But I can't help but think I've done it backwards, where normally you'd have a founder who is first a tech produt guy then reaches in his entreprenueral inner self and then learns how to be an executive so he doesn't get kicked out of the company he founded. Whereas I was an executive who became an entreprenuer and now is able to get into product development. It's not that I dont know product development, but when I first started, because of the level and cost of the accessible technology, it just wasn't an option to touch, but now it is.
MAYBE JUST MAYBE I'LL MAKE IT TIME FOR DINNER
But even with these new revelations, and the feeling of youth coming back into these fat stressed bones of mine, my mind is more on my boys and what kind of father will I be to contribute to their lives. It's not that I have to, but I chose to, and they will be fine, I know regardless of my own time with them, but I've always counted not to live my life with regrets and not putting my boys first, it would be my own regret. I'm just fortunate that I think that with this 4x I may pull off my ambition in time to take my sons to rugby practice.
 
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Pandemona
Charlie Sheens House51435 Posts
Ahh nice to see you back Mr A!
Great blog, the 10x theory seems a pretty legit one to strive towards, good luck!
Also rugby practice, pretty cool :D
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10x better: I remember a documentation about the sillicon valley and Xerox. So Xerox gives resources and time to it's developement-branch and after a year the executives come to see what the guys have come up with.
They invented:
-The computer Mouse
-TCP/IP protocoll
~I think some form of laserprinter or something?
So the whole branch gets shot down and everyone gets fired, because they clearly failed. Then the exevutives decide it is best to just sell whatever they can from those developements. Steve Jobs takes a look at those invention, he is way too fascinated with the mouse to even care about TCP/IP or laserprinters. So 10xtimes better, yes, but don't go 100xtimes better or you get fired :D
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Great to see you post again! I always enjoy your blogs. Gl with your business and family
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Korea (South)1897 Posts
Thanks guys, still kicking, still busy ^^
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I always enjoy getting some perspective from you in your blogs. It's very rare for the layman to ever get to listen to someone from a business background.
Wish you the best, you'll do just fine in your family life.
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Love seeing you pop back in for an interesting blog, even if its mostly just an update about what's happening right now. Love it keep doing it.
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Sounds a bit like research, so gl hf. 
Enjoy your kids as well.
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Love these blogs. About a week ago I even checked to make sure I hadn't missed any. Keep it up mightyatom!
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mind letting us know whats your company name or your product name?
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![[image loading]](https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/567824728203616256/C2HxJ_Au.jpeg)
have u heard of www.tailopez.com ?
hes a self made millionaire from CA teaching young kids how to become entrepreneurs. he has a book list on his website.
His first 2 lessons cover awareness and adaptability as key character traits, and to find your "eularian destiny" - before u create a product or go into business, you find where u are most knowledgeable , skillset, personality, etc. he gives the michael jordan basketball over baseball example, something u are strong at but u somewhat like, v/s something u love but are not gifted in.
myself as a personal example, i LOVE music, arts and psychology , health esoteric stuff. But i have very logical parents, mathematical schooling , went to a engineering academy, so my friends are that way.. etc etc. So my destiny would be math, applied math.
u could say i am 10x better for just choosing my strengths.
i would love your opinion, as i don't have anything to compare his philosophy to.
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On April 12 2015 10:31 coolTLname wrote:have u heard of www.tailopez.com ? hes a self made millionaire from CA teaching young kids how to become entrepreneurs. he has a book list on his website. His first 2 lessons cover awareness and adaptability as key character traits, and to find your "eularian destiny" - before u create a product or go into business, you find where u are most knowledgeable , skillset, personality, etc. he gives the michael jordan basketball over baseball example, something u are strong at but u somewhat like, v/s something u love but are not gifted in. myself as a personal example, i LOVE music, arts and psychology , health esoteric stuff. But i have very logical parents, mathematical schooling , went to a engineering academy, so my friends are that way.. etc etc. So my destiny would be math, applied math. u could say i am 10x better for just choosing my strengths. i would love your opinion, as i don't have anything to compare his philosophy to.
Depends what your goal in life is.
If you search for nothing but material wealth, then it is probably good advice to do what you excel at. If you find more happiness in pursuing your passions, then it may be a better option to chose what you like instead.
You have to consider the pros and cons ofc: how much more money and how much more boring is the math option? Will my passion for music last, and how risky is the economical situation for professional musicians?
Sometimes it may be a good idea to have a safe fall-back option if following your passion doesn't work out.
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it isn't ness. just material wealth. being great at something u like, rather than ok at something you love, which is better,etc. Flow is stretching yourself to your limits
he suggests you need 75-150k for optimal dopamine , and then u should be ideally spending 7% of your yearly income according to the millionare next door book, so maybe 1-2 mil a yr would be optimal
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Korea (South)1897 Posts
On April 12 2015 02:50 JieXian wrote:
mind letting us know whats your company name or your product name?
After I either make my own SCBW private international league/tournament or I make it to the cover of Fortune, I'll let you know, even if I made to Techcrunch, it wouldn't count ^^.
But you can ask me the hardest question you can find on business management if you'd like, although I'm sure Mark Cuban has a better answer than me lol.
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Korea (South)1897 Posts
On April 12 2015 10:31 coolTLname wrote:have u heard of www.tailopez.com ? hes a self made millionaire from CA teaching young kids how to become entrepreneurs. he has a book list on his website. His first 2 lessons cover awareness and adaptability as key character traits, and to find your "eularian destiny" - before u create a product or go into business, you find where u are most knowledgeable , skillset, personality, etc. he gives the michael jordan basketball over baseball example, something u are strong at but u somewhat like, v/s something u love but are not gifted in. myself as a personal example, i LOVE music, arts and psychology , health esoteric stuff. But i have very logical parents, mathematical schooling , went to a engineering academy, so my friends are that way.. etc etc. So my destiny would be math, applied math. u could say i am 10x better for just choosing my strengths. i would love your opinion, as i don't have anything to compare his philosophy to.
Well, I think this guy really is a motivator more than anything else for 1st world developed nations who have access to a lot of resources and opportunties but simply dont' have a sense of focus/direction & dedication. I think for the layman, or young person, its a good resource to start with - much like the rich dad / poor dad series. I think when you get to more of a complex or more broader scope of life/business, this won't be as applicable, but if you get there, I think you'll know what do at that point. So nothing bad to say about it. The only thing I'd add is,
most people don't have enough exposure to different environments, just the ones that someone dictatated for them, and without a really diverse environment, it is really hard to ever know what you really are great/passionate in. even that guy had a very adventurous past before settling down. guys that are focused early in life and know what they want, they are the type that they have a very concrete view of what they want and it may seem great like being a lawyer or doctor or engineer, but in some ways, it's a bit simple because once they get it, then that is pretty much it - for most people, not all. But for the majority of the world, they don't have a concrete clear view on what they want, just some thoughts on what they are good at and what they like.
if you can, travel, study abroad for a year, meet a lot of different kinds of people, get into things to see if they would interest you, you may be the next tiesto, but if you've never experienced that part of the world, well you wouldn't even think about it at all. Nearly all the time, we need a change in environment for us to even see that we have the ability to change and grow, just doing it by will power alone while locked in the same routines and the same issues/benefits, well it's nearly impossible. it's the same reason why when you've gone away from home for a few years, but go back to live with your parents for a few months, you feel like you're in highschool again. ^^ Other than that, I can't give you any more advice, I disagree with some of his advice, but not with his general intention.
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Korea (South)1897 Posts
On April 12 2015 11:08 coolTLname wrote:
it isn't ness. just material wealth. being great at something u like, rather than ok at something you love, which is better,etc. Flow is stretching yourself to your limits
he suggests you need 75-150k for optimal dopamine , and then u should be ideally spending 7% of your yearly income according to the millionare next door book, so maybe 1-2 mil a yr would be optimal
not sure how to respond to this, but personally I strive to be the best at what I do in the world, I don't think about the money part of it, it's pretty much a byproduct, but if I wasn't in business, and say I was playing rugby, I don't think I'd ever care about making 75k-150k or 1-2m a year, I'd have fulfilment in my life. money makes life easier, no doubt, but I don't know if I could agree to put it in such simple terms as a goal. But again, I think for a lot of people, make it helps because they never would articulate it at all - their goals-
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always a pleasure to read your blogs!
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any books or resources u recommend ? Thank you!
Recently i've been very interested in Indian culture, maybe i should travel there or should i just aim for something totally unknown? I am Vietnamese but i don't speak my language. I've had somewhat of a spiritual awakening, for the past 2 years, the only way i've known how to express it is through jungian, hindu terms, in essence becoming god. I watched a couple videos recently on how to open your third eye on YouTube and i practice yoga and meditation somewhat seriously.
The past few years before that, i've been kind of a degenerate , professional sc2 player, actually really good but just very lacking the personal development to be successful.
Before that i was #6/ ~200 chemical eng. at texas tech, engineering academy high school, blah blah. Actually i did not give a shit about school at all, and tried to get by on very minimal effort, cheated and used people and teachers to get grades if the opportunity presented itself, funny enough if i just studied myself i would score better. My dad more or less tried to live through me, as he did not have a job; disabled Vietnamese war veteran.
I've lived a very spoiled and pampered life ; yet i feel very empty with no clear goals or real friends and family
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These blogs always only leave me wanting to know what field you're in before anything else 
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EPT
