Updates from August, 2009 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

  • John Erik 10:43 am on August 21, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags:   

    The importance of knowing what 100 percent feels like 

    Before I ran track in high school, I only thought I could run fast.

    When I got there, my coaches pushed me to to throw up, to pass out, to collapse. They told me my legs *could* move faster, I just needed to commit the movements to muscle memory. They told me I could break a five-minute mile. They told me I could keep running when my mind screamed STOP.

    What I thought was 100% before track, was more like 60%.

    By having experienced my highest threshold, I could more consistently practice at near 80%.

    As my skill and endurance improved, my output at 80% improved and then, in turn, I had to reset the limiter.

    I’m writing this so I will always remember to apply this to whatever it is I’m working on. And always remember the value of having a coach.

    Two notes:

    1.) For everyone, there is an absolute max. Not everyone can be an Olympian. You have to know what you’re good at and go for it.

    2.) Regarding figuring out what you are good at: beware of paralysis by analysis. Pick something and just start. Give it your best. You’ll learn along the way and make adjustments as you go.

     

    • Donnie 12:29 pm on August 21, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      Knowing your limits is definitely a great lesson learned for exercise and life. Pushing yourself to near 100% for training allows for you to know your body better, but also gain more skill and increase to a new 100%.

      Nowadays, I do CrossFit for this same reason — intensity! For me CrossFit takes giving 100% to a whole new level.

  • John Erik 11:30 am on August 19, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

    The way of the Tao 

    The goal for wu wei is to get out of your own way, so to speak. This is like when you are playing an instrument and if you start thinking about playing the instrument, then you will get in your own way and interfere with your own playing. It is aimless action, because if there was a goal that you need to aim at and hit, then you will develop anxiety about this goal. Zhuangzi made a point of this, where he writes about an archer who at first didn’t have anything to aim at. When there was nothing to aim at, the archer was happy and content with his being. He was practicing wu wei. But, then he set up a target and “got in his own way.” He was going against the Tao and the natural course of things by having to hit that goal.

    A dramatic description of wu wei is found in chapter 2 of Zhuang Zi:

    A fully achieved person is like a spirit! The great marshes could be set on fire, but she wouldn’t feel hot. The rivers in China could all freeze over, but she wouldn’t feel cold. Thunder could suddenly echo through the mountains, wind could cause a tsunami in the ocean, but she wouldn’t be startled. A person like that could ride through the sky on the floating clouds, straddle the sun and moon, and travel beyond the four seas. Neither death nor life can cause changes within her, and there’s little reason for her to even consider benefit or harm.

    This passage is metaphorical. To a Taoist, things arise dependently. The soul and body go together, because if there were no soul, there would be no body and if there were no body, there would be no soul. All these arise dependently like this (this is the meaning of the Yin-Yang symbol; if there were no yin, there would be no yang and if there were no yang, there would be no yin). A person who follows the principle of wu wei thus realizes how ridiculous it is to cling to good and to obsessively stay away from evil. By realizing how things arise dependently, a Taoist is able to accept both the good and the bad. Because he is able to accept any outcome, he is then able to have no goal to aim at. When Zhuangzi is saying a fully achieved person is like a spirit, he is saying that a fully achieved person does not differentiate between good and evil, benefit and harm, and therefore is not concerned with them: his actions become one with the Tao and as such he leaves no trace of having acted, nor can the consequences of his actions affect him.

    -wikipedia on the concept of wu wei.

     

    • Corey 1:25 pm on August 19, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      And I thought Late Static Bindings were complicated.

    • Jon 11:30 am on August 20, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      From what I understand (no expert) its main tenants are acceptance and flow – those are hard concepts to master, or even to step into. To accept the chaos around us – like not just out in the world but in our own minds, in our lives – and then to give up, and be pulled by those things… The Tao sounds easy, but its not. It says its supposed to be effortless, but that assumes that we can just step into our own suffering and own it with everything that we have. Its effortless after we have fought for so long against the flow of our lives, and we realize to simply stop trying to fight the river and turn and face down stream – but that can take an entire life, even with the knowledge that turning and going with the flow is what is needed.

      Sometimes I don't want to be sad when its what I need most in the world, or I want to talk to people when really what I need is alone time – and sometimes I need to talk to people and I try and be alone and it never 'works'.

      It really is easiest to 'give up' and accept the sadness, lonliness and alienation that come with being alive – and its crazy to think how much I've run in my life, run away from these things – and realize that so many industries are built around helping people run away from the sensations of sadness, lonliness and dispair. Drugs, dieting, medication, self-help, dating, alcohol, consumerism – almost anything can be used as a means to escape. And I get why people run, because those sensations are painful, especially when everyone around you is making these things out to be a failure – like if you experience these things you are doing something wrong. And I get why people stop running, because you wake up and realize that 5 or 10 years have gone by and you have little to show for the passed time, like you've been on a treadmill, and still with that basic, unalterable anxiety of just being in the world.

      I think the Tao tells us to stop trying to obliterate what's in us, but rather to accept the basic anxiety, basic sadness and to give up and just accept it – and accept its energy and let it take us.

  • John Erik 11:45 am on August 18, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Asia, , , , john eirk metcalf   

    Asia timeline till end of year 

    Here is a little timeline including some events that have already taken place:

    • July 7-21 Melissa and I toured Vietnam – including: Ho Chi Minh City/Sigon, Na Trang, Da Nang, Hoi An, Hanoi, Sapa.
    • July 30-Aug 7th we went to Singapore to spend some time with my uncle who manages Asia Pacific for JMJ Associates. He’s great, learned about his business just hanging around there.
    • Aug 7th until December 18, Melissa will remain in Hong Kong (more on that in a sec).
    • Aug 7th – Sept 13th I’ll be in Hong Kong I’m going to take most of my time here working on personal projects, trying to meet as many interesting people as possible, see what the startup culture is like, and prepare for my upcoming studies.
    • September 13th until December 10th I’m enrolled at Beijing Language and Culture University for a short semester – 5 hours a day of Chinese language instruction and 1 hour of private tutoring per day. I’ll either be living in a dorm with a Chinese roommate or in a home stay. Either option will be fun.
    • After the new year there will likely be some time in Hong Kong to wrap things up, but the current plan is move up to Shanghai sometime in Jan or Feb and join the guys at 88 Spaces Coworking.

    When are you coming to visit?! :)

    It’s going to take awhile to get a grip on what’s going on in Asia overall, but I’m having fun figuring it all out. I really like it here (HK), I’m excited to study Chinese in Beijing, and I’m looking forward to working with Markus and Lucas on 88 Spaces in Shanghai.

    When are you coming to visit?????

     

  • John Erik 4:48 am on August 18, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

    Startups in Hong Kong 

    I’m finally starting to settle in here in Hong Kong. Melissa has started her work at Interactive Brokers. Since there are no coworking spaces here(!), I’m working from a Starbucks.

    I’ve started looking up Hong Kong startups, entrepreneurs, etc. to start meeting with. Here is what I’ve found so far:

    • Hong Kong Startup Association – This is really cool. Their about page has a list of Objectives. They are along the lines of what I see Startup District doing for Austin, once it’s officially functioning as a not for profit. It looks like HKSA is just getting off the ground, so I’m hoping to discuss with them how they will run the organization, how/if it’s funded, what real-world activities they will be hosting.
    • 852Signal – A tech blog run by Angus Lau covering web2.0 in Hong Kong. Would be cool to meet this guy.
    • Web Wednesday HK – Tech networking group started by Napoleon Biggs, I have a feeling they meet on Wednesdays… I’ll definitely hit this up.

    Something I’ve noticed at a couple of these websites is that they have a list of the startups in Hong Kong on a side bar or on a separate page. Granted, it’s only about thirty names long, it’s a great thing to do.

    I haven’t figured out what VC firms have a presence here. Or what they state of funding is.

    Overall I’m a bit surprised more sites don’t come up when I search “hong kong startups” or “honk kong venture capital” or “early stage investing hong kong.” It does, however, make me appreciate how great AustinStartup.com is what I great job Bryan Menell has done over the years to keep up coverage in Austin.

     

    • Belle Liu 6:20 pm on October 29, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      Hi John, I stumbled upon your blog via google when I was looking for “coworking space” in HK. Have you found a place to work now? Hope you enjoyed Web Wednesday, maybe we had met already.

      • John Erik 4:54 pm on October 31, 2009 Permalink | Reply

        hey there. I never did find a space to work from in hong kong. as far as i know there are no coworking spaces there.

        i ended up going to habbit cafe quite a bit. are you working in HK for a short time?

    • Tyler Whitlock 9:31 pm on November 30, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      i just learned about coworking and came across this page when i was looking into HK groups. i usually just set up in a coffee shop somewhere, but are there any places where people get together – even just one particular coffee shop or something? sounds like a good resource

      • John Erik 12:21 am on December 1, 2009 Permalink | Reply

        Tyler, I’m not really sure. I would check out the Cyberport area. Maybe hit up a Web Wednesday. Email me and I’ll intro you to the people I know of there.

c
compose new post
j
next post/next comment
k
previous post/previous comment
r
reply
e
edit
o
show/hide comments
t
go to top
l
go to login
h
show/hide help
esc
cancel