Everything you can escape grows in value — A few months ago, I got into a new “full-time” position as a writer. It had all the perks — 401k, health plan, even unlimited paid time off. I was happy, but my first thought (weirdly enough) was, “OK, what’s my escape plan?” Good things happening are good, obviously. But…

The cost of being superhuman — I went to the new Apple store in downtown Los Angeles: Apple Tower Theater. It’s an old theater converted into an Apple store — and I’m not kidding when I say it’s the most beautiful retail location I’ve ever seen, by far. They don’t even allow you to see (or…

People pick up on the story you subconsciously believe. — I spoke to a VC founder of some of the biggest names on the planet. As part of an introductory meeting, he told his life story. It was predictably impressive. Running companies at 19. Playing with billions at 24. Changing the landscape of the internet age forever. Then, his partner…

Beauty is the most valuable thing there is, but it’s terrifying — I recently started helping create core narratives for startups in Silicon Valley. It’s a very cool mixture of money and meaning that I’ve been searching for a long time. Today, I was looking at the breakdown of our first client: a venture capital firm who have invested in many world-changing…

How to write heroes that move people to tears — When I first tried to write a novel at 22, there was a hell of a lot I didn’t know yet. Among those things was the answer to the question: “What makes an interesting hero?” At the time, I probably would have said, “A cool anti-hero is more interesting than…

Far from a cute gimmick — A friend and I went to a small, local theater. Another friend who works at the bookstore near the theater ran up and convinced the girl behind the counter to let us in for free. We got tickets for Everything Everywhere All At Once. No expectations. I hardly looked at…

I used to live next door to an old folk’s home. Let me tell you, the elderly love to reminisce. — Everyone loves to tell their own stories, but everyone is annoyed when they have to listen to someone else’s. If we’re a “storytelling creature” as some people say, why the hell do we space out the instant someone starts telling their story? Why is being a storyteller so goddamn hard? A billion invisible motivations

Failure makes you depressed. Why go looking for more? — Your brain is secretly keeping score about how cool it thinks you are. Serotonin is the scoreboard. Every time you fail when you expect to succeed, it gives you a little less. When you succeed when you expect to fail, it gives you a little more. People with very low…

Inspired by the 48 Laws of Power — When I first read The 48 Laws of Power, I hated it. I thought it was a manipulative and evil book for psychopaths. Then, I realized it was a tongue-in-cheek exploration of the underside of political power games. And, importantly, if you master these rules as a good person, then…