Brainfoodinator: Recent Episodes
Brainfoodinator
This is an almost daily personal audio journal, I00% unscripted and unedited. There will be ordinary days with small lessons & reflections, as well as accelerated learning projects detailing the insecurities, frustrations, and progress. どうぞ宜しく🙇🏻♀️
Want to start the great habit of daily audio journal again! Two big lessons are the power of habit and the communication technique of asking “what have you understood?”, whenever a team decision/alignment is needed!
Hill of crosses, Rundales Palace, and Salaspils monument, and finally Riga! Quite a road trip and absolutely full of surprises :D
In the capital Vilnius! Very charming city~ excited to explore it properly tomorrow. On a side note, Ryanair surprised us by taking off on time and arriving 20min early all while 1/3 of their workforce is on strike! 😂
Small celebration! After a stretch of crunch time! Apologies for the audio quality, had to whisper~ But yea, still wanted to record something today :)
Learn to be okay with good enough and start timeboxing everything! Otherwise, so easy to end up spending way too much time and overthinking things!
Tournament Mood! Today reminded me a lot of my younger days when I used to go to Go Tournaments~ I enjoy the competitiveness and it’s been a fun ride so far! Feeling very thankful :)
Answer this one question daily to practice positive reflection :) I started my logbook today after being inspired by Austin Kleon. Logbook is an idea similar to bullet journal but more free and creative! Also, apologies for having gone missing for a couple of weeks. Need some space and time off~ now I’m back to daily voice journal!
Decision making is hard, especially when there is a lot at stake. Our advisor thinks it’s a matter of knowing what we want to build. And perhaps that’s really the most important factor!
Britain’s first hospital for orphaned children. Fascinating stories behind it. Highly recommend checking it out!
Wanderlust - an annual so-called mindful triathlon event, with 5k + meditation + yoga, with 4000 people all in a park~ pretty interesting concept, just was unfortunately raining :(
Can’t share too much just yet, but great day full of energy and insights! Including signing on our first creator!
Reflecting on why I’m doing this and it’s purpose, besides being a journal. Or perhaps at this point it’s really just a journal, and better to be kept private...
Officially finished Smart.ly’s MBA - just waiting to receive my diploma now :D also enjoying casual Spanish learning! Great to feel daily progress :) I also highly recommend LanguageTransfer.org if you don’t know it yet! Amazing lessons for free, I do recommend donating to support him!
Specifically Spanish! Loving the movie coco and its Spanish version is perfect for learning :D
Haha it felt somewhat embarrassing in the moment, but I quickly recovered myself and it became a learning experience :)
Got validation from a couple more experienced entrepreneurs - who are offering to help us! No better commitment than time ;)
Research and design phase to become a subject expert, so you can better defend your idea 💡
Japanese animated film that warms your heart <3 It brings you on an emotional journey with a little boy Kun-chan, when he suddenly becomes an older brother to his new-born little sister Mirai.
Very well curated exhibition! If you’ve ever been impacted by manga, definitely check it out :)
A friend’s identify for stolen - both for her credit card and phone number! Completely mad... then also randomly discovered that there are enormous FinTech grants given out - something like 150million pounds, to existing well-established FinTech companies! Completely mad...
People are some times blind to their own problems... Problem exploration has its own limitation because of it~ Things are always very nuanced.
Work culture is starting to form even from the early days! We are also making progress in exploring the audio space~ pretty exciting times!
Trying to trust the process, even though today felt like we were going in circles a bit.
Musically (now TikTok) founders tried to build an EdTech company before they pivoted to this super addictive social networking site.
Making progress but still a bit unclear on some fronts~ just gotta validate assumptions!
Amazing weather in London today! Absolutely loved it with tons of great food 🥘 and friends 👬 👫 👭
Watched the musical at the Southbank Centre. Its story reveals some terrible stuff women had to face back in the 50s... But overall it’s a lighthearted musical!
Life reminds us that nothing is constant! Be grateful for what we have in the moment <3
Try applying artificial constraints to potential ideas you have, something cooler might come out of it ;)
Beautiful Italian city near Milan~ Great wedding and fantastic friends~ Also, lessons on “fighting well” :)
Timeboxed team challenges! Had a lot of fun and saw diversity in thinking working out brilliantly~ also #trusttheprocess - divergence before convergence ;)
People interested in the problem area of continuous learning! Super awesome beginning - excited :)
Opera Figaro was composed by Mozart and supposedly the BEST opera ever according to many! It was an all day event, very british style - people dressed up all fancy and brought their own picnic 🧺 A pretty memorable day~ Forgot to mention that the estate was in a very interesting state - barely holding together, strong Shoreditch vibe on the inside 😂
Fun sketchnote session today! Great chat with Julia about life and art. Then the news that broke Chinese social media today!
Some thoughts on Ellen’s comedy style. Life is random, very often, and there will be knots you can’t untie~ so it’s best to just do and the answers will come :)
The cofounder of Quintessentially Aaron Simpson shares his story and how they grew to what they are today - 5000 employees with a quarter customers who pays at least 20k membership fee per year!
Had a meeting with my friend, and I was reminded of the type of corporate misery and the stifling feeling I once had too. It’s important to remind yourself of why you walked away from something! Once determined, the journey ahead becomes exciting :)
Some reflections on arts and society~ https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/the-renaissance-nude
A strong reaction triggered by me mishearing a number. Vivienne Ming talks about prioritising your purpose in all decision making. It’s not always easy, but will be worthwhile when looking back on your life :)
My youngest auntie is in town! Getting to know her as an equal adult and also had an epiphany on how life needs to be constantly fine-tuned :)
Had a long call with my high school Chinese teacher, attempting to find my pace and North Star again! Key realisation: modularise my days going forward.
FreeLatifa is a campaign for freeing imprisoned Dubai princess who despite having access to riches lacks the most basic human rights... We have the perception that we live in a society where there is free media, but the truth isn’t so simple! Check out freelatifa.com to see details of the story yourself! Let’s be grateful for the freedom we have <3
Waiting for epiphany to hit~ perhaps the best thing I could do is to just take a step back and create some space for it :)
Quite long and detailed accounts of our experience and some reflections. Warning - I totally vented :P It’s a very honest personal experience of what it’s like there rather than only showing you the pretty parts!
Inspiring story of one’s journey back to faith and meaning in life! Also, a great case study as a charity! I feel very inspired and have renewed faith <3 my.charitywater.org
We all live in our own bubbles! There are all these other worlds that we are utterly unaware of. I was reminded of the fact by Brandon Wade, this “online dating entrepreneur” who has created a lot of niche dating sites that are basically all about sugar daddy setups... And he did it to solve his own problem 😂
Eric Schmidt’s new book details the lessons learnt from legendary coach Bill Campbell. Bill coached teams of business executives and created collaborative culture like he did with sports teams! Human psychology works the same in all context ;)
Pop music is becoming increasingly sexualised > < Songs about prostitution ends up becoming top of charts and kids sing along to those... Does it bother you?
The documentary on Alexander McQueen showed you the life story of amazingly talented Lee McQueen. I also realised through his story, instead of worrying about working with the best, just work with your friends :)
Resilience is generally a good thing, but sometimes it might also mean you tend to push yourself further than what’s good. Try to listen to your body for signals!
Small wins are important and the ritual of celebration actually makes a difference! Tonight was a night of celebration for women in software, and it was very nice to be surrounded by people who recognise your contribution <3
Professionalism is something we could take for granted in the corporate world. Then sometimes we get disappointed by people we encounter. Sometimes the different standards in professionalism is resulted in cultural differences...
I went away and did the “airplane mode challenge” - practiced true detachment. Hence why I did not update for a few days! In the future, I’ll also fully detach when on vacation :)
More insights from the book “REST” - detachment, being in control of one’s time and relaxation are three key elements in recharging one’s energy!
Worked half day even though it’s a bank holiday. It’s super easy to overwork when it’s your own thing... I did a pretty good job putting my phone on airplane mode over the weekend though :)
Things always take longer! Especially if you are an optimistic person~ Whatever your “realistic estimate” might be, time it by 2, you might be right now > <
Intentionally allocate no work hours and days! It’s an art, and balance can be achieved :)
My very first opera! While it was a brilliant production, the storyline really made me upset...
Just like how we would invest time in mastering tools like a tennis racket in order to better enjoy the game itself, our physical body is also a tool in our own life journey. If we could master our physical body, in terms of both strength and energy, then we could maximise the enjoyment 😉
When a room full of educators come together and share stories, a few things become clear - part of the struggles educators experience are no flaws of any individual, but the inevitable inefficiency that’s part of human groups beyond a certain size
When a Chinese and Nigerian meet serendipitously in London and decide to build a company together! I know haha
An inspiration for women and men! Noticing how far we’ve come, true equality might not be far anymore :)
Great secret concerts worth checking out! Also, amazingly talented spoken word artist Chris a@poetcurious on Instagram ;)
Absolutely fantastic events at Oxford! Loved the people I met and conversations we had! Definitely going back to Skoll next year :D
More hybrid roles! Rather than radical specialisation, encourage employees to be more well-rounded! It doesn’t just spice up a workday. Chances are, these multidisciplinary employees will end up building better products too :)
Caught up with an old friend, and it turns out he worked as a CTO for a startup that’s doing pretty well for the past 2 years! He reflected on how funny that one’s experience hasn’t really changed, but because one positions himself differently, he’ll then be exposed to different opportunities ;)
The balance between focus/speed and patience is an art many entrepreneurs need to learn to master~
Which Harry Potter house do you identify yourself with? I’m a Ravenclaw, and we won the hunt :D Question - if all our cells are replaced every seven years, why do tattoos stay?
It takes courage to grieve, to face one’s deep emotions, the powerful sorrow... Buddha prepares us for the sufferings in life by reminding us two things: 1. Nothing is constant; 2. We are all one, and interdependent.
Well, didn’t succeed! Ended up sleeping 9 and half hours 😂 But trying again today~ wish me luck!
Deliberate practice and creative work that require real focus, we can do maximum 4/5 hours a day. Safe guard those hours. Right after a session of deep work, go for a walk or engage in some other deep play to allow your mind to work in the background :)
Joe Wong’s life Story is very inspiring! Do what you love, even just on the side, and it will pay off :) Check our one of his recent jokes - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=36v9GSOFMFc
Is there exponential growth in your financial model? Assume doubling year by year~ you’ll be amazed at how big the numbers get in 5-7 years ;) And, it was Zinc’s 6 month graduation!
Possibly the most tattooed PHD you’ll ever meet! Met him as part of my trip up to Sheffield to set up a pilot program with some parents for Quirkey~ Supposedly the greenest city in the UK! Will try rock climbing there next time ;)
Had time to reflect and further conversation with a potential cofounder. All pretty good! Sheffield tomorrow~
Due to misalignment on vision, Quirkey and Zinc are parting ways amicably. Next chapter starts! EDUCATE also starts in May~
Adobe Illustrator made something that’s supposed to be easy difficult! > < I’m gonna try to edit the color elsewhere, now I have the SVG!
Never had the chance to participate in politics before, since I spent my whole adulthood as a foreigner in different countries until fairly recently! Got to exercise my rights as a citizen and very much enjoy the freedom of speech! 🇪🇺🇬🇧
A method I learnt today - nail down the 15-20 key messages you need to form a narrative. With it, you can create pitch of any length ;)
Just a reminder, despite the emotional challenges of the startup journey. The fact we are already having positive impact on people’s lives make me feel assured to keep pushing forward! 💪🏻
Funny how small things could cause so much headache in our daily lives! My experience with shoelaces that are too long taught me something valuable on how things that seem unimportant might actually deserve some priority :P
Just ride the flow! Sometimes it’s better to feel on top of things than to guard precious precious personal time. Sometimes, the only way through is to put in more time~ Try to apply 80/20 rule, but be fine with the long days too.
Investigative journalists risking their lives to uncover stories that matter to us and reveals systematic corruption. Highly recommend the documentary “The Panama Papers”. There is something beautiful in how almost 400 journalists came together globally to collaborate on the story!
A type of Buddhism, good to have experienced it, but I still prefer silence and nature :)
Amazing conceptual gallery (WhiteChurchPassage.com) opening that essentially serve as a social commentary! Congratulations to my friend whose company got into Stanford’s Launchpad program! Finally, a massive emotional lesson and progress from the past few months on the startup journey :)
Start giving. A beautiful piece detailing the author’s personal journey on discovering the true meaning and value of belonging to a community - https://www.facebook.com/672706154/posts/10157295617381155?sfns=cl
Yet another team parted ways. To many people’s surprise, and often times the true reasons might never be known.
Amazing resources like colorlib allows you to delay building for as long as possible! Learn from testing with users, and try repurposing existing tools ;)
Truth often gets lost in the process. Not that people intend to spread rumours, but truth is never black and white and hard to preserve. Learnt a valuable lesson on the importance of suspending my judgement until I’ve communicated with someone directly and applied my personal assessment.
Perhaps I should have taken the day off completely... p.s. a random fact - most effective foot cream contains 10 - 25% urea! #readtheingredients
Quick reflection on the day. Realised the importance of trust. Trust that everything will work out, even though we can’t see the path.
- Crazy or almost there? (Podcast Zero to Launch episode 1). 2. Focus on the users and product or worry about building a team? 3. Customers only care about the value you provide, not how you deliver it.
Being a solo founder is hard, mainly because of the emotional challenges! Having a strong support network is crucial. P.S. tonight we watched Frankenstein ballet performance at the ROH.
It’s way easier to push marketing materials out when you are not the only one working on it. This probably extends to other areas too! Wonder what’s the psychology behind such nuanced shift in attitude.
The company and founders will remain unnamed, but the lessons are still valuable for many entrepreneurs!
A James Cameron movie! Supposedly over 400million CGI hours went into creating this amazing work of art! Slight complaints on the plot, but visually breathtaking! Thoroughly wowed♥️
Definitely an interesting model. If you have time and below age 30, why not apply? The biggest gain would be your self-confidence :)
Michael Norton is the author of "365 Ways to Change the World", and a serial social entrepreneur. In 2000, he co-founded UnLtd, which supports social entrepreneurs in the UK and is now spreading internationally, and in 2011 he co-founded the International Centre for Social Franchising.
They are free in monetary terms, but do you recognise them and do you know how to appreciate them? 😌
I call Apple’s strategy “Grossly Underpromise”. Then as a result, you’re almost guaranteed to over deliver ;) V&A’s special exhibition on Christian Dior took my breath away! Beautifully curated masterpieces~
Tate Modern has special Friday Lates and tonight’s one is themed around feminism. My favourite project from the artworks we saw was done by this Argentine artist Judi Werthein. She designed a brand of sneakers called Brinco (meaning “Jump” in Spanish) in 2005 for Mexican migrants to cross the US border. A very thought-provoking and controversial piece!
We all have triggers and it’s easy to enter reaction mode. Given how we often misunderstand and misinterpret things, it’s good to always check our understanding first before reaction. If we are also able to apply the non-violent communication model, the odds of successful communication will be in our favour💪🏻. When it comes to our closed ones, it’s a good practice to assume the best intentions as the baseline of communication 😊
Google.com/students - here you can find Google’s apprenticeship program, (not this moment because the applications are only open in October), AND it’s actually open to people of all ages! You also get Open University credits towards a computer science undergraduate degree as well! Pretty awesome opportunity 😍
A lesson learnt through a friend of mine. Even though I have already learnt the lesson before, it was still good to be reminded of it.
The finite game or the infinite game? If you play to stay in the game and play to improve yourself and your company, you’ll be winning in the long run. Check out Simon Sinek’s talk on this, hopefully it will give you some inspiration ;)
Narrowing down on a vision and feeling grateful about everything in life <3 Happy Sunday everyone!
Took a pause and reflected on the entrepreneurial journey so far with a founder friend who’s been hustling for 5+ years. Business is an art! End of the day, you need to solve your customers’ real problems. Everything else is secondary. Also, think about what you personally truly want🐾
It’s okay to start with a specific focused vision. If you are addicted to solving problems for customers, once you solve a problem well for a tough customer group, chances are your product will be loved by many more! Marvel started by building prototyping tools for designers, until they realised everyone was using it then their vision got bigger ;)
Just remembered the sweetest 6 year old boy helping me with my garbage bags earlier today, and suddenly nothing else seemed important 😂 Such sweet human exchange that reminds you the beauty of life and there is so much to be thankful for!
Hidden Brain podcast has this amazing episode called “Close Enough” (https://overcast.fm/+Ht3gEvYhg), and it’s given me insights on what research I need to conduct. Ended the day with ROH’s brilliantly humorous and elegant ballet performance of “The Two Pigeons”.
A unique story about painters who are able to paint a Van Gogh’s replica in 22minutes from scratch! It’s only possible after 20 years and over 100,000 copies... The numbers seem so unreal, but it also illustrates human potential!
Learnt a lot from the pilot session, and it gave me great ideas on how to improve and structure future ones! I also got ideas on design! Pretty exiting times 😊
We somehow feel safe in real life having private conversations in public places, like cafes and restaurants. The tables allow people to face inwardly and have their own bubbles. So how do recreate that experience online?
On reincarnation, meaning of “unfair” life events, and our ability to “change” the past.
Absolutely fascinating story about how Elizabeth and Theranos came to be what they were. How she played a character, manipulating her own voice and all. The podcast is produced by ABC News. Let me know what you think!
Things always take longer than we’d expect, so it’s important to practise radical acceptance! Also, a small lesson on persistence today - after repeatedly querying the receptionist on whether someone’s picked up a 🧤, she finally remembered she found one but left it in the bike room! I was certain it was only dropped inside the building and I was right :D
Officially 2019 according to all calendars 😂 Had the ultimate marshmallow test today at dinner~ Some reflections on customer acquisition strategy :)
Feb 4th is the last day of 2018 according to Lunar Calendar. It’s the day of celebration and family reunion in China~ I’ll be busy making calls home tomorrow!
Reflections inspired by the book “Big Magic” regarding art and creative living. Also, unrelated reflections on the Hulu documentary “Fyre Fraud” regarding entrepreneurship, compulsive liars and more.
A Zinc cohort member is leaving the program due to family circumstances. It is a reminder on how lucky we are to have healthy family members and have such time and space to pursue our own ambition!
The Chatty Cafe Scheme - simple idea, easy to execute yet could really improve people’s lives! Then some potential tests to run in 🇧🇬 😁
The influencers I met today are very different from the people I normally come to contact with, and the difference was so big that I experienced the psychology of people from the left behind places. When you can’t relate to some people so much so that you don’t even have the desire to communicate or listen......
Things always take longer than you’d like. Accept it and do your best! Also, be kind to yourself!
When creating Facebook ads, it’s important to go back to the basics and really align the language with your unique selling point and choose images that tell the same story visually!
V&A is my favourite museum in London! After the exhibition on 1500-1700 Europe, I then watched “The Favourite” and recognised the place they shot it 😄 Brilliant movie 🎥 , highly recommend it!
A day full of exhibitions, started off at the British Library for the Giant Bible and Doomsday Book, then headed off to the Royal Academy of Art for Michelangelo and Bill Viola. Then ended the day at Canary Wharf’s Light Festival :) Also, met my boyfriend’s mom, a super cool lady and a historian~
It’s been a long week but had a good ending! I’ve settled on the go-to-market strategy! A fellow founder at Zinc decided to leave but reminded everyone to carefully nurture the fire 🔥 inside us and not to take Nos for an answer, as all we need is one Yes!
Today I went to Bett, the EdTech show at London Excel centre. It was super impressive but also overwhelming to see all these companies from all over the world 🌍 getting together to compete for your attention. It doesn’t seem at all effective to me, but exhibition is still a large business...
After a long day working. When I was unwinding, I came across documentary channel i-D and one of its presenters Grace Neutral. Intrigued by her looks and the subculture of body modification.
No more indecisiveness! With renewed focus and direction, I’m excited about the process I’ll make in the next few weeks :)
Had a both relaxing and productive day! I was able to process things that happened this week and put everything behind! Excited to start the new week ahead~ Hope you all have a great week :)
All feelings are trying to us something. So definitely don’t recommend suppressing any emotion. But how do we effectively handle bad feelings? Anna, one of my favourite YouTubers has a tip! You might also want to check out her YouTube video here - https://youtu.be/nI8uTbUwYJs
Had my first immersive theatre experience! And it was all a surprise. We dressed up in 1920s costumes but I had no idea where we were going! On another note, also officially parted ways with my cofounder. All for the best, with lessons learnt :)
One woman’s journey on closing the achievement gap and how she helped kids from underprivileged background believe that everything is possible! Although these miracle charter schools shockingly resembles Chinese schools😱 Are the tradeoffs between students’ short-term stress level and academic excellence worthwhile?
Improved nuanced understanding that gives us increased conviction on how we would approach the business development!
Self-acceptance is a practice that I sometimes need to remind myself of... I sometimes forget I’m being harsh on myself. Today I felt my mind was very noisy, until I meditated and practiced radical self-acceptance :) Ended the day with Angel Comedy Club, fresh materials from established comics on Tuesdays! Highly recommend!
An intimate portrayal of a working class resident of Hull, a forgotten city in Northern England. If you want to understand the invisible poverty and how a hardworking man with dream and ambition still gets himself stuck in a dead-end job with soul crashing debt, you’d want to watch “A Northern Soul”.
It’s like having a writer’s block. Because the vague idea I have in mind seems so brilliant and I don’t feel I have a clear image to then translate onto paper. So I ended up procrastinating... Finally broke the bad pattern and made something though!
Fun night getting to know my cofounder’s wife and them as a couple! She’s worked in anti human trafficking for the past 5 years in Cambodia teaching sex trafficking survivors hair and makeup skills~ Very meaningful work and fun person!
Some updated industry level salary info on software engineers at big tech firms. And first time experience with what’s called EFT - emotional freedom technique. Whatever works! :)
There are different to onboard a potential cofounder. There is “until death” do us apart from the get-go, and there is increased commitment upon milestone achievements. No right or wrong, only preference!
Jolt, a startup that offers gym-like membership for learning, had its launch event called “Future Proof Yourself Festival”. It was a good case for learning the design of a launch event :)
Cofounder relationships are important - a lot of learning ahead~ But let’s get thing done :)
Not yet productive, probably needed time to fully recover. Excited for tomorrow though!
Will properly reflect on the whole trip over the week, but had a pretty fun flight ✈️ with a Scottish family! My sweet boyfriend picked me up from the airport and made the whole journey home fun 🥰
Met a super cool lady at the Apple store by Omotesando! She’s a retired teacher, full of great energy and silver hair 👩🦳, but was at the front line serving demanding customers. Absolutely loved her attitude as her reason for working is to get new experiences 😄
Some observations from the hot spring trip~ Hakone is a very beautiful place and famous for a good reason.
The day was supposed to be for digital detoxing, but didn’t go as well in that front 😂 Still plenty of fun and relaxing time with awesome view of Mt. Fuji, plus traditional Japanese style inn with onsen (hot spring)! Great way to relax~
Decided to skip Yokohama and properly reviewed for Smartly midterm and took the test! Rather glad I did that, now I feel quite happy with statistics! Loving Smartly even more now~ The quiz format really helps you stay focused even with dry content!
We went to the temple in the morning - there was an insane queue to get in and pray, but also meant quality time with the family! Then some observations on my aunty’s family dynamic~ Overall, a great start for 2019 😄
Last day of 2018 was rather nostalgic - old friend and city, but many has happened too! Some things will never change and others do~ 2018 has been a transitional year for me. How about you? Looking forward to an exciting 2019!
Dec 30 was spent lazily~ Meeting up with an old college friend Vincent tomorrow - it’s been 8 years since I last saw him, so very much looking forward to it!
Hiking, eating amazing food, seeing Mt Fuji from afar, enjoying osen and the whole Tokyo experience!
My friend’s Rena just had a new born baby boy who’s only 21 days old! And he’s already going to have 3 passports from his parents 😂
Catching up with old friend, bonding with cousins, learning about how insanely crowded Tokyo station is at all hours, and much much more 😁
Thrilled to be back in Japan! It’s been 8 years since my last visit 😱 Way too long! I wanna spend every March here going forward 😆 Cherry blossom season is just too beautiful to miss!
With the right guide, it becomes a lot easier to discover a place’s charm! Seoul is a very livable city, especially when you know the right places to go :P Also, some reflections on the Korean language~
Korea is in-between China and Japan, both geographically and culturally. After initial disappointment on its lack of unique architectural identity (based on my first impression), I’ve warmed up to its diverse cultural and culinary offerings. Plus tip on how to survive Korean winter 🥶
First impressions of Korea compiled! I’ll probably see more positive stuff tomorrow when I’m well-rested and less jet lagged :)
Not many people in the office but great fun bonding with Anthony :) My life coach taught me something important today - expressing disappointment helps bring people closer together!
Really want to finish up Smartly coursework before the holidays! The mission continues today. Forgot to record an episode last night, so making up for it now :)
Zinc Xmas party (Zinc’s own X Factor) was a lot of fun and uncovered many hidden talents. Then went to watch movie 🎥 Aquaman, which was just full of visual surprises~
Might have forgotten to mention Billie, but she’s the pet of the house boat’s owner! Random day but interesting enough~
Had some much needed advice from UCL’s design lab crew! It helped putting me on the right path💪🏻
Spent a few hours building prototype, made some progress but not as fast as I’d have hoped. But movie “Small Foot” helped ending the night on a happy note!
How your ability to construct purpose and believe your effort would pay off are the most important predictors of your lifetime outcomes. And meta learning skills are trainable at any age! Randomly selected entrepreneurs who receive resilience intervention increase their companies’ chances of success by 60%!
My default way of unwinding and distressing has always been films and TVs. A story about comedian will always have a special place in my heart. One lesson from season 2 - you probably don’t ever want to perform in front of friends and family, because they are the source of your materials!
The technical person who’s been working on the project for the last 2 weeks just unexpectedly quit the incubator...
Japanese Buddhist’s guide to the practice of non-reaction is an Amazon best seller in Japan (not sure what’s its exact English book title). I picked up the book from Chengdu airport and had very much enjoyed it during the flight ✈️ . Back to real life tomorrow!
Leaving Chengdu for London after a slightly longer than 48 hour visit! It’s been great and will miss my family very much <3
Some update on the 72-hour-visa-free China trip. And how the curious little ones touched me! I guess what ends up missing when you live overseas and away from your big family is the multigenerational bond...
While the offer is real, it’s NOT as easy if you want to use it. If you are staying at a hotel, it’s more convenient. But if you are staying with a local - you’ll need to register with the police and all....
Helped my dad achieve a huge milestone in his swimming “career” and seeing the pure joy on his face made it priceless! Forgot to mention it was also the late King’s birthday, so the grand palace is once again closed. Missed it twice on my visits already > <
Some reflections after a day here with just my parents! It’s my mom’s first trip to a country where people don’t speak her mother tongue, so very glad I got to share the special moment with her <3
Groom’s mom is in her 60s and has been learning Chinese from about 1 year ago in an attempt to better understand her new daughter-in-law’s culture and her family. She was able to give a moving speech all in Chinese!
Absolutely stunning wedding and the cutest couple ever🥰 So much love from the couple and the family! Can’t be more picture-perfect and can’t ask for more joyful tears!
In Thailand, it seems you can’t trust the staffs to do things because they are too eager to say “yes” or “sure” even if they don’t really understand you!
Pre-wedding day stress for the bride-to-be and how we ended the hen party with a cabaret show performed by trans women - all in Phuket!
It’s great to get Zinc’s buy-in on the idea. Now we can move confidently forward and refine it along the way! P.S. It’s not easy to learn dance moves > <
EDUCATE is UCL’s program for assisting EdTech companies. Today, they selected 11 companies to demo at London City Hall. Companies such as MyCognition and Little Bridge really left an impression!
Pixar artists are such amazing storytellers! Bao helped me see aspects of Chinese culture in new ways~ Bao is an incredibly cute, humorous and touching short!
A great way to see people’s real selves is through games! Today, I attended an epic scavenger hunt and pub quiz. Also, I had a moment of realisation on how public personas are built and how it’s different from reality.
Startups have sunny and stormy days. I really appreciate that there are some fellow founders from Zinc whom I could be vulnerable with.
There is no set number, but what’s the general range? Still shocked at an outlandish number a fellow wedding attendee is apparently planning on giving...
It’s great to get confirmation from different sources, and always exciting to see complete strangers supporting your study :D
I live-steamed myself doing SMARTLY’s probability module on YouNow. It went pretty well - I got 77 likes by the end and 5 fans! #study seems to attract people~ As a learner, I had fun!
Completely SMARTLY’s probability course on camera. Talking out loud was a very fun way to learn math!
EF’s “Halloween Massacre” turned out to be a bad experiment. But “Explained” brightened up the night. Who knew all the fun facts behind a simple exclamation mark! ;)
What does early stage startup look like? How do you divide equities? On a happier note, London is full of hidden gems to discover!
I was reminded by Mia the importance of TRULY understand your customers! Learning how to talk to your customers for real - no better place to learn than from Jobs-to-be-Done - http://jobstobedone.org/radio/the-mattress-interview-part-one/
Excited to read the book 📚 “Platform Revolution” and plot out some strategies for the project! While plans will definitely change, but great to have some rough roadmap!
Brene Brown is such a fantastic public speaker! She’s daring to be vulnerable on stage, and almost a standup comedian! Her breakdown of trust provides us a roadmap on navigating this big hairy yet important thing. Before speaking of trusting others, do you trust yourself?
It was super fun sketchnoting-on-location at British Museum while listening a guided tour on Japanese Paintings! For the first time ever, I managed to see the 3D image on Magic Eye prints!
“General Magic, the upcoming documentary, is a tale of how great vision and epic failure can change the world. The film features members of the original Mac team along with the creators of the iPhone, Android and eBay.
These designers, engineers and entrepreneurs saw the future decades before it happened. General Magic captures the spirit of those of us who dare to dream big and the life-changing consequences when we fail, fail again, fail better, and ultimately succeed.”
Reflections on the team’s journey so far. Also, randomly went to an event on psychedelics hosted by Ed Cooke.
It was great fun on-boarding Sara to the team! She finally made it back to the UK on an entrepreneur visa. Reid Hoffman’s event with SCVC2UK was also interesting. It’s a small startup world, the same people end up bumping into each other a lot~
Zinc fun continues! My team is recruiting learners to join the community and showcase their learning journeys. Also, codebar has its first improv night. It was a lot of fun!
Tom Blomfield is very much a “get sh*t done” type entrepreneur, and he shared some key lessons with us at Zinc today. Early on, just focus on getting users! Do what doesn’t scale, find your 1000 true fans and worry about scale later.
Have you ever heard of Bamboo Saxophone? It’s this super portable, flute like instrument that makes sounds very similar to saxophone! You have to hear it to believe how powerful this tiny instrument is, using material straight from nature!
V&A has some amazing exhibitions going on! Why don’t we have programming language that isn’t in English?~ London Korean Film Festival is happening now! Watched “Little Forest” earlier. Very heartwarming and in many ways a beautifully curated food porn :P
Had fascinating conversations tonight! A friend who feels the pain of society’s overly harsh tone towards fat people and what might be a better approach than “fitness“ is simply an active lifestyle, even if there is no weight change in the end.
Learnt more about what it takes to build a 42 branch. Also experienced how before improv can help you to trust yourself more, you’ll have to experience panic first :P
IMDb, a site that most of us use and love, but how many of us know its founding story? A tale of accidentally success when a group of people organically comes together doing what they love~
Top tip from an experienced entrepreneur, encouraging founders to trust their own gut more. I believe if the founding teams are scratching their own itch, then yes, trust your gut!
Absolutely love Netflix documentary series “Abstract” - seeing artists’ creative processes allows you to let your own imagination go wild!
Christoph is an amazing illustrator who’s full of creativity and he shares his key philosophy on art creation - abstraction. Because viewers are fluent at interpreting visual images, the task is on the artist to remove as many lines as possible to find the right level of abstraction! This also reminds me of coding~ In the end, everything’s connected :)
Watched movies on my day off, and was very touched by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s amazing acting in “A Star Is Born”. Did you know Lady Gaga tried to become an actress before she became a musician? She was goooood!
Zinc Day 20 - Sprint 2 is officially over, which also marks the end of boot camp phase. People are forming teams, at least testing out potential pairings. Some reflections on the whole cofounder dating process~
Zinc Day 19 - it’s been a thoroughly fun experience! Recognising our own biases and how a team without hierarchy forms its dynamics.
Zinc Day 18 - fun day prototyping and getting feedback! Great teamwork! Also loved sketchnote meetup tonight, visualising user is a great way to ensure empathy in product development!
Zinc Day 17 - another fun productive day! But more interestingly, Oobah Butler pulled off yet another amazing gig by sending his fake selves out for interviews on TV & Radio!!!
Zinc Day 16 - also Day 1 of Sprint 2, a quick reflection on today’s experience. It’s fun working when it’s with the right team!
Caught up with my friend doing EF - different pace, different drama, but fun times for all~ #trusttheprocess
Very touched by house renovation projects featured on Japanese and Chinese TV shows. Reflecting on the importance of well-designed space in facilitating human interactions.
Advice from a seasoned investor for startups - warm over cold, it’s not a numbers game. Also, a reminder on discrimination at the workplace -what really happens...
Zinc Day 14, Point of View Statement - essentially a persona of the idea customer and what he wants/needs.
Smartly drinks earlier tonight, met a lot of people from the EMBA program. Compared notes and understood Smartly business model better~
Zinc Day 12 - more teamwork. This time, we had an excellent opportunity to learn how to work through different opinions with cofounders.
Zinc Day 11, first day of Sprint 1 - group exercise. But today I’m more interested in talking about therapy, and how everyone should see a therapist :)
A good friend from university is now reassessing her career. She didn’t focus on her career as much in the past, but never too late for a new start!
Had the head of pedagogy of Ecole 42 coming to speak to us! Absolutely love what they do!
Real marketing genius - check out Vice’s story on “Georgio Peviani”! It’s a great lesson on how the society operates~
The startup journey is going to be rough, so make sure you really care about what you are building! Nothing better than scratching your own itch!
Themed expert talks ranging from education to urban planning. The importance of connectivity!
Perhaps time to start working with people in different groups to figure out a good pairing :)
Great to have a friend going through the same thing at the same time, so we get to share lessons~ More importantly, it was a day off :)
“Daddly Does It” initiative shows the importance of meeting people where they are. Also, the transformative power in not treating people as isolated individuals but within their social context.
2nd day in Rochdale, spent time with local organisations. Biggest takeaway, empower people - people need and deserve respect!
GPs are the most well respected and trusted people in a place, so initiatives in the Greater Manchester area focused on helping the underprivileged are designed around GPs. “Social Prescribing” becoming a common practice amongst GPs also positively surprised me. Loving the initiatives!
A friend of mine is starting at EF at the same time as Zinc is kicking off, so we get to compare notes on how the two accelerators are like. Also, some shocking update on a friend’s experience with bureaucracy...
Ran into an old friend from Japan exchange year at another friend’s house party - we truly live in a bubble, don’t we :P
Physical environment definitely plays an important role in stimulating the people interacting in it. Office space becomes particularly important. Based on my office tours, at least in London, Google office wins Facebook~ But can’t comment on their headquarters. Supposedly FB HQ is modelled after Disney Land~
Extremely fun day at MOE Foundation’s annual conference! Improvised parts of my speech titled “How to Find Your Element”, and it went really well~ Looking forward to seeing the video recording!
Tonight was for codebar. It was very fun, discovered a codebar coach was a YC graduate. And got to practise my speech whilst hanging out with lovely people - implementing Brene Brown’s method of writing! :D
Being reminded that a clear financial model would make or break a company, and entrepreneurship is a marathon. There might be moments when concentrated extreme efforts are important, but it’s still a marathon.
Even though nothing is truly "original", but it's not a bad thing. Because it becomes a form of market validation :) It's all about execution in the end anyway!
Learnt about an awesome organization called Recurse Centre today. Fantastic self-directed learning setup, or say Montessori for adults! Also some reflections on movies in China.
Various different topics but fun! "You weren't meant to have a boss" (www.paulgraham.com/boss.html) - comparing employees in big corporations as lion in zoos - comfortable, but not lively. Then some thoughts on what to do around Brexit... Estonia surprised me again on its e-residency. It’s been out for a few years, but I only just heard about it :P
Great day with great conversations! Musings on how to determine what you really like and what you think you like~
Jonna quit her job 8 years ago and moved to a small village in Sweden to be closer to nature and figure life out. 8 years later, she's now living her dream as an artist.
Xianzhe Xu quit his job to pursue his love for manga without any prior training. 4 years of 12-hour-days dedicated to crafting his very first series that ended up awing Japan! His dedication, patience and grit made the masterpiece possible.
Luxe.co hosted a fashion innovation forum with a focus on UK & China, and there were some pretty amazing guests. Kresse Wesling from Elvis & Kresse is one of them. Their commitment to sustainability, their brand DNA and 50% profit sharing commitment make them such a fascinating case study!
Nothing ground-breaking, but once again accepting things in life rarely happens the way we want at the time we want. It's up to us to choose the relatively optimal option.
Twitter hosted our 4th uncodebar! It was a fantastic day with many interesting topics~ codebar is truly my favorite community!
Trust is fundamental in all human relationships. Yet, are you good at assessing people's characters? Do you trust your own judgement?
Fundamentally, human beings are social animals. My own journey of realizing what's important :)
We live in an era where influence = money and power. In exchange for influence, one often ends up revealing one’s personal life. So how much sharing would you be comfortable with?
Aaron Sorkin’s directorial debut is based on Molly Bloom’s real life story! Love Aaron’s scripts and Molly is quite impressive~ Might contain some spoiler.
Deadpool 2 has high entertainment value because it breaks the common patterns of superhero movies. It might never win the Oscar’s but it’s one of my favourites. Then some reflections on the value of art.
MOE Foundation trains coaches and speakers at its conference share such level of authenticity and vulnerability that are inspiring! I feel very fortunate to have been part of MOE.
When you see trash left behind in beautiful forests, your heart hurts... National Cleaning Day is an effective way to raise awareness on the effect one’s behaviour has on the environment. Finally, what writing means according to an MFA who teaches creative writing.
Forest, Lake, Stars and Friends - what else do we need? Being reminded of the beauty of the universe by the shining stars in the dark sky! Music and singing with friends after a good meal - pleasure of life~ Aim to be up early for a hike tomorrow morning!
The day after the wedding ceremony, celebration continues. And we'll be going hiking tomorrow! Also, have to reflect on how difficult it is to be vegan when you don't have the chance to cook for yourself :(
Good friend's wedding tomorrow and the theme is for all guests to wear their home countries' traditional clothing! Cool, right? :D
Reflections on learning to say no and set boundary. Off to sofia tomorrow for a wedding!
My HS Chinese Teacher's retired life is pretty ideal - she's busy learning a lot of things and traveling across the country! Love her spirit!
There is so much benefit in seeing masters' art work up close! Loved seeing the evolution of artists as well~ True mastery in art requires daily practice!
I typically recommend learning in quiet spaces, but Smartly app allowed me to study accounting while hanging out at a party. It was an interesting experiment! The game-like design makes it possible to concentrate :)
Had an interesting conversation with a newly turned full-time artist. All careers are hard, might as well do what you love!
Elizabeth Gilbert’s book on how to lead a creative life has been truly heart warming! To unburden ourselves from the anxiety of creating art, remember that we are not geniuses, but we could have geniuses, sometimes.
Getting weaker prescription to allow room for eyesight improvement! It was awesome watching Hamilton up close front and centre!
Smart.ly is an innovative, remote and free MBA program. My Smartly cohort started today, and we had our London meetup earlier - only 14 people based in London this time!
Musashi is a self-directed learner, famous Japanese samurai from the 16th century. He’s also known for being a Buddhist, philosopher, artist and writer. He believes in the “way of strategy”, and practices many arts with no teacher!
Kimura Takuya started off as a pop star, mere entertainer. Now he’s viewed as a living Samurai, even a God for some, because of his hardworking attitude and excellence in all things he does.
AKB48 has about 150 girl members. According to its producer Yasushi Akimoto, the group’s concept is about gathering ordinary girls without much talent or personality and showcase their growth in an intimate accessible way with their fans through nightly performances. Akimoto san also doesn’t believe there are great talents in Japan...
My 10-Day Silent Meditation retreat experience - the highlights! And my excuse for having missed 4 days of audio journal - but back on track again!! p.s. dhamma.org has information on the vipassana meditation retreat :)
Werner Herzog is a soldier of cinema, completely self-taught and does things his way! Aaron Sorkin the writer for “The West Wing” also approaches screenwriting very differently from the most~ great masterclasses!
Frank Gehry is the amazing architect who created the “Bilbao Effect”. Reflecting on how he’s still passionately working even though he’s almost 90! Perhaps the most fortunate position to be in~
Malcolm shares a great tip - “ It’s a good writer’s job to lower the bar.” Absolutely love it! How to avoid the sense of failure and writer’s block!
Met Nas Daily in person! Was at his London meetup~ lots of tips! But Malcolm Gladwell’s masterclass on writing non-fiction still made my day more :D
Different masterclasses by passionate artists have more in common than you think. All art forms ultimately are about storytelling, so emotional resonance trumps everything!
Startup life - reflecting on my conversation with an entrepreneur who’s worked on his impact business for 16 years...
My childhood story and how Christina Aguilera’s masterclass on singing ended up being very inspirational.
Kumail is a first generation Pakistani immigrant in the US who studied computer science for his undergrad, and built up his career gradually as a standup comedian and writer! Very inspirational~
Amazing candid advice on writing from Judd’s masterclass. My reflections on the explorations in art, different mediums and what I love making at the moment!
Robin Williams documentary “Come Inside My Mind” help us understand a genius, an industry and comedy some more. Steve Martin’s masterclass on comedy gives us hope and confidence in building a craft rather than relying on genius.
Ron Howard’s master class contains incredible content on how he stages a scene and works with actors. It would help anyone appreciate the art of cinematography more!
Helen talks you through her thought process of acting - how every little detail contributes to the character. Then, reflections on the exploration phase and decision tree.
Meeting with Makers was very inspiring! Lovely group of people working to change education too! Then some reflections on racism and immigration at different ages.
Loving Ron’s MasterClass and the amazing chance to be a fly on the wall in seeing how great minds work! + Some reflections on the state of TV in China~
Valletta is officially the smallest city I’ve ever visited! I’ve also been enjoying Dr. Gabor Mate’s book “When the Body Says No”, provides a refreshing holistic look on health, especially with oppressed emotions.
World Cup + Putin~ British Pakistani youth & their sufferings from arranged Marriages...
Happy bachelorette celebration day 2! Random seaside party after midnight with lovely Filipinos who live in Malta - something you can only run into!
When google map isn’t reliable... Here for a good friend’s hen party, so looking forward to the weekend!!!
A future dystopia “Matrubhoomi: A Nation Without Women (Hindi: मातृभूमि, translation: Motherland)” is a 2003 Indian film. It reminds us of the UN theory that women’s access to birth control and small family sizes are main contributing factors to peace!
England lost to Croatia - it shows performance isn’t determined by financial backing! The town hall staff was lovely and nicknamed “Pakistani Jesus” 😂
Alexandra Stein’s book “Terror, Love and Brainwashing: Attachments in Cults and Totalitarian Systems” provides an in-depth look into social psychology of ideological extremism - necessary read, because everyone could become a victim!
Taught MOE’s coaching course today, and it was fun. Some reflections from the experience~
Humans all have strong desires to belong and it can be easily taken advantages of... power corrupts... Every coin has two sides, including political correctness. Finally, a brave journalist and her hopeful solution to immigration issues~
Mike, a good friend from Japan days, visiting from NYC and comparing the two mega global cities~ some reflections on boundaries, pride, and changes in our desires and wants...
Are the birth control pills the real reason for the peace we've enjoyed? And what really contributes to behavioral change?
Watching “Wild Wild Country” made me realise the “group” I’ve met are effectively a cult. It’s important for all us to realise that not all cults are religious either, they could be AA groups, or self-help groups. And their recruitment process is sooo gradual, their “love-bombing” tactic is so effective, anyone could become a victim. A cult doesn’t have to be evil, but it’s totalitarian approach makes it unhealthy...
Some reflections on my favourite author - Lu Xun’s life and work. It ended up being quite long!
Great fips from a documentary maker! On the importance of mentorship. How crestive projects are all like writing - first draft is key, no matter how shitty. Get it out of your head first, then it will get better!
Leo Matsuda has a great storyboarding course on skillshare! Seeing how ROUGH his first draft is and his whole work process really opened my eyes! And to realise the importance of reference pictures in the process~
Skillshare’s short courses are proving to be great, because they are so concise! New idea for mocumentaey!
Zinc.vc had its mission 1 celebration tonight, and it seems like everyone is just 1 degree separation away in this tight-knit community~
Spoiler alert - a lot has been crammed into the last episode and it’s a lot longer than usual! Interesting meta-message stating human beings’ “free will” is really just an illusion... what do you think?
Frida is a gender fluid artist and fighter of life! Great exhibition of her at the V&A~ some reflections on drawing and the immigration trend in the UK
For me, pleasure = progress. This could be a bit extreme, another way is to look at the lifetime of “pleasure” associated with different activities.
It was not easy figuring out what to write about her. Even though she’s an intelligent woman, she’s been hiding behind the title of First Lady, which has nothing to do with her own merit. But I eventually found something!
A touching documentary on Andy Whitfield’s fight against life-threatening cancer. Reminding us all of the true nature of life...
Reflecting on the movie “Suffragette”, the movement, and how blessed we are to be living in the new era.
Cart before the horse - some thoughts on how to fundamentally change the challenge of not having enough tech talent
Patrik Baboumian holds world records for his strength and he’s a vegan! Plus, some thoughts on Buddha’s original teachings
Thich Nhat Hanh’s book on Buddha’s life. How Buddha believed in Pantheism, that universe is the manifestation of God. If Einstein knew Buddhism better, he would have considered himself a Buddhist.
Research for a portrait of Mary Wollstonecraft, a founding feminist philosopher, reveals how small the English literary circle once was and how scandalous things can get!
Very much admire what David Goggins achieved for himself, but perhaps there is a more compassionate alternative!
Dr. Brian Weiss wrote about reincarnation in his book and this is a chance for us to exercise open-mindedness!
Had an extensive discussion with a friend of mine on spirituality, death and much much more
Such a fascinating guy with a “secret” that would shock you! Check out documentary “Dealt” to learn more!
Highly recommend the documentary “An Honest Liar” about The Amazing Randi, a fabulous magician and myth buster!
A great work of art for us fo reflect on political dangers and appreciate the freedom some of us enjoy!
Trevor and what happens when you commit to do a new sketch a day, even on days that’s hard...
SOAS’s exhibition at Brunei Gallery - photos taken in Asia 150 years ago by John Thompson. And my own process of stylised portrait drawings.
Interesting first time experience! And a special exhibition recommendation, if you are based in London.
A brilliant actor and feminist who’s always stayed true to herself! And some thoughts on calligraphy.
Some thoughts on manga style Japanese TV series, and committing to a memory challenge! Did a sketchnote today too - one sketchnote a day going forward :)
Love doing human portraits and particularly females! #redlipquotes :) How I slipped back into an old addiction (hopefully just today!) p.s. you can see my daily artwork on instagram @brainfoodinator2.0
The Artist’s Way has been such a great help, but still working up to producing one sketchnote a day...
Read fictions, taught my parents some English, did some art, ended up being another day off :)
Sunday Assembly - Church for the Atheists founded by comedians! Meeting documentary filmmaker and getting inspired!
Cultivate growth mindset and make trying cool! Also reflecting on parent child relationship.
We all owe Hedy for inventing frequency hopping technology, which is the foundation of WiFi! What a misunderstood genius!
Reflections after visiting Churchill’s War Rooms. Forgot to mention he’s also very hardworking, but had great relaxing daily rituals - 2 baths a day and an afternoon nap + demanding staffs to be quiet 🤫
Had an emotional breakthrough with videomaking! Also made progress with caricature quote practice~
Videomaking research has left me feeling overwhelmed. It’s common when learning something completely out of your depth of knowledge. p.s.i highly recommend the book (really an article) called “When I Loved Myself Enough” by Kim McMillen, enjoy! http://www.myinnerspaceblog.com/2012/01/17/when-i-loved-myself-enough-by-kim-mcmillen/
Seeing Daliso catching his big break on Britain’s got talent is very inspiring! Love his acts too!
So beautifully shot and awesome script! A lot to learn. Will have to rewatch again to take notes! :D
Enjoyed the sun and took it easy. Appreciating the importance of simplifying icons in sketchnote!
Interesting learning experience filming outdoors for the first time. Overcoming psychological barriers! It ended up being fun :)
US has enjoyed its successful PR as a diverse, immigrant-friendly country from the last century way past the point it’s no longer true...
I now feel comfortable to take notes in sketchnote format even in LIVE scenarios! It’s a lot of fun.
Had a great evening meeting other people who care about education. Loved doing sketchnote for Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk!
Many people appeared in Sir Ken Robinson’s book “The Element” disliked schools and rightfully so. But public education was a step forward comparing to an age where no education was available to the leas privileged. But it’s time for another learning revolution.
Day 4 of Sketchnote Challenge, developing my own sketchnote grammar. Idea of the day: turn to nature for inspirations when designing! asknature.org
Finally a sunny ☀️ day in London! Took the day off and had an interesting encounter with a retired professor from Japan 😄
After many iterations! Here is the video: https://youtu.be/v2uv04kZ1aA. It’s a lesson on motivation and touches on the social psychology concept - the Overjustification Effect. This is the starting point. Future videos will only get better 😆
Finally filmed the video, now onto editing! Will submit for competition just in time :D
Today is the last day of learning and practice for the cartoon challenge! I actually first freaked out a bit realizing how different the caricature drawing felt from the practices I've done before. Then I analyzed the differences - as long as I make the eyes and mouth more realistic, and add some more strokes to the hair, the cartoon practice is still the foundation. After today, cartoons will become part of my daily blog. So more fun & creative works ahead :D
Discovered proko’s course on caricatures, so now I can properly address the pain points :D
Day off from the sketchnote challenge - because I’m sick and couldn’t spend that much time staring at screens. Musings on public commitment and how intentions matters and will change your perspective!
Day 3 of Sketchnote Challenge. Attempted to live sketchnote Alex Blumberg’s talk on the power of audio storytelling.
CreativeLive has a course on sketchnote. I'll go through it tomorrow. You can get it too, referral here will even give you $15 off, only the first 10 though. https://refer.creativelive.com/s/Charlotte81
Worked on the fundamentals of sketchnote, structures, containers, connectors and started to build my own visual icon! Very fun process. What did you learn today?
In Japanese TVs, there are often portrayal of families with complete lack of emotional communication, yet it’s been painted as common occurrence. EQ education is urgently needed! Also, check out Ben Yu’s autobiography in progress themed around embracing failure and the story of how he went from having no friends plus suicidal to changing his life around in 2.5 years https://goo.gl/8bWBuu
Happy Easter Brainies! Getting back to my own timetable tomorrow. Feel like I swapped around Easter break to the past couple of days. A good friend is coming to visit end of April. So I have 4 weeks to satisfy my own hunger first before engaging the community! Exciting!
Potential tip on choosing facial shape and some other finer things in drawing faces, caricature or not.
Loved the movie “The Greatest Showman”! Beautifully shot and touching. I love movies about dreams. Have the courage to dream and go after them!
If you know anyone who’s self-taught in a skill, please email me at brainfoodinator@gmail.com. I’d love to speak to them! Also, if you’ve got ideas around how to grow and engage brainfoodinator a community, please let me know. Let’s co-create!
A lot of the bad eyesight epidemic that’s seen worldwide and particularly in Asian countries could be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Decided to take today off from serious project related stuff. Shared some musings on life, plus some reflections on natural vision improvement so far!
Posted the caricature drawing video on my blog! Also just ordered my first pair of transition glasses for natural vision improvement experiments. Will keep you posted!
After building a foundation, it's time to get creative with the shapes and sizes to make cartoon characters more humorous! Drawing requires problem-solving skills too - how to break big problems down into small pieces.
I'll explain more on meta-learning: how the same learning principles can be applied to learn any skill. Today is also Day 5 of the cartoon challenge. Although I didn't get to practice as much as I'd have liked, still appreciating the progress I've made! You should too :)
Day 4 of the cartoon challenge, I was too ambitious yesterday with what I wanted to practice today. But still on schedule to draw caricature live on camera this Saturday. Per listener's request, the 2nd segment of today's episode is on the Alexander Technique. For those of you interested in trying out some basic exercises at home, I'd recommend this video: https://youtu.be/-IoFyr-PSNM. Let me know how it goes!
Struggled with getting human body proportions right, but will schedule target practice tomorrow to fix it! Due to my back pain, I've researched into the Alexander Technique and spent quite some time reading and following workshops. I'll keep you posted if it works! p.s.Missed posting deadline, now the timestamp will show March 13th :S
Today's practice is mainly around cartoon accessories. Still learning all the key visual vocabulary, but hoping to start practicing caricature drawing soon. Also, I read into methods for natural vision improvement. I'll be the guinea pig, and will let you if it works!
Key learnings from day 1 of cartoon drawing challenge. Also, a surprising fact of the day!
A safe space for adult learners to find inspirations and be empowered to teach themselves new skills. Let's challenge traditional schooling together. Podcast format will be a personal audio journal, I00% unscripted and unedited. Risky, but raw and real! The stream-of-consciousness style. Thank you for joining me on the journey. For corresponding blog posts, please visit www.brainfoodinator.com