When I was a young scholar, my life changed when I read this quote: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” I thought that Aristotle said this. For years, I ended my newsletters with this marvellous line, attributing it to the Ancient Greek philosopher and scientist. For [...]
Writing a newsletter can be very rewarding, stressful, introspective, lucrative, and ineffective. My weekly newsletter habit has been inconstant over the past ten years, and has gone through a lot of incarnations. This is what I've learned so far: The regularity of writing every week keeps your writing polished. It is only through regular exercise [...]
Reading the Letter From Birmingham Jail was the beginning of my philosophical studies. Written by Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1963, this letter was the first rational and ethical defense I had read of the imprisoned man. I was eighteen years old, in plenty of trouble with the law, and in between punishments for crimes that I did [...]
Yes, it’s tropical paradise. And it’s annoying. A few years ago, I sold everything and moved to Costa Rica with my family. All in all, it’s the best decision I ever made. As much as I like the weather here, I’m over it. Sometimes I see jaded American expats who have been here for fifteen [...]