More from shanglee.com: Archive

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Pursuing dreams, one step at a time

On stopping his day job and blogging full time, this is what Shawn had to say: I want to be a dad that goes after his dreams, and set these sorts of examples to his kids. (via SSKTN.com Interview with Shawn Blanc) My dreams are still vague to me, but I have also taken a step to create more opportunities for me to dream, and be with my kid. The past year had been a busy one which got me thinking...

Dec 18th

Dec 4th

100 000 Books Fresheners →

Oct 13th

100 000 Books Fresheners →

Oct 13th

Real Artists Ship →

Oct 8th

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Start-Stop writing

I have a tendency to edit my thoughts on the fly. So whatever I write now, I will tap on backspace several times just to get it right, and then I might delete that whole paragraph altogether later. This process alone makes me want to stop writing. Even my simple workflow to start writing does not prevent me from falling into this trap of self-edits. However, I’ve come up with a new...

Sep 18th

Taito InvaderCade turns your iPad into an arcade... →

Sep 15th

Would You Trade Your Boredom for Stress? →

Sep 14th

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How I use the ever-ready Evernote

I was listening to the podcast of the ever amusing battle between Patrick and Brett on Yojimbo vs Evernote. I am only a recent Evernote convert. Before I walked over to the “green side”, I was (still am) a text nerd, using Simplenote and Taskpaper as my main information capturing tool. I figured that if I can’t distill information down to words, it is still not useful to me yet. Some thought...

Sep 13th

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What I teach when I teach Tai Chi

When I teach Tai Chi, I feel like I am just a vehicle. I am a vehicle transferring knowledge which I don’t own. I never feel that the knowledge I have is mine. It is not and never will be mine. I only hope I do justice to the knowledge I do have and that the vehicle receiving this knowledge will do likewise. Hey, it’s just Tai Chi. Why does this sound like some secret sauce that is not supposed...

Aug 28th

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How to Stay Motivated Throughout the Day

Eat a good mental breakfast. See the whole video by Brian Tracy here.

Aug 13th

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You are where you are and that’s where you start

You are where you are and that’s where you start. Be practical and take the time to assess where you are and what your current goals are. Common sense isn’t always common practice. Taking a little time can make all the difference between failure and being on the path to success, even before the planned changes have begun to take hold. I’ve been following Wujifa for a while now, and they...

Aug 6th

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We can all do with more hugs

I really enjoy that whole Jerry Maguire – Rod Tidwell style of relationship. It makes business so much more fun. Why shouldn’t we share hugs with all the people we work with… I think formality, even in business, is just stupid. I bought into that type of keep-your-distance communication style for years. That was not so coincidentally the time period when my business tanked, sinking into...

Aug 3rd

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What is real tai chi?

This post is in response to a reader’s question on whether the style of Tai Chi that he is wanting to pick up is real Tai Chi or not. My response? I don’t know. What I know is this - real Tai Ji doesn’t depend on style. It is not the style of Tai Chi that defines whether Tai Chi is real or not. It depends on the interpretation of the person practising it. I can hazard a leap...

Jul 31st

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A Tai Chi teacher got a heart attack

I am tired of people thinking that Tai Chi is the miraculous drug that will cure all physical and mental health problems. When a Tai Chi teacher got a heart attack, it sort of drove home the point – a Tai Chi teacher is still a human being. I didn’t do Tai Chi for its health benefits. I do it because it allows me to balance the paradoxes in life. I train hard at it because the line is so thin...

Jul 3rd

Six Unexpected Uses for the Application Switcher →

May 19th

A new kind of computer: Chromebook →

May 12th

How to Stop Annoying Auto Corrections on the... →

May 10th

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MacJournal discount

It’s a time sensitive thing. If you’ve been wanting to get MacJournal, the next 14 hours may be the best time. Click here. I have been using this for a long time. I am moving towards a simpler text-only solution. I’m holding out for a stabilized version of Day One, which I really like.

May 9th

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Pay my bill in under 2 minutes

I never thought this was possible. I used to just write a cheque and stick it into a prepaid envelope. Then I have to remember to post it. Even if I’ve organised myself to bring it out, I will still forget as I pass by that post box. When paying bills moved online, I thought it was going to be easier. It wasn’t. I have to remember the website to go to. I have to remember my username and password,...

May 7th

Are Women More Emotionally Intelligent Than Men? →

May 7th

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Explore. Dream. Discover.

Every month, I religiously go to Smashing Magazine to choose a desktop wallpaper that has a calendar on it. Not that I really need the calendar, but something inspirational on the desktop is always welcome. This month, I chose this quote: Twenty years from now, you will be disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones that you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away...

May 5th

Korean robot fundraiser takes to the streets in... →

May 5th

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The geek in me

To confess the geek in me, check out the carbonite iPhone 4 case of Steve Jobs. Unfortunately, Apple lawyers came down on them so fast that it’s not for sale anymore. However, you are able to buy the following cassette tape though. If you don’t know what a cassette tape is, you are really young… My favourite part is the case, which can do this. :)

May 4th

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The luxury of getting fed

I know I’m lazy. If someone feeds me, I’ll probably won’t say no. I haven’t found a robot that could feed me yet, but my other favourite food is knowledge, and the technology that feeds me knowledge exists, now. Enter the concept of RSS. You can google around to find out what is RSS, but sometimes, a picture does say it better. That might explain why I have a hard time...

Apr 13th

Dear Triangles →

Mar 29th

8 Ways To Get Smarter Every Week →

Mar 25th

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Do you really want to live a rerun?

The easy path is someone else’s path. It looks easy because it’s been done before. For the same reasons, it’s also incredibly boring. If you dislike boredom, you’ll sabotage yourself each time you try to follow that path. You’ll realize just how pointless it is to spend your precious life doing what’s already been done. Do you really want to live a rerun? Why bother? via Steve Pavlina’s...

Mar 20th

Take Away... →

Mar 8th

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Making choice simple through visibility

Building a choice architecture is a lot about building visibility. The simple premise is this – if you can’t see it, you can’t make a choice on it. So in my quest to get more things done, I had to change the way I list out the things to be done. To put everything on just one list, I use to have a few nested list within the same list. For example: Improve workflows Create a better list read...

Feb 9th

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Resistance - A talented Tai Chi master

Resistance. It is not the enemy. Resistance is just an extremely talented Tai Chi master. When you are tensed, you feed Resistance. When you are weak, you feed Resistance. When you want to find an excuse, you feed Resistance. You see, Resistance has developed this highly evolved martial art system that it uses whatever you throw at it against you. You don’t feel like working? Resistance...

Feb 6th

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“If you chase two rabbits, both will escape.”

Feb 2nd

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I found a job title

I’ve always wondered what should I put down on my business card if I ever own a company. I certainly wouldn’t want the usual “director” or “CEO”. I would like something fun like Chief Monkey Business but that doesn’t say much about what I do, well, apart from monkey business… Today, I found my title Choice Architect . I definitely didn’t coin the term. In fact, I am pretty sure I’ve...

Jan 28th

Freedom From Choice →

Jan 22nd

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How to stick to you

Today, I am going to tell you something even I don’t fully understand yet. Why? Because my teacher said I do. So, I invite you to join me in this hazardous journey, a journey into my interpretation of being connected. And I am going to explain this connectedness through a very specific activity in Tai Chi called push hands. Push hands is a very specific Tai Chi training. It involves two person...

Jan 21st

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Maria Montessori on circulating spiritual powers

Spiritual powers are a form of wealth. They must go into circulation so that others can enjoy them; they must be expressed and utilized, to complete the cycle of human relations. Even at the heights of spirituality, if pursued for their own sake, have no value, and if we aim at these alone, we shall be neglecting the greater part of life and its purposes. From Maria Montessori in The Absorbent...

Jan 18th

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Things to get to get down to writing

Writing ideas? Still flowing. Published articles? Not many. In fact, I’ve been writing so little that writing feels like a paranormal activity, or coming very close to inactivity. My logic? Too much friction to writing. So I went on a quest to reduce this friction. Here are the results. 1. Get an iPad Ok. This is really an indulgence. I didn’t get an iPad to write. But it has turned out to...

Jan 15th

Amazing Sculptures Made Using Only Matchsticks →

Jan 10th

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“We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside...”

– J.K. Rowling (Extracted from Harvard Magazine via Jonathan Fields.)

Jan 7th

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Unconscious mad actions

I drive myself mad unconsciously. I achieve this by constantly reviewing what I have to do. When I am in the “doing mode”, I tend to be in the “thinking mode” as well. This is how my mind works. It is like a baby. It doesn’t stay put in one place long enough for you to do other things. The worst thing about such baby-like behaviour is that it seems smug to be so, again just like a baby. It knows...

Dec 21st

5 Creative 2011 Calendars Design →

Dec 14th

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8 frequently asked questions about Qi

I’ve gotten numerous questions or comments about Qi (or chi or ki) that I feel compelled to write a frequently asked questions about Qi and my thoughts on it. If you already have a preconception of what Qi is, good for you. If you are going to feel offended reading other people’s interpretation of it, you can stop reading now. Otherwise, please take a step into my world of Qi. 1. What...

Dec 12th

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Finding sanity

Sanity. A word that seldom emerge from the sea of everyday conversation. People will readily tell you that they are insane - insane from working too hard, insane from the screaming kids, insane from the demanding in-laws, insane from coping with all of these - all at the same time. However, nobody will readily tell you that they are sane, apart from those who are actually insane. I don’t...

Dec 3rd

“Statistically, it shows you it is dumb today to be smart in school.”

– said Leong Sze Hian in an interview

Nov 25th

Design is Ignoring Things that Do NOT Matter →

Nov 17th

Spooonachos: Spoon Shaped Nachos →

Nov 15th

ping pong wall demo →

Nov 14th

CDBaby Exec Recalls Getting “Dissed” by Steve Jobs... →

Nov 13th

Tail for your mobile →

Nov 11th