Unspeakable Pain: A Personal Journey Through Psychosomatic Illness
At the age of 22, one fine spring day at the Apple Store I worked at in college in San Diego, I began to feel a small scratch at the back of my throat. I tried for a few months to ignore it, but as it...
View ArticleBuilding a Second Brain – The TV Show
This is a proposal I wrote for a television show based on my bestselling book Building a Second Brain.If it resonates with you and you’re in a position to make a TV show happen, please let me know by...
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The Road to 300,000 Subscribers: A YouTube Retrospective
17 years ago, at the age of 22, I uploaded my first YouTube video.My high school friend Derick and I had set up a digital camcorder, faced the camera with our backs to his bedroom wall, hit record,...
View ArticleA Quest for Self-Knowledge: From Self-Help to Somatic Healing (Part I –...
When I left the religious faith of my youth in my early 20s, everything collapsed – my faith, my certainty, and the sources of meaning I had clung to since childhood. I grew up with a clear sense of...
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Reflections on Our First In-Person Second Brain Summit
On October 3-4, 2024, we hosted our very first in-person Second Brain Summit in Los Angeles, and honestly, it was a dream come true. This event felt like a “bucket list” moment in every way. I’d count...
View ArticleA Quest for Self-Knowledge: From Self-Help to Somatic Healing (Part II –...
In Part I, I recounted the first chapter in my personal growth journey, which was all about my mind and intellect and reframing the narratives that defined my life.As transformational as that period...
View ArticleA Quest for Self-Knowledge: From Self-Help to Somatic Healing (Part III –...
In Part II, I told the story of how I opened my heart. This next chapter is about going further inward and downward – into the realm of the body and gut.It all started when I was 22 and began to feel...
View ArticleA Quest for Self-Knowledge: From Self-Help to Somatic Healing (Part IV – My 7...
It has been only by writing this series of essays that I’ve come to realize that I have a set of principles I follow for my personal development. They might not be right for everyone, but they’ve...
View ArticleRediscover Your Year: A Cheat Sheet for Reflecting with the Help of Tech
At the end of each year, I sit down to reflect on my milestones and memories—big and small—that shaped the past 12 months. It’s become one of my favorite rituals to celebrate progress and set the...
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The Analog Productivity System: Journaling for Every Season of Life
I’m thrilled to share a special guest post by my wife, Lauren Valdez. Lauren approaches productivity in a way that’s refreshingly different from my digital-first philosophy. She’s deeply rooted in the...
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