Guide for First Time Readers

Enter Your Email Address:

 

What if I don’t want to get all of your posts? Then sign up   for my once-a-quarter email newsletter! Click   here to do so. It’s free.

How do I contact you? Feel free to email   me with any comments or questions. [email protected]

Who are you again? Here’s my bio   and background personal web site. Here’s the link to my new book My   Start-Up Life: What a (Very) Young CEO Learned on His Journey Through Silicon   Valley.

BEST OF BEN BLOG POSTS BY CATEGORY

ENTREPRENEURSHIP / BUSINESS

 
• Emotion and     Passion in CEO Decision Making – How important is it?

 

• Easier to     learn in big or small company? – Should a college grad work for a start-up     or big corp?

 

• What separates     a talker and doer? – I outline what doers do that talkers don’t.

 

• Is killer     instinct necessary in business? – And if so, how much is too much?

 

• Creating     and projecting a personal brand

 

• What makes     a good mentor

 

• How do busy     execs manage their lives – I’m fascinated by the productivity strategies     of highly effective people

 

• Risk-taking     Is Overrated – Better to mitigate risk

 

• Luck is     the most underrated factor to success – Luck is key to success

 

• Common Knowledge     + Uncommon experiences – This is the winning formula

 

• Who knows     what could happen if you raise your hand? So much of business is simply     showing up.

 

• Is business     intellectually stimulating? – If not, does overwhelming focus preclude     non-business exploration?

 

• My personal     finance infrastructure – How I manage my money

 

• Can You Imagine     If You Needed an MBA to Be in Business? – In praise of the de-credentialization     of society

 

• By Locating     Your Start-Up in Silicon Valley, Are You More Likely to Succeed? – Yes!

 

• Can Companies     Accelerate the Adoption Curve? – It’s harder than executing well.

 

• The Expected     Value of Being a Hedgehog vs. Fox – Some of us do one big thing really     well, some of us do many things well.

 

• The Myth     of One Giant Eureka Moment – We don’t need to have a groundbreaking idea     on day 1.

 

• Are you an     ambitious person who doesn’t set long term goals? – I am. 20% of amibitous     people are like me, I think.

 

• The Right     Hand Man in a $20 B Corporation – A fascinating role!

 

• Stay on the     Q& A Offensive During Presentations – Prep as much for Q&A as     for your main presentation.

 

• Marrying     Your Business But Also Keeping a Safe Distance – How do you pour your     life into your buisness without becoming depressed when it fails?

 

• All my Entrepreneurship     posts. All my Business     posts.

AMERICANISM

 
• Big City     America – Why I love San Francisco

 

• Comparing     U.S. and French culture – Reflections after my visit to France.

 

• Does the     simple nature of Americanism allow it to assimilate immigrants better?

 

• This I believe:     life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness – An inspiring Andrew Sullivan     recording of central beliefs

TRAVEL

 
• Reflections     on 3 months of international travel – A roundup of my international travel

 

• Feeling     more American AND cosmopolitan – A dual feeling after returning from my     travel.

 

• Morality     of 5 star visits to third world – Is it wrong to travel in luxury in the     third world?

 

• What I learned     in China – Lessons and reflections from 2.5 weeks in the country

 

• The psychological     beating of the third world – A reflection after day 1 in India

 

• Small Town,     USA: Limon, CO – Small town America really is different.

 

• New Orleans     Two Years Later – A somewhat depressing visit.

BOOKS

 
• Formal Book     Review: Running the World – An inside look at the U.S. national security     council

 

• Formal Book     Review: Ghost Wars – A review of the CIA’s role in Afghanistan

 

• 2005 Book     Roundup – My 2005 reading

 

• 2006 Book     Roundup – My 2006 reading

 

• Book Review     and Notes: The Blank Slate – A wonderful book

 

• Fooled by     Randomness – A book that’s become key to my worldview

 

• Book review     on globalization’s effect on culture

 

• Formal book     review: I Am Charlotte Simmons – Tom Wolfe’s novel about a brilliant girl     corrupted by Ivy League school

 

• Formal Book     review: Consider the Lobster – A review of David Foster Wallace’s wonderful     book of essays

 

• The culture     of independent bookstores – A long debate between me and several others     over the value of independent bookstores in our culture

 

• Your favorite     quotes from books – What’s your favorite quote from a book?

 

• How I Think     About Books – How I pick what books to read and how I read them

Check out Book Outlines to see   some notes friend and I have taken on business books. Check out the   full list of books I’ve read the past few years.

PERSONAL

 
• My Non-Professional     Life – A reader wonders where my "personal life" is on this     blog

 

• 18th birthday     responses – Dozens of friends tell me what they regret not doing when     they were 18

 

• On Grief– Something     I’ve never truly experienced

 

• A California     Softie Meets Boulder – Reflecting on my move to Boulder, CO

PSYCHOLOGY

 
• Making Your     Threat Credible – How to win a game of "chicken"

 

• Constructing     our preferred narrative – We tell stories to ourselves about our life     to make ourselves feel good

 

• It’s risky     to work hard – When we don’t work hard, we can blame it on our lack of     hard work as as act of self-protection.

 

• Does the     Flow distorted time criterion work in small chunks, too? – If 10 years     "pass right by" are you actually happier?

 

• Do you believe     tomorrow will be better than today? – The power of optimism

 

• Do wealthy     people consume high culture to signal? – Billionaires who wear t-shirts

 

• Those profound     words of advice… – If it’s cliche, why does it work?

 

• How do you     fall upwards? – Nurture the creative instinct by nurturing the naive mind.

 

• How do you     develop self-confidence?

 

• Is original     thinking orthogonal to cognitive speed? – Would you rather be swift/derivative     or slow/original?

 

• How does     nudeness affect human behavior? – Reduces sexual urges

 

• Excellent     introduction to biases and heuristics – It’s so important to know how     cognitive heuristics affect our decisionmaking.

TECHNOLOGY

 
• Can non-engineers     run software companies? – Maybe, but it’s hard.

 

• Results of     a Study on Media and Blogging – The role of blogging in new media

 

• When you’re     going to blog something, you want it to be positive – Can blogging improve     your life?

 

• You never     know who you’re touching – The reach of a blog.

 

• All posts under Web/Tech     category.

EDUCATION

 
• I’ll be     attending Claremont McKenna College – Why I chose CMC. (Here are all my     College Proccess posts.)

 

• Valedictorian     Madness – What kinds of people are destined for preeminence? Maybe not     valedictorians.

 

• Does Giving     to Elite Higher Education Count as Charity? – Giving to elite colleges     helps the privileged

 

• American     charity and education – Does giving to expensive U.S. schools count as     charity?

 

• Innate Smarts     Have Never Mattered Less – Find out why.

 

• How do you     process information best? – Listening, reading, interacting with others?     There are many kinds.

 

• The emergence     of kids as kings – Why do kids run parents’ lives?

 

• Five Things     Wrong With Universities Today – A laundry list.

 

• Our Education     System: A Big Waste of Time and Money? (and another post: Weighing     the Costs and Benefits)

GLOBALIZATION

 
• Globalization’s     Impact on Culture– It’s positive

 

• Life’s Interesting     at the Intersections – The intersection of ideas and cultures

 

• The emergence     of boutique cities – San Francisco, Boston, New York are all beacons of….wealth,     not economic mobility.

 

• What does     it mean for something to be culturally "authentic"?

 

• All posts under category Globalization

PHILOSOPHY

 
• What Does     Society Overcomplicate? – Just because something is hard doesn’t mean     it’s complicated.

 

• A philosophy     of life driven by death

 

• The stability/stimulation     tradeoff – The most stimulating jobs are also the least stable

 

• Our Fundamental     Need for Identity – Do some people outsource identity to religion?

 

• The Examined     Life – Cultivating Self-Reflection – the examined life, cultivating self-reflection

 

• The myth     of moment driven lives – We overvalue "moments" — key events     in our life happen over a continuum

 

• People are     basically good – Are people out to help you or out to get you?

 

• Our obsession     with consistency and hypocrisy – What’s wrong with changing your mind?

 

• Getting the     lowest A possible – Settle for "good enough"

 

• The joys     of wondering through life without a map – Going where opportunity tugs

 

• When can     you generalize from a specific experience? – This is a BIG question.

 

• An iterative     approach to living – Applying the "Agile Software Development"     approach to life

 

• What Makes     Up Your Identity? – Race, location, education?

 

• Would you     rather be rich or influential? – I’m not sure.

 

• Slinkily     Dressed Women = Empowerment? – Why do strippers think their profession     is empowering?

 

• My Basic     Beliefs When It Comes to Religion – Principles.

RANDOM

 
• Thinking     about things in context of describing it to others – When I know I’m going     to blog something, it changes the way I actually live the event

 

• Narcissism     and Successful People – A character trait of many successful people

 

• Our     Obsession Over Memories – When does the process of creating memories overtake     the importance of the memory itself?

 

• If You Work     Hard, Do You Deserve a Reward? – Hard work doesn’t equal a reward

 

• No Better     Way to Master an Idea Than to Write About It – Clear writing reflects     clear thinking

 

• Are Motherhood     and Feminism Mutually Exclusive? – If you don’t work to raise kids, are     you helping the feminist cause?

 

• True Kinship     Doesn’t Happen During the Manicured Moments of Social Bonding –      It happens when you least expect it

 

• Making and     keeping commitments for yourself – Don’t let yourself down!

 

• Are you     smartest guy in the room? – Probably not, so how do you add value?

 

• Who Are You     instead of What Do You Do? – I hate "What do you do?"

 

• Rap music     gold’s soundtrack from black people – Rap music is a destructive influence     in black culture

 

• How to build     resilience – A transferable quotient. If you’re resilient on the treadmill,     it can transfer to the board room.

 

• Capturing     the fringe thoughts of your life – Essential for new ideas

 

• In Praise     of No Names – Sometimes the best mentors/teachers are folks you’ve never     heard of.

 

• When a private     conversation turns public – Does its content change?

 

• The joy     of conversation – Great conversations are magical

 

• Original     Insults from Lee Siegel – Some of the best insults I’ve heard

 

• The Days     of a Corporate Secretary Are Over– "Personal assistants" are     better

 

• The All-Time     Best "Signs of the Apocalypse" – From Sports Illustrated

 

• Earthquake     Zone vs. Hurricane Zone – In which would you rather live?

 

• All posts under category     "Random"

HAPPINESS

• Happiness is about the little things
• Happiness: In our genes or head?
• Pursuing Happiness – Does thinking about it make you less happy?
• Happiness and the Role of Introspection
• Luck, Money, and Happiness – Put me in Bangladesh and you’ll see how real my "talents" are
• The effect of our obsession with the lifestyle of the megawealthy

RELATIONSHIPS

 
• Do you have     deal breakers in relationships?

  – I do. Drug users.  

• Hyberambitious     workaholics w/ sensual side – How can you develop the sensual side to     you?

 

• Mutual investment     in relationships – Do both parties in a relationship need to invest the     same amount of energy?

 

• Girl on     girl hookups – A new, performative lesbianism in teenage circles

 

• Seeing your     parents as pals – Being friends with your parents

 

• How do you     interact with people more successful than you?

 

• The insane     world of greetings — hugging, etc

 

• Is love the     killer app? – Do nice guys in business win?

 

• Can a best     friend be a composite? – Can a best friend be pieces of several different     people?

QUOTES

 
• On daring     to meet your heart’s longing

 

• On the beauty     of pursuit of happiness

 

• On     optimism

 

• On a democratic     man

 

• On people     in our lives

 

• On the human     heart and on writing

 

• On a renaissance     men

 

• On why     some ideas become spells

 

• On TV

 

• On intellecutal     heroism