Curiosity Chronicle

I have a weird confession: I enjoy listening to audiobooks about running, while running. It all started a few years ago with ​ Born to Run ​ , the incredible story of a journalist who ventures deep into Mexico’s Sierra Madre mountains to train and learn from the Tarahumara, an indigenous group known for their prolific ultra-long-distance running capabilities. So last week, embracing my odd habit,...

A few days ago, I came across a ​fascinating tweet​ about Dodgers baseball star Shohei Ohtani. Long before Ohtani was winning back-to-back World Series Championships and Most Valuable Player awards, he was just another kid with a dream. As a high school freshman, he dreamed of being the #1 draft pick for eight teams in the Nippon Professional Baseball league in Japan. It was an ambitious vision, t...

You're faced with a career choice: Option A: Stay in your current role Option B: Switch to a new company, team, role, etc. How do you evaluate and make the best decision possible? Here’s my framework for making career decisions... ••• My debut book was just nominated for the Goodreads Choice Awards in the Nonfiction category! If you enjoyed it, please vote for The 5 Types of Wealth and help me mov...

Andy Weir is one of the most successful science fiction authors of our time. His list of mega-bestsellers includes The Martian (later adapted into an award-winning drama starring Matt Damon), Artemis , and Project Hail Mary (soon to be released as a film starring Ryan Gosling). He has achieved a top-0.01% outcome. A true outlier. But Andy Weir’s success in the field was anything but expected. 15 y...

I recently came across an ​old video​ of a professor sharing a powerful lesson with his classroom of students. He holds up a glass of water and asks the students how heavy it is. The students answer with a variety of figures: 8 ounces. 12 ounces. 16 ounces. The professor shakes his head... ••• Mel Robbins called my first book "a powerful wake-up call that will push you to rethink everything about...

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to speak at Google Zeitgeist, an extraordinary annual event hosted by Google for their top customers and partners. Just before I took the stage—in a beautiful room the team had custom built at the venue—I caught myself reflecting on how unlikely this moment would have seemed just a few years ago. You see, I spent most of my life as an extremely nervous public...

Last week, I had the chance to sit down with University of Missouri head football coach Eliah Drinkwitz on a visit to their incredible facilities in Columbia, Missouri. Coach Drinkwitz has led the program since 2020, making him one of the longest tenured coaches in the top conference in college football. He inherited a team that went 6-6 the year before his arrival and has turned the program into...

There was once a village surrounded by a tall wooden fence that had been there as long as anyone could remember. One day, a traveler convinced the villagers to tear it down—only for wolves to enter that night and ravage their livestock. As it turned out, the fence was there for a reason... ••• Andrew Huberman called my first book "An important clarifying force in anyone’s search to make the best p...

In this piece, I walk through 20 common logical fallacies—errors in reasoning that destroy the quality of an argument. If you spot any of these in a debate, online or in person, that may be your cue to politely find the exit. Think of this as your field guide to avoiding arguments with fools... •••  Apple CEO Tim Cook called my first book "a powerful call to action to think deeply about what light...

There is a concept in cognitive science called the Illusory Truth Effect : It's the tendency to believe false information after consistent, repeated exposures. In other words, if you're told something over and over again, it takes root in your mind as a truth. This is how suggestions slowly, silently start to feel like rules... ••• Mel Robbins called my first book "a powerful wake-up call that wil...

You're going to see your parents 15 more times before they die. In 2021, that simple statement, which later became the opening line of my book, changed my life. My wife and I were living in California at the time, 3,000 miles away from our parents. I had been there for 12 years––a college baseball scholarship had brought me out West, and then a lucrative job opportunity had kept me there. In a lot...

Imagine yourself as a lion. Every single day, you have a choice. You can: Chase field mice; or Hunt antelope The choice is an important one because the way you choose to deploy your precious, finite time and attention will determine your outcomes... ••• The 5 Types of Wealth Life Planner ​ is out in two weeks. The interactive companion to my New York Times bestselling book guides the reader throug...

There’s an old Danish fairy tale about an emperor who loved fine clothes. Two swindlers promised him a suit so magnificent that it would be invisible to anyone unfit for their position or hopelessly foolish. They dress him in the invisible garments, and the emperor steps out into the city streets for a grand parade—completely naked.  The townspeople, afraid to appear unfit or foolish, cheer for th...

I spent most of my life trying to control the uncontrollable. Running from the uncertainty that life inevitably brings. But in running from the uncontrollable, the only thing we truly escape is our own peace. This is the quiet truth of Amor Fati: Embrace what lies beyond your control—and act on that which is within it... ••• Andrew Huberman called my first book "An important clarifying force in an...

In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey , Odysseus and his men faced a long, arduous journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. Early in the voyage, a series of fierce storms blow them off course and land them on a mysterious, sunlit island. It seemed peaceful, with gentle winds, calm seas, and fertile land. The inhabitants were friendly and welcoming. They offered Odysseus and his men food, specifical...

I stumbled across a ​great post​ recently: When fisherman cannot go to sea, they repair nets. When the sea is too rough to sail, the smart ones don’t wait—they get to work. They mend their nets, sharpen their tools, and prepare for the moment the storm breaks. Because even in stillness, there’s progress. It reminded me of a story from the American Revolution in Ron Chernow’s Pulitzer Prize-winning...

Last week, I had a beautiful conversation with a young mother who reached out wanting to talk to me about her son. The young boy, just four years old, has shown signs of being neurodivergent. His mother courageously expressed to me her fear that he might not be able to thrive in the way that all parents hope for. As a father to a young boy of similar age, the conversation hit me hard. And while I...

I've often mused that there are (broadly) two ways to improve your life: Add a Positive: A good habit, behavior, person, etc. Remove a Negative: A bad habit, behavior, person, etc. An important observation: Most of us automatically default to the former and ignore the latter. We're conditioned to believe that progress means doing more. New habits. New routines. New mindsets. New people. New goals....

Here’s something I find myself thinking about a lot lately: Your life is not a singular, static experience. Your life has seasons. These seasons create a natural flow to your journey. They aren’t always obvious in the moment, but often become clear with the benefit of hindsight. Each one is unique, characterized by its own desires, priorities, purpose, and identity... ••• Mel Robbins called my fir...

Here’s an underrated life hack: Be boring in the right ways. Why is being boring so powerful? Well, simply because so few people are willing to do it... ••• Andrew Huberman called my first book "An important clarifying force in anyone’s search to make the best possible choices for their life."  Join 300,000+ other readers and get it now on a big sale! Order The 5 Types of Wealth Today!

The Dartmouth Scar Experiment is an interesting case study on the impact of the so-called Victim Mentality on our lives. In today’s piece, I’d like to talk about Victim Mentality—and share three simple strategies to eliminate it forever. ••• Mel Robbins called my first book "a powerful wake-up call that will push you to rethink everything about how you’re spending your time."  Join 300,000+ other...

I recently read a quote from legendary musician Miles Davis that stopped me in my tracks… “It’s not the note you play that’s the wrong note—it’s the note you play afterwards that makes it right or wrong.” This isn’t just about music. This is about life... ••• Andrew Huberman called my first book "An important clarifying force in anyone’s search to make the best possible choices for their life."  J...

Money is a funny thing. It consumes an enormous amount of our energy and attention in adulthood, but very few of us learn anything about it in childhood or adolescence. If we're lucky, our parents teach us a few of the basics (and maybe we get a boring course or two on it in school). But we're pretty much left on our own when it comes to one of the most influential elements in our lives. I'm 34 ye...

I don't read poetry often, but there are a few poems I come back to regularly because of their impact on my life. This beautiful piece by ​William Martin is on that list... ••• Mel Robbins called my first book "a powerful wake-up call that will push you to rethink everything about how you’re spending your time." Join 300,000+ other readers and get it today on a big sale! Order The 5 Types of Wealt...

The Ancient Greeks had two different words for time: Chronos was the idea of chronological, linear, quantitative time. That all time is equal. Kairos was a bit different. That there are certain moments or windows that have more meaning. More texture. More importance. More weight. We’ve all experienced Kairos time. There are certain moments in life that feel etched into our memory. The pivotal turn...