Be Happy, Be Creative (Part 2 of 4): “Don’t worry.”
I go to bed on most nights without worrying about anything. Even if there’s a problem that I have to deal with, I just tell myself, “Today is done. Time to rest. Tomorrow is a new day to solve any…
Ian Tan
Be Happy, Be Creative (Part 1 of 4): Don’t get weighed down.
This photo was taken in March 2019, the day I divorced my Italian mistress. She was beautiful, intense, and I gave her so much love that I was being consumed inside out. Yes, my Ducati Monster 1200S motorcycle was a…
Hitchcock on happiness
“A clear horizon — nothing to worry about on your plate, only things that are creative and not destructive…” “I can’t bear quarreling, I can’t bear feelings between people — I think hatred is wasted energy, and it’s all non-productive.…
Newsletter 06: Real life is uncurated
Last Wednesday, I was at the fitness corner located outside my HDB apartment block and I saw my wheelchair-bound neighbor and her helper. I waved at her but she didn’t seem to notice me. She was frowning and looking at…
Midjourney’s “Character Reference” feature
Meet my Generative AI dog, Poolander! Just two days ago, creating these four images of my worrywart friend with a single text prompt would not have been possible. Midjourney just rolled out the new “Character Reference” feature, which allows you…
Should you pay for Gen AI?
I know many people who use Gen AI apps like the free ChatGPT 3.5 regularly but they’ve told me that they have never tried the paid ChatGPT 4. ChatGPT 4 costs USD $20 a month, which works out to about…
Newsletter 05: Gather many ideas
“The best way to find the perfect idea is to have many ideas.” This quote stuck in my head for hours after I read it in the book “The 38 Letters from J.D. Rockefeller to his son”. Let me quote…
SOTA Gen AI session
“How would we know if students are using Generative AI to do their assignments without any learning on their part?” My answer: “Start using Gen AI yourself daily so you know how to design assignments that instil true learning while…
Writing Tips
A student recently wrote to me and asked how she could write news stories that flowed better and that were more alive. This is an excerpt of my response to her: Hi XXX, Great to hear from you, and I’m…
The Catapult Concept in your career
“‘Catapult’ is one of the most overlooked concepts in career management.”“Sometimes you just have to step back (smaller role, company, compensation etc.) to amass learnings and growth so that you can move ahead with greater momentum. Look out for these…