Book review – The New Elite: Inside the Minds of the Truly Wealthy

09.07.10 Posted in Entrepreneurship, Finances, Inspiration, Posts, Reviews by Ryan W.

I find wealth very interesting, and I’m particularly interested in the culture and lifestyles of the wealthy. Not necessarily the lifestyles of the “rich and famous”, but more the lifestyles of the truly wealthy, who often fly below the radar to a certain degree. At any rate, I found The New Elite last year but [...]


It’s OK.

09.06.10 Posted in Goals, Inspiration, Misc, Personal, Posts by Ryan W.

“I have failed in certain working relationships. I have failed to live up to an intellectual standard I once set for myself. Thus far, I feel as if I have failed to achieve the level of spiritual maturity I believe right for a man of my age. But I will not permit these failures to [...]


On death

08.30.10 Posted in Faith, Inspiration, Misc, Posts by Ryan W.

There was recently this really good article on Hacker News about the regrets of the dying. The author had the privilege of working in palliative care for years, working closely with patients during the last weeks or months of their lives. The five regrets he talks about are really interesting, but it’s the first two [...]


Dream with your hands

08.27.10 Posted in Entrepreneurship, Future, Goals, Inspiration, Personal, Posts by Ryan W.

I wrote a post yesterday about how I would invest $1m into multifamily real estate. The post got a big reaction from Hacker News, and it’s been fascinating to see the way people think. A lot of the comments raised really good points, but what I saw most of all from those who disagreed was [...]


Why free online education won’t replace traditional college anytime soon

08.23.10 Posted in Education, Future, Inspiration, Posts, Technology by Ryan W.

Bill Gates recently said the best college education could soon be available online and for free. And it does seem like we’re getting close to that ideal, doesn’t it? More and more brand-name schools are offering classes online. At the same time, you have this trend of schools putting a lot of their lectures, class [...]


They let me fly an airplane? Seriously?

08.20.10 Posted in Aviation, Inspiration, Personal, Posts by Ryan W.

Yesterday, I decided to take a quick break from work and go flying. I haven’t been up flying solo since my initial student solo last month, because my club requires a solo phase check with a different instructor before you can solo again. I passed my phase check recently, so I was itching to get [...]


You can’t do any good when you’re dead

08.19.10 Posted in Entrepreneurship, Goals, Inspiration, Posts by Ryan W.

Though the title of this post is true for individuals, its applicability to companies is what I’m going to focus on today. Yesterday brought the news that American Apparel is in dire financial straights and may have to declare bankruptcy. This news caught me off-guard, though I don’t follow the company closely. However, I was [...]


Why I’m Learning to Love Regret

08.13.10 Posted in Goals, Inspiration, Misc, Personal, Posts by Ryan W.

I used to think that I wanted to live without any regrets. The idea of living a life so satisfying and vibrant that you never look back has an undeniable allure. But over time, my thinking has changed and I’ve come to embrace regret as a healthy part of a mature outlook on life. Regrets [...]


Make no little plans

08.04.10 Posted in Goals, Inspiration, Posts by Ryan W.

This week has been one of those where I’ve been inspired to really stretch my goals and push myself harder to accomplish things that may seem impossible. I just wanted to share a quote that helps me when I’m trying to choose between a course that seems impossible, and one that seems reasonable. “Make no [...]


More on Habits

07.29.10 Posted in Development, Goals, Inspiration, Personal, Posts by Ryan W.

My wife and I had a good discussion this evening about habits, after she read my post from yesterday. I realized that my habits are both effective and important because most of the things on my list of daily habits fall into the category of being important (in the long run), but not terribly urgent. [...]