Instead of a blog post this week, here are a few interesting items worth reading: James Altaur’s Quora post discussing the psychological techniques used by Eminem to win a rap battle in the movie “8 Mile.” Shea Sorrano’s post on Grantland discussing the greatest rap song guest verses of all time. Nate Silver creating an… Read More
Self Development
Bill Simmons and the Journey to Success
On his latest edition of the B.S. Report, ESPN writer and Grantland founder Bill Simmons was celebrating the 20th anniversary of ESPN.com, and for that occasion, he opened up about his journey to where he is today. He described his path from college graduate working at newspaper to ESPN mega-personality today. Simmons says he almost quit… Read More
NCAA Final Four: The Importance of Coaching
The NCAA Final Four is set. Although there were a lot of surprises early on, the remaining programs are the usual stalwarts. It isn’t a shock to see three top seeds and a 7th seed which should have ranked a lot higher. Three of these programs, Kentucky, Duke, and Michigan State, are all “blue blood”… Read More
UC Irvine vs. Louisville
Heading into the first NCAA tournament appearance in school history, what chance does UCI have of upsetting traditional powerhouse Louisville? Let’s break down the numbers. First, we can take a look at Ken Pomeroy, arguable the foremost college basketball analytics guru, and his website. Using fundamental offensive and defensive ratings, put into an overall rating… Read More
UC Irvine Makes the NCAA Tournament
The UC Irvine Anteaters will be going dancin’ after making the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. Students stormed the court after the victory at nearby Honda Center in Anaheim. After winning the regular season title and losing in the conference tournament last year, this is a sweet bounce back for Russell… Read More
A Venn Diagram of Success
Success is measured in many different ways, as it means different things to different people. But this doesn’t mean that having one form means having the other. To capture a few forms, I made this Venn diagram below. There are three: money, power, and influence. Let’s take a look at the first circle: money. A… Read More
Week 9: Nine Weeks
There’s a lot I could say about these past nine weeks. On one hand, life is always about the people. I met some great people, individuals that are really motivated but also want to have fun. Being around this well-rounded group really made the experience. It was hard to say goodbye; it felt abrupt, like… Read More
Week 8: The Day That Isn’t Coming
I thought there would be a day that solved all my problems. “Just wait until I start XYZ and everything will fall into place,” I said. Because of that, I would not be motivated in the present because this supposed future event would be the magic bullet. That day isn’t coming. No external event is… Read More
Week 7: A Reflection
It’s been a great five weeks in Mumbai, and it’s bittersweet to have left. I’ve connected with the city and leave content with all that I’ve experienced. In experiencing the culture, I really put myself out there in ways I haven’t before. There was uncertainty in travelling by myself, but that really forced me to… Read More
Week 6: Growth and Pain
You aren’t where you want to be. You see others living their dreams, getting exactly what they want and finding happiness. So what does it take to get to that point? It takes becoming that person, growing into who you want to be. That sounds simple, but it is not easy. Growth doesn’t come from… Read More