Comments on: All the Things You Don’t Need

By: Christopher

Christopher — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 06:56:05 +0000

This is so liberating… its like a weight lifted from off your shoulders… thanks chris!

By: Trackback from Austin Lee

Trackback from Austin Lee — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 07:22:52 +0000

[...] been trying to find out how to make better and faster decisions. Fortunately, I came across this article by Chris [...]

By: Tonya

Tonya — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 01:37:07 +0000

Along the lines of skipping the GRE, my father was a U.S.citizen and an M.D., who graduated from a foreign medical school, did the Fifth Pathway program and practiced medicine in the U.S. Nothing unusual about that, but he never graduated from university. He had no undergrad degree, but he didn’t let that stop him. He’s still my hero. One of my favorite of his expressions was “Where’s the back door?”, meaning for me to look for a way around whatever excuses I was trying to give him. Thanks for the further inspiration, Chris!

By: Rose

Rose — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:00:53 +0000

Your words have quite literally been a lifesaver. Thank you.

By: Sandra Dupont MFT

Sandra Dupont MFT — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:24:13 +0000

Each of us has our own unique expression. My job as a Teen Therapist to support the clients I see in finding theirs. Too often, parents, peers and society want to inform teens about how they should behave and what they should do with their lives. Obviously, there are safety issues that need to be considered. Obviously, there are guidelines that can help teens to live cooperatively within their families and society. But not all teens are meant to go to college, and not all teens will thrive in traditional school settings. Not all teens are meant to be doctors or lawyers.

Too often, parents have a fantasy of who they want their child to be when they grow up. Clashes arise when the child begins to assert their independence and veer away from their parent’s. In this fast changing world, jobs that today’s youth may be holding may not as yet exist. Thus, isn’t their educational process better served by teaching them how to think, as opposed to how to be? If teens are not forced into some mold of their parent’s or society’s design, then I believe their natural inclinations towards exploration and resourcefulness will be maintained.

The world actually needs more non-comformists like Chris!

By: hilory

hilory — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:07:19 +0000

As expected, another insightful, timely and honest post, Chris. I agree with almost everything that you have said…the one exception is that I do think a good mentor (admittedly an endangered species, despite the hype/hysteria of the ’self-proclaimed’ gurus) can truly provide value. Is it essential? No, but it is helping me to avoid needless expenditures of the latest ‘it’ product, avoid information overload – a significant concern when beginning an online business, and save time by avoiding ‘newbie’ mistakes. Success will still require vision, focus, hard work, persistence and patience, but I wouldn’t totally rule out the concept of mentors.

Thank you again for an excellent post.

By: emily-sarah

emily-sarah — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 02:16:26 +0000

Awesome x infinity. It would seem we are hardwired to strive to make things more complicated than they are — or have a bad of excuses ready to use as needed. Thanks so much for this!

By: Bob

Bob — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 16:13:56 +0000

Best article I’ve read this week. Thanks for the inspiration.

By: Andrew Lightheart @alightheart

Andrew Lightheart @alightheart — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 14:28:56 +0000

Just when I was starting to believe my story about getting a degree/MSc/becoming Dr Lightheart – you remind me that it’s about deciding and doing.

Phew- glad we got that straight.

Though being Dr Lightheart would be cool…

By: Bea (Baya)

Bea (Baya) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:54:08 +0000

Great article! I also think you don’t need to do it all at once. Perfection is part of the journey not just the end result. If you understand that you have a better chance at being a winner. Thanks for your thought provoking acuteness.