• Selling off a few puts that aren’t working, looking to buy some long calls. Mostly watching this market right now. #
• iPhone Address Book and calendar synching BLOWS. #
• “Some people dream of great accomplishments, while others stay awake and do them.” – Anonymous (via @hnshah) #
• Work, yoga, work, reading, nap and now a sunset run. Have I mentioned that I love Mondays??? #
• Wrapping up a great Monday with some writing and CSS. Soundtrack for productivity. ♫ http://blip.fm/~abvzk #
• “You never will be the person you can be if pressure, tension and discipline are taken out of your life.” -James G. Bilkey #quotes #
• A leisurely Queen Anne run with @jenniellingson turned into 11 miles in 90 degree weather. Taco Tuesdays anyone? #
• “The thing that counts is not what we could do but what we actually do.” -Leo L. Spears #quotes #
• RT @ninjaclectic: certainty isn’t sexy #
• Fantastically productive and fun week comes to a close. Time for a run and then some Belltown summer antics. #
• Few things in life make me as simply content as preparing myself dinner. #
• Capitol Hill Block Party today. Fired up to finally see Edward Sharpe after all of @jhstrauss ’s fanfare. #
• Hey Marseilles: two thumbs up live. #chbp #
• Packed house at Neumo’s for Truckasaurus, despite it being about 100 degrees inside. #
• Words can’t adequately describe Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes. Excellent stuff, wish they’d had more time to play. #chbp #
• Great post from @mspeiser – “Getting Comfortable With People Who Make You Uncomfortable” http://bit.ly/92Wzt #
• Yes, I’m going to be that idiot running up Queen Anne Ave in 90 degree heat in about an hour. And I’m excited about it. #
• [Wow, 3 years for a 10% improvement!] RT @TechCrunch: The Netflix Prize Comes To A Buzzer-Beater, Nailbiting Finish http://tcrn.ch/uxK #
• AMC & Mad Men – sharing their process for marketing a show about ad guys. I think that just broke my brain: http://awe.sm/rSu #
• Off to the Arboretum Fields for kickball, beers and sun. Come join us if you’re around. #

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• Love love love love Mondays. Get. Shit. Done. #
• About this time, 9 years ago, I was working late with Excel. I was an “I-banker”. Now, my work actually means something. Goal: achieved. #
• Finally getting into Girl Talk. F’ing smooth. ♫ http://blip.fm/~9xbe8 #
• “Ability and necessity dwell near each other.” -Pythagoras #quotes #
• I wish there was an app that told me what the line looks like for tonight’s midnight showing of Harry Potter. #iphoneapps #
• The midnight premier of HP was perhaps a poor idea. It’s like high school in public. Total fail. #
• “How desperately difficult it is to be honest with oneself. It is much easier to be honest with other people.” -Edward F. Benson #quotes #
• So much for that planned nap. Mmmmm code and copy. #
• [WOW. Yes!] RT @iancr: no seriously, I love this John Forté EP: http://t.opsp.in/4w4 I’ve listened to it at least six times since yesterday #
• “From self alone, expect applause.” -Marion L. Burton #quotes #
• Lacking motivation? This song never fails: ♫ http://blip.fm/~a2fgm #
• http://twitpic.com/alq9k It’s 80 degrees, I’m hanging out at Marymoor Park and oh yeah, Counting Crows is coming to entertain us. #
• Hey @AmazonFresh – $YHOO doesn’t like your emails. WTF? You guys have been at this long enough. Great promotion though. #
• I highly recommend taking an afternoon nature walk in your neighborhood. #
• The dj at rob roy is fucking killing it tonight. #
• If you can sit down and watch an hour of tv, you should sit down and watch an hour of Radiohead instead: http://awe.sm/fzt #
• Getting ready for Death Cab at Marymoor, my childhood park. Heavy nostalgia sets in. #
• Perfect Seattle days never get old. #
• Work, Super Troopers or sleep? Decisions, decisions. #

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• I went for a 9 mile run on the 4th and it turned into 11.5 miles & a blog post on Freedom & Outperformance: http://awe.sm/Q5Z #
• Great set on KEXP.org right now. Perfect for getting through some morning work. #
• I think that the Internet might explode if a boys choir is brought out to sing at the MJ memorial. #
• I can’t help but think that some of the people at the #MJ tribute are hoping this helps their careers. Ahhh Hollywood. #
• I’ll say this for the #MJ tribute: I don’t think anyone pre-screened these speeches. Sheila Jackson-Lee’s not beating around the bush. #
• Windows 7 is so fast that I think I prefer using Outlook on my virtual machine than Entourage or Mail.app in OS X. #
• RT @apurvadesai: Does the activity on the Facebook news feed motivate you or demotivate you to do more? (http://bit.ly/19zJPw) #
• Couldn’t go to sleep last night, too much work in my brain. Couldn’t stay asleep this a.m. Off to run & priorit… ♫ http://blip.fm/~9kru8 #
• Has anyone successfully found a $30/$60/$90 Southwest fare? I’ve looked for several locations and dates with no luck. #
• RT @ASGanguly: E! Online just posted article w/ headline: Michael Jackson vs. Princess Di: The Winner is…? WTF is WRONG with you people? #
• Oh, I haven’t traveled in 2 weeks? Really? Guess it’s time to head to Sea-tac. Chicago bound. Excited to hang with the original SF crew. #
• “Oh and do you have goldschlager? Yeah we’ll take two of those.” http://twitpic.com/9ux2v #
• At a bar in Chicago I’ve randomly been to before. Hilariously amused by the fact that the dynamics haven’t changed. #
• Cognitive dissonance: when an Indian (from India) guy has a Mohawk haircut. #
• Nothing says summer baseball like a thunderstorm at Wrigley Field http://twitpic.com/9wkfz #
• It’s go time: http://twitpic.com/a1zhi #
• Fighting off the Sunday blues with a visit to the Chicago art institute. #
• Just purchased “The Fountainhead” for the 3rd time, for tonight’s flight home. Amazing wedding weekend, but this flight will be tough. #

Popularity: 4% [?]

Freedom of the mind is the most important of all freedoms.

I really believe that. It’s something I learned both viscerally and intellectually many years ago. While doing a lot of reading and thinking about myself and my mindset, I came across the story of Viktor Frankl, a holocaust survivor who wrote about his experience and developed a philosophy around it. His ability to maintain mental strength and optimism in the most dire of situations put things in perspective for me. His focus on controlling his mental state, even when the rest of his life was dictated to him, was inspirational. It clarified months of thinking and reflection and I don’t think I’ve ever been the same since.

On the 4th, I headed out on a run and got to thinking about the 4th of July and what it means to me, as an American. I thought a lot about what I want for myself and my ability to achieve those goals. I dwelled on the fact that freedom of the mind, in a country that fosters such freedom, changes how I think about life and its possibilities. Our good fortune in the United States comes from the fact that the right mindset, in conjunction with the structure of our legal and economic systems, promotes innovation, creation and constant renewal. 

However, that freedom and structure comes with a price: self-motivation. In an environment where so much is left free and unregulated, success is not guaranteed. Arguably, “success” becomes an always out of reach target because the process of definition becomes more challenging. When your peers are constantly re-defining success using their own imaginations and your vision of success morphs over time, freedom of the mind can often feel like a burden.

I think that most of us have times in our lives when we forget what it takes to make the most of our freedom. We forget that with the opportunity of a free mind and a society that supports it, we have to work to focus that mind and achieve. With all that we have around us, we forget that we have to go earn what we want out of life.

As I ran and thought about my own ideas of success, I pondered a question: With my idea of success inevitably in flux, how can I be confident that I’m utilizing my freedoms?

Our mental boundaries define us.

If freedom is typified by a lack of limitations on your actions, thoughts and outcomes, your own boundaries are the primary limitations. When your mind is the largest determinant of your happiness, your imagination an engine of possibility and your society a loosely organized support structure for the fulfillment of imaginations, YOU are the only one really holding yourself back.

When our thinking is small and narrow, so are our goals. The freedom to define ourselves and our ideas of success is also the freedom to limit ourselves with our thinking. When we set goals and seek to achieve them, it’s important to know that we’re both drawing lines of accomplishment and lines of limitation. Our true freedom is highlighted when we outperform against our own goals. When we regularly remind ourselves of the fact that we set limitations that can and should be broken, I think we embrace our freedom by recognizing the role we play in actualizing it. Through the process of regularly resetting the boundaries in our mind, we change our view of our limitations.

Which is how my target run of 9 miles became an 11.5 miler. On the 4th of July, I needed to remind myself to set goals and to outperform them when possible, because that’s part of what it means to me to be an American. 

Popularity: 7% [?]

• Rejecting my inner slacker by lacing up the sneakers and forcing myself out the door. Sometimes you just have to push it. #
• Dear Sully’s: please don’t ever change. Thanks. #
• Throw your headphones in, crank the volume higher than usual and let this caffeinate you. Good morning ♫ http://blip.fm/~9558l #
• Think that the U.S. has a healthy stance on HIV internationally? Think again: http://awe.sm/Nzm #
• “Skill and confidence are an unconquered army.” -George Herbert #quotes #
• This past week, Twitter’s turned into a digital obituaries section. Can someone build good “kill” filters already??? #
• From @davewiner: I once saw Marc Canter pass a joint to John Doerr. #
• Tonight’s 7 miles were consumed with thoughts of partnership, relationships & self-honesty; oddly inspired by a Dido song: http://awe.sm/P82 #
• Go to sleep or try to figure out how to totally screw up some code? Oh yeah, that’s an easy choice. #andIwonderwhyImsotired #
• I want a “don’t fucking bother me now” button for my computer. No toasts, no bouncing icons, no sounds. Nothing. Can someone build that? #
• ReadWriteWeb is a considered, useful version of TechCrunch. Great example: a post on Facebook privacy: http://awe.sm/PIi #
• It’s 80 degrees in Seattle today.. Not quite the LBC but Snoop had it right. “Laid back” ♫ http://blip.fm/~9br1w #
• Continuing w/ the Snoop soundtrack today: pretty sure this song was responsible for me buying Cool Water cologne ♫ http://blip.fm/~9btr7 #
• Based on my local Safeway, I’m not the only person making Red and Blue Jello shots for the 4th. #
• Finally getting into MJ nostalgia. My friend Elliot’s compilation of him just dancing, is unbelievable: http://awe.sm/P52 #
• Inspired by a friend of mine from high school, Rocky, this 4th weekend is reminiscent of 1996: roman candle wars for the win. #
• Happy 4th of July folks. Hope you’re spending it with some good friends! ♫ http://blip.fm/~9dacb #
• Busting out the hydration belt for today’s run. Aiming for 9+ miles. #
• Wimbledon final going to a 5th set. If you’re up, turn it on and watch some extraordinary tennis this morning. #

Popularity: 4% [?]

• Go to sleep or try to figure out how to totally screw up some code? Oh yeah, that’s an easy choice. #andIwonderwhyImsotired #
• I want a “don’t fucking bother me now” button for my computer. No toasts, no bouncing icons, no sounds. Nothing. Can someone build that? #
• ReadWriteWeb is a considered, useful version of TechCrunch. Great example: a post on Facebook privacy: http://awe.sm/PIi #
• @gitskt Nice to see you tweeting! in reply to gitskt #
• @marshallk Thanks for the follow. Keep up the great thinking and writing in reply to marshallk #
• It’s 80 degrees in Seattle today.. Not quite the LBC but Snoop had it right. “Laid back” ♫ http://blip.fm/~9br1w #
• @ritametermaid Hahah let me guess, it’s a little foggy out by you ? in reply to ritametermaid #
• Continuing w/ the Snoop soundtrack today: pretty sure this song was responsible for me buying Cool Water cologne ♫ http://blip.fm/~9btr7 #
• Based on my local Safeway, I’m not the only person making Red and Blue Jello shots for the 4th. #
• Finally getting into MJ nostalgia. My friend Elliot’s compilation of him just dancing, is unbelievable: http://awe.sm/P52 #
• Inspired by a friend of mine from high school, Rocky, this 4th weekend is reminiscent of 1996: roman candle wars for the win. #
• @iancr I spent four years in Claremont, you can endure a few hours in reply to iancr #

Popularity: 4% [?]