Azat's personal weblog
Phu Quoc is a beautiful island in Vietnam, known for its stunning beaches, clear waters, and vibrant culture. I had the opportunity to visit Phu Quoc in 2024 and 2025, and it was a pleasant experience. The island is near Cambodia and Thailand, so in November and December, the weather is better here. I really liked the convenience of the resort where I stayed. It has a large area, villas with…
No one checks tickets on trains and people leave laptops and phones on the tables in the cafes if they want to take a stroll. At the same time, there are a lot of prohibition signs and rules on the streets and in the buildings. Airport is very efficient and even has a storage for food items that are prohibited to bring into the country so that people can pick them up on their return. Lockers are…
Here are my key impression from 2024 trip to Dubai where we got flooded by unexpected and unprecedented precipitation: The Dubai city is roughly two cities: downtown to the north and Jumeirah to the south, with a highway connecting them. The food options consist of a lot of American chains and brands. Also, Turkish restaurants and ice cream stands are popular. There are some Russian and Georgian…
It’s been ten years since my paleo superpowers post. And while paleo is good, carnivore is even better. It’s like having double the amount of superpowers, including but not limited to the following: More mental power, clarity and better problem solving because ketones are better fuel for the brain. More time to play and live while less sleep is needed because the body doesn’t have to process all…
Here are my key impressions from a recent trip to Colombia, to the cities of Bogota and Medellin. Nicer parts of cites like Park 93, Verrey or El Poblado are very walkable and very European and less “American” (i.e., big roads, must have cars, not walkable). In Colombia, the food is more European with less salsas and spices than Mexican food. Bogota was fresh and cool in summer, but again it…
It’s good to be a big fish in a small pond. It gives more visibility, uniqueness and influence that bring more opportunities. Also, it’s easier to migrate to a larger pond when you grow to a big fish in a small pond. So first, we all should focus on becoming a big fish in our current (probably small) pond. Stories of success of growing to a big fish in a large pond are mostly survivor bias type…
Civilization II Transport Tycoon Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Fallout and Fallout 2 Dragon Age: Origins Mass Effect 2 XCOM: Enemy Unknown Jagged Alliance Europa Universalis Command&Conquer Hitman: Codename 47 Heroes of Might and Magic III Tropico: Paradise Island Max Payne GoldenLand 2 (Златогорье 2)
This is the summary of my 2 years doing the master’s program. I received my paper diploma last week. I was awarded Master of Science with honors (only 10% of students get this high recognition). A few weeks ago, we had a virtual graduation ceremony . I hope to visit the campus next year to reunite in person with my classmates. While waiting for the diploma, I had a privilege to host a webinar with…
The team project for my master’s degree in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from HEC Paris took about a year. First, we were a team of four people. Then one person dropped out of the program and we were left just three of us: two guys from Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area and one guy from France. Anyone could have pitched their own idea to the whole cohort so that the most popular…
Today, I just finished the last (20th) course for the MSIE program. The course was on Venture Capital and Private Equity and it concludes the academic part of the masters program. I wrote academic because the courses weren’t just theoretical. We did have a lot of practice preparing our assignments and working on business cases. Now, the only thing left is to finish the team project that my team of…
Many of you know Maslow’s pyramid of needs. Actually, Maslow never came up with a pyramid. He had a ladder. Other people took his ladder and created a pyramid that is now used in management books. The gist is that the pyramid consists of five needs (from bottom to top): physiological (bottom), safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization (top). The pyramid says a person needs to…
Rich people can and do risk more than ordinary people. And they do so intentionally. This puts them at a disadvantage. Ironically, these risks and dangers are rarely experienced by middle class or poor people, because these risky activities require expensive equipment, machines or gear. For example, the following activities present increased dangers: Driving sports/fast cars Riding motorcycles…
I’m 3/4 into the Master of Science in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MSIE) degree program at HEC Paris, and it is time to write a reflection on my experience. I’ll think about whether it was worth the time and effort, and of course if I’m getting what I expected. It’s worth mentioning that a lot of universities and colleges moved to virtual classes. We, at MSIE, had a 100% virtual/online program…
Time flies. I’m already about two-thirds into the MSc Innovation and Entrepreneurship program at HEC Paris. The previous post I wrote was My HEC Paris Journey, Part IV: Organize and Incentivize . From the time I published it, I’ve taken these seven courses: Design Thinking , Social Entrepreneurship & Changemaking , Scaling Up Operations , Marketing through Social Media , Team Working , How to…
In our day and age, learning is more important than ever because things change so rapidly. I learned and taught a lot of things during my career which led me to discover that the best and the most effective learning method is to use MMAT: Motivation, Methodology, Action and Time. Motivation is number one. It’s the answer to a “why?” question. Without it, we won’t do anything else. People who…
In English, to wish someone a nice and tasty meal is said with “enjoy your meal”. I never liked this phrase because it sounds like a command—enjoy! And if you don’t obey my command then there will be repercussions. Of course, it’s silly to think of this phrase this way but still the “enjoy your meal” phrase sounds too harsh and not elegant. Maybe people try to remind each other that they should…
We’re halfway done with the phase one of the Master of Science in Innovation and Entrepreneurship program at HEC Paris. This post will summarize two new courses that I’ve taken and passed: New Product Development and Organizational Design and Management . The common theme of these two courses is organizing teams and incentivizing them, hence the name of the post. New Product Development The New…
It’s time to write a new blog post about my experience in the HEC Paris Master of Science program. I’ve taken two new courses: Business strategy and Strategic Management of Innovation. They were somewhat related which was good for building a broad knowledge, because several concepts and topics were used and discussed from different angles in both courses. When I was a schoolboy, I liked strategy…
It’s already been two months since I was accepted into and joined the MSIE program at HEC Paris (Master of Science in Innovation and Entrepreneurship) . Right away, there were two courses that I needed to pass within a month of July 2019. Luckily, there was a summer break in August. So the deadlines for the final exams were extended one month (into the second month of the program). The first two…
Two months ago, I applied and was accepted to a master’s program at a prestigious business school (ranked #2), HEC Paris. The degree is titled Master of Science in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MSIE). It has 10 normal courses, 10 practical project-based courses and one large team project. The master’s program lasts about one year and a half. Thus the program ends in 2020. However the graduation…
I truly believe that human brains didn’t evolve to process complex data. Human conscious mind can only hold three, maybe five, seven max for some geniuses, items at a time. Because of that, I have a very optimistic belief when I’m faced with something complex and overwhelming: nothing complex is possible to build or comprehend. It’s optimistic because I know that everything can be broken down into…
Working is important. It not only provides material means, social status and pride in a job well done, but also meaning and motivation which in turn extend a person’s life. According to some studies , people who retire and don’t find another activity, die fast. Or that tech millionaires are unhappy once they are let go or fired, or that lottery winners miss working. However, resting is important…
This year I had a lot of changes. And I’ll have more until the end of the year! It started with a small one. I upgraded my laptop. The tool which I use 8-10 hours every day. Then I changed the place of living… and did other really big life changes. Small things lead to big changes. It’s a snowball. I remember something about cognitive dissonance. Probably that’s it. If you are decisive and not…
A lot of people think they lack motivation. They feel lazy. They listen to Gary Vaynerchuk or Tony Robinns. It might help for a while but why not solve the problem at the root cause? What these people really lack is a big enough “why”. They become complacent because most of their needs are met. Simply take on more and larger responsibilities and you’ll be motivated. Get new bigger problems to…
The title of this post is really a misnomer because a stress-free life is nothing good. Stress helps us grow and it’s usually a good thing when there’s enough time to recover, recuperate and heal. Think going to a gym. You exercise, which is a form of stress, but after a recovery period you become stronger. Humans evolutionarily evolved to thrive under this type of acute stress followed by…
Needless to say that cafes, open offices , commute and slow internet all impede productivity. To increase efficiency, distraction-free flow and productivity, I stayed home for a few days over the weekend to work on a project. I finished the project and made some money all digitally and remotely via the Internet and phone. I ordered food (groceries) using food delivery services. I worked out in a…
My main jobs are software engineering and writing. They are crafts and as with many crafts they are harder to delegate. Think mass produced car vs. designing a car and the factory to mass produce it. Software and books are scalable because they can be replicated infinitely without any loss, but the actual act of writing them is a creative hard-to-scale process. Over the years of writing software…
As I was reviewing transcripts for one of my Node University courses, I was surprised to see so many “so”, “um”, and “ah” filler words. It was a very painful experience to realize that your speech is far from perfect. Of course, with training most people can improve their speech: avoid filler words, accents and improve intonation. This is what professional voice actors, news anchors and movie…
I’m almost done listening to an audiobook A Man for All Markets read by its author and I’m fascinated by two things. First, the parallels between risk, casino, gambling and the stock market. Second, the fact that the author was innovating and constantly moving forward into areas which are still not saturated and still unproven away from techniques and areas which became more competitive and…
Being busy has became a badge of honor. For me, it’s just plain stupid. I do a lot of things but I’m not busy. In fact, one of the questions people ask me a lot is “How do you find time?” First of all, you cannot find it. It’s not a pair of sun glasses which you left at a beach. You can’t find time or lose it… but you can spend it on stupid things or lasting valuable good things. Let me give some…
Before I wrote that success is boring . It still sounds true to me now, but I noticed a simple yet powerful formula for success. It works in almost all cases as far as I know based on dozens of biographies and autobiographies I’ve read and heard. Success is talent plus hard work plus luck. Talent is about upbringing and genes. It’s related to luck but the luck formula component itself is more…
Most people use social media wrong. They scroll through what seems to be a never ending timeline…down, down, down. They come back in half an hour and scroll again to see something new. Down, down, down… and when they see the posts they’ve already seen earlier in the day, they switch to another app: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google +, Vine, Snapchat, WeChat, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger or…
Create an online course to learn something yourself, to promote one of your other products, to help others and to make millions . Here are the five simple steps. First, pick a topic . To create an online course, you are NOT required to have expertise in a topic. Although having it will speed up the process from a few weeks, or even months, to a few days, or even hours. Seriously. It took me 0 time…
I’ve been doing software engineering for over 15 years now, and I always had to sit in an open office space. Sometimes like at FDIC or NIH, I had a short wall to form a noise barrier- sort of a cubicle. The walls are only shoulder length so they are still a galaxy away from being soundproof. Especially when the desk is in the hallway like how mine was at FDIC, or near a chatty NIH colleague who…
Last week, I finished reading Scott Adam’s How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life . Scott is the creator of the Dilbert cartoon series. He is also a hypnotist and a master of the mindset. I highly recommend his book. Here are the three nuggets: Goals are for losers. Use routines instead. Routines will make you have progress without constantly focusing on…
When people hear that I published 14 books and several online courses while speaking at 17 conferences in 2016 and working full time at Capital One on hands-on projects, they ask one question: “How do you find time?”. Simple answer is I don’t. I never lost time to find it. Every day each of us gets 24 hour. Not more and not less. Generally it’s not a lack of time but a lack of energy. Have you…
Flow is a blissful state of activity in which time is distorted and reality is ignored. Programming, writing, painting are all examples of a flow. Distractions kill flow. Emails, IMs, noise are examples of such flow killers. Each distraction not only robs you of your amazing flow time, but it also taxes the mental capacity to get back into the flow. So a 5-minute detour typically costs 15-20…
I was at a conference and some guy told me after a quick chat “I’ll give you my feedback on Node University”. No, I don’t need your feedback. I don’t even know if you are my target audience. 👊 Sometimes we assume all feedback is good. The more the better. Bring it on! This is especially true if you’ve been feedback starved which usually means you didn’t have enough users or no one really cared.…
Shaming is good because it’s a strong motivator to change. If you have trouble with the word itself due to negative bias, then substitute it with peer pressure or environment. Humans as tribal creatures evolved to conform, for the most part, to our environment. It’s done via shaming. Let’s take an accent for example. Most people will adapt to the accent of their region to fit in. They do it…
I’m not a huge fan of reading. In fact, I don’t like reading. But I love getting better, finding out something new and useful. You can talk only to few interesting people in-person. The limit is in time, location or just that they won’t talk with you. Books are a transferable information. Good info can change career, life, relationships… everything! So three years ago I start reading and logging…
I stopped saying “I’m checking my email”, because I almost never check them. That’s true. I stopped checking my emails a few years ago, and it brought more focus, fun and productivity to my life . Instead of checking my emails, I process them. What is the difference? Checking is looking at the inbox, fishing for urgent, filtering non-urgent and plain spam but answering only to urgent. This will…
After reading Nassim Taleb’s great book Antifragile , I saw how one can apply the barbell theory , which he described in the book, to building a career in tech: Focus 80-90% of fundamentals like algorithms, data structures, specifications (W3C), standards (ECMAScript), etc.: These concepts are less prone to changes. Focus 10-20% on riskier but more promising new things which haven’t even been…
A lot of people are brainwashed into spending their hard-earned money into enduring stresses of traveling and adjusting to new places for subpar experiences. They even say: Work hard, play hard. Why?! Because resorts need to make money . Seriously, most people prefer the escapism and procrastination. Is it really worth it? Let’s be honest, if you are a tourist, it’s harder to find good…
Every time someone says: “I like traveling”, I know they are lying. Typically these people don’t travel much, or they foolishly think living in a foreign country for more than few weeks is traveling (hint: it’s called living in a country, if you stay there more than 3-4 weeks)… or they are plain simple masochists. “Enjoy the journey, not the destination” is a bunch of crap. People who say enjoy…
Are you worried about small stuff and losing the big picture? Some people worry about whether they should cut down on coffee, walk more, eat less carbs, get more Starbucks reward and credit card miles, watch the latest TV show, or who said what on social media. All this B.S. Just thinking about these things makes me tired. Most of the time they worry about small stuff. That’s a great way to lose…
Most of us intuitively understand that better products and services are better for you as an employee or business owner. They can attract more customers and propel you to success, whatever that is for you. Some of us know the inspiring stories of obsessed entrepreneurs who drove the product to perfection amidst delays and budget overruns (e.g., Steve Jobs). Common sense tells us that the fewer…
Recent Ryan’s book is another popular junk-read which have 0 substance and not only waste time but actually distract. Contrary to the title of another popular junk-read Ego Is the Enemy , I should say that ego is the friend if you want to change or achieve anything in life. Every time you think I’m a good software developer you will have to back it up with action. If you decide to lose weight,…
Weekends are too long… waaaay too loooong. Two full days! We should switch to 6-day workweeks. You might think I’m crazy, because recently some companies started to experiment with 4-day workweeks instead of normal 5 , not 6. Even some countries toyed with the idea to make it a law. Also, books like 4-hour Workweek became the best seller because people want to work less. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Believe…
After reading Deep Work , I was sold on removing distractions. One of the concepts is to have an email filter. Not an automatic one but some set of criteria which will force the sender to think and put more work into their emails. Here’s what I came up with. Filters which your email must adhere to increase chances of my reply: No questions which you can find on Google/Bing/GoGoDuck under 10 min.…
I lived for 5 years in the Bay Area which is San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, and everything in between them (a.k.a. Silicon Valley). Before that I lived in Washington DC for 6 years. Don’t confuse tourism with immigration if you’ve been in the Bay Area on a brief vacation and liked it. Despite what you’ve seen in movies, San Francisco and Silicon Valley are terrible places to live. Seriously.…