Mindset is a great book discussing something all successful people, from kids to CEOs, have in common: a growth mindset. I've read a few books talking about the importance of the way we think, Dr. Dweck did a great job tying different examples together to illustrate one of the most important paradigm shifts one can have: fixed mindset --> growth mindset. Below is are my top three takeaways:
Author: VictorZ_Zhao
WeZBest.com | Virtual Care Product Manager, Data Science Actuary, Personal Development Enthusiast. Dedicated to empowering myself and others to achieve full potential in life.
An amazing memoir by Nike's co-founder, Shoe Dog chronicles Phil Knight's journey from a college grad doing soul searching to founding a company with a team of extremely talented misfits like him. Phil narrated his stories so well that I felt I'm reliving the moments with him. My top takeaways from this book: 1. Do what you believe in; 2. 2. Grow and compete with yourself; 3. Be fearless and fail fast; 4.It's more than business.
"The unexamined life is not worth living," this thought-provoking book definitely helped me to examine lives from a new angel I never thought of before. Richard Dawkins believes that evolution should be studied at the level of genes, instead of species. You can get some interesting perspectives when look at lives on the DNA-level.
As a hustler, I've always been wondering how to sleep faster - get more rested with less time? The answer lies in the quality of sleep. This book did a great job outlining practical action steps one can take to improve sleep quality. A few most overlooked sleep strategies I really like: 1. Get more … Continue reading Sleep Smarter by Shawn Stevenson
An extremely insightful book by Dr. Gawande, talking about elderly & end-of-life care and humanity in medicine. It's definitely uncomfortable and even sad to confront the reality of the fragile lives we all have, but it is an important conversation we all need to have at some point of our life journey. Young people naturally … Continue reading Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
This article was first published and featured on Society of Actuaries (SOA)'s website. I wrote it right after I graduated from college to reflect on my four-year journey. I'm deeply grateful for those who have provided me with guidance and the things I've learned along the way. It is my sincere hope that the three steps outlined in this article will help current college students and others who desire to have a rewarding actuarial journey.
In the joy of achievement, I reflected on this satisfying experience, and realized it has taught me three things that I should write down to remind myself when I face pressure and fear in the future: 1. Outside pressure will push you harder than you would to yourself. 2. Fear indeed is a figment of imagination. 3. Confidence accumulates, so cherish small progress.
Being able to see that there is something I can learn from each single person I meet is a powerful mentality that has not only empowered me to consciously develop myself to become a better person, but also helped me to cultivate positivity and become a happier individual. When I looked back at the past four years since I moved to the United States, I almost had tears in my eyes when I realize how much my “teachers” have shaped who I am today.
When people talk about work-life balance, actuaries talk about work-life-exam balance. Finding that optimal balance in life, however, is not easy; it involves a continuous process of learning, experimenting, and trial-and-error. I want to share with you three apps that I found useful in this process of finding balance.
Student representatives from 25 Centers of Actuarial Excellence (CAE) universities in the U.S., Canada, and Hong Kong gathered downtown Chicago on Aug. 14–15 to attend the Society of Actuaries (SOA) 2014 CAE Student Summit. I was fortunate enough to be selected as one of the two representatives from Temple University to attend this wonderful annual event. Although only two days, it was an extremely valuable experience. I’d like to share a few things I learned, and some inspirations I received from this conference.
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