Published in Mind Cafe·Pinned9 Tips From a Samurai to Help You Live a Winner’s Life“Do nothing that is of no use.” — “Study strategy over the years and achieve the spirit of the warrior. Today is victory over yourself of yesterday; tomorrow is your victory over lesser men.” — Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings I’ve been writing about a samurai named Miyamoto Musashi a lot recently, but I can’t seem…Self Improvement12 min read
Published in Mind Cafe·PinnedHow The Eastern Concept of “Emptiness” Can Help You Live a Fuller LifeFind peace in nothingness. — In the West, feeling empty is viewed as a negative condition. Emptiness is often associated with dark terms like depression, apatheia, or nihilism. In Asia though, things are a little different. The Chinese word for emptiness is kōng (空); devoid, the void, the space between breaths, between lines, between lives…Self Improvement8 min read
Published in Ascent Publication·PinnedThe 2 Types Of “Friends” You Should Cut All Ties WithNot all friends are created equal. — It’s a longstanding tradition among the Chinese to have steamboat for dinner on the first day of the Lunar New Year — and an even longer-standing tradition to trade stories, gossip, and bond over the simmering communal stew. 2020 was no different — except this was the first time in…Relationships8 min read
Published in Ascent Publication·PinnedThere Are Only 3 Ways to Make Money as a WriterAnd the third — creating a library of content — is ultimately superior. — “So, how do you actually make money off this writing thing?” In my experience, this is the most common question an aspiring writer has. I know this because my mind was burning with the very same question when I first started my writing journey a little over a year ago. …Money9 min read
Published in The Affirmations Of Alvin Ang·Jun 14I Am Taking a Two Month Break from Medium to Write My Second NovelSee you in August, folks! — Eagle-eyed readers will notice that I haven’t posted anything here since the middle of May. My inactivity is due to three things: I was busy running Lion City Championship, my MMA event. It was a huge success, and if any of you, my Dear Readers, are into this sort of thing, you can check out a highlight video of my…Writing3 min read
Published in Mind Cafe·May 159 Lessons On Success I Learned From Starring In “The Apprentice”Success, paradoxically, comes from daring to fail. — Success Comes From Daring To Fail If you’re reading this, it means that I’ve already been fired. The beginning of the end came when I applied to be a contestant for the latest season of The Apprentice. …Self Improvement13 min read
Published in The Affirmations Of Alvin Ang·May 2My 4 Favourite Writers of All Time — And How They Helped Me Become a Better WriterReading them will change your writing forever. — Great writers take inspiration from other great writers. They use the words of the former masters as fuel. Beginner writers are often, at first, blown away by the quality of the writing they encounter. …Writing12 min read
Published in Mind Cafe·Apr 263 Lessons On Happiness I Learned From Working at a Theme Park for 3 YearsMoney doesn’t make you happy — making other people happy does. — Long before I started my own business or starred as a contestant on The Apprentice, I worked at a much humbler — but in my opinion — no less fun and glamorous job. I worked as a performer in a theme park. The theme park in question is Universal Studios…Happiness8 min read
Published in The Affirmations Of Alvin Ang·Apr 25Want To Become a Better Writer? Start Writing Short StoriesWriting short stories can help you become a more creative — and more lucrative — writer. — Over the past few weeks, I’ve been neglecting my Medium essays to focus on short stories. I have written and submitted 9 short stories so far, all to Vocal Media and Medium’s disastrous Medium Writer’s Challenge. …Writing4 min read
Published in The Affirmations Of Alvin Ang·Apr 9I Just Submitted 2 Short Stories To a Horror Writing CompetitionAnd if I win, I stand to make $3000. — I haven’t been as active on Medium these couple of weeks — mainly because I’ve been focused on writing short stories. I have, all in all, written and submitted 9 short stories to a myriad of writing challenges. They range from small, local writing contests to the many writing competitions…Writing4 min read
