William Liao @williamliao

Taiwanese American, daily blogger of ideas about impactful work in service of others, photographer (ephemera.photography)

William Liao last shared their writing spotting weeds
To be “lost in the weeds” is to be so caught up in minor detail as to completely miss the point.
Imagine two people getting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum.
One person spends this opportunity scanning the painting while admiring da Vinci’s creation;...
William's Pantry
🍺 40 Beers
🥟 46 Dumplings
🧇 29 Waffles
🍪 29 Cookies
🍵 49 Teas
🍣 38 Sushis
☕️ 38 Coffees
🍫 41 Chocolate Bars
🍍 36 Pineapples
🥓 36 Bacons
🥚 36 Eggs
🥩 26 Steaks
🍊 45 Tangerines
🍓 25 Strawberries
🥃 28 Whiskeys
Collections

Don't bury the lead

A lead is anything that someone needs to see and react to in order for progress to happen.
Important questions, key pieces of information, and unseen drafts are all examples of leads.
When we are not careful, we sometimes end up burying the lead. For example, we might put the lead in...
2021-01-28 14:35:45

Solid Versus Rigid Planning

Solid plans do not presume to know the future, but incorporate ideas and pathways that align with where the world seems to be headed.

Solid plans are not final because they recognize a changing world and that sometimes shifts in the system and culture warrant overhauling the approach in order to...
2021-01-27 18:11:56

Being an artist

Art is seeing the world that does not exist…Civil rights activists are artists. Athletes are artists. People who imagine something that is not there. — Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ava DuVernay

Every change that leads to flourishing is made possible by artists who imagine a better, more helpful version of the world and...
2021-01-26 15:50:52

Enrolling, soliciting, and demanding to make change

Enrolling is when you choose to contribute to the work.

Demanding is when you assume people will automatically enroll, insist on the outcome, and expect fulfillment.

Soliciting is when you ask for the enrollment required to achieve an outcome in cases where the barrier to enrollment is high and not automatic.

A machine...
2021-01-25 15:06:28

Parkinson's Law

Imagine it is 10 years from now and ask yourself these 3 questions:

What challenges and changes will you have embarked on?

What contributions will you have generously given?

Can you do these things in 12 months instead?

In 12 months it’s unlikely that you’ll check every item off the list, but in endeavoring...
2021-01-24 15:36:32

The problem

Not to be confused with the infinite backlog of issues you call problems.
The problem is the unequivocally particular and urgent predicament you cannot stop thinking about because it routinely interferes with thriving.
The easiest way to not solve any problem is to engage in a free-for-all forging of paths where everyone...
2021-01-23 15:18:36

Change is your invention as reply to Hail to the Six


The New Year began on January 1st (Gregorian calendar), it begins again on February 12th (lunar calendar), and again on April 14th (Sinhalese tradition) — the list goes on.
We invented the symbolic day of new beginnings.
If you committed to making an important change on New Year's day, it’s not the...
2021-01-22 15:50:57

Go for it

The idea you have for how to make a meaningful contribution to the people you aim to serve deserves your attention and action.

Today.

And before you commit to the conclusion that you’re not ready or today is simply not the right day, consider these things:

The inertia will always be there: whether...
2021-01-22 15:06:24

The foundational question and when to pause

Despite what the positive connotations of quickness or ‘getting shi* done’ suggest, swift execution does not guarantee that the work will get better.

Understanding whether it makes sense to do something right away (or to pause) therefore requires we ask this foundational question: “does the action offer a distinct possibility to...
2021-01-21 15:04:16