4 ms·

Isn't this "100 pushups" and "cold showers" guy? Um...

llambda 15y ago
No that's the author of 100-Hour Body (definitely not my opinion of worthwhile literature), right? But I think I understand why you'd have that impression. This kind of "personal branding" definitely has a similar taste to that kind of ethos. Although I don't think it's fair to necessarily opine on this particular blog post, there's nothing abjectly wrong with it, by the same token it does seem a little off for HN. Still, if your goal is to build a brand so that you can sustain yourself, maybe it's not such a bad thing. Approach is definitely important though... Edit: apologies, the author of this article and the referenced are one in the same, according to the author. My mistake!
- jasonshen 15y ago
  Haha - thanks for the edit. Also, I think you're trying to refer to Tim Ferriss -- but his book is called "The 4 Hour Body". Definitely sounds a bit less taxing than 100 hrs. =)
kristofferR 15y ago
Yeah, it is. So? Why would doing personal experiments to improve yourself be a negative for personal branding? Some of his experiments may be considered silly by some people, but that doesn't take away from the fact that he is working on becoming the best version of himself he can be - an admirable mission everyone should strive to have, but few unfortunately do. I don't know Jason, but he seems like a really cool guy with a lot of drive, dreams and ambition.
- georgieporgie 15y ago
  Cold showers aren't self improvement. It's the most contrived and limited form of self-punishment I can think of. Much of the developing world showers this way all the time. Promoting pectoral-shortening exercises among an audience of people who a) largely do not understand how to exercise their bodies in a balanced way and b) spend most of their days hunched or slouching in front of a computer, is not self-improvement. It's sophomoric bragging, and it's irresponsible. How can I put this? Everything he uses to self-promote seems like he set a goal which sounds impressive (e.g. "100 pushups"), but actually requires a fairly short period of commitment to achieve. It's as if he's molding his entire life for SEO, blog hits, and self-promotion, rather than achievement and improvement. To me, that's douchey.
  - jasonshen 15y ago
    Thanks for your thoughts. I wrote about my personal experience with cold showers and how I feel they have improved my life. This is an experiment with an N of 1. Most notably: "It also helps me temper my emotional responses to things. I no longer have the panicky feeling that a ton cold water on your skin gives you for more than a few seconds when I take my cold showers – I’ve trained myself to calm down and overcome this natural response. And I’ve noticed this ability to temper my response overlap into other areas of my life" If you haven't tried taking cold showers regularly you might be surprised by the results. I never posted the 100 pushups article on HN so I'm not sure what you mean about being irresponsibly promoting pushups. I agree that the 100 pushups requires a relatively short period of commitment. Yet it seems impressive. Which is why in my post I wrote: "It turns out, with about 4-6 weeks of pushup training 3x a week (~10 mins per session), you can do build your capacity to do something rather difficult: 100 pushups in a row." The point of that post was not to show off how awesome I am, but to encourage people to go after goals that seem difficult because with consistent effort, large goals can be conquered. I find it unfortunate that my life comes across to you as molded for SEO and blog hits as that is not my intention. As I state in this post and in my about section, I write to provide resources to help others.
    - billpatrianakos 15y ago
      Dude, you're getting a fair amount of hate on this thread and I commend you for the way you handle it. Every time someone comes along knocking you, you just respond with "Thanks for your thoughts" then go on to explain yourself. You can't say you don't practice what you preach. In all honesty, this is the only post of yours I've ever read. I might dig in further and decide that I think you really are a douche. I don't know. But so far I like your style. Especially how you handle all the negativity.
jasonshen 15y ago
Yeah that's me. =) Do you have any thoughts on those posts?
edash 15y ago
Kudos, you've managed to demonstrate Jason's final slide perfectly.

No that's the author of 100-Hour Body (definitely not my opinion of worthwhile literature), right? But I think I understand why you'd have that impression. This kind of "personal branding" definitely has a similar taste to that kind of ethos. Although I don't think it's fair to necessarily opine on this particular blog post, there's nothing abjectly wrong with it, by the same token it does seem a little off for HN. Still, if your goal is to build a brand so that you can sustain yourself, maybe it's not such a bad thing. Approach is definitely important though... Edit: apologies, the author of this article and the referenced are one in the same, according to the author. My mistake!

jasonshen 15y ago
Haha - thanks for the edit. Also, I think you're trying to refer to Tim Ferriss -- but his book is called "The 4 Hour Body". Definitely sounds a bit less taxing than 100 hrs. =)

kristofferR 15y ago

Yeah, it is. So? Why would doing personal experiments to improve yourself be a negative for personal branding? Some of his experiments may be considered silly by some people, but that doesn't take away from the fact that he is working on becoming the best version of himself he can be - an admirable mission everyone should strive to have, but few unfortunately do. I don't know Jason, but he seems like a really cool guy with a lot of drive, dreams and ambition.

georgieporgie 15y ago
Cold showers aren't self improvement. It's the most contrived and limited form of self-punishment I can think of. Much of the developing world showers this way all the time. Promoting pectoral-shortening exercises among an audience of people who a) largely do not understand how to exercise their bodies in a balanced way and b) spend most of their days hunched or slouching in front of a computer, is not self-improvement. It's sophomoric bragging, and it's irresponsible. How can I put this? Everything he uses to self-promote seems like he set a goal which sounds impressive (e.g. "100 pushups"), but actually requires a fairly short period of commitment to achieve. It's as if he's molding his entire life for SEO, blog hits, and self-promotion, rather than achievement and improvement. To me, that's douchey.
- jasonshen 15y ago
  Thanks for your thoughts. I wrote about my personal experience with cold showers and how I feel they have improved my life. This is an experiment with an N of 1. Most notably: "It also helps me temper my emotional responses to things. I no longer have the panicky feeling that a ton cold water on your skin gives you for more than a few seconds when I take my cold showers – I’ve trained myself to calm down and overcome this natural response. And I’ve noticed this ability to temper my response overlap into other areas of my life" If you haven't tried taking cold showers regularly you might be surprised by the results. I never posted the 100 pushups article on HN so I'm not sure what you mean about being irresponsibly promoting pushups. I agree that the 100 pushups requires a relatively short period of commitment. Yet it seems impressive. Which is why in my post I wrote: "It turns out, with about 4-6 weeks of pushup training 3x a week (~10 mins per session), you can do build your capacity to do something rather difficult: 100 pushups in a row." The point of that post was not to show off how awesome I am, but to encourage people to go after goals that seem difficult because with consistent effort, large goals can be conquered. I find it unfortunate that my life comes across to you as molded for SEO and blog hits as that is not my intention. As I state in this post and in my about section, I write to provide resources to help others.
  - billpatrianakos 15y ago
    Dude, you're getting a fair amount of hate on this thread and I commend you for the way you handle it. Every time someone comes along knocking you, you just respond with "Thanks for your thoughts" then go on to explain yourself. You can't say you don't practice what you preach. In all honesty, this is the only post of yours I've ever read. I might dig in further and decide that I think you really are a douche. I don't know. But so far I like your style. Especially how you handle all the negativity.

jasonshen 15y ago

Yeah that's me. =) Do you have any thoughts on those posts?

edash 15y ago

Kudos, you've managed to demonstrate Jason's final slide perfectly.