Relationships

Laying every goal and venture out on a whiteboard at once reveals the connections that stay hidden when strategy is built one isolated section at a time.

The urge to give advice is often strongest exactly when the other person needs you to ask a question and stay quiet instead — a reflection on why listening takes more courage than speaking.

You cannot keep giving to others from a cup that is empty — without intentional rest, mentorship, and genuine friendship, the capacity to serve anyone eventually runs dry.

Life is too short to reinvent every wheel, and learning from people who have already walked your path is a strategic advantage hiding in plain sight. Asking for guidance takes humility, but it accelerates growth in ways that going it alone never will.

Dreams provide direction and motivation, but without an honest look at reality, they stay out of reach. A healthy dose of realism does not kill your aspirations — it gives them a path forward.

Every domain of life — business, relationships, knowledge — moves faster when unnecessary resistance is removed. Identifying and eliminating friction is one of the highest-leverage moves toward greater effectiveness.

Maps go obsolete the moment circumstances shift; a compass grounded in core values keeps you oriented through career changes, family transitions, and every season of life that did not appear in the original plan.

The Golden Rule assumes everyone wants what you want — the Platinum Rule asks you to set that assumption aside and treat people according to what they actually need.

The most important decisions in life benefit from a diverse group of trusted advisors — people who bring experience, honesty, and perspective to areas where you need it most.

Find balance in net giving so you have enough to pour out.

For me, before knowing extreme ownership, I found myself wanting to blame others when issues arise. To point at other’s faults. To not take responsibility. What I learned, though, is that extreme ownership challenges us to not blame others, have humility, and take greater ownership to change.

The impact that changes lives and captures souls requires a willingness to do what isn’t easy and to do what’s right. For me, even as I write this, I can’t help but know that talking the talk is so much easier than walking the walk.

An “Unfair Advantage” is anything that cannot be easily copied or bought by other stakeholders. This can be technical knowledge, unique skills, connections, patents, or a large sum donation from a distant uncle.

I was listening to an audiobook called Tribe of Mentors, a book by Tim Ferris in which many inspirational people answered 11 questions to give insight to readers on lifelong living. One of the mentors who spoke, Debbie Millman, quoted something, that hits really hard. 'Busy is a decision.'

What if I could turn my greatest enemy, into my friend?

I found myself forced to do one of the things I disliked most: asking for help. When it comes to sending a message to ask for help, I struggle with formulating the right words to ask a question. Overanalysis, overthinking, and obsession over the intention of what I send stops me from moving past my discomfort of sending the question.

Leadership is hard. As someone who is obsessed with leadership topics, I find myself burdened by the never-ending list of expectations that I feel are implicitly expected of leaders. But people would rather follow a leader that’s real, than a leader that’s right.

There have been many people who have inspired me through their words of encouragement. Words that motivated me to pursue coding, enter into entrepreneurship, and serve as a leader in my church.

Playing both mentor and mentee across work, church, and entrepreneurship, Eric reflects on why intentional investment in someone else changes both people in ways that only become visible in hindsight.

I learned a lot about tennis rating systems from my friend, as well as the competitiveness of tennis. Essentially you’re ranked against the world, and most people who try to get into the field start as early as their teen years, skip college to compete, and only the top 100+ people can maintain a tennis career as a salary.

I think the biggest takeaway is that if I feel I have a stake in the conversation or great enough reason to speak up, I would.

Two weeks between apartments, crashing with friends, becomes a front-row view of what generous hospitality actually looks like — and a challenge to give that same welcome to others.

Marriage is not a contract or a romantic endpoint — it is a covenant, an imitation of the unconditional love God extended to His people even when they failed Him.

Binge-reading a webtoon revealed how chasing perfection is really a form of self-focus, and that accepting your own limits — asking for help, learning from mistakes — is where genuine growth actually starts.

A bike ride past police officers became a window into the daily reality that Black friends carry, and it challenged a comfortable silence. Examining privilege and choosing to step toward justice and grace is a responsibility that does not stop at awareness.

A prayer for lonely people — forgotten by the time the next day arrived — was answered anyway, a reminder that the power of prayer lives entirely in the One who hears it, not the one who says it.

A season of chasing effectiveness and leadership stripped away a core part of personality: the ability to simply enjoy people without an agenda. Relearning how to be silly and present is what it actually looks like to love well.

Quarantine became an unexpected space for reckoning with years of slowly distancing from God by demanding explanations before trust. Relearning childlike faith — submitting what cannot be controlled — opened the door to a relationship that had grown too complicated to feel real.

A global crisis revealed an unexpected kind of unity — and forced the kind of stillness that makes real learning possible, if you are willing to sit with the questions it raises.

Believing in God is one thing — actually living in freedom from the identity He gives you is another. A reflection on what it means to move truth from the head down into the heart.

Learning your Enneagram type deepens self-awareness, but it also exposes a surprising tension: the better you know yourself, the harder it becomes to choose sacrifice for others.

Eric sets his 2020 aspirations — 12 books, 12 posts, 4 ventures, and 2 speaking events — while anchoring the year in a theme of Focus and Rest, prioritizing faith over accomplishment.

If anyone is able to turn people’s desires towards Him through reading the words of faith by others, it can only be Him

Have you ever felt those moments where you don’t want to exert energy to be noticed by people? To be isolated and alone. At the same time, the embracing feeling of loneliness sparks a desire to be reached out to, even with the paradox of running away?

Have you ever felt those moments where you don’t want to exert energy to be noticed by people? To be isolated and alone. At the same time, the embracing feeling of loneliness sparks a desire to be reached out to, even with the paradox of running away?

I’ve always approached listening to people to understand where they’re coming from.

I see my imperfection so clearly. Whether it’s maintaining friendships, finishing my work, cleaning my apartment, cooking meals for myself, following after God, or living life day by day, I see so many ways I couldn’t meet a certain standard. Things I should’ve improved on, but became after-thoughts that were never acted upon.

Prayer is our communication with God. As communication is important in any worldly relationship, prayer is important in our spiritual relationship with God. Many things can hurt or further grow our relationships: whether it’s having small talk, sharing a story or life update, telling about your day, fighting over a belief or value, or making amends and asking for forgiveness.

My last UTCS blog post—seven life lessons from college on journaling, saying no, building habits, community, and learning to be imperfect.

What is the connection between personal relationship with God, vulnerability, and biblical community?

Honestly, standing in front of a group of people and being able to relay ideas, thoughts, or concepts is so difficult, especially when there are so many distracting factors that come into play. Here are 7 insights that inspire me to speak publicly.

When I went up to Michigan in the middle of September, I was so excited! But something was wrong. Michigan holds a special place in my heart — a place where I think about friends, food, and memories. But nowhere during the time had I thought about Him. Jesus. God. The Father. The Creator.

A playful reminder to look past the free t-shirts and BBQ at CS events and actually engage with what they offer—mentors, learning, interviews, and real connections.

Processing a season of busyness and the disorientation that comes with it—and why turning toward community instead of clinging to feelings is what reorients me.

This past Sunday, I went to a Christian benefits concert, Helping Hands, and I didn’t experience God.

One of the things I dislike the most is unstructured free time over break. As much as it’s relaxing and I get to sleep in for more than 8 hours a day (which I rarely get to do at school, if at all), it can be mind-numbing for me to not have something to look forward to do for the day. In fact, many times I feel very lonely during this free time.

If I, who claim to be a Christian, am timid when it comes to sharing my testimony with people of the same faith, how in the world am I able to share the story God wrote in my life to others?

Implementing Flask-Whooshee for SWE search, organizing Music Hacks, and learning that alone time is sometimes the right destressor.

Spring Break camping in Texas, winning the SXSW hackathon with Credit Writer, and a staycation with church friends.

From hating hackathons to falling in love with them—and joining Freetail Hackers to organize one myself.

A pitch for CS majors to take non-CS classes—social dance, fiction writing, interpersonal communication—and how stepping outside the major builds you as a person.

Five days of JavaScript30, designing a social dance app with microservices, and a spiritual fast from YouTube and social media.

Winning People's Choice and Best Technical at Indigitous #Hack with a music sentiment analysis app, then getting nominated to compete globally.

My very first UTCS blog post—a rundown of why hackathons are worth the sleep deprivation, from free food and swag to learning, building, and making friends at 3 AM.

Landing a UTCS blogger job, a 3-day OS bug hiding in a single line of C type declaration, and a rough week shadowed by a friend's passing.

TAMUHack: hardware-hacking our way from an Intel Smart Glove to a virtual air drum set that won People's Choice and Best Technical awards.

Finding the tight-knit CS lab community, finishing the first OS shell project, and starting a Netflix cache project with a partner.

First week of sophomore year at UT Austin: installing Docker, writing C linked lists, revamping a resume, and teaching social dance.