Disqus - Latest Comments for omareduardo

Re: Impropaganda: Jantewhat?

Omar Eduardo Fernández — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 08:27:35 -0000

This is interesting. The concept of not standing out is one that I saw in Japan as well, but in a very different way than what you describe it to be in Sweden. I was taught before my internship in Japan not to talk about things that other people may not be able to afford (for example, I could talk about my favorite artist/song when introducing myself, but not say that I recently purchased a new home, etc.) That being said, people do talk about achievements quite a bit and discuss ways to moving ahead in their careers/business endeavours, which I guess it's something you may not discuss as much in Sweden with this concept of Jantelagen?

Anyhow, I wonder to what extent you observe this concept of Jantelagen play out among people in big crowds vs. when talking to successful people in more private settings. Maybe talking about career success/achievements is done more privately?

Re: 60 Small Ways to Improve Your Life in the Next 100 Days

Omar Eduardo Fernández — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 11:02:45 -0000

The way I see it, I think 57 and 58 are compatible items. 57 is about handling situations with empathy, which means you think of the other person's point of view when interacting with them and having different opinions.

58 is about taking a good, hard look at your life, who you are, and what you're passionate about and acting from there. We tend to act based on what others are doing, trying to compete and be better than others, rather than just to improve ourselves. We also tend to try to live other people's lives and offer them helpful advice they may not have requested.

You can be focused in your own live from a self-improvement point of view, and not criticize others for what they are doing while taking and empathetic approach to situations in your life.

Re: Developing Compassion – How and Why?

Omar Eduardo Fernández — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 16:28:21 -0000

Yes, the responses were most saddening. My thoughts about the "turn the other cheek" philosophy are mixed. I believe that you do not necessarily need to passively allow others to make you the victim of their attacks and abuse. However, I do think that any response or reaction we have would benefit from coming from a compassionate heart and a cool mind. Compassion would allow us to minimize the spread of negativity and replace it with positivity.

Re: Looking for a Mentor

Omar Eduardo Fernández — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 06:36:52 -0000

Thank you, Shammi! I think you touched on several great points, and I appreciate you taking your time to do so. I am definitely seeking mentors that share my core values, but have much more experience than me in the area I hope they mentor me on. I think that as you pointed out, the main item I should focus on now is taking advantage of the opportunities I have to meet new people and make the most out of it. I tend to stay comfortable with my group of friends, and I won't grow as a person if I stay in my comfort zone.

Re: Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Level 1 Candidate

Omar Eduardo Fernández — Sat, 21 May 2011 23:02:52 -0000

Hi -

I must say I hadn't heard of such low pass rates! The Level I pass rates fluctuate, but on average they are closer to ~40% I believe. Last time was in the 30% range, though!

I think the material so far is good. Lots of ethics, time-value of money, and probability concepts in the first few weeks. I will be moving on to Economics tomorrow for the next three weeks. I think the material can be a bit wordy at times, but the concepts are well explained and they are not that difficult. I have no background in finance or econ at all, though, so I want to be thorough in my studying.

Let me know if you do decide to go for it, and good luck!

Re: Comparing The United States to Japan.

Omar Eduardo Fernández — Thu, 19 May 2011 21:07:06 -0000

I respectfully disagree. I lived in Japan for 3 months 2 years ago and met some of the most wonderful people that are to date some of my best friends. When I was there, and when I return to visit, they let me into their homes, we chat and enjoy life as friends. I sometimes felt very at home, and miss that feeling sometimes when I'm in the states.

I'm sure each experience is unique, but I just want to express my thoughts and say that it is possible to feel at home in Japan. A close friend of mine who is not Japanese had a very similar experience.

Re: 3 Simple Changes That Will Improve Your Days

Omar Eduardo Fernández — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 10:24:15 -0000

Thank you for your kinds words and for reading! I am glad you could realize that you are not alone, and that we think similarly! :)

Re: Why not begin that change today? It’s a New Year!

Omar Eduardo Fernández — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 14:52:18 -0000

よろしくお願いします！

Re: Important Lessons I learned at MIT

Omar Eduardo Fernández — Fri, 28 May 2010 09:59:26 -0000

Thanks Snix. In part I write these things so that I can re-read them later and that way not make the same mistakes often again.

Re: Don’t Blame, Fix the Problem

Omar Eduardo Fernández — Mon, 03 May 2010 19:41:25 -0000

Thank you, Yasar. I'm very very glad that you enjoyed it and took some of your time to comment on this post. Have a wonderful day!

Re: Don’t let others define success for you

Omar Eduardo Fernández — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 09:28:38 -0000

メルちゃん！こちらこそね！
I had a wonderful time with you this past week as well. It was great to simply get together and enjoy the day to day. I hope to see you again soon. Keep doing great at med school, you have so many amazing things ahead of you, I'm excited for you! :)

すぐまた会おうね。よろしく！
御真阿留

Re: Follow your passion full-time, or after hours.

Omar Eduardo Fernández — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 13:42:30 -0000

I loved it as well! I actually thought about you when I was watching it. :)

Re: Don’t Blame, Fix the Problem

Omar Eduardo Fernández — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:35:50 -0000

No need to apologize, I want to thank you for sharing your insight! You're very kind of share your knowledge. I am happy to have you around and I hope to see you comment again sometime soon.

Take care. :)

Re: Don’t Blame, Fix the Problem

Omar Eduardo Fernández — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:16:00 -0000

Thank you, Roia. I also feel that it's sometimes easy to get caught up in non-productive and sometimes harmful thoughts. I'm glad you liked the post. :)

Re: Being Conscious of What I Put Into My Body

Omar Eduardo Fernández — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 06:46:50 -0000

I thought the same, but I read something similar to this argument: (from http://www.living-foods.com...

"HDN: When people get enzymes from food, aren't they destroyed by stomach acid and therefore of little or no value?

HOWELL: This is not true. Although most nutntionists claim that enzymes in food are destroyed in the stomach, they overlook two important facts.

First of all, when you eat food, acid secretion is minimal for at least thirty minutes. As the food goes down the esophagus, it drops into the top portion of the stomach. This is called the cardiac section, since it's closer to the heart.

The rest of the stomach remains flat and closed while the cardiac section opens up to accommodate the food. During the iime the food sits in the upper section, little acid or enzymes are secreted by the body. The enzymes in the food itself go about digesting the food. The more of this self-digestion that occurs, the less work the body has to do later.

When this 30 to 45 minute period is over, the bottom section of the stomach opens up and the body starts secreting acid and enzymes. Even at this point, the food enzymes are not inactivated until the acid level becomes prohibitive. You see, food enzymes can tolerate chemical environments many times more acid than neutral."

Don't get me wrong, I have always been a food junkie, and love to eat many different kind of foods, so it is a struggle to think of a diet that is so limiting. I went to Dim Sum yesterday for Chinese New Year... so I have definitely not given up cooked food. At the same time, however, I'm intrigued by the health benefits, and I'm willing to slowly, as I've been doing, replace meals with raw food meals. My breakfast and dinner yesterday, and my meals the two days before were almost completely raw food. Not sure about the dressing my salad had on Friday, since I didn't ask... :(

Re: Lessons and Gratitude on a 5th Anniversary

Omar Eduardo Fernández — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:44:26 -0000

Congratulations! :)

I agree with this post wholeheartedly. Although I've only been in a relationship for one year, I definitely think that you touched on the things that have allowed me to feel just as confident about the relationship as I felt a year ago. I will check-in again in 4 years and see how things are! ~

Re: 3 Simple Ways to Boost Your Happiness

Omar Eduardo Fernández — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:02:27 -0000

Thank you for the extra information, Steven! Smiling is definitely an easy and powerful approach to improving your mood and reaching that happier state.

Re: 3 Simple Ways to Boost Your Happiness

Omar Eduardo Fernández — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:01:19 -0000

I completely agree, simple steps can go a long way. Thank you, Srinivas!

Re: 3 Simple Ways to Boost Your Happiness

Omar Eduardo Fernández — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 09:26:14 -0000

Definitely, there is a very powerful effect that comes from learning where to focus your energy, and that would allow us to stress less and solve more of our problems. Thank you, Tom. :)

Re: 3 Simple Ways to Boost Your Happiness

Omar Eduardo Fernández — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:16:15 -0000

That's an excellent point, Jarred. Healthy eating and exercise are definitely a great way to make point number 2, working on your thoughts, easier. I also find that getting a good workout and eating healthy regularly definitely allows me to clear up my mind and makes it easier for me to focus on positive feelings and thoughts.

Thank you! :)

Re: 3 Simple Ways to Boost Your Happiness

Omar Eduardo Fernández — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:13:36 -0000

Thank you, Sue. That's very true, these tips are possible for anyone to follow, they just require some self-discipline! :)

Re: Reward Behavior, Not Results

Omar Eduardo Fernández — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:09:18 -0000

Athletes using steroids are a great example for this topic that I didn't think about when writing. I definitely agree that good habits are the foundation to good long-term results. Thanks for your insight!

Re: Tips on Unsolicited Advice

Omar Eduardo Fernández — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:03:26 -0000

I agree that we would be wise to learn from feedback and advice we receive, particularly that we haven't solicited. If everyone could do this, our world would be a much more pleasant place to live and there would be no need for this blog entry. If advice is always given with the best in mind for the other person, and such advice comes from a place of no harm or arrogance, I sure hope people take their time to learn from it.

Thank you for taking your time to comment, I appreciate it.

Re: Too Many Rules, Too Little Trust

Omar Eduardo Fernández — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 11:10:44 -0000

I completely agree with "...trying to follow a rigid set of personal rules just stresses me out; it doesn’t actually bring better results."

We need to leave that window of flexibility open in order to really thrive and improve. Great post, Jeffrey. :)

Re: Great Things to Come: In Which I Announce a New Schedule, a Newsletter, and Other Exciting Plans

Omar Eduardo Fernández — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 09:42:53 -0000

I'm very excited about all these announcements. Best of luck with everything, particularly the e-books! I'm looking forward to them. :)