I am a degenerate Daoist

I love to tweak and refine on my own. Whether that’s playing with code, words or routines—self-experimentation is how I learn. Growing up as part of the first generation with reliable home Internet access had a big impact.

School curriculums didn’t work for me, but if I could study a book in my own time, I could make things stick. My law teacher wrote in my yearbook that “Daniel has an inimitable style of learning” which involved 50% attendance and top marks.

I didn’t go to university. I had no training in management and leadership but read, experimented and mimicked until I was helping run a $150m company. I had no formal teacher in meditation and often figured out things the hard way. Now I’m writing a book about that.

I was never taught how to write beyond school, but writing has saved my bacon several times in crisis. Today, my writings bring most of my clients to my door.

It’s not always ideal: I would have saved time by formally learning from experts in many cases. But going it alone—and having all the mistakes fresh in my mind—helps me to guide others.

In an ideal world, I’d learn things and find balance. In reality, I get intoxicated, take things too far and then, realising my mistake, violently careen in the other direction. After getting up and reviewing the rubble, I can see where the middle ground is.

This is my degenerate Daoism. I care a lot about balance, I just don’t get there gracefully.