From Teaching to Building Alongside People
August gave me a clearer picture of how I want to work.
I still enjoy teaching. What I enjoy most is working with one person on a real problem: breaking it down together, building a first version, then improving it after they use it.
Some lessons can become courses or reusable systems. Other problems need more time and continued work. I want to make more room for those longer projects.
Three Months After Starting My Business, Two Podcasts Invited Me On
I am not on Xiaohongshu or Douyin. Almost everything I share goes to WeChat Moments. Three months after I started the business, two podcasts invited me on.
One was a new show started by a former BCG colleague. We talked about my four-hour workday, the career experiments I tried after leaving BCG, AI education, and climate change. The other was a conversation with Tencent’s Carbon Neutrality Innovation Center about how ordinary people can begin using AI and what I have seen change in class.
The invitations made something concrete for me: people had started finding my work even though I was only sharing it on WeChat Moments.
Both conversations were recorded in August. Podcast links coming soon.
Some Clients Need Two Hours. Others Keep Coming Back
After a few months, I began seeing two patterns. A client might arrive with one clear problem, build a first version in a session or two, then continue alone.
Other clients finish one project and come back with another. We may work together for five, six, or even eight sessions.
When someone returns with a second project, I can see what has changed. They spot the problem sooner, choose a direction, and use AI with better judgment.
What Clients Take Into Their Next Project
Justin had no coding background. Over five sessions, he went from using AI mostly as a better chatbot to building an inventory scanner for a problem his company had dealt with for years. The prototype is now with the company’s development team for evaluation. He also built an interactive reporting dashboard and a daily AI brief, and we already have a sixth session planned.
Roy worked with me for eight sessions. He went from never having finished a project to building games, small apps, and a data dashboard. He later began helping shape a course and teaching an introduction to art.
By the time the next problem appears, they already know how to begin.
How I Now Learn With AI
Many second-brain setups use Codex and Obsidian to store and retrieve information. I started with the same tools and used them for a different purpose: learning.
The system begins with my goal, what I already know, and how I like to learn. I explain new ideas in my own words and let AI question me until the gaps show. Then I use what I learned in a real task and see which ideas hold up.
I keep the sources with the notes. New ideas connect to what I already know, and anything that survives testing goes back into the knowledge base for next time.
The useful part is the loop between reading, research, building, and teaching. I have now tested the whole process on myself.
The Work That Leaves Me Wanting More
I read Designing Your Life and used my own learning system to work through the book. It helped me see which kinds of work hold my attention and leave me wanting to do more.
Three stood out: learning deeply with one person and watching them use the method again; turning an approach that keeps working into a system; and following my curiosity until I understand something well enough to teach it.
I used to think impact had to happen at a large scale. Now I think it can begin with one person and one change that lasts.
Joining a Peking University Course as a Teaching Assistant
This year I am joining Peking University’s Climate-Friendly Design for Zero-Carbon Communities as a teaching assistant. The three-credit course is in its fourth year and is open to full-time and part-time master’s and doctoral students.
I will help improve the course material and support the teaching. It is also a chance to bring my earlier climate work back into the classroom in a different form.
The course starts in September. I am looking forward to being back in a climate classroom.
Building Around One Family’s Real Needs
This project began with one family’s need to keep track of information and follow-ups. We mapped where information enters the household, what needs to be remembered, and what needs follow-up.
The problem is specific: how can a family see important information, decide what needs attention first, and turn it into clear next steps?
I am building the system around their needs. The family uses it in daily life and tells me what breaks or feels awkward. We improve it as we go. I want to do more projects this way.
I Want to Build More Projects With People, One-on-One
If you have a real problem you want to turn into a product, email me.
You lead the project. I help you frame the problem, build the first version, and improve it after you use it. We can start with one session and continue if it is useful.
I would especially like to hear about the project you have been thinking about for a long time but have not built yet.