Michael Yang's Blog

2012-01-24T11:54:00.001-08:00

US has trade deficit of $183 billion with China but S. Korea has trade surplus of $70 billion with China
http://ping.fm/n6Ckr

2012-01-24T11:49:00.001-08:00

I am surprised that South Korea exports more to China than US ($138 billion vs. $102 billion in 2010)
http://ping.fm/qaHq6

2012-01-10T12:04:00.001-08:00

Interesting Samsung vs. Google piece by Jean-Louis Gassee. Samsung ships 55% of Android phones.
http://www.mondaynote.com/2012/01/08/samsung-vs-google/

2012-01-09T11:28:00.001-08:00

WSJ: Samsung expects profit in Q4, 2011 at $4.3 billion. A record profit in a single quarter. Impressive!
http://ping.fm/Aoe2i

2012-01-04T08:49:00.001-08:00

Yahoo hires PayPal President Scott Thompson as its CEO
http://ping.fm/R2zVD

2011-12-22T13:57:00.001-08:00

Over 25% of photos and videos are taken with smartphones in the US in 2011 (WSJ)
http://allthingsd.com/20111222/more-picture-takers-are-phoning-it-in/

2011-12-14T08:53:00.001-08:00

Google helping to end human slavery. Good job, Google!
http://ping.fm/Cev5o

2011-11-30T15:23:00.001-08:00

Efficient Frontier acquired by Adobe - terms not disclosed but seems like a good deal.
http://ping.fm/U6ClH

The path of martial artist

2011-11-17T14:29:00.000-08:00

I wrote this essay as part of the requirement for my 4th Dan Taekwondo black belt promotion test in November of 2011 which I wanted to share on my blog.

Essay for the 4^th Dan Black Belt Promotion

The Path of Martial Artist

Michael Yang

October 30, 2011

“Perform actions having abandoned attachment and having become balanced in success and failure”

Bhagavad-Gita

“Our worst weakness is fear! Once we serenely accept that in defending our life we may be killed, we eliminate panic, and we no longer have anything to fear”

Grand Master Richard Chun

1. Introduction

Taekwondo, the Korean art of kicking and punching, is not merely a fighting skill; it is a way of thinking and acting. In order to truly master the essence of the art of Taekwondo, one must learn to master oneself, to be totally committed to the mental as well as the physical discipline demanded.

A true Taekwondo martial artist must exhibit tremendous discipline in his or her own self such as physical fitness, mental and emotional control, as well as strong character as an individual. Furthermore, martial artist must be a good husband, father, son, brother/sister, and friends to his family and friends. Lastly, he or she must treat all people with love and respect, and serve society and others to contribute to the betterment of the society as a whole.

2. Physical

Given the importance of our health and fitness, martial artist must take good care of his/her own body through healthy diet, training & exercise, and avoidance of harmful elements such as drugs, alcohol and nicotine into his/her body. Healthy and strong body is a critical foundation for clear and strong mind and is the basis of being a martial artist.

3. Mental / emotional

Equally important is the health and soundness of our mind including mental and emotional capabilities. A martial artist must have a clear conscience, a proper view of self-identity, and positive attitude. We must rid our mind of fear by controlling our mind. Fear is restricting and therefore must be dealt with head on. Many times we fear for our life, our financial security, and potential failures in life. We must perform actions having abandoned our attachment to things such as life and financial security and having balanced in success and failure. We must empty our minds from worldly desires and accept the fact that failures are part of the process.

4. Character

A martial artist must have strong personal character including traits such as honesty, diligence, integrity, and humility. We must speak truth and not lie to anyone or exaggerate. We must be diligent in our work and responsibilities. We must have integrity in all our dealings so that what we say and do is consistent. We must do things that we will not be ashamed of even if we are at a place that no one sees because that is part of having integrity in our character. Finally, we must stay humble and never become conceited or too prideful. There is a verse in the Bible Proverb 16-18 that says “pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall”.

5. Good husband, father, son, brother/sister, and friend

We as individuals have responsibilities as son/daughter, husband/wife, father/mother, brother/sister and friend. We must take our responsibility seriously so that we are not absent in these relationships and fully enjoy the special family and friend relationships. We must put our relationship in high priority so that we have a good balance between family, work and our art.

6. Leadership in work and society

We must have the servant leader attitude in our work and those around us. A servant leader seeks to help others around them and strives to put the interest of the whole above one’s own interest.

7. Compassion / Love

A martial artist should treat people around them with love and compassion. Ultimately, people are remembered for the love and compassion that they provided to others while they are alive.

8. Contribution to society

We need to use our time, talents, resource, and influence to contribute to the betterment of the society. We must first study and work diligently to obtain the required training to be successful in our careers. After that, we can strategically apply our knowledge, experience, and wisdom to those things that we have a passion for and serve for non-profit motives. The world needs people with conviction to stand up for what is right and right wrong. A martial artist should and must strive to do the right thing all of the time.

2011-11-17T12:56:00.001-08:00

Yelp files for IPO with desired valuation of$1 to $2 billion but the company is still not profitable.
http://ping.fm/nEvy2

2011-11-05T22:30:00.001-07:00

It was very special to have my parents from LA come up and my family and cousin Mari to be at the 4th degree black best promotion test today

2011-11-05T22:28:00.001-07:00

Taebaek poomse in Taekwondo for the 4th degree black belt testing
http://ping.fm/8meoc

2011-11-05T22:27:00.001-07:00

Breaking 3 boards by sliding side kick in Taekwondo
http://ping.fm/Z0MXu

2011-11-05T22:26:00.001-07:00

I passed the 4th degree black belt promotion test today! Breaking 3 bricks.
http://ping.fm/ATI9G

2011-11-02T17:45:00.001-07:00

Apple admits battery problems with iPhone 4s and iOS5. Bug fix on the way.
http://ping.fm/dksyV

2011-10-31T21:50:00.001-07:00

Five days to go for the 4th degree black belt promotion test. Getting ready...

2011-10-28T14:44:00.001-07:00

Yahoo: Center of Global Chess game.
http://ping.fm/TDrWq

2011-10-17T21:19:00.001-07:00

My new iPhone 4s is over heating and draining battery quickly - this is a big problem

2011-10-14T15:41:00.001-07:00

President Obama toasts President Lee Myung-Bak of South Korea at State Dinner
http://ping.fm/DroPg

2011-10-05T20:14:00.001-07:00

I really miss Steve Jobs. His death was much more sudden that I expected and I didn't realize how important he was in my life.

2011-10-05T19:21:00.001-07:00

I stopped by Steve Jobs' childhood home in Los Altos on my way home today and took this picture on my iPhone

2011-10-05T17:42:00.001-07:00

Steve Jobs childhood home in Los Altos where he and Steve Wozniac built the world's first personal computer in 1974.
http://ping.fm/9dHCp

2011-10-05T17:20:00.001-07:00

Steve Jobs will be remembered in the same vein as Einstein, Ford, and John Lennon.

2011-10-05T17:18:00.001-07:00

I had a unique experience of meeting Steve Jobs in 1982 at Macy's Department store in SF when IBM had just started selling PC at Macy's...

2011-10-05T17:17:00.001-07:00

I am incredibly saddened to hear of passing of Steve Jobs. He was a creative genius/visionary that the world will miss. RIP.
http://ping.fm/F6gnj

2011-09-28T17:23:00.001-07:00

About to takeoff on A380 from Tokyo to Frankfurt Germany - curious how this plane feels

2011-09-27T19:31:00.001-07:00

It costs $6 for a cup of Tall Soy Chai at Starbucks in Tokyo, Japan because of strong Yen against the Dollar.

2011-09-27T09:25:00.001-07:00

Just read Michael Arrington's new blog Uncrunched. Looks like I will be reading lots of crunchies.
http://ping.fm/nY8ho

2011-09-22T13:53:00.001-07:00

Watching Facebook's f8 developers conference live streaming
http://ping.fm/7jYcY

2011-09-22T13:49:00.001-07:00

Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay, has been just named CEO of HP.
http://ping.fm/nSHwU

2011-09-21T12:47:00.001-07:00

CEO of Expedia, Yelp, NexTag testifying against Google at Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust hearing
http://ping.fm/6mY1f

2011-09-21T11:58:00.001-07:00

Watching US Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust questioning Eric Schmidt of Google
http://ping.fm/jhwCN

2011-09-20T11:57:00.001-07:00

Flying back home from Boston. Rainy day here. Looking forward to going home!

2011-09-09T15:21:00.001-07:00

I attended a fund raiser lunch for Gov. Rick Perry in Palo Alto today and took a photo with him.

2011-09-09T14:58:00.001-07:00

A picture with Gov. Rick Perry at a lunch meeting in Palo Alto today. I think that he will be a great president.

2011-08-16T11:26:00.001-07:00

World's top 500 universities in 2011, according to a university in China
http://ping.fm/HNfHj

2011-08-09T13:43:00.001-07:00

London riot analysis. Sounds similar to LA riot. Very sad...
http://ping.fm/PjgrS

2011-08-08T16:21:00.001-07:00

Russia to send 50.000 tons of food aid to N. Korea
http://ping.fm/Yxlkr

2011-08-02T16:49:00.001-07:00

LivingSocial acquires S. Korea's largest social commerce company TMon (Ticket Monster)
http://ping.fm/kWgFb

2011-07-28T11:28:00.001-07:00

Become.com is selected as one of the 10 Best Shopping Search Engines by Search Engine Watch
http://ping.fm/p01IS

2011-07-25T11:58:00.001-07:00

Apple now bigger than Microsoft, Intel and Yahoo combined - amazing!!!
http://ping.fm/fwcVJ

2011-07-12T13:21:00.001-07:00

Heading out to give a talk on entrepreneurship at Stanford Graduate School of Business this afternoon
http://ping.fm/GEgBB

2011-07-12T09:15:00.001-07:00

Hedge funds invest directly into private Internet companies
http://ping.fm/EaoWC

2011-07-06T10:54:00.001-07:00

South Korea's Pyungchang awarded 2018 Winter Olympics
http://ping.fm/Yxqqa

2011-06-28T10:20:00.001-07:00

Zynga to file for IPO tomorrow to raise $1.5B to $2B at $15B to $20B valuation.
http://ping.fm/WO758

2011-06-23T20:03:00.001-07:00

WSJ: Feds launch an anti-trust probe on Google
http://ping.fm/ekbrX

2011-06-16T21:27:00.001-07:00

My 8 year old son David Yang said today "Among people, there is no such thing as better".

2011-06-09T22:02:00.001-07:00

Watch this YouTube video of Choi, Sungbong in Korea Got Talent show. What an amazing story.
http://ping.fm/gVQil

2011-06-08T14:06:00.001-07:00

Apple's beautiful new "space ship" campus. Hope it does not become a big distraction for Steve.
http://ping.fm/NrNdX

2011-05-27T17:30:00.001-07:00

Just had a great brainstorming session with Become Labs team!!!

2011-05-27T17:28:00.001-07:00

I tore the muscle in my calf yesterday while I was working out and it hurts a bit. My body is not what it used to be.

2011-05-25T08:11:00.001-07:00

Bill Gurley's piece on company valuation in anticipation of IPOs of Zynga, Facebook, Groupon and others
http://ping.fm/YPT5R

2011-05-25T07:46:00.001-07:00

Online game provider Zynga filed for an IPO. This will be a big IPO but bubble is starting to form.
http://ping.fm/SuEPR

2011-05-22T20:34:00.001-07:00

http://ping.fm/6423G

2011-05-22T20:32:00.001-07:00

Hillary Clinton recommends Sung Kim to be the next US Ambassador to South Korea, the first time a Korean American picked for the post
http://ping.fm/eRhHE

2011-05-22T20:11:00.001-07:00

Time Square in NY is by far the biggest and brightest urban commercial/tourist destination in the world. Keeps getting bigger each year.

2011-05-22T11:18:00.001-07:00

Attending TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon in New York

2011-05-19T07:28:00.001-07:00

LinkedIn opens at $80 per share, a big pop from IPO price of $45 yesterday. Now trading at $84. Congrats to Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner!

2011-05-18T16:36:00.001-07:00

LinkedIn's IPO priced at $45 per share. Think it will go up to $100 soon.
http://ping.fm/S9zd4

2011-05-17T11:20:00.001-07:00

Looking forward to attending the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in New York next week
http://ping.fm/aPyKN

2011-05-17T10:48:00.001-07:00

LinkedIn increases price range for IPO shares to $42-$45
http://ping.fm/ijREb

2011-05-16T00:16:00.001-07:00

LinkedIn's IPO should go well this week. The trading is expected to start on Thursday under LNKD symbol. I am bullish on LinkedIn.
http://ping.fm/ce0df

2011-05-11T16:35:00.000-07:00

I love my Google Places App on my iPhone!

2011-05-11T10:58:00.001-07:00

How Google is secretly building its Facebook killer
http://ping.fm/slkC5

2011-05-01T21:02:00.001-07:00

Bin Laden's death is a huge milestone for US's war on terrorism.
http://ping.fm/e3Bdk

2011-04-27T13:58:00.001-07:00

Gideon Yu leaves Khosla Ventures to join 49ers as Chief Strategy Officer
http://ping.fm/d9ll6

2011-04-21T15:18:00.001-07:00

Walmart buys former search engine Kosmix to power social shopping
http://ping.fm/dIfJZ

2011-04-18T17:05:00.001-07:00

Clash of the Titans: Apple suing Samsung for copyright infringement on iPhone and iPad
http://ping.fm/eKHxg

2011-04-18T17:02:00.001-07:00

Walmart acquires Kosmix, a search engine start-up in Silicon Valley
http://ping.fm/8gsXY

2011-04-18T17:00:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to Jeff Holden, founder & CEO of Pelago & board member of Become.com, on successful sale to Groupon
http://ping.fm/lad6x

2011-04-13T14:11:00.001-07:00

The Real History of Twitter
http://ping.fm/OfPZo

2011-04-13T13:58:00.001-07:00

The web continues to trump store sales
http://ping.fm/B2oar

2011-04-07T10:57:00.001-07:00

Sunny and I are hosting a LiNK (Liberty in North Korea) event at our home tonight to support their good work.
http://ping.fm/nfSlp

2011-03-28T11:29:00.001-07:00

eBay acquires GSI Commerce for $2 billion to compete with Amazon in a marketplace battle
http://ping.fm/2ustV

2011-03-23T16:06:00.001-07:00

I attended a dinner with senator Mongjoon Chung of Korea who is the son of founder of Hyundai last night in San Jose

2011-02-28T14:51:00.001-08:00

US Online Retail industry to grow to $279 billion in 2015 according to Forrester Research
http://ping.fm/6JB6a

2011-02-24T11:25:00.001-08:00

My three year old daughter asked me yesterday "I am a big girl now. Can I have some money for my Hello Kitty piggy bank?"

2011-02-23T14:54:00.001-08:00

Beautiful spring day in Silicon Valley!

2011-02-16T17:40:00.001-08:00

For the family vacation this summer, we are planning to go to Seattle, Vancouver, and Victoria Island in June. Any suggestions or ideas?

2011-02-16T17:30:00.001-08:00

IBM computer beats human in Jeopardy game but only human can "create"
http://ping.fm/XevFK

2011-02-15T11:38:00.001-08:00

Attending AGC's West Coast emerging growth conference in San Francisco.

2011-02-11T15:16:00.001-08:00

Congratulations to Egyptians for your victory!!!
http://ping.fm/rICQr

2011-02-03T11:46:00.001-08:00

My 7 year old son David asked me this morning "when I grow up can you open a Facebook account for me?"

2011-01-30T23:04:00.001-08:00

Mark Zuckerberg on "Saturday Night Live" with the star of the Social Network the movie
http://ping.fm/IBYsK

2011-01-22T16:45:00.001-08:00

Facebook to finally open their financials this year or early next
http://ping.fm/3Phzw

2011-01-21T20:44:00.001-08:00

South Korean commandos raid frees hostages from the Somali pirates
http://ping.fm/Sldyw

2011-01-20T21:02:00.001-08:00

US warns China on North Korea
http://ping.fm/0Brgv

2011-01-20T15:13:00.001-08:00

Google founder Larry Page steps up to be the new CEO of Google replacing Eric Schmidt
http://ping.fm/aPpXo

2011-01-18T22:31:00.001-08:00

Become.com wins the CPC Strategy's award for best shopping search engine along with Google!
http://ping.fm/glNTr

2011-01-18T22:05:00.001-08:00

As a fan and shareholder of Apple I do hope that Steve Jobs will recover well from his illness and come back soon to continue his great work

2011-01-13T16:30:00.001-08:00

My good friend Dave Dias took this video about Become.com and uploaded to the YouTube. Thanks Dave!
http://ping.fm/rCSEy

2011-01-10T17:43:00.001-08:00

I am excited to be going to the Founders Den launch party in San Francisco next week. This is an interesting idea!
http://ping.fm/D4QFB

2011-01-08T15:28:00.001-08:00

Kleiner Perkins reported to invest in Groupon

2011-01-07T13:30:00.001-08:00

Congressman Mike Honda speaking at the White House Initiative on Asian American Entrepreneurship at Microsoft campus in Mountain View, Calif

2011-01-07T10:28:00.001-08:00

Attending The White House Initiative on Asian American Entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley

2011-01-02T21:55:00.001-08:00

Facebook raises $500 million from Goldman Sachs at $50 billion valuation! A big bet.
http://ping.fm/YwmuC

2010-12-20T16:37:00.001-08:00

N Korea blinks
http://ping.fm/B41lB

2010-12-19T23:31:00.001-08:00

S Korea and US forces jointly monitoring N Korea's military movements using joint military intelligence. NK provocation still possible.

2010-12-19T22:16:00.001-08:00

The photo was Mark Zuckerberg at Web 2.0 Summit conf in SF last month.

2010-12-19T22:12:00.001-08:00

South Korea starts military exercise near Yeonpyung island. Tension escalates. I fully support South Korea.