<![CDATA[Summersoul]]>
summersoul.substack.com]]>https://summersoul.substack.com/podcastSubstackTue, 08 Sep 2026 03:24:11 GMThttps://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/3140585.rssJeremy ChanNascent observations, thoughts, and insights into the human condition, errant or otherwise.episodicJeremy Chansummersoul@substack.comNo<![CDATA[Behind the Glass Wall, Part III]]>Pay is another aspect of the Alignment Gap between employees and owners. This article discusses the employer mindset in compensation, the role of intangibles, the problem with remote work, and the value of the unselfish edge in improving your take-home value. It encourages a holistic view of employment where shared success is prioritised over rigid extraction.



Get full access to Summersoul at summersoul.substack.com/subscribe]]>https://summersoul.substack.com/p/behind-the-glass-wall-part-iiisubstack:post:208285381Mon, 03 Aug 2026 23:24:49 GMTJeremy ChanNo2012212.3full<![CDATA[Behind the Glass Wall, Part II]]>This reaction podcast was generated by NotebookLM, using the article "Behind the Glass Wall Part II — Risking the Truth" as source material, for those who prefer an informal summary reaction to a long-form article.

While truth is a fundamental tool for personal growth and organizational trust, sharing too much information can cause unnecessary stress or panic. Leaders must often withhold details to maintain confidentiality or stability. This is the transparency paradox.

Text written and spoken by Jeremy Chan — a human being!

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Get full access to Summersoul at summersoul.substack.com/subscribe]]>https://summersoul.substack.com/p/behind-the-glass-wall-part-iisubstack:post:206785854Wed, 15 Jul 2026 19:09:19 GMTJeremy ChanNo1619212.2full<![CDATA[Behind the Glass Wall, Part I]]>The Alignment Gap between employees and owners causes friction Workers frequently perceive leadership decisions as hostile or opaque because of an asymmetry of risk, where owners carry the burden of survival and financial liability, where workers carry the burden of execution. To overcome this disconnect, you can adopt an owner mindset, assuming responsibility for problems that have no home, finding greater personal purpose and influence within their careers.



Get full access to Summersoul at summersoul.substack.com/subscribe]]>https://summersoul.substack.com/p/behind-the-glass-wall-part-isubstack:post:203193766Mon, 29 Jun 2026 20:11:00 GMTJeremy ChanNo1173212.1full<![CDATA[The Splendour of You]]>Our "battle-hardened" perspectives provide indispensable value, though we ourselves may be blind to that perspective. Fear of unoriginality, redundancy, and imposter syndrome silence our unique voices. Adopting a personal "constitution" of self love, and defining a good purpose liberates us to life.



Get full access to Summersoul at summersoul.substack.com/subscribe]]>https://summersoul.substack.com/p/the-splendour-of-yousubstack:post:195238557Mon, 27 Apr 2026 00:11:36 GMTJeremy ChanNo1753211full<![CDATA[The Taste Deficit, Part II]]>AI lacks subjective taste, relying on data patterns rather than human intuition or emotion. While AI enhances productivity, true creativity requires an author’s unique vibe and lived experience. Humans provide the authenticity and spirit that machines cannot replicate.



Get full access to Summersoul at summersoul.substack.com/subscribe]]>https://summersoul.substack.com/p/the-taste-deficit-part-iisubstack:post:188571007Fri, 20 Feb 2026 16:57:49 GMTJeremy ChanNo1548210.2full<![CDATA[The Taste Deficit, Part I]]>The Taste Deficit, Part 1 — The Role of Taste in Production

Human taste serves as a vital differentiator in commercial processes as AI automates output. Productivity belongs to robots, leaving humans to focus on the "wasteful" play and experimentation arising from our curiosity. Ultimately, humans will use AI as an amplifier, encoding their "golden intent" more and more to project themselves further into the world.



Get full access to Summersoul at summersoul.substack.com/subscribe]]>https://summersoul.substack.com/p/the-taste-deficit-part-isubstack:post:187970183Sun, 15 Feb 2026 04:45:04 GMTJeremy ChanNo1420210.1full<![CDATA[The Value Delusion]]>What is at the root of the things we value? Using the "5 Whys" technique and by relating our lives to other things we think are valuable (gold, real estate, art, stocks, crypto, etc), we begin to see that value often lacks objective foundations. Instead, it is a subjective construct manufactured through marketing, cultural conditioning, and perceived scarcity. Ultimately, value depends on shared human beliefs and tribal psychology, serving as a proxy for meaning in an otherwise abstract and uncertain world.



Get full access to Summersoul at summersoul.substack.com/subscribe]]>https://summersoul.substack.com/p/the-value-delusionsubstack:post:184066646Wed, 14 Jan 2026 20:05:44 GMTJeremy ChanYes143129full<![CDATA[I'm #Retiring]]>This farewell reflection chronicles my departure from a twenty-eight-year career. The article highlights the importance of curiosity and genuine human connections over the pursuit of status or financial gain. It discusses the psychological challenges of entering retirement, advocating for a life lived at a slower, more deliberate pace to resist the pressures of modern society. Finally, the article touches on imposter syndrome and the unique value found in long-term professional trust. Ultimately, the narrative serves as an encouragement to embrace vulnerability and prioritise personal values when making major life transitions.



Get full access to Summersoul at summersoul.substack.com/subscribe]]>https://summersoul.substack.com/p/im-retiringsubstack:post:184069073Sat, 10 Jan 2026 09:09:19 GMTJeremy ChanNo60428full<![CDATA[The Magic of Your First Work Friends]]>In-person work has a profound impact on personal development, which has been eroded in the wake of widespread Post-Covid remote work adoption. The spontaneous interaction and relationship-building that physical presence at the office once fostered are now largely gone, removing an important source of self-awareness, personal development, and our sense of belonging. While productivity can be achieved remotely, the deeper human aspects of work — trust, purpose, and self-discovery — are best cultivated through in-person engagement.

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Get full access to Summersoul at summersoul.substack.com/subscribe]]>https://summersoul.substack.com/p/the-magic-of-your-first-work-friendssubstack:post:168655496Mon, 21 Jul 2025 21:46:31 GMTJeremy ChanNo77117full<![CDATA[The Tyranny of Outcome - Part IV]]>As AI automates jobs across sectors, humans will be forced to re-evaluate the role of work. Robots will dominate tasks centered on efficiency and utility, but jobs that emphasize human creativity, emotional intelligence, and connection are likely to remain the domain of humans. This may lead humanity into a world in which curiosity and connection matter more than tangible outputs.

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Get full access to Summersoul at summersoul.substack.com/subscribe]]>https://summersoul.substack.com/p/the-tyranny-of-outcome-part-ivsubstack:post:155144939Sun, 19 Jan 2025 17:01:59 GMTJeremy ChanNo120916.4full<![CDATA[The Tyranny of Outcome - Part III]]>Society conditions us to prioritize achievement over presence, often at the expense of personal fulfillment. Using anecdotes and reflections from Jim Carrey, Bob Marley, Eckhart Tolle, and others, we discuss the relentless pursuit of success and material goals, which can disconnect us from our source energy.

This episode is Part III of the series "The Tyranny of Outcome," and picks up where we left off last time with part II.



Get full access to Summersoul at summersoul.substack.com/subscribe]]>https://summersoul.substack.com/p/the-tyranny-of-outcome-part-iiisubstack:post:153745217Sun, 29 Dec 2024 05:19:11 GMTJeremy ChanNo129316.3full<![CDATA[The Tyranny of Outcome - Part II]]>As we grow up, we trade the effortless joy of childhood play to chase after goals and outcomes. Responsibilities, societal expectations, and the relentless pursuit of achievement erode our capacity for our early, relatively unburdened experiences.

This is Part II of the series "The Tyranny of Outcome"

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Get full access to Summersoul at summersoul.substack.com/subscribe]]>https://summersoul.substack.com/p/the-tyranny-of-outcome-part-iisubstack:post:153296339Wed, 18 Dec 2024 05:23:53 GMTJeremy ChanNo81416.2full<![CDATA[The Tyranny of Outcome - Part I]]>Have you ever been frustrated by the advice "focus on process over outcome?"

I suspect this is wise counsel. Buddha warns that attachment to desire is the origin of all suffering. Lao Tzu prescribes that the “only path to serenity” is to “do our work, then step back." Two philosophical heavy hitters, no doubt.

This is Part I of the series "The Tyranny of Outcome" - Process, outcome, and Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

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Get full access to Summersoul at summersoul.substack.com/subscribe]]>https://summersoul.substack.com/p/the-tyranny-of-outcome-part-isubstack:post:152678673Mon, 09 Dec 2024 02:38:11 GMTJeremy ChanNo39716.1full<![CDATA[Beyond Compromise]]>American democracy is suffering from an unhealthy polarization of values, where both sides engage in unproductive and dishonest rhetoric. A healthy democracy must focus on optimizing competing values rather simply admonishing one in favour of another, which is counterproductive. Our values are simply temporal expressions our individual opinions. We can recalibrate more optimally by promoting and paying attention to honest politicians and analysts instead of blind adherence to our tribe. We can also strive to be well-informed, curious, and humble enough to change our minds in the face of better information.



Get full access to Summersoul at summersoul.substack.com/subscribe]]>https://summersoul.substack.com/p/beyond-compromisesubstack:post:151805047Mon, 18 Nov 2024 04:37:42 GMTJeremy ChanNo1716<![CDATA[The Alchemy of Pain]]>This is a read-through of the article "The Alchemy of Pain," by Jeremy Chan, with audio clips from J.K. Rowling's Harvard commencement speech, and Danny DeVito's monologue from The Big Kahuna.

Seemingly negative experiences like failure, regret, and empathy are not simply obstacles to overcome but rather are an integral part of wisdom, character, and grace. These pairs are fundamentally entwined, and occur everywhere. By embracing the "messy" parts of life, we can ultimately grow and achieve a more complete understanding of ourselves.



Get full access to Summersoul at summersoul.substack.com/subscribe]]>https://summersoul.substack.com/p/the-alchemy-of-painsubstack:post:150969865Fri, 01 Nov 2024 02:35:28 GMTJeremy ChanNo107514full<![CDATA[No-one Can Teach You Anything]]>In a summer in my mid twenties, a buddy and I discovered the Tao Te Jing and it blew our minds wide open. But did we actually learn anything on the first read?



Get full access to Summersoul at summersoul.substack.com/subscribe]]>https://summersoul.substack.com/p/no-one-can-teach-you-anything-053substack:post:150240942Tue, 15 Oct 2024 02:54:43 GMTJeremy ChanNo60212full