After reading Emergency, I watched the bleak, post-apocalyptic The Road, with Viggo Mortensen. Bad combination for a good night’s sleep. The Big Idea: when the shit hits the fan (WTSHTF), will you be prepared? LA >> NYC, since it’s too spread out and has no single building or monument that symbolizes the nation Most gas…
Just finished watching Cosmos on Netflix. Amazing work! Had to post this final monologue by Carl Sagan. From this distant vantage point, the Earth might not seem of any particular interest. But for us, it’s different. Consider again that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone…
The Big Idea: you need a well-designed pitch deck and a well-planned road show to raise serious money for your startup. Pitch Deck Overview Opportunity Problem Solution Traction Customer or Market Competition Business Model Team Use of Funds Road Show Investors love a great story Potential stories: origin story, customer story, industry story, venture growth…
The Big Idea: Prepare for what is difficult when it is easy. If you take the approach that everything is your fault, you can begin to anticipate and plan for many scenarios (disease, recession, breakup, accidents). If you get mugged and beat up at 30, it’s your fault because you could have been training since you were 10….
The Big Idea: If you have to go on vacation from what you do, don’t ever come back. The Amish work almost every day but don’t feel the need for a vacation. The Amish have 1/5 the depression of non-Amish. The Amish integrate work and life. Never permit a dichotomy to ruin your life. A dichotomy…
The Big Idea: Stay focused on the one thing you do best. Be able to share your life mission in one sentence. (Understandable by a 96 old grandma.) Jordan the baseball player was mediocre. Jordan the basketball player was legendary. Stay focused on the one thing you do best. Everything else is just a hobby. Jack…
The Big Idea: Don’t Fight Your Evolutionary Hardwiring; Understand It. The biological impulses you have come from 10,000 generations of evolution. However, the world has completely changed over the last 10 generations. Our biology leads us to overeat since we now live in an abundance of food. Our biology wants to to sleep from dusk to…
The Big Idea: Do Things That Develop Toughness a nation is born stoic and dies epicurean — Will Durant stoics say sacrifice today for tomorrow (invest wisely) epicureans say live for today (eat drink and be merry, yolo) there is truth to both, but stoicism is what I recommend Arnold wanted big calves, moved to South Africa…
The Big Idea: Reading Voraciously for Success billionaires read voraciously Warren Buffett reads 8 hours a day a rich man’s house always has a library — Jim Rohn Alexander the Great used to travel with a library survival machines that can simulate the future are one jump ahead of survival machines who can only learn…
The Big Idea: U.S.A will dominate the next hundred years, first by controlling the oceans, then by controlling space. Geographic isolation gives the U.S. military advantages few nations can claim, which translates to economic and political dominance. Russia will challenge American dominance but will suffer from internal problems, declining population, and poor infrastructure. China will not…
The Big Idea: The good life integrates four pillars of health, wealth, love, and happiness. The Amish are so happy because they do not compartmentalize work from life. Do whatever it takes to avoid hating Mondays. The 2 Mile Rule: work and shop within 2 miles of your home; traffic (work/life compartmentalizing) is an enormous…
The Big Idea: 1) find your purpose and then 2) for four UNINTERRUPTED hours every morning, focus on THE ONE THING that will get you there fastest. If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one. –Russian proverb Ask yourself “What’s the one thing you can do right now that will make everything else easier or…
The Big Idea: Take risks in life The modern education system trains students to rely on others for their education Read a book a day and become self-educated for happiness Learned helplessness exists in education, health, income, love Great nations are born stoic and die epicurean In the American economy today, the consequences of failure are not…
The Big Idea: The media lies to you about success. Success takes years of focused work towards a wisely-chosen goal. The media lies to you about success The media doesn’t emphasize Bill Gates worked 7 days a week for ten years. Arnold Schwarzenegger worked out 4 hours a day during his teens. Overnight success takes years Learn to love…
The Big Idea: Study how successful people think. Don’t pick your friends based on their success, but be selective about which friend’s advice you listen to. Pay attention to how your more successful friends think and how your less successful friends think. Like parrots, successful people repeat quotes all the time (not their own opinions.) Successful…
The Big Idea: Use mentors to shorten your learning curve. Good artists copy and great artists steal. —Picasso If I’m great it’s because I’m standing on the shoulders of giants. —Einstein To get what you want you must be a learning machine. Poor people should take rich people to dinner. 70% of communication is nonverbal….
One of the top ten most influential books of the 20th century. It’s a great book to read or re-read when I’m in need of a little perspective and inspiration in my life. Read wikipedia’s book summary. the meaning of life is found in every moment of living Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear with almost…
This is another quick read from the founders of 37 Signals and creators of Ruby on Rails. Nadine West has been working remotely from the beginning and there isn’t anything in the book to disagree with. ADVANTAGES TO REMOTE TEAMS Fewer interruptions than at the office No commuting Technology makes it possible Flexible work hours No need to…
Two things about this book: it’s very short and it has a very simple message: repeat “I love myself” over and over, every day. I bought it because it was recommended by James Altucher, Tim Ferriss, and Sean Stephenson. Repeat “I love myself” every day. Do this with emotional intensity. Meditate for 5-10 minutes every…
Preface: Why Google’s rules will work for you Companies who follow many of the same principles: grocery chain Wegman’s, a Sri Lankan clothing manufacturer, a Nike factory. The book’s key messages: take power and authority over employees away from managers, managers serve the team not vice versa, empower your employees Chapter 1: Becoming a Founder…
The Most Dangerous Leadership Traps — and the 15-Minute Daily Practice That Will Save You Spend 15 minutes a day in reflection — true reflection, in a quiet space, with your inbox closed. Take this time to review the events of the previous day and make plans for the one coming up. At the end…
The Big Idea: the most successful men are usually the most humble. They read and study constantly because they know there is much they do not know. I’ve never met a player listen so closely and then go and do something like Michael Jordan. —Dean Smith Michael Jordan was cocky but immensely coachable. Sam Walton…
I read in the Amazon reviews that Oren Klaff is the Neil Strauss of Wall Street. That comparison makes a lot of sense. I really liked this book. My notes are below. CHAPTER 1: THE METHOD Pitching may be the most important thing we do. What are the two brains humans have? Crocodile brain (fast thinking) and Neocortex…
The Big Idea: Change is the basic law of nature in life, so be an adaptability machine. Read, learn, and expect occasional setbacks towards success. Change is the basic law of nature. The species that survives is the one that is best able to adapt to change. — Darwin Similarly, the most successful individuals and…
The Big Idea: To get what you want, you have to deserve what you want. Awareness is key to success. If you’re not successful, be self-aware enough to understand why. The good life = health, wealth, love, and happiness. To get what you want, you have to deserve what you want. the world is not…
A couple of weeks ago, I posted some notes on Unbeatable Mind, based on a quick skim and video from Philosopher’s Notes. I’m adding some more in-depth notes today. Intro Mark Divine is a former Navy SEAL turned life coach, fitness trainer, business trainer, and entrepreneur. Unbeatable Mind is about the mental training he learned as a…
This book is on my top 20 books of all-time list. I must have been in middle school when I first got my hands on this book and read it cover to cover. Ever since then, I’ve had a copy on every bookshelf I’ve owned. Dale Carnegie included his own book summary at the end of…
Written by my Entrepreneurship professor at Kellogg. Ch 1 luck is opportunity meets preparation learn how to overcome rejection Ch 2 believe in your dream take the angel money do what you know and love believe in yourself project conservatively Ch 3 keep your business plan informal at first be ready to pivot or even…
For this book, I’m piggybacking off of Philosopher’s Notes’ book summary. 1. First Premise Win first in your mind and then on the battlefield. An unbeatable mind knows it will win. 2. Starve + Feed In the parable of the two wolves — the wolf of fear and the wolf of courage — which one…
This book, from the blogger behind Becoming Minimalist, wasn’t terrible, nor was it great. But at least it was only $3 on Kindle and took 20 minutes to read. 1. Be Convinced easier to clean less stress eco-friendly more time for other things 2. Make it Work for You find a style of minimalism that works for…
Not a classic business book, but I’ll post my summery anyways. When you are down to three sheets of toilet paper, you are very careful with it. When starting a company, you should have the same mentality. You should manage your precious resources while building the business using creativity and hard work. The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur…
This is one of our top 5 business books. Our first company tagline was “Happiness in a Pink Package.” Book notes are below: Books recommended: Good to Great, Tribal Leadership, Fred Factor, Fish, Made to Stick, Peak, Emotional Equations, Connected, Re-Imagine, Crush It Be clear about your company’s culture, values. Communicate them. Commit to them. Ask yourself, “what…
This one’s a classic business book by the dean of business thinking. Effective executives know where their time goes Effective executives focus on results Effective executives build on strengths Effective executives focus on the 80/20 Effective executives make effective decision 1. Effective executives know where their time goes people can be very time consuming be…
Collection of hilarious real-life stories by stand up comic and Joe Rogan regular Bert Kreischer. Below are my notes from the book: That is all.
This book has some simple but valuable ideas on how to change your life. The message is simple, probably similar to what you’ve read or heard elsewhere but still valuable. Another book in this genre is Daily Rituals, one of Tim Ferriss’ favorite books. The author’s message is that if you want to transform your life, you should six…
Predictive analytics is about what the mass media calls data science or big data. It seems that practitioners prefer the more precise term, predictive analytics, which is what is sounds like, using analytics to predict behavior. The book is a quick, non-technical introduction to data analytics, explaining basic concepts and definitions, and then sharing real-world…
Stoicism is trending these days on the internet, especially among entrepreneur-types. What is Stoicism? Wikipedia says that stoicism is an ancient Greek philosophy (300 B.C.) with a number of tenets but most practically for today’s entrepreneur: “Stoicism teaches the development of self-control and fortitude as a means of overcoming destructive emotions.” The Obstacle is the…
We want to model Nadine West after Zappos. Happy employees = Happy customers. Happy customers = Happy company. Which means, we need to study the science and psychology of happiness. Below are my notes from Shawn Achor’s book The Happiness Advantage. The science says that we become more successful when we are happier and more positive. Not the other…
Weekends are for good books, podcasts, and blogs. Richard Branson is my favorite entrepreneur. According to Branson, success in business is best measured by whether or not you have created something of which you can be truly proud. Below are my notes from Like a Virgin: Secrets They Won’t Teach You at Business School. Success in Life…