Happy Friday.
(I’m back from Kelowna, BC… more on that later. Hello, from Ashburn, VA today!)
1. “In general, startups get distracted by fake work.” [Link] [Tweet]
Founders, please read this — I wish someone had called me out for making these same mistakes years ago. Focus on sales and product. Be honest with yourself and others when you’re deviating from those two things.
2. “Some of these literally blew my mind. Some blew my mind because I never realized how important they were.” [Link] [Tweet]
Two things make me happy about this:
- The concepts are applicable in your personal and professional life. Win-win, y’all.
- The author gives a shout out to Ben Congleton from Olark and he’s from Virginia, like me. VIRGINIA (FOUNDERS) FTW.
3. “He made so many kids smile, thousands. They all thought he was Batman, a hero. He was.” [Link] [Tweet]
This guy bought himself a Lamborghini but, instead of doing what ever “normal” supercar owners do, he bought a Batman costume (that might even be better than the one in the movies) and made sick kids smile. I’ve never met him but he was a real hero and the world is a little bit emptier for having lost him. RIP Batman.
4. Two Cows Explain Economics Better Than Any Class [Link] [Tweet]
The Irish Corporation FTW.
5. “Bullshit. There’s always enough time, you’re just not spending it right.” [Link] [Tweet]
This is obvious advice. Then again, going to the gym or saving money seem like obvious advice too.
6. “First, I was one of a few founders. As we grew, I became a manager of people. Then a manager of managers.” [Link] [Tweet]
If you had asked me about my thoughts on company culture about five years ago, I would have laughed and told you to go away. Today I realize just how important it is to a company’s success. Add this to the things-I-wish-I-knew-years-ago list.
7. “an enormous amount of a child’s fate is determined by luck, by accidents of birth, socioeconomics, and geography.” [Link] [Tweet]
My favorite part: “Life is just a series of moments, and it’s amazing how many of them we miss, rush past, or disrupt because our minds are elsewhere, anticipating the future or dwelling on the past. But a moment of joy or connection is its own justification, not a means to an end. Play can just be fun. Fart jokes can just be funny. Daydreaming and wasted time don’t have to be framed as developmental tools; they’re just nice.”
8. “It’s going to be on the phone and it’s going to be on paper.” [Link] [Tweet]
I used my iPad Mini to read books for a little while but have used nothing but my iPhone 6+ more recently. Actually, now that I think about it: I haven’t used my iPad Mini for anything in the last few months. Maybe it’s time to sell it.
9. “If it worked, some would call it genius; if it failed, it would be called the stupidest thing I had ever done.” [Link] [Tweet]
This is badass. Depending on your own views, hacking politics is either amazing or depressing.
10. What happens when you throw a camera into a black hole? [Link] [Tweet]
Fact: Interstellar is one of my favorite movies ever. I may or may not have watched in at least 10 times this year.
On Books That Make You Smarter
I mentioned So Good They Can’t Ignore You in last week’s newsletter and 80+ of you asked for another book recommendation. Read this: The Charisma Myth.
Kelowna, BC this week.
Suffice it to say, it was fun and full of smart people. Also, I learned to wake surf — you’ll find the video in those tweets.
I’ve spent the majority of the last 3 weeks on the road and it’s time for a bit of a break. It’ll be nice to be in one timezone for at least the next 2 weeks.
Anything interesting happening in your neck of the woods?
Apple Watch Week 4
I’m still not impressed with Siri. When it works, it’s OK. When it doesn’t, it fails spectacularly. Ask me about how I used Siri to say something about logistics and Siri decided to “autocorrect” my text to indicate that the recipient was a whore. (face palm)
Thanks (again) to Russell Rosenblum and Ed Pizzarello of RMR Capital for letting me borrow your Apple Watch for a bit.
What else?
If you made it all the way down here, I want to hear from you. What else can I be doing to make this more useful for you? How would you feel about being able to access me, my successful friends, advisors and confidants via a private Slack channel just for members of my email list?
Firehose
You can get the full stream of the things I read, it’s all on Twitter — follow me here: @paulsingh. Sometimes I write stuff too.
Have a great weekend!
-P
P.S. Don’t forget to tell me your thoughts on a private community of fellow #resultsjunkies. 🙂