A continuation of my winter tradition from 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Big sentences are learnings I don’t want to forget. They are the off-the-cuff thoughts I have when meditating on the big things I learned over the past year.
- You are interconnected to everything around you.
- Interactions are just energy transfers. Fun bar flirts, difficult conversations, a nod at the stranger walking by, professional meetings, small talk with baristas, etc. Charismatic people do not necessarily know the right thing to say. In fact, they know that doesn’t even matter. What matters is attuning your dial to the frequency of your counterpart’s energy, and going with them. If they’re warm, you’re warm. If they’re sarcastic, you can pontificate on a stupid imaginary scenario. Etc, etc. And, in everything, these energy wizards lean in fully.
- The answer to most things is leaning in, specifically leaning into your intuition and into what you see. Less “to do’s”, more “it feels right”. Less pro’s and cons, more gut. Less plans, more improv. The answers naturally appear in front of you. You can do exactly what the moment calls for. The right words find themselves in your lungs just before you speak. But if you’re second guessing, that won’t come. You’re no longer part of the river. To flow, you must lean in.
- Network effects are still frame-breaking in impact. Become the network effects guy. Be Ron Conway. And trust the process. It will be the engine for all of your pursuits. Compound early and often.
- Becoming a mini marketplace of usefulness is an effective way to get what you want.
- The evolution of a great business: find a problem → validate people have it + it’s big / frequent + they’re willing to spend time and resources to fix it (use the “feedback” play) + scope market headwinds → build steel thread to solve the problem → get beta users (throw ‘em deals, obsess on their experience, productize the important things) → tight feedback loop → release to a new cohort (measure time-to-value + churn + payment) → leverage referrals + social proof + stories + language from current users in outreach / marketing → momentum to drive more folks → compound
- Dancing is the best drug. And also, the best way to make wonderful friends.
- Depression happens slowly, then all at once. So sweep your mind frequently. And take care of the fundamentals.
- Similarly - burnout happens slowly, then all at once. It’s easy to ignore…until you can’t.
- You just might be able to have it all (joyful demeanor, creative outputs, beautiful life, great family, and big accomplishments), if you can reliably be in “infinite states” - play, flow, awareness, conscious observation, attuned interaction, etc.
- Art, in any form, is a portal back into The Source. But you can only pass through if you surrender, and allow yourself to feel.
- The motivation behind most human actions can be boiled down to 2 things: (1) the desire to feel seen, and (2) the desire to be loved.
- The greatest form of friendship is witness. To witness each other’s humanity, in whole form, and not leave.
- In the long run, product is the only thing that matters. Momentum, virality, inbound leads, etc only last temporarily. The thing that compounds is strong retention + word of mouth.
- Finding a few powerful ideas, reading them everyday to internalize them, and seeing how they play out in your life is perhaps the most effective for of learning and self-improvement. A more intentional way to let the world be your teacher. You can see exactly where and how something could be incorporated into your life. And slowly, it weaves itself into your subconscious.
- You already know most of the answers.
- Changing energy states and then working through difficult things is an incredibly effective way to rewire negative thought patterns your brain runs on.
- With less stimulus, your quality ideas become stickier. Your brain is in a state of reception.
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