MNTS #13

[Week 32 / Year 2023] Slootman, McCarthy, Emerson, Gray, Taleb, Burkman, Dillian, Hair, Patrick, Clear, Graham, Cowen, Rubin, Kruze, Huberman, 531

Aug 13, 2023

Mainly, Notes To Self - my weekly attempt to compress everything noteworthy I read, watched, listened to, and discovered during the past week.

New Posts

Pod Notes The Knowledge Project with Shane Parish - #173 Frank Slootman: Doing Less, Doing Better

A few things I’m stealing:

“Probably okay” is not the standard.
“do things in sequence rather than in parallel.”
“We always say that we’re all working for sales here because they’re the tip of the spear and the rest of us are really the wood behind the arrowhead. That’s sort of the way I characterize the relationships between sales and the rest of the company. And sales needs to feel that wood behind the arrowhead, like everybody is killing themselves to help me succeed.”
“We always say a good quarter is one where you exceed your numbers but also one where you set yourself up for the next one. [You’ve] got to do both. It’s not just about making the quarter; you also have to lay the foundation for the next one and the rest of the year.”

Reading

I finished Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. What a book. Judge Holden will be haunting my thoughts for the foreseeable future. I’m looking forward to discussing this with the Other Life group. So much to unpack with this one.

I revisited Self Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson for the Other Life book meeting.

I started Straw Dogs by John Gray - a wild ride so far and somewhat antithetical to Emerson’s Self-Reliance. Buckle up.

Investment Traffic Lights by DWS.com - Taleb’s reverse Turing test to “make the distinction between the babbler and the thinker.”

The four hour work day by Oliver Burkman - “try dedicating a portion of daily time to it that’s significantly smaller than you believe it requires.” Raising twins has been an excellent forcing function for a similar experiment.

Trading for a Living by Jared Dillian - I find the majority of these insights to be true in my experience. I highlighted the entire 7th paragraph because I think Dillian absolutely nailed the realities.

The Complete Guide to Getting a Haircut by Church California - communicating with the person who is about to drastically alter your appearance is an undervalued life skill. As someone who prides themselves on having a decent mop, this is solid advice. I also use and highly recommend their Volcanic Clay Pomade—top-notch stuff.

ATG Zero by Ben Patrick - I do a variation of this sequence as my warm-up before runs. My feet, ankles, knees, and hips have never felt better.

3-2-1: Starting vs/ finishing, and the value of trying differently by James Clear - “Persistence is not just about effort, but also strategy.” & “What do you need to focus on right now? First or last? Do you need to start or finish?”

Paul Graham on Ambition, Art, and Evaluating Talent (Ep. 186) - Two of my favorite high-quality minds colliding; bless the internet for this one.

Listening

I’m working through these two monster episodes—a master class on the science of light.

Random

I just finished up another four-week 531 programming cycle. In MNTS #8, I mentioned checking my ego and setting my training max at a five-rep max with good bar speed and perfect form. I like this change to the programming. By going lighter on the lifting during the week, I can get in a run and a bike ride which has been nothing but positive for my mood and consistency. I will stick with the same weights for the next training cycle and attempt rep PRs daily. I also changed the lifting days from 4 to 3. The extra day of rest makes this feel much more sustainable over the long term. My week now looks like this:

Monday: Squat

Tuesday: Run

Wednesday: Military Press

Thursday: Ride

Friday: Rest

Saturday: Bench & Deadlift

Sunday: Rest

Until next week.

Stay spirited, stay resilient.

Andrew