There is history: what happened, but there is also a broader question: how does history happen, what drives it? Over time, different philosophies of history come in and out of vogue and so you tend to get different accounts of the same period or person: history has its own history. I like reading history and have read a fair amount and there are at least five different schools of what drives … [Read more...]
Essays
Greatest Hits (Sorted by Theme)
Learn how to...
- Risk Management - Apply Antifragility to make Entrepreneurship the Safest 21st Century Career and Surround yourself with a community that will foster success
- Writing and Reading - Read 60 Books a Year and 67 Recommendations on Where to Start
- Habits and Rituals - Build Daily Habits and a Weekly Review to Enable Doing Your Best Work
- Focus - Decide What to Focus on and Why It's Essential That You Do
- Systems - Leverage Systems to Be 10x More Effective, and Discover Frameworks that Yield Disproportionately Large Results
- Marketing - Grow your business 527% in 18 Months and sell 5000 Books in Four Weeks As a First Time Author
Want more? Browse the full archives below
How to Predict our Economic, Political and Cultural Futures
I tend to subscribe to a theory of history which I will call soft technological determinism. It sees technology as the primary driving force of history. In this model, technology is upstream of economics which is upstream of culture which is upstream of politics. At one level, this is kind of a silly thing to say. It is sort of a version of the question "Does art imitate life or does life … [Read more...]
The Maginot Line Problem
The Maginot Line was a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapons built by France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Germany. When it was built, the Maginot Line was believed to be one of the most significant innovations in national defense. Foreign leaders came from all over to tour it. It was an impressive-looking series of fortresses and railroads, resistant to all known … [Read more...]
The Blockchain Man
The term Organization Man is a rich one. From it, we can conjure up an image and a life. It’s a man, not a woman. He’s white, standing somewhere between 6’0 and 6’2. He has a strong chin and medium length light brown hair parted on the left. He walks from one meeting to the next wearing a dark suit with a pressed white dressed shirt and dark Oxford dress shoes. His wrist holds a watch – … [Read more...]
Lessons on How to Amass Power, Get Things Done, and Be Eaten Alive
Robert Moses may be the most influential historical figure you’ve never heard of. Moses was the master builder of New York. If you’ve ever set foot in a major city, he’s affected your life. He built more infrastructure than any individual in modern history. To name a few of his works, he built Shea Stadium, Lincoln Center, Jones Beach, the United Nations headquarters in New York, the Henry … [Read more...]
The Unlikely True Story of Ingeborg Francesca Jurkutat
In the fall of her twenty-second year, Inge sat down to rest. She felt the warmth of the rock beneath her, and lay back to let the sun shine down on her. She fell into a peaceful sleep. Twenty minutes later, a friend with whom she had been hiking, came back and woke her up. “Inge,” she said, “you must keep going. If you stay here, you will die." She, along with a … [Read more...]
8 Ways to Read 60 Books A Year
I read 60 books last year and am on pace to do about the same this year. Most people wish they could know how to read more often, probably because we’re reading less each year. In a 1978 survey, 42% of adults had read 11 books or more in the past year, and 13% said they had read more than 50. In a 2014 study, Pew found that just 28% hit the 11 book mark and only 1% had … [Read more...]
The Fourth Economy and The Future of Work
I read a fair amount and it's usually only a book a year that noticeably shapes my thinking years into the future. In 2012, that book was The Fourth Economy. When I met with the author, Ron Davison, I told him it influenced my thinking more than anything I’d read since the Communist Manifesto at 18 which lead to 3 years of my life chasing rabbits down socialist, ideological tunnels. Gracious … [Read more...]
Listen to What’s Being Whispered, not What’s Being Said
I don't watch a lot of movies, but I've re-watched Inception with Leonardo DiCaprio a few times. I've realized what draws me to the movie is that it illustrates an important concept: the power of whispering. DiCaprio's character leads a team who are able to enter into the subconsciously shared worlds with other people and implant ideas there that alter their real-world behavior. They're hired by … [Read more...]