Six Life Lessons Since My Last Birthday
Independent Thinking, Cookies, Guts, Mornings, Consistency, and Small Bets
Good Morning from Las Vegas, Nevada 🌞
It’s my birthday! To celebrate, I’m going to a Brazilian Steakhouse tonight 🥩
This week, in the birthday tradition, I share a few of the most important lessons I picked up since May 24th, 2020. You can read last year’s version here.
Enjoy 🎉
Some Wins
I bought myself a standing desk. So far, this is an amazing decision.
This is the first LL going to over 100 people
Six Things I Learned Since My Last Birthday
1) Give More Credit To Intuition
“Your mistakes normally come when you're listening more on the outside than you're listening more on the inside. Your correct decisions come more when you're listening more on the inside than when you're listening more on the outside.” - Joe Wehbe (LK #69 coming Tuesday)
This year I’ve paid more attention to my intuition.
Some implementations?
I quit books unless I can’t put them down.
I leave unfinished drafts when writing ideas start to feel forced.
I only say yes to interview requests that immediately catch my interest.
My gut is most reliable when saying.
Don’t do this action
Don’t trust this person
I enjoy doing this and should do more of it
My gut is least reliable when saying
Anything related to financial markets.
Only you know what is best for you.
2) The Cookie Jar
Keep your wins handy.
Keep folders of screenshots of compliments. Keep lists of accomplishments to remind yourself how badass you have been and have the potential to be.
Build your own Mindset Fountain to bring you back to your desired emotional states.
Accumulate techniques to get yourself back on track and motivated.
3) Most Personal Progress Is Simple… Do Something Good Consistently
Getting flexible is no more difficult than stretching for a few minutes 4 days per week for a LONG time.
Meeting new people isn’t much harder than going to social venues all the time.
The suboptimal system you sustain is better than the optimal routine you quit.
Remember our motto from David Perell: B+ effort with A+ consistency.
4) Don’t Snooze (I’m plagiarizing my own work here)
If you snooze, you don’t win the day.
Yiddish culture has a proverb for this: Lose an hour in the morning, chase after it all day. Just as the height of a pyramid is governed by its base, the effectiveness of your day is governed by your morning.
Start your day with a mini-victory. Wake up at the first alarm.
Yiddish culture has one more persuasive proverb on waking up. If you want your dreams to come true, don’t oversleep.
Get up and get after it.
5) Asymmetric Bets On Knowledge and Relationships - Pay for Access
Every year since 2011, Peter Thiel has gifted $100k to roughly 20, 20-year-olds. In exchange, they drop out of school and work on their world-changing ideas.
Was this $20 million dollar investment worth it these past ten years?
It’s an off-the-charts yes.
Consider what just 2 of the 200 recipients did with their funding.
Vitalik Buterin founded Ethereum, now a ~250$ Billion Global Asset.
Austin Russell founded Luminar Technologies. He is now the world's youngest self-made billionaire.
Assuming Peter Thiel had even a tiny investment in just these two projects, his ROI is very high. Factor in many other success stories, and the number only grows.
Assuming Theil had zero personal exposure to the upside, this is still a remarkably successful investment from a philanthropic, pro-humanity standpoint.
How do you apply this?
Be generous when buying books, taking online courses, attending networking events, or joining paid communities.
One idea, insight, or relationship could make the entire investment worth it 100 times over.
6) DYOR - Do Your Own Research
Until recently, I was hesitant to align myself with figures like Jordan Peterson and Ben Shapiro. Plenty of people that I respect have strong negative opinions concerning the two Intellectual Dark Web heroes. For a while, that was enough to keep me uninterested.
What changed?
I read 12 Rules For Life.
I started watching Ben’s podcast and YouTube videos.
I started doing my own research, forming my own opinions, and thinking independently. Turns out, these dudes aren’t evil.
Even further, I agree with a lot of their arguments.
In the age of the polarized internet, seemingly everyone gets away with misrepresenting the other side of the spectrum. Opinions suddenly look like facts.
This is how we get millions of people convinced that Donald Trump is an anti-semite despite many orthodox jews in his close family and the countless Israelies 🇮🇱 who adored him.
Unfortunately, applying this principle means I’ll need to walk back my negative attitude toward folks like AOC until I can do some unbiased reading to confirm my reasons for not liking her. Until then, I’ll have to stay neutral.
What figures have you been taught to love or hate? Read both their materials and the thorough criticisms. Cover both sides of the argument before feeling so damn confident.
Gather evidence before reaching conclusions.
Thanks For Reading!
As always, I’d love to hear from you.
You can reply directly to this email or leave a comment online!
Louis
Hyperlinks To Various Things
Podcast Updates 🎧
LK #68 with Lisa Song Sutton: Former Miss Nevada on Creative Dealmaking, Buying Knowledge, and Political Responsibility
LK #67 with Steph Smith: Keys to Doing Life & Content Right
LK #66 with Akaash Pardesi: Mastering Reality with Mental Frameworks
LK Content Coming Soon 📅
Dr. Richard Schatz, co-inventor of the Heart Stent
Codie Sanchez of Contrarian Thinking and Cannabis Investor
Joe Wehbe & Scott McKeon from Constant Student and Espresso Displays
Quick Clicks
(1) 😂 Just For Fun 😂 : Meme QR Code Stickers
I’m so amused by this. Buy QR code stickers/T-shirts/ posters that lead to Rick Rolls, Shrek Memes, or any other digital shenanigans.
(2) 🧠 Well Formed Opinions 🧠 : Institutional BTC Theses
“UTXO Management is a digital asset fund investing in the analog to digital transformation of money and the emergent financial system.” Their website links to nine prominent institutional reports arguing for the role of BTC in a portfolio.
(3) 📝 Lists! 📝: Who To Follow In Crypto
The Gemini Cryptopedia is a great meta-resource for all things crypto. Take it a step further and follow all of the authors/ contributors on LinkedIn/ Twitter.
Photo of the week — SHE IS A BADASS
My cousin Elise made her professional fighting debut this past week and SHE WON BY TKO. AMAZING.
You can watch the fight here. So so proud and happy for you, Elise!
Great edition!