Author Archives: John

Fast on the flight, eat when you land.

The argument for working hard is a selfish one. Slacking off is well and fine. But the reason to work hard is that the skill acquisition curve is exponential. For a very, very long time, you are completely useless—you miss deadlines because you underestimate how little you know, you procrastinate because you don’t even know where to begin. And this feeling is miserable.

The only solution is to accelerate your skills to the point where you get out of this low valley. When that happens, your abilities shoot through the roof. It’s compound interest. More begets more. Skill begets skill. Things become fun. You get to focus on the big picture; you have better ideas; you see the chessboard fifteen moves ahead.

I’m all for working less, but if the goal is to avoid work life misery, skill is the only antidote. For your own well-being, it’s important to work hard.

No one will save you. There is no authority. There are no experts. The buck stops with you.

The cure for imposter syndrome is competency.

To avoid envy, be worthy of your place in life.

Lunch with those that have more, dinner with those that have less.

Newspapers were historically powerful because they were geographic monopolies.

When seeking to understanding another’s foibles, do not think of them as a dumb person making a dumb decision. Think of them as a smart person attempting to make a smart decision. This will help you understanding their logic and where they went wrong.