Auren 𝐇𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐦𝐚𝐧Ovjeren akaunt

“The law of unintended consequences is the only real law of history.” - historian (and @SafeGraph investor) Niall Ferguson

Some people have very original thoughts but they are afraid to tell others about them. They are afraid of being socially ostracized (or worse). People will only feel comfortable telling others the truth if they feel they will not be penalize for it.

find and hire 10xers. These are people who not only identify solutions to problems but focus on finding new opportunities for growth (often with heretical ideas) and have the courage to pursue them.

You can’t be great at everything, and you can’t be great at anything, but you can be great at something.

public companies that believe their stock is significantly undervalued have two options: (1) fire their IR team; or (2) come to terms that their stock is fairly valued

“Brilliant thinking is rare, but courage is in even shorter supply than genius.” - Peter Thiel in “Zero to One”

We are all lopsided. There is no one in the world that isn’t extremely lopsided. There is no one that is ‘balanced.’ There is no one that does not have glaring flaws that will be with them for their entire life. This is natural and normal.

Avoid balance. Seek greatness at one or two skills to get society’s rewards. All people have very obvious flaws. Instead of spending massive amounts of energy on those flaws for the sake of “balance,” they should be doubling down on the things they are already very good at.

Balance makes a person mediocre at a lot of things instead of great at only a few. What happens when you work on a bad skill? It becomes a mediocre skill. Others already have a competitive advantage and you are not likely to catch up.

I’ve met a lot of people in my life. I’ve never met one that was “balanced.” Everyone, absolutely everyone, is weighted in the areas they care more about. That’s natural. That’s good.

A life worth living is making choices - which means each person is going to weigh things differently. “Balance” implies that you need at least a decent amount of everything...but the reality is that you need to make choices on important things that you are going to skimp on.

A “balanced” life is something to be avoided and not pursued. more...

have heard this a few times but it is worth repeating (one of my favorite quotes): “A change in perspective is worth 80 IQ points.” - Alan Kay

If someone does give you a 'heretical' view that you’ve never heard before, pay attention. It could be that someone who pushes your organization forward by 10x … It just doesn’t guarantee it …

overheard: "of the deals that seem 99% likely to close, 50% of them actually go through."

assuming the technology happens... when is it permissible to alter memories, enhance cognition, or read a mind?

Having a "balanced" life is impossible. I’ve never met one person that was “balanced.” Everyone, absolutely everyone, is weighted in the areas they care more about. We make choices on where to focus our time. That’s natural. That’s good.