Podd: The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish

#221 Bruce Flatt on Value, Discipline, and Durability

1 april 2025 | 81 min

Brookfield CEO Bruce Flatt reveals the investment philosophy behind building one of the world's largest alternative asset managers with over a trillion dollars under management.

At the core of Brookfield's strategy is a disciplined focus on downside protection that has delivered 19% annualized returns over 30 years. Flatt identifies three major trends driving their investments: digitalization (including AI infrastructure), global energy transition, and reindustrialization as supply chains shift. The conversation explores Brookfield's approach to risk management, their expansion into insurance, and their meritocratic culture. When Shane presses for clarity on Brookfield's complex corporate structure, Flatt provides rare insights into how the organization's design creates both operational flexibility and investment opportunities.

What separates Brookfield from competitors? Patient capital: the discipline to wait for extraordinary opportunities and the financial strength to act when others can't.

If you want to understand how the smartest capital allocators think and what it takes to build something enduring, this episode is essential listening.

Thanks to these sponsors for supporting our show:

NordVPN: EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ nordvpn.com/KNOWLEDGEPROJECT. Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee

Shopify: Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial period at shopify.com/shane. All lowercase.

ShipStation: Get a 60-day free trial at www.shipstation.com/knowledgeproject.

The opinions shared on this podcast belong solely to those expressing them. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the securities discussed. This podcast is intended to provide general information only and should not be considered financial advice.

(00:02:56) Changes in Investing Over the Past 25 Years

(00:04:51) How Private Enterprise Has Built Our Tech Infrastructure

(00:07:08) Implications and Opportunities of Passive Investing

(00:09:08) Advantages of Private Companies

(00:12:36) Three Investment Themes

(00:15:11) Winners in Digitalization

(00:16:45) Application of Artificial Intelligence in Businesses

(00:21:44) Transition to Low-Carbon Energy

(00:25:24) Future of Data Centers

(00:27:32) De-globalization of Industry

(00:29:59) Implications of Manufacturing Repatriation

(00:31:11) Long-term Prospects for America

(00:36:20) Approach to Risk and Debt

(00:37:48) Impact of Interest Rates

(00:40:47) Managing Market Dislocations

(00:42:30) Long-term Investing Strategy

(00:45:06) History and Future of Brookfield

(00:47:55) Exploration of Private Markets and Insurance

(00:48:48) Investment Decision Process

(00:55:18) Understanding Brookfield's Structure

(00:59:40) Positioning of Brookfield's Businesses

(01:00:21) Talent and People Management at Brookfield

(01:02:58) Focus on Downside Protection

(01:05:03) Accountability in Investment Decisions

(01:06:32) Understanding Investment Cycles

(01:08:14) Learning and Training in the Organization

(01:09:06) Postmortem Analysis of Investments

(01:11:14) Consideration of Geopolitical Risks

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#220 Outliers: James Dyson — Against the Odds

25 mars 2025 | 73 min

How do you turn 5,127 failures into a multi-billion-dollar empire? James Dyson turned dust into possibility, failure into discovery, and frustration into revolution.

Dyson didn’t just build a better vacuum; he redefined a whole industry. Facing thousands of failed prototypes, crushing financial setbacks, and a dismissive industry that insisted a superior vacuum was impossible, Dyson transformed doubt into fuel that created an empire he still owns and operates today.

Dyson’s genius stretched far beyond engineering. He was a contrarian thinker whose natural state was to defy the experts. From reinventing hand dryers to fans and hairdryers, Dyson repeatedly turned mundane frustrations into game-changing products. His relentless curiosity and willingness to fail publicly set new standards for innovation. When competitors mocked him, he stayed focused. When patents were threatened, he defended fiercely. Dyson's story is one of unwavering persistence, unorthodox creativity, and the courage to trust his own instincts—even when everyone else doubted.

This is the story of James Dyson. Learn how one decision can change everything for a whole family.

This episode is for informational purposes only and is based on Against the Odds: An Autobiography by James Dyson. Quotes from Against the Odds and James Dyson’s Invention: A Life

(02:35) Prologue: The Kitchen Floor Experiment

PART 1 - EARLY SPARKS OF TENACITY

(05:05) A Childhood of Resilience and Determination

(08:19) Gresham’s School

(11:25) From Art to Engineering: A Defiance of Convention

(14:58) A Mentor: Jeremy Fry

(17:37) Just Build It

(19:23) The Sea Truck

(22:16) Lessons From The Egyptians

(24:16) Misfit Mentality

PART 2: FIRST INVENTIONS AND HARD LESSONS

(26:48) Reinventing The Wheel(barrow)

(28:54) Popular Not Profitable

(30:56) Leaving Ballbarrow with Nothing

(34:09) History of the Vaccuum

(36:23) Cyclone in a Sawmill

(39:17) 5,127 Prototypes

(41:57) Industry Rejection

(44:14) Building the Business

PART 3: BUILDING AN EMPIRE

(48:15) Passion Over Profit

(50:04) Beyond Vacuums

(53:08) R&D Culture & Iterative Design

(55:44) Patent Wars & Legal Battles

(57:49) Value of Keeping Ownership

(59:59) Recap of Dyson’s Journey

(01:02:55) SHANE’S REFLECTIONS

Key lessons from James Dyson: fs.blog/knowledge-project-podcast/outliers-james-dyson

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#219 Logan Ury: The Dating Myths You Need to Stop Believing

18 mars 2025 | 133 min

Most people date the wrong way. They chase the spark, mistake attraction for compatibility, and expect their partners to read their minds. Then they wonder why relationships don’t last. Logan Ury thinks about dating differently. As the Director of Relationship Science at Hinge, she’s spent years studying what actually makes relationships work. Her findings will change the way you think about attraction, communication, and commitment. In this conversation, Logan reveals why the spark is overrated, how to optimize your dating profile, and the one thing (actually, 8) you must do after every first date. We break down attachment theory, orbiting, polyamory, and having hard conversations in a healthy way. We get answers to questions like: "what’s an appropriate age gap?" and "what to say if you’re not interested after a date?" Plus, Logan shares how she made the decision to be with her husband and the importance of “other significant others.”

If you want to stop wasting time on the wrong people and start building something real, this episode is for you.

(2:49) First Dates and the Slow Burn

(8:07) The Post-Date 8

(14:30) Dating Like a Scientist

(15:50) The Height thing...

(18:56) The Spark vs Lust

(26:35) Fear of Rejection

(29:01) Understanding Attachment Theory

(39:20) Navigating Online Dating

(41:36) Effective Communication in Dating

(51:58) Texting Etiquette

(01:05:33) Dealing with Rejection

(01:08:44) Polyamory

(01:13:32) Orbiting

(01:30:45) Logan's Story of Meeting Her Husband

(01:37:12) Navigating Crucial Decision Points in Relationships

(01:41:48) Having Difficult Conversations in Relationships

(01:50:15) Other Significant Others

(01:59:05) Breaking Up Respectfully

(02:02:08) Tips for Creating Dating Profiles

Logan Ury is a behavioral scientist, dating coach, and the Director of Relationship Science at Hinge. She’s the bestselling author of How Not to Die Alone.

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#218 Outliers: Estée Lauder — A Success Story

11 mars 2025 | 82 min

Most people hear "Estée Lauder" and think of cosmetics—lipstick, perfume, face cream. But the real story isn’t just about makeup—it’s about a woman being an unstoppable force.

Estée Lauder didn’t just build a beauty brand; she rewrote the rules of an industry. She turned rejection into fuel, defied industry gatekeepers, and transformed a homemade face cream into a multi-billion-dollar global powerhouse.

When department stores refused to stock her products, she created a demand they couldn’t ignore. When experts said women wouldn’t spend $115 on face cream, she proved them wrong. When competitors copied her formulas, she didn’t fight them—she outmaneuvered them. Her real genius wasn’t in chemistry, but in understanding human psychology, persistence, and the power of storytelling.

This is the story of Estée Lauder.

Make sure to stick around at the end for my reflections and thoughts.

(05:26) Chapter 1 - The Early Years

(08:17) Chapter 2: From Kitchen to Department Stores: The Beauty Revolution

(09:04) First Break: House of Ash Blondes

(11:58) Married

(13:35) Chapter 3: Marketing Genius and Brand Building: The Perfect Moment

(15:20) The Power of a Gift

(16:51) Tell-A-Woman

(19:04) Department Store Breakthrough

(21:03) Chapter 4: The Expansion Era: The Key to Success

(26:09) Tell-Every-Woman

(28:42) Beyond Department Stores

(34:58) Chapter 5: Youth Dew

(36:37) Creating a New Category

(39:35) Success Breeds Competition

(41:16) Knowing what not to do

(44:06) Chapter 6: Beyond America: London Calling

(45:53) A Lesson in Brand Building

(47:43) The French Accident

(48:38) The Art of Adaptation

(49:49) Chapter 7: New Categories: Growing the Whole Pie

(52:08) The Clinique Revolution

(53:28) A New Kind of Marketing

(56:13) Chapter 8: The Lauder Philosophy: Business as Obsession

(56:25) Core Principles

(58:55) The Human Touch

(01:00:38) SHANE’S REFLECTIONS

This episode is for informational purposes only and is based on Estée Lauder’s incredible 1985 autobiography Estée: A Success Story.

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#217 Josh Wolfe: Human Advantage in the World of AI

4 mars 2025 | 122 min

While Silicon Valley chases unicorns, Josh Wolfe hunts for something far more elusive: scientific breakthroughs that could change civilization. As co-founder and managing partner of Lux Capital, he's looking for the kind of science that turns impossible into inevitable. Josh doesn’t just invest in the future—he sees it coming before almost anyone else.

In this conversation, we explore:

The rapid evolution of AI and potential bottlenecks slowing its growth
The geopolitical battle for technological dominance and rise of sovereign AI models
How advances in automation, robotics, and defence are shifting global power dynamics
Josh's unfiltered thoughts on Tesla and Elon Musk
AI's revolution of medical research
Parenting in a tech-dominated world
How AI is forcing us to rethink creativity, intellectual property, and human intelligence itself
Why the greatest risk isn't AI itself—but our ability to separate truth from noise

Despite the challenges ahead, Josh remains profoundly optimistic about human potential. He believes technology isn't replacing what makes us human—it's amplifying it. This episode will challenge how you think about innovation, risk, and the forces shaping our future. If you want to stay ahead of the curve, you can't afford to miss it.

Josh Wolfe co-founded Lux Capital to support scientists and entrepreneurs who pursue counter-conventional solutions to the most vexing puzzles of our time. He previously worked in investment banking at Salomon Smith Barney and in capital markets at Merrill Lynch. Josh is a columnist with Forbes and Editor for the Forbes/Wolfe Emerging Tech Report.

(00:00:00) Introduction

(00:02:46) Current Obsessions

(00:05:11) AI and its Limitations

(00:10:58) Memory Players in AI

(00:13:27) Human Intelligence as a Limiting Factor

(00:15:38) Disruption in Elite Professions

(00:17:15) AI and Blue-Collar Jobs

(00:18:29) Implications of AI in Coding

(00:19:40) AI and Company Margins

(00:25:48) AI in Pharma

(00:26:44) AI in Entertainment

(00:28:04) AI in Scientific Research

(00:33:31) AI in Patent Creation

(00:34:49) AI in Company Creation

(00:35:33) Discussion on Tesla and Elon Musk

(00:40:54) AI in Investment Decisions

(00:42:20) AI in Analyzing Business Fundamentals

(00:45:27) AI, Privacy, and Information Gods

(00:53:04) AI and Art

(00:56:43) AI and Human Connection

(00:58:22) AI, Aging, and Memory

(01:00:46) The Impact of Remote Work on Social Dynamics

(01:03:18) The Role of Community and Belonging

(01:05:44) The Pursuit of Longevity

(01:11:58) The Importance of Family and Purpose

(01:14:18) Information Processing and Workflow

(01:26:03) Investment in Military Technology

(01:28:09) Global Conflict and Military Deterrence

(01:31:28) Information Warfare

(01:32:32) Infiltration and Weaponization of Systems

(01:37:06) Infrastructure Maintenance and Growth

(01:38:27) DOGE Initiative

(01:40:09) Attracting Capital and Global Competitiveness

(01:43:16) Attracting Talent and Immigration

(01:45:42) Designing a System from Scratch

(01:47:30) AI and Intellectual Property

(01:51:56) The Fear of AI

Newsletter - The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at fs.blog/newsletter

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#216 Outliers: Andrew Mellon – America’s Secret Banker

25 februari 2025 | 79 min

He was the strangest titan America ever produced: a whisper-quiet banker who turned systematic thinking into a superpower, building an industrial empire while barely raising his voice above a murmur. Andrew Mellon's story isn't just about money—it's about how patience, observation, and positioning can create more wealth than charisma ever could. But when the Great Depression hit, the very qualities that made him rich made him the perfect villain for a nation demanding change.

Whether you're building a business, investing in the future, or seeking insights on strategic decision-making, Mellon's story reveals the power of patience, positioning, and playing the long game.

(2:25) Prologue: The Quiet Titan

(4:20) Part 1 - The Judge's Son

(6:36) Benjamin Franklin's Blueprint

(8:53) The Pittsburgh Promise

(10:45) Andrew's Early Years

(13:11) Part 2 - Building the System

(14:23) The Banking Foundation

(17:09) Panic Creates Opportunity

(20:09) Andy at the Wheel

(22:05) Opportunity in Aluminum

(24:10) The Mellon System

(27:12) Connections Create Power

(29:02) Reinvesting Success

(30:51) Staying in the Shadows

(33:28) Part 3 - The Private Kingdom

(34:52) A Broken Heart

(36:56) Science Meets Industry

(39:35) Preparations for War

(41:39) The Silent Empire Strikes

(44:04) Part 4 - Washington's Banker

(45:58) The Banker Takes Command

(47:49) The Banker's Paradox

(50:27) The Silent Man Learns to Speak

(52:03) Part 5 - The Fall

(53:56) 1928

(55:25) Black Thursday

(57:23) When Strength Becomes Weakness

(59:58) Roosevelt's Vendetta

(1:02:48) The Silent Man Shouted Down

(1:05:01) The Final Battle: Mellon's Tax Trial

(1:09:04) The End of an Era

(1:10:14) Epilogue - The Final Gift

(1:11:44) Thinking Long Term

This podcast is for information purposes only and draws primarily from two foundational books: David Cannadine's 'Mellon: An American Life', the first comprehensive published biography of Andrew W. Mellon, which masterfully chronicles his journey from shy Pittsburgh boy to industrial titan, Treasury Secretary, and philanthropist. The second source, 'Thomas Mellon and His Times', written by Andrew's father Thomas Mellon himself provides invaluable firsthand insights into the immigrant experience and the formation of the Mellon family's business philosophy in America. If this story captured your interest, we highly recommend both works – Cannadine's for its thorough examination of Andrew's profound impact on American business, politics, and philanthropy, and Thomas Mellon's autobiography for its intimate portrait of the family's rise from immigrant farmers to financial powerhouses in both nineteenth- and twentieth-century Pittsburgh.

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#215 David Heacock: Managing and Marketing a $250M Business

18 februari 2025 | 125 min

Imagine leaving a six‐figure Wall Street salary behind to chase a single, daring idea. In this episode, David Heacock shows you how he turned a basic product into a $250M empire. At 29, he left Wall Street to bet on air filters. That bet transformed into Filterbuy, now a $250 million direct-to-consumer manufacturer serving more than 7 million customers through a ruthlessly efficient operation. Today we talk about what actually matters when building a business, balancing obsession with family life, selling on Amazon, what he’d do differently if starting over, and the freight decision he calls his biggest mistake. Whether you’re starting a business, scaling one, or simply looking for insights on hiring, managing, or making bold decisions, David shares the lessons that helped him build his empire.

David Heacock is the founder and CEO of Filterbuy. Before revolutionizing the air filter industry, he traded options at Goldman Sachs from 2005-2012.

If you’re driven by bold decisions and value hard-won lessons, this conversation is your playbook. Don’t miss out on the insights that could redefine your own path to success.

Newsletter - The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at fs.blog/newsletter

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Watch on YouTube: @tkppodcast

(00:02:56) David's Journey to Goldman Sachs

(00:06:07) Committing to Entrepreneurship

(00:07:35) The Power of Obsession

(00:10:08) The Decision to Expand Geographically

(00:12:55) Challenges in Building the First Plant

(00:18:58) Management Level Hiring

(00:22:41) Studying Operating Systems for Companies

(00:24:49) The Nuances of Hiring

(00:25:53) External Accountability

(00:29:37) Adapting Business Operating Systems

(00:30:13) The Role of a Chief of Staff

(00:31:03) Building Department-Specific Operating Models

(00:32:56) Articulating the Company's Mission and Values

(00:44:19) Understanding Marketing and Branding

(00:47:10) The Strategy Behind Intent-Based Marketing

(00:52:13) The Decision to Enter Retail

(00:57:26) Success in Retail and Customer Acquisition

(00:58:19) Diversifying Market Segments

(00:59:13) Competitive Advantage Over Other Brands

(01:01:07) The Logistics Aspect of the Business

(01:04:25) Defining Direct-to-Consumer Brands

(01:08:39) Technical Challenges and Overcoming Setbacks

(01:11:46) Core Personal Traits for Success

(01:16:37) The Power of Obsession Over Willpower

(01:17:46) Facing the Hardest Moments in Business

(01:26:36) The Decision to Enter the Freight Business

(01:30:48) Diversifying into the HVAC Service Business

(01:34:51) The Future of HVAC Service Business

(01:36:01) Personal Branding and Business Growth

(01:37:23) The Role of Marketing and Operations

(01:38:48) Contrasting Business Models: Private Equity

(01:43:00) The Importance of Mission and Vision

(01:47:12) Balancing Obsession and Family Life

(01:53:44) The Dangers of Lifestyle Creep and Maintaining Financial Stability

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#214 Outliers: Timothy Eaton — The Original ‘Everything Store’

11 februari 2025 | 42 min

I’ve learned as much from reading biographies as from interviewing amazing people. That’s why we’re starting 'Lessons from Outliers.'

Every other week, we'll study an outlier who did remarkable work. From industrialists who reimagined commerce to the irreverent personalities who challenged the foundations of their fields, we'll explore what they did and how they did it. We can learn something from everyone.

We're starting Outliers with Timothy Eaton, a Canadian name that might not be familiar to many listeners today, but his innovations fundamentally changed retail and how we shop. This episode is about how he built that empire, the principles that drove its success, and the forces that eventually brought it all crashing down.

Whether you're building a business, leading a team, or trying to understand how great companies rise and fall, Timothy Eaton's story offers timeless lessons about innovation, trust, and the true price of success. You'll learn why even the mightiest empires can crumble when they forget the principles that built them and why success—no matter how massive—must be earned and re-earned daily.

(01:55) Introduction

(05:04) The Vision

(06:16) Timothy’s Early Years

(09:28) The System

(12:17) The Innovation Engine

(14:18) The Scale Game

(18:08) The Platform Play

(19:32) The Leadership Philosophy

(20:48) The Succession

(22:21) Retail as Entertainment

(23:14) The Western Expansion

(25:12) Building the National Network

(26:05) Creating the Corporate Family

(26:43) The Pinnacle of Power

(27:43) The Inherited Crown

(28:33) The Comfortable Plateau

(31:33) The Weight of Tradition

(33:12) The Profit Paradox

(34:02) The Identity Crisis

(34:51) The Final Chapter

This podcast is for information purposes only and draws primarily from two excellent books: ‘The Eatons: The Rise and Fall of Canada's Royal Family’ by Rod McQueen, which chronicles the Eaton family history and the company’s journey from beginning to end, and ‘Timothy Eaton and the Rise of His Department Store’ by Joy L. Santiuk, which focuses on the founder’s life.

Newsletter - The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at fs.blog/newsletter

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#213 Mickey Drexler: The Art of Selling with Retail's Merchant Prince

4 februari 2025 | 57 min

#212 Alfred Lin: How to Think (and Work) Like a World-Class Investor

21 januari 2025 | 139 min

Alfred Lin shares strategies for navigating startup challenges, building resilient teams, and creating long-lasting value. Lin explores lessons from companies like Zappos, Airbnb, DoorDash, and Amazon, offering actionable insights on topics like hiring for potential, managing crises, and fostering innovative cultures. Learn how first-principles thinking, customer focus, and disciplined growth can transform challenges into opportunities, even in the face of unprecedented disruptions.

Lin is a partner at Sequoia Capital. He represents Sequoia on boards like Airbnb and DoorDash. From January 2005 to December 2010, he served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Operating Officer of Zappos. He has a Bachelors in Applied Mathematics from Harvard and a Masters in Statistics from Stanford.

Newsletter - The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at https://fs.blog/newsletter/

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(00:00) Intro

(03:20) Personal Journey: From Taiwan to Entrepreneur

(04:51) School Days: Lessons in Creativity and Discipline

(06:21) Infinite Games: Shaping Life's Philosophy

(08:12) Core Values and Life Principles

(10:09) Work-Life Balance and Family Insights

(12:13) Inputs vs Outputs: Daily Routines and Priorities

(13:56) First Order Issues: Problem Solving in Business

(18:46) Early Career: From LinkExchange to Zappos

(44:01) Facing the 9/11 Crisis

(44:24) Building a Profitable Company

(44:50) Creative Financing Strategies

(45:55) Customer Service Focus

(48:53) Handling High Return Rates

(53:31) Zappos' Unique Culture

(55:47) Holacracy Management System

(56:53) Maintaining Growth and Culture

(58:37) Avoiding Complacency

(01:10:21) Crucible Moments

(01:13:28) First Principles Thinking

(01:14:17) Navigating the Pandemic

(01:27:37) The Essence of Company Values

(01:28:04) Pros and Cons of Remote Work

(01:29:52) Building Company Culture in a Hybrid World

(01:33:11) Investment Strategies in Changing Markets

(01:37:37) The AI Revolution and Its Future

(02:01:56) Balancing Standardization and Customization

(02:04:44) Working Backwards vs. Forwards

(02:10:53) Defining Success: The Importance of Process

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#211 Codie Sanchez: Your Blueprint to Financial Freedom

7 januari 2025 | 134 min

Whether you’re looking to increase your income, start a side business, or completely transform your financial future, Codie Sanchez will break down exactly what separates those who successfully build wealth from those who stay stuck. This conversation is packed with immediately actionable insights covering the biggest myths around money, the difference between acquiring and keeping money, the rich versus broke mindset and how it changes everything, non obvious lessons on negotiating, and more. Plus, we talk about the single most important thing to know about building financial freedom—and it’s not what you think it is.

After spending nearly two decades on Wall Street, Codie Sanchez struck out on her own and has been buying and investing in businesses since 2012. She now runs a holding company of small and medium-sized businesses. Her unique focus is on “boring businesses” like laundromats and lawn care services. Sanchez is also the author of Main Street Millionaire: How to Make Extraordinary Wealth in Ordinary Businesses.

Newsletter - The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at https://fs.blog/newsletter/

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(00:00) Intro

(02:48) Codie Sanchez's Journey to Business Acquisition

(04:21) Understanding the Language of Money

(07:06) The Importance of Financial Freedom

(16:12) Learning and Earning in Your 20s

(17:32) The Power of Proximity and Mentorship

(28:37) The Role of Effort and Determination in Success

(39:45) Lessons from Business Failures

(44:22) Mastering Business Focus and Layering

(46:31) Misconceptions About Money

(48:21) Saving vs. Earning: A Financial Perspective

(51:57) The Rich vs. Broke Mindset

(53:24) Allies vs. Friends in Success

(01:09:04) The Importance of Reputation

(01:20:41) Negotiation and Sales Skills

(01:23:40) The Art of Door Knocking

(01:25:07) Defining Good and Bad Businesses

(01:26:26) Identifying Business Problems

(01:27:57) Hiring the Right People

(01:42:57) Traits of High Performers

(01:46:42) Balancing Work and Personal Life

(01:57:37) Investing as a W2 Employee

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#210 Best of 2024: The Blueprint for a Transformative New Year

24 december 2024 | 97 min

#209 Charlie Hoehn: Write Something People Want to Read

10 december 2024 | 107 min

In this episode, Charlie Hoehn explains the secrets behind why some books are unforgettable, and others no one seems to remember. He shares his journey of helping authors transform their ideas into best-selling books and provides actionable advice on structuring, writing, and marketing a book. You'll learn how to craft titles that make people want to read your book, design compelling covers that stand out on the shelves, and use certain strategies to engage readers effectively depending on the ideas you communicate. Hoehn also shares the psychology behind book promotion, how to leverage feedback, and the dynamics of traditional versus self-publishing. Whether tackling a novel or email, this episode will transform how you write and communicate.

Charlie Hoehn is the founder of Author.Inc and a 3-time New York Times bestselling editor. He's the mind behind some of the influential books from Tim Ferriss, Ramit Sethi, Codie Sanchez, and Noah Kagan. Charlie's expertise has helped sell over 10 million books.

Newsletter - The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at https://fs.blog/newsletter/

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(00:00) Intro

(03:04) Helping Authors Succeed

(03:38) Writing for a Specific Audience

(07:14) The Importance of Real Feedback

(10:18) Traditional vs. Self-Publishing

(20:50) The Economics of Self-Publishing

(24:42) The Art of Book Cover Design

(30:29) Crafting a Compelling Title

(36:42) The Importance of Book Structure

(47:22) Editing: The Final Touch

(51:35) Book Sales Percentiles

(52:32) The Harsh Reality of Book Sales

(54:20) The Emotional Impact of Writing

(55:12) Dealing with Compliments and Criticism

(58:24) The Quest for Bestseller Lists

(1:00:04) The Complexities of Hitting the New York Times List

(1:12:25) Leveraging AI in Writing

(1:20:21) Effective Marketing Strategies for Authors

(1:28:14) Creating Evergreen Content

(1:35:30) The Importance of Authenticity in Writing

(1:40:54) Final Thoughts

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#208 Ryan Holiday: How to Win the War with Yourself

26 november 2024 | 106 min

Ryan Holiday unpacks the subtle and not-so-subtle messages life sends us—and what happens when we ignore them. From mismatched tattoos and injured ankles, Ryan reflects on the lessons he’s learned about preparation, awareness, and humility. Using examples ranging from personal missteps to famous entrepreneurial gambles, this episode is a deep dive into the art of learning from experience, knowing when to listen, and the cost of stubbornness. Plus, Holiday revisits his roots to discuss how Stoic principles can guide you in navigating feedback, balancing ambition with self-awareness, and understanding the fine line between determination and delusion.

Holiday is a New York Times bestselling author. He has written over 10 books, covering both the fundamentals of Stoicism as well as key elements of modern-day marketing and media. His most recent release is Right Thing, Right Now. Holiday has been a guest on the podcast twice before.

Newsletter - The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at https://fs.blog/newsletter/

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Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tkppodcast

(00:00) Intro

(02:20) When to Ignore Advice

(04:49) The Importance of Reflection and Journaling

(07:26) Balancing Emotions and Stoic Practices

(24:34) Misconceptions and Historical Context of Stoicism

(29:53) The Pursuit of Excellence and Its Trade-offs

(40:58) The Power of Saying No and Opportunity Costs

(49:09) The Role of Anger and Emotional Control

(52:58) Defining Self-Discipline

(53:43) The Essence of Self-Discipline

(54:29) Balancing Discipline and Life

(55:09) Consistency and Overcoming Setbacks

(56:09) The Struggle with Compulsive Tendencies

(58:33) Navigating Competition and Personal Goals

(01:01:22) Cultivating Discipline Through Physical Practice

(01:02:15) Instilling Discipline in Children

(01:04:22) Understanding Character and Virtue

(01:23:32) The Impact of Modern Technology on Writing

(01:35:04) Defining Success and Managing Expectations

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#207 Adam Karr: The Investing Blueprint

12 november 2024 | 74 min

Investor Adam Karr reveals his hidden playbook for spotting exceptional CEOs and building extraordinary businesses. Learn his counterintuitive techniques—from the surprising link between writing skills and executive performance to the 10-minute test that unveils a leader's true potential. Packed with battle-tested wisdom, Karr shares the deceptively simple principles that separate great business leaders from the merely good.

Adam Karr is the President and Portfolio Manager at Orbis Investments.

(00:00) Intro

(02:44) Investing Strategies and Market Games

(04:08) Adapting and Evolving Investment Styles

(05:20) The Importance of Obsession and Environment

(06:29) Aligning with Long-Term Investment Goals

(07:11) Identifying and Evaluating Obsessed CEOs

(08:13) The Role of Culture in Investment Decisions

(08:54) Building Long-Term Positions and Overcoming Short-Term Pressures

(12:21) The Blueprint for Success

(15:24) Learning from Role Models and Mentors

(21:25) The Power of Writing and Decision Analytics

(29:11) The Magic in the Last 5% of Investment Research

(35:25) Understanding Roll-Ups: Success Factors and Challenges

(36:01) Applying Knowledge for an Unfair Advantage

(37:42) Learning from Feedback and Case Studies

(40:47) The Importance of Independent Thinking

(43:06) Lessons from Industry Leaders

(49:32) The Will to Practice and Time Management

(56:44) Positioning for Success and Resilience

(01:08:59) Defining Success and Helping Others

Newsletter - The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at https://fs.blog/newsletter/

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#206 John Mackey: Building Whole Foods

29 oktober 2024 | 138 min

From near bankruptcy after a devastating flood to a $13.7 billion Amazon acquisition, Whole Foods founder John Mackey reveals how a small health food store became an empire that revolutionized American eating.

Discover how a single near-death experience transformed a 25-year-old college dropout into the pioneer of the organic food movement. Mackey shares raw insights from the frontlines: how he turned hostile customers into evangelists, survived multiple extinction-level threats, and built a mission-driven billion-dollar business without compromising its soul.

John Mackey is the co-founder of Whole Foods Market, where he was the CEO of the company from 1980 to 2022. He is the author of the bestselling book, Conscious Capitalism.

Newsletter - The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at https://fs.blog/newsletter/

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Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tkppodcast

00:00 Introduction

02:30 From Safer Way to Whole Foods: The Early Days

03:46 The Struggles and Successes of Whole Foods

05:22 Navigating Criticism and Market Realities

08:36 The Lamar Location and the 100-Year Flood

10:46 Rebuilding and Realizing Stakeholder Value

14:57 Learning the Retail Ropes

22:35 Growth, Challenges, and Entrepreneurial Resilience

35:51 Acquisitions and Expanding the Whole Foods Empire

41:17 The Drive to Build a Chain

42:17 Founder-Led vs. Professional Management

44:38 Challenges of Bureaucracy

46:56 The Importance of Cost Control

50:44 Entrepreneurial Spirit and Creativity

52:56 Facing Leadership Challenges

01:02:57 The Amazon Merger

01:19:01 Capitalism vs. Socialism

01:26:27 The Illusion of Control in Socialism

01:27:44 The Kibbutz Experiment: Idealism vs. Reality

01:30:53 Capitalism: A Win-Win Game

01:32:04 The Power of Win-Win-Win Philosophy

01:34:28 A Personal Story: Winning Over Deborah

01:37:29 The Role of Business Planning

01:38:49 Qualities of Successful Entrepreneurs

01:49:12 The Hero's Journey: Advice for Young Entrepreneurs

01:51:05 Introducing Love Life: A Holistic Health Venture

01:57:18 The Importance of Whole Foods and Nutrition

02:08:09 Concluding Thoughts on Success and Happiness

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#205 Rob Fraser: The Power of Focus

15 oktober 2024 | 103 min

#204 John Bragg: The Blueberry Billionaire

1 oktober 2024 | 92 min

#203 Erin Wade: The Mac and Cheese Empire

17 september 2024 | 70 min

#202 Matthew Dicks: The Storytelling Expert

3 september 2024 | 124 min

#201 April Dunford: The Marketing Expert

20 augusti 2024 | 79 min

#200 Brian Halligan: Building HubSpot into a Multi-Billion Dollar Company

6 augusti 2024 | 64 min

#199 Esther Perel: Cultivating Desire

23 juli 2024 | 82 min

Few episodes in The Knowledge Project’s nine-year history have impacted people’s relationships and lives more than when Esther Perel shared her infinite wisdom for the first time in 2019.

Shane and Esther discuss how the stories you tell yourself shape how you see the world (and what to do about that), the important conversations to have at the beginning of a relationship, the most common arguments couples have and how to prevent them, what to say to a partner if the relationship isn’t working out, the relationship between desire, love, and pleasure, and so much more. Plus, the conversation starts out on an interesting note: Esther Perel shares stories about her parents surviving the Holocaust and how their experiences shaped her childhood and continue to shape her life today.

(This episode is a replay of one of our most popular episodes ever and was recorded in 2019.)

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro
(02:38) Coming back to life after the war
(08:09) The myth of stability
(11:30) The power of reflections
(19:48) Important conversations for early relationships
(24:20) Can values change in relationships?
(27:20) Being secure in a relationship
(30:40) Better conversations with your partner
(33:00) What's behind every criticism
(36:52) Too much honesty
(39:37) What happens if I don't love my partner
(47:12) Why does good sex fade in relationships?
(50:59) Love vs. desire
(55:38) How to have difficult conversations with your partner
(01:05:13) Conscious uncoupling

Watch the episode on YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos⁠⁠⁠

Newsletter - I share timeless insights and ideas you can use at work and home. Join over 600k others every Sunday and subscribe to Brain Food. Try it: ⁠⁠⁠https://fs.blog/newsletter/⁠⁠⁠

My Book! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results is out now - ⁠⁠⁠https://fs.blog/clear/⁠⁠⁠

Follow me: ⁠⁠⁠https://beacons.ai/shaneparrish⁠⁠⁠

Join our membership: ⁠⁠⁠https://fs.blog/membership/

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(#198) #1 Psychologist: Toolkit to Accomplish Your Hardest Goals

9 juli 2024 | 52 min

Shane Parrish and Maya Shankar dive into the complexities of identity and personal transformation. They explore how significant life changes can reshape one's sense of self and explain how to navigate these transitions.

Maya shares her personal stories and tips on making proactive choices and keeping a flexible, layered sense of self. They also discuss the psychological and philosophical aspects of identity, offering practical advice on goal-setting and personal growth.

Maya Shankar is a cognitive scientist and the creator, executive producer, and host of the podcast, A Slight Change of Plans. Shankar was a Senior Advisor in the Obama White House, where she founded and served as Chair of the White House Behavioral Science Team. She holds a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Oxford and a B.A from Yale.

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(02:40) Shankar's "almost unbelievable" story of getting into Julliard

(05:30) Why Shankar studied identity

(11:38) What is identity?

(14:52) Using your identity to accomplish your goals

(18:00) Using anti-identities to accomplish your goals

(18:51) What to do when your identity is "attacked"

(26:30) How to re-establish trust in institutions

(32:30) Use identity to start a positive habit

(35:35) How to debunk myths with stories and facts

(37:18) How does how we frame our goals help (or prevent) us from accomplishing them

(43:11) The one motivational technique Shankar uses every day

(45:15) On success

Watch the episode on YouTube: ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos⁠⁠

Newsletter - I share timeless insights and ideas you can use at work and home. Join over 600k others every Sunday and subscribe to Brain Food. Try it: ⁠⁠https://fs.blog/newsletter/⁠⁠

My Book! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results is out now - ⁠⁠https://fs.blog/clear/⁠⁠

Follow me: ⁠⁠https://beacons.ai/shaneparrish⁠⁠

Join our membership: ⁠⁠https://fs.blog/membership/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#197 Michaeleen Doucleff: The 4 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make

25 juni 2024 | 76 min

#196 Brent Beshore: Business Brilliance and Happiness at Home

11 juni 2024 | 142 min

Succeeding in both life and business is very difficult. The skills needed to scale a company often clash with those required to cultivate a thriving home life. Yet, Brent Beshore seems to have cracked the code—or at least he's actively working on it. In this conversation, he spills his secrets on excelling in both arenas.

This episode is split into two parts: the first 45 minutes covers life and how to be a better person. Brent opens up about the evolution of his marriage, physical health, and inner life.

The rest of the episode focuses on business. Shane and Beshore discuss private equity, how to hire (and when to fire) CEOs, incentives, why debt isn’t a good thing in an unpredictable world, stewardship versus ownership, and why personality tests are so important for a functional organization.
After beginning his career as an entrepreneur, Brent Beshore founded Permanent Equity in 2007 and leads the firm as CEO. He works with investors and operators to evaluate new investment opportunities.

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Sponsors:

Shopify: Making commerce better for everyone. https://www.shopify.com/shane

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(05:08) Why Brent examined his life

(09:44) How Brent "fixed" his relationships

(20:04) How helping hurts

(32:13) How Brent was subtly controlling relationships

(40:36) Why Brent stopped drinking (mostly)

(50:29) How to run a business with love yet competitively

(01:00:34) Win-win relationships

(01:05:34) On debt

(01:19:28) On incentives

(01:29:08) How to hire and fire CEOs

(01:34:18) What most people miss about hiring

(01:44:19) Brent's playbook for taking over a company

(01:51:20) On projections

(01:55:52) Revisiting investments

(01:58:44) How "hands-off" is Brent?

(02:08:34) Where people go wrong in private equity

(02:14:07) On success

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#195 Morgan Housel: Get Rich, Stay Rich

28 maj 2024 | 103 min

The skills it takes to get rich are drastically different from the skills it takes to stay rich.

Few understand this phenomenon more than Morgan Housel. He's identified unique lessons about wealth, happiness, and money by studying the world's richest families and learning what they did to build their wealth and just how quickly they squandered it all.
In this conversation, Shane and Housel discuss various aspects of risk-taking, wealth accumulation, and financial independence.

Morgan explains the importance of understanding personal financial goals and the dangers of social comparison, lets everyone in on his personal financial “mistake” that instantly made him sleep better at night, and why the poorest people in the world disproportionately play the lottery—and why it makes sense that they do. They also touch on the influence of upbringing on financial behaviors, the difference between being rich and wealthy, and the critical role of compounding in financial success. Of course, we can’t have a writer as good as Morgan Housel on the podcast and not ask him about his process, so Housel concludes with insights into storytelling, his writing processes, and the importance of leading by example in teaching financial values to children.

Morgan Housel is a partner at Collaborative Fund. Previously, he was an analyst at The Motley Fool. He is a two-time winner of the Best in Business Award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and was selected by the Columbia Journalism Review for the Best Business Writing anthology. He's the author of two books: The Psychology of Money and Same as Ever.

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Newsletter - The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at ⁠https://fs.blog/newsletter/⁠

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Sponsors

Protekt: Simple solutions to support healthy routines. Enter the code "Knowledge" at checkout to receive 30% off your order. ⁠https://protekt.com/knowledge

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(04:46) Risk and income

(07:40) On luck and skill

(10:10) Buffett's secret strategy

(12:28) The one trait you need to build wealth

(16:20) Housel's capital allocation strategy

(16:48) Index funds, explained

(20:59) Expectations and moving goalposts

(22:17) Your house: asset or liability?

(27:39) Money lies we believe

(32:12) How to avoid status games

(35:04) Money rules from parents

(40:15) Rich vs. wealthy

(41:46) Housel's influential role models

(42:48) Why are rich people miserable?

(45:59) How success sows the seeds of average performance

(49:50) On risk

(50:59) Making money, spending money, saving money

(52:50) How the Vanderbilt's squandered their wealth

(1:04:11) How to manage your expectations

(01:06:26) How to talk to kids about money

(01:09:52) The biggest risk to capitalism

(01:13:56) The magic of compounding

(01:16:18) How Morgan reads

(01:22:42) How to tell the best story

(01:24:42) How Morgan writes

(01:35:42) Parting wisdom and thoughts on success

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#194 Why the Kids Aren’t Alright with Abigail Shrier

21 maj 2024 | 84 min

Top Performance Psychologist: What it Takes to Win | Dr. Jim Loehr

30 april 2024 | 87 min

What if reaching the next level of success wasn't determined by another skill, degree, or course but by something that changed on the inside?

That's what Dr. Jim Loehr believes, and in this episode, he reveals everything he knows about mental toughness and winning the mind game.

Shane and Loehr discuss the radical importance of the stories you tell yourself—including how they can damage your kids—and how to change the negative stories you believe. Loehr also shares the best reflection questions to ask yourself to reveal personal blindspots, the importance of rituals for calming anxiety and performing under pressure, and how the best in the world use their recovery time effectively.

Dr. Jim Loehr is a world-renowned performance psychologist and author of 16 books. Based on his more than 30 years of experience and applied research, Dr. Loehr believes the single most important factor in successful achievement, personal fulfillment, and life satisfaction is the strength of one’s character. He possesses a master's and doctorate in psychology and is a full member of the American Psychological Association.

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos

Newsletter - I share timeless insights and ideas you can use at work and home. Join over 600k others every Sunday and subscribe to Brain Food. Try it: https://fs.blog/newsletter/

My Book! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results is out now - https://fs.blog/clear/

Follow me: https://beacons.ai/shaneparrish

Join our membership: https://fs.blog/membership/

Sponsor:

Protekt: Simple solutions to support healthy routines. Enter the code "Knowledge" at checkout to receive 30% off your order. https://protekt.com/knowledge

(00:00) Intro

(03:20) Parenting and storytelling

(06:15) How to determine whether or not the stories are limiting or enabling you

(08:41) What the stories world-class performers tell themselves

(15:02) How to change the stories you tell yourself

(23:26) Questions to journal about

(26:16) Private voices vs. public voices (and how they impact your kids)

(31:32) How to help your friends change their stories

(37:30) How to better come alongside your kids to prevent destructive behavior

(44:48) - (45:06) What Loehr knows about high performers that others miss

(53:12) On time and energy

(01:06:26) Conquering the "between point" ritual

(01:11:50) On rituals vs. habits

(01:15:54) How to increase your mental toughness

(01:23:51) On success

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Architecture of Scale: Building a $200m Business | David Segal

16 april 2024 | 76 min

Dr. Rhonda Patrick: Diet Essentials For Healthy Living

2 april 2024 | 96 min

Dr. Rhonda Patrick explores the intricate world of nutrition and health.

Dr. Patrick provides a deep dive into the role micronutrients play in our daily health, detailing how deficiencies and insufficiencies in vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, and amino acids can lead to serious health issues over time.

Shane and Dr. Patrick also discuss the science behind deliberate heat exposure. She outlines the optimal sauna conditions—temperature, duration, and frequency—necessary for these health benefits and explains the physiological mechanisms.

Rhonda Patrick has a Ph.D. in biomedical science and a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry/chemistry from the University of California, San Diego. She has done extensive research on aging, cancer, and nutrition.

(00:00) Intro

(04:40) A philosophy for nutrition

(15:36) Micronutrients through supplements vs. food

(25:43) Wild-caught vs. farm-raised fish

(28:44) Organic vs. non-organic vegetables

(36:14) On macronutrients

(40:20) How protein levels differ in different foods

(45:27) The best morning smoothie recipe

(54:48) Dr. Patrick grades Shane's "GOAT" smoothie recipe

(59:14) Grass-fed vs. non-grass fed

(01:04:40) On vitamin D (Is sunscreen killing us more than the sun?)

(01:19:48) Deliberate heat and cold exposure

(01:44:27) Top three behavioral and diet interventions for life and health improvements

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos

Newsletter - I share timeless insights and ideas you can use at work and home. Join over 600k others every Sunday and subscribe to Brain Food. Try it: https://fs.blog/newsletter/

My Book! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results is out now - https://fs.blog/clear/

Follow me: https://beacons.ai/shaneparrish

Join our membership: https://fs.blog/membership/

Sponsors:

Eight Sleep: Sleep to power a whole new you. https://www.eightsleep.com/farnamstreet

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Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#190 Brad Jacobs: How To Build a Billion Dollar Company

19 mars 2024 | 103 min

Brad Jacobs doesn't just build big companies – he builds industry giants. As the founder of eight multibillion-dollar companies, he's cracked the code on scaling businesses from zero to billions. In this conversation, the secrets he's earned over decades.

You'll discover where billion-dollar opportunities are hiding in plain sight, how to spot massive trends years before your competitors, and the most crucial factor determining a company's success.

Currently serving as Chairman and CEO of QXO, Jacobs brings a mathematician's precision and a musician's creativity to scaling businesses. His track record speaks for itself: every company he's founded has reached billion-dollar status or beyond.

(00:00) Intro

(04:44) The future of AI

(07:21) How to think rationally

(08:48) The major trend

(10:57) The research process

(13:29) On asking better questions

(19:35) On rearranging your brain

(22:23) On music, math, simplicity, and business

(32:26) Leverage, debt, and optionality

(35:11) What it takes to take contrarian bets

(40:45) Confidence and parents

(50:21) Why negative-only feedback is detrimental for employees

(56:14) Money lessons

(58:13) A deep dive on M&A (Jacobs' secret sauce to growing his companies)

(01:07:51) Questions to immediately get to know anyone

(01:11:14) On boards and board meetings

(01:16:57) On decision-making

(01:23:37) The role of capital markets

(01:25:41) The type of person you don't want to hire

(01:31:16) The best capital allocators

(01:33:53) Biggest lesson Jacobs learned from the past year

(01:37:20) On success

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos

Newsletter - I share timeless insights and ideas you can use at work and home. Join over 600k others every Sunday and subscribe to Brain Food. Try it: https://fs.blog/newsletter/

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#189 Chris Davis: Three Generations of Wealth

5 mars 2024 | 167 min

Most families who obtain immense wealth squander it by the third generation. But Chris Davis comes from a family whose grandfather and father all became independently wealthy of each other, and Davis has done the same. How does that keep happening? In this conversation, we find out.

Shane and Chris discuss life and investment lessons he learned from his father and grandfather, why writing is more important to clarify one's thinking no matter who's reading it, and the surprising benefit of reading physical newspapers and wearing ties to work. Davis also shares his value-investing philosophy, what he learned from working with and meeting Charlie Munger, and what parents can do to raise kids who aren't entitled. Davis talks about his alcohol drink tracker and why it's important to him, why he never puts himself in situations where envy can grow, and the insights from Warren Buffett's key letter about why investment managers underperform.

Chris Davis is on the board of Berkshire Hathaway and The Coca-Cola Company. Davis is Chairman of Davis Selected Advisers-NY, Inc., an independent investment management firm founded in 1969. Davis joined Davis Selected Advisers-NY, Inc. in 1989 as a financial analyst, and in 1995, he became a portfolio manager of the firm’s flagship funds.

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos

Newsletter - I share timeless insights and ideas you can use at work and home. Join over 600k others every Sunday and subscribe to Brain Food. Try it: https://fs.blog/newsletter/

My Book! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results is out now - https://fs.blog/clear/

Follow me: https://beacons.ai/shaneparrish

Join our membership: https://fs.blog/membership/

Sponsors:

Eight Sleep: Sleep to power a whole new you. https://www.eightsleep.com/farnamstreet

(00:00) Intro

(03:20) Life lessons Davis learned from his grandfather and father

(26:24) The importance of writing things no one reads

(36:55) Davis' experiences through financial crises

(52:31) Why Davis loves managing a mutual fund

(55:49) Why Berkshire Hathaway operates with margin

(01:01:05) What is risk?

(01:04:02) On low interest rates and their future impact

(01:14:46) The mismatched timelines between CEOs, companies, investors, and policy

(01:22:19) How Davis and Munger met

(01:30:20) Lessons learned from Munger

(01:41:29) Why avoiding weaknesses is the ultimate recipe for success

(01:55:46) How to raise non-entitled kids and avoid lifestyle creep

(01:16:10) On happiness

(02:27:00) Good vs. bad board meetings

(02:31:34) Three generations of wealth

(02:37:15) On success

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#188 Bryan Johnson: Five Habits for Longer Living

20 februari 2024 | 88 min

What can you do (or avoid) tomorrow to guarantee you can live longer?
In this episode, Bryan Johnson reveals the five simple disciplines you can start doing to live healthier and longer. Johnson shares what his daily routine looks like, the ins and outs of his experimentation process, and why he gave his father plasma.
Johnson also opens up about the constant hate he receives from people online, how he deals with it all, and what he wishes he'd known when he sold his company.

Bryan Johnson is the world's most measured human. Johnson sold his company to PayPal in 2013. Through Project Blueprint, Johnson has achieved metabolic health equal to the top 1.5% of 18 year olds, inflammation 66% lower than the average 10 year old, and reduced his speed of aging by the equivalent of 31 years.

Johnson is also the founder of Kernel, creator of the world’s first mainstream non-invasive neuroimaging system; and OS Fund, where he invested in the predictable engineering of atoms, molecules, and organisms.

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos

Newsletter - Each week I share timeless insights and ideas that you can use at work and home. Add it to your inbox: https://fs.blog/newsletter/

My New Book! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results is out now - https://fs.blog/clear/

Follow me: https://beacons.ai/shaneparrish

Join our membership: https://fs.blog/membership/

Sponsors:
Eight Sleep: Sleep to power a whole new you. https://www.eightsleep.com/farnamstreet

Timecodes:

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:03:45) On biographies

(00:08:03) On depression and coping mechanisms

(00:14:18) Self-destructive behavior and how to pitch Blueprint to someone

(00:26:50) What a day looks like on Blueprint (exercise and what to eat)

(00:42:06) How to turn Blueprint protocols into habits

(00:45:17) Embracing the hate

(00:49:07) The downsides and lessons of making money

(00:59:22) The five habits

(01:05:09) Why does posture matter?

(01:07:48) Relationship between biological health and sexual health

(01:09:50) Hair-loss prevention

(01:15:46) Sunscreen, plastics, and other miscellaneous impacts on aging

(01:18:30) How will AI help us?

(01:22:10) On success

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#187 Dr. Becky Kennedy: The One Thing You Can Say That Changes Everything

6 februari 2024 | 120 min

#186 Tom Gayner: Invest Like The Best

23 januari 2024 | 132 min

#185 Blake Eastman: Learn to Read Anyone

9 januari 2024 | 104 min

#184 Best of 2023: Conversations of the Year

26 december 2023 | 96 min

#183 Paul Assaiante: Learning to Face Your Fears

12 december 2023 | 76 min

#182 Todd Herman: Unleashing Your Secret Identity

28 november 2023 | 104 min

#181 Dr. Gio Valiante (Part 2): Failure and Success

14 november 2023 | 56 min

#180 TKP Insights: Learning and Thinking

7 november 2023 | 76 min

#179 Dr. Gio Valiante (Part 1): Discipline and Resilience

31 oktober 2023 | 55 min

#178 Jerry Colonna: The CEO Whisperer

17 oktober 2023 | 94 min

#177 Shane Parrish: A Glimpse Into Clear Thinking

3 oktober 2023 | 15 min

#176: Dr. Leah Lagos and Joe Mazzulla: Control Your Heart, Conquer Your Stress

19 september 2023 | 73 min

#175: Shreyas Doshi: Better Teams, Better Products

5 september 2023 | 83 min

#174 Rey Flemings: A Different Definition of Success

22 augusti 2023 | 68 min

#173 Frank Slootman: Doing Less, Doing Better

8 augusti 2023 | 61 min

#172 Dr. Julie Gurner (Part 2): Caring Deeply, Challenging Directly

25 juli 2023 | 50 min

#171 Naval Ravikant: The Angel Philosopher (2017)

11 juli 2023 | 127 min

#170: TKP Insights: Philosophy

4 juli 2023 | 69 min

#169 Dr. Julie Gurner (Part 1): Caring Deeply, Challenging Directly

27 juni 2023 | 60 min

#168 Adam Robinson: Positioning Yourself For Success

13 juni 2023 | 56 min

#167 Dr. Gina Poe: The Science of Better Sleep

30 maj 2023 | 70 min

#166 Kevin Kelly: Excellent Advice for Living

16 maj 2023 | 76 min

Proven Strategies to Accelerate Growth, Productivity and Profits with George Stalk, Jr.

2 maj 2023 | 97 min

#164 Ravi Gupta: The Realities of Success

18 april 2023 | 110 min

#163 Jason Karp: Live A Healthier Life

4 april 2023 | 90 min

#162 Nathan Myhrvold

21 mars 2023 | 64 min

#161 Jim Dethmer: The Pillars of Integrity

7 mars 2023 | 120 min

#160 TKP Insights: Leadership

28 februari 2023 | 62 min

#159 Dr. Anna Lembke: Between Pleasure and Pain

21 februari 2023 | 71 min

#158 Aaron Dignan: Change The Way You Work

7 februari 2023 | 82 min

#157 Carolyn Coughlin: Become A Better Listener

24 januari 2023 | 82 min

#156 Jack Kornfield: Finding Inner Calm

10 januari 2023 | 103 min

#155 Best of 2022: Conversations of the Year

27 december 2022 | 119 min

#154 Emily Balcetis: Setting and Achieving Goals

13 december 2022 | 89 min

#153 Keith Creel: Lessons from Life on the Railroad

29 november 2022 | 89 min

#152 Tobi Lütke: Calm Progress

15 november 2022 | 166 min

#151 Alan Mulally: The Power Of Working Together

1 november 2022 | 79 min

#150 TKP Insights: Making (Even) Better Decisions

25 oktober 2022 | 86 min

#149 Neil Pasricha: Simple Rules for Happiness

18 oktober 2022 | 119 min

#148 Kenneth Stanley: Set The Right Objectives

4 oktober 2022 | 57 min

#147 Reid Hoffman: Better Decisions, Fewer Mistakes

20 september 2022 | 58 min

#146 Barbara Tversky: Action Shapes Thought

6 september 2022 | 127 min

#145 Les Snead: Building a Super Bowl Champion

23 augusti 2022 | 83 min

#144 Gary Klein: Insights For Making Better Decisions

9 augusti 2022 | 92 min

#143 Andrew Wilkinson: Building an Empire

26 juli 2022 | 77 min

#142 Marshall Goldsmith: The Essentials Of Leadership

12 juli 2022 | 99 min

#141 Kunal Shah: Core Human Motivations

28 juni 2022 | 144 min

#140 TKP Insights: Sex and Relationships

21 juni 2022 | 57 min

#139 Laurie Santos: The Pursuit of Happiness

14 juni 2022 | 106 min

#138 Luke Burgis: The Power of Mimetic Desire

31 maj 2022 | 138 min

#137 Justin Su'a: Peak Mental Performance

17 maj 2022 | 91 min

#136 David Sinclair: Reversing the Aging Process

3 maj 2022 | 98 min

#135 Sarah Jones Simmer: The Foundation of Trust

19 april 2022 | 68 min

#134 Balaji Srinivasan: The Network State

5 april 2022 | 178 min

#133 Andrew Huberman: The Science of Small Changes

22 mars 2022 | 107 min

#132 Ret. Gen. Stanley McChrystal - The Essence of Leadership

8 mars 2022 | 84 min

#131 Matthew Walker: The Power of Sleep

22 februari 2022 | 117 min

#130 Diana Chapman: Trusting Your Instincts

8 februari 2022 | 100 min

#129 Marc Andreessen: Interview with an Icon

25 januari 2022 | 82 min

#128 Ryan Holiday: A Stoic Life

11 januari 2022 | 73 min

#127 Best of 2021: Conversations of the Year

21 december 2021 | 113 min

#126 Nancy Sherman: Soldiers and Stoics

14 december 2021 | 70 min

#125 Paul Rabil: Confidence and Competition

30 november 2021 | 57 min

#124 Douglas Rushkoff: The Perils of Modern Media

16 november 2021 | 69 min

#123 William Irvine: How To Live a Stoic Life

2 november 2021 | 69 min

#122 Robert Cialdini - The Principles of Persuasion

19 oktober 2021 | 67 min

#121 Walter Isaacson: Curiosity Fuels Creativity

5 oktober 2021 | 70 min

#120 Chris Bosh: Hunger and Greatness

21 september 2021 | 65 min

#119 Todd Simkin: Making Better Decisions

7 september 2021 | 76 min

#118 Doug Conant: Leadership With Integrity

24 augusti 2021 | 59 min

#117 Kat Cole: The Power of Possible

10 augusti 2021 | 66 min

#116 Jeff Immelt: Leadership In A Crisis

27 juli 2021 | 54 min

#115 Danny Meyer: Hospitality and Humanity

13 juli 2021 | 59 min

#114 Noreena Hertz: The Crisis of Loneliness

29 juni 2021 | 45 min

#113 Sarah Tavel: The Value of Intellectual Rigor

15 juni 2021 | 65 min

#112 Adam Grant: Rethinking Your Position

1 juni 2021 | 66 min

#111 Joel Greenblatt: Investing Made Simple

18 maj 2021 | 65 min

#110 Jim Collins: Relationships vs. Transactions

4 maj 2021 | 76 min

#109 Angela Duckworth: Grit and Human Behavior

20 april 2021 | 65 min

#108 Thomas Zurbuchen: Adventures in Astrophysics

6 april 2021 | 86 min

#107 Matt Ridley: Infinite Innovation

23 mars 2021 | 67 min

#106 Josh Kaufman: Maximizing Our Locus of Control

9 mars 2021 | 80 min

#105 Seth Godin: Failing On Our Way To Mastery

23 februari 2021 | 87 min

#104 Nir Eyal: Mastering Indistraction

16 februari 2021 | 85 min

#103 Loch Kelly: Effortless Mindfulness

9 februari 2021 | 81 min

#102 Sendhil Mullainathan: The Chaos Inside Us

2 februari 2021 | 100 min

#101 Jane McGonigal: The Psychology of Gaming

19 januari 2021 | 62 min

#100 Matt Mullenweg: Collaboration Is Key

5 januari 2021 | 88 min

#99 Kris Cordle: Releasing the Ego

22 december 2020 | 51 min

#98 Sahil Lavingia: Observing the Present

8 december 2020 | 73 min

#97 Roger Martin: Forward Thinking

24 november 2020 | 91 min

#96 Randall Stutman: The Essence of Leadership

10 november 2020 | 99 min

#95 Code Cubitt: Coachability Is Critical

27 oktober 2020 | 65 min

#94 Chamath Palihapitiya: Understanding Yourself

13 oktober 2020 | 89 min

#93 Matt Holland: Zero Day

29 september 2020 | 90 min

#92 Lisa Feldman Barrett: Balancing the Brain Budget

15 september 2020 | 83 min

#91 Russ Hudson: The Pursuit of Presence

1 september 2020 | 110 min

#90 Apolo Ohno: Process Versus Prize

18 augusti 2020 | 80 min

#89 Maria Konnikova: Less Certainty, More Inquiry

4 augusti 2020 | 99 min

#88 Derek Sivers: Innovation Versus Imitation

21 juli 2020 | 107 min

#87 Hannah Fry: The Role of Algorithms

7 juli 2020 | 54 min

#86 BJ Fogg: The Science of Lasting Change

23 juni 2020 | 72 min

#85 Bethany McLean: Crafting a Narrative

9 juni 2020 | 97 min

#84 Jennifer Garvey Berger: Creating Routine in Chaos

26 maj 2020 | 93 min

#83 Brian Koppelman: What Really Matters

12 maj 2020 | 60 min

#82 Bill Ackman: Getting Back Up

28 april 2020 | 102 min

#81 Jason Calacanis: Intelligent Risk

14 april 2020 | 66 min

#80 John Maxwell: Developing the Leader in You

31 mars 2020 | 63 min

#79 Esther Wojcicki: The “TRICK” to Raising Successful People

17 mars 2020 | 89 min

#78 Balaji Srinivasan: Exploring COVID-19

13 mars 2020 | 78 min

#77 Mike Maples: Living in the Future

3 mars 2020 | 97 min

#76 Frank Stephenson: Pushing the Limits of Innovation

18 februari 2020 | 94 min

#75 Suzanne Iasenza: Rewriting Relationship Narratives

4 februari 2020 | 77 min

#74 Jeff Hunter: Embracing Confusion

21 januari 2020 | 107 min

#73 Steven Strogatz: Exploring Curiosities

7 januari 2020 | 99 min

#72 Neil Pasricha: Happy Habits

24 december 2019 | 106 min

#71 Esther Perel: Cultivating Desire

10 december 2019 | 81 min

#70 Scott Adams: Avoiding Loserthink

26 november 2019 | 61 min

#69 Stephen Schwarzman: What It Takes

12 november 2019 | 67 min

#68 Daniel Kahneman: Putting Your Intuition on Ice

15 oktober 2019 | 70 min

#67 Jim Collins: Keeping the Flywheel in Motion

1 oktober 2019 | 149 min

#66 Dr. Emily Nagoski: Pleasure is the Measure

17 september 2019 | 85 min

#65 Shep Gordon: Trust, Compassion, and Shooting Friends from Cannons

3 september 2019 | 59 min

#64 Greg Walton: The Big Impact of Small Interventions

20 augusti 2019 | 54 min

#63 Hugh Howey: Winning at the Self-publishing Game

6 augusti 2019 | 99 min

#62 Dr. Sue Johnson: Cracking the Code of Love

23 juli 2019 | 129 min

#61 Jonathan Haidt: When Good Intentions Go Bad

2 juli 2019 | 79 min

#60 Jim Dethmer: Leading Above the Line

18 juni 2019 | 113 min

#59 Following Intellectual Curiosity with Thomas Tull

28 maj 2019 | 75 min

#57 Sheila Heen: Decoding Difficult Conversations

15 maj 2019 | 92 min

Gabriel Weinberg: Practical Steps to Safeguard Your Data and Identity Online

14 maj 2019 | 100 min

#56 Daniel Gross: Catalyzing Success

16 april 2019 | 91 min

#55 Scott Page: Becoming a Model Thinker

2 april 2019 | 87 min

#54 Jason Fried: Doing the Enough Thing

19 mars 2019 | 62 min

#53 Howard Marks: Luck, Risk and Avoiding Losers

5 mars 2019 | 95 min

#52 Dr. Laura Markham: Peaceful Parenting with

19 februari 2019 | 92 min

#51 Celeste Headlee: The Dying Art of Conversation

5 februari 2019 | 76 min

#50 Josh Wolfe: Inventing the Future

22 januari 2019 | 101 min

#49 Brent Gilchrist: Goal Mining

8 januari 2019 | 56 min

#48 Adam Robinson: Winning at the Great Game (Part 2)

26 december 2018 | 74 min

#47 Adam Robinson: Winning at the Great Game (Part 1)

11 december 2018 | 126 min

#46 Sophie Grégoire Trudeau: Authenticity, Kindness, and Self Love

27 november 2018 | 68 min

#45 Dan Kluger: Taking Time to Get It Right

13 november 2018 | 67 min

#44 Barbara Coloroso: The Kids Are Worth It

30 oktober 2018 | 129 min

#43 Jennifer Garvey Berger: The Mental Habits of Effective Leaders

16 oktober 2018 | 93 min

#42 Atul Gawande: The Path to Perpetual Progress

2 oktober 2018 | 83 min

#41 Tobi Lütke: The Trust Battery

18 september 2018 | 109 min

Today, I interview fellow Ottawan and the founder and CEO of Shopify, Tobi Lütke. In case you’re still new to the internet, Shopify is the largest ecommerce platform that allows people to easily set up online storefronts to sell everything from jewelry to surfing lessons.

Shopify began as a simple two man operation selling snowboards online, but it became clear rather quickly that it had the potential to grow into much more. Now Shopify employs more than 4,000 people and supports more than 600,000 businesses online. It’s a remarkable story, with a remarkable leader at the helm.

There was so much I wanted to talk to Tobi about that we hop around quite a bit. Here are a few of the topics we discuss:

Tobi’s thoughts on how video games helped him prepare to run a company
How selling snowboards online slowly transitioned to the creation of one of the biggest tech companies in the world
Why Tobi intentionally headquartered Shopify outside of Silicon Valley and how that fits into his overall growth strategy
One of the most underrated resources Tobi leans on to mine nuggets of wisdom when trying to get insight or solve a problem
The hard and valuable lessons Tobi learned as they scaled from a 2 employee company to a 4,000 employee company
What the “Tobi test” is, and how it helps Shopify team members become more adaptable, unified and prepared when things go haywire
How employees use the “trust battery” and how it fosters better teamwork, communication, and productivity throughout the company
The benefits of hiring employees in a “secondary market” as opposed to a “primary market” and how that contributes to the unique culture at Shopify
Tobi’s decision-making process and his philosophy on making quick vs analytic decisions
Tobi’s unusual morning routine that gets him in the right mindset to tackle the day
His optimistic view of AI and machine learning and how they will impact the way we do things in the future

And more…

Whether you’re building a business of your own, want to create a more dynamic and unified culture at work, or just like hearing entrepreneur war stories, this episode will not disappoint.

Go Premium: Members get early access, ad-free episodes, hand-edited transcripts, searchable transcripts, member-only episodes, and more. Sign up at: https://fs.blog/membership/

Every Sunday our newsletter shares timeless insights and ideas that you can use at work and home. Add it to your inbox: https://fs.blog/newsletter/

Follow Shane on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/ShaneAParrish

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#40 Ben Thompson: Thriving in a Digital World

5 september 2018 | 103 min

Today’s guest is Stratechery author and founder Ben Thompson. If you’re an investor in Silicon Valley, work at a tech start-up, or just love to geek out on technology and business analysis, odds are good that Stratechery is on your short list of must-read blogs.

What started as a side project, quickly ballooned into one of the most influential tech blogs on the web. The New York Times called Stratechery, “one of the most interesting sources of analysis on any subject.”

I agree.

In this interview, Ben and I cover a lot of ground. Here are a few of the things we discuss:

Learn once and for all how to pronounce Stratechery. :)
How Ben’s business model was developed and how he massaged it over the years to become what it is today
The one metric Ben looks at each day to gauge the health of his business
How Ben deals with people who rip off his work and pass it off as their own
Ben’s thoughts on pricing, free trials, content and other important aspects of online membership sites
How Ben structures his day to churn out such incredible content so consistently
How Ben handles being wrong on his site, and his process for screening his work for confirmation bias
How the internet has changed the traditional view of supply and demand, and what companies should do about it
What Ben would teach an MBA class about internet strategy (if you do any business online, you need to hear this)
What it would take for a start-up to overtake Google or Apple, and the vulnerabilities that all companies share, no matter how big or profitable
The new era of technology and how companies like Netflix, Airbnb, and Amazon are doing it right (and what you can do in your own business to take full advantage)

This is one of the most jam-packed interviews I’ve done on the Knowledge Project. Ben’s answers are so thoughtful and informative that you’re going to want to have a notebook handy.

Go Premium: Members get early access, ad-free episodes, hand-edited transcripts, searchable transcripts, member-only episodes, and more. Sign up at: https://fs.blog/membership/

Every Sunday our newsletter shares timeless insights and ideas that you can use at work and home. Add it to your inbox: https://fs.blog/newsletter/

Follow Shane on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/ShaneAParrish

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#39 Tyler Cowen: Thinking About Thinking

21 augusti 2018 | 60 min

There are only a handful of websites that I read religiously. One of those is MarginalRevolution.com, started by my next guest, Tyler Cowen.

Other than hosting one of the most popular economic blogs in the world, Tyler is also an economics professor at George Mason University, a regular New York Times columnist, and the author of over a dozen books, including Average is Over, and The Complacent Class.

With such a prolific guest, it’s no wonder that we cover a lot of ground. In this episode, we discuss:

How the future of labor will look drastically different than it does today, and what we can do to future-proof our livelihood
The pros and cons of virtual reality and the impact it could have on society
The fate of newspapers and how information will be more and more “bundled” according to our tastes and preferences
Race relations in the world, and how in many ways we’ve taken discouraging steps backwards
How we’re losing touch with the physical world, and some of the symptoms that indicate that we could be in for a rough ride
What Tyler suggests doing to improve decision making and how important (and rare) that skill will be in the coming years
Tyler’s advice to parents about how to foster resilience, tenacity and internal drive in their children
Tyler’s “quake books” and the reading process he’s developed over the years that keeps him sharp
Why giving books as gifts can be dangerous
The one skill every person should possess before Googling anything
What playing competitive chess as a child taught Tyler about how he thinks and views the world today

And much more, including Tyler’s thoughts on minimum wage, bitcoin, and his favorite television programs.

If you want to upgrade your thinking so you’re prepared for the brave new world that’s rapidly developing before our eyes, you won’t want to miss this fascinating episode.

Go Premium: Members get early access, ad-free episodes, hand-edited transcripts, searchable transcripts, member-only episodes, and more. Sign up at: https://fs.blog/membership/

Every Sunday our newsletter shares timeless insights and ideas that you can use at work and home. Add it to your inbox: https://fs.blog/newsletter/

Follow Shane on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/ShaneAParrish

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#38 Ali Almossawi: Thinking in Algorithms

8 augusti 2018 | 22 min

#37 Annie Duke: Getting Better by Being Wrong

25 juli 2018 | 122 min

I have wanted to do this interview for a long time. On this episode, I am thrilled to have Annie Duke, former professional poker player and author of the new book, Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts.

Annie has a very interesting background that makes her uniquely qualified to speak about high-level decision making. As an author, speaker, world-class poker player, and academic in the fields of psychology and cognitive theory, Annie understands the intersection of luck, skill, and making decisions in uncertain, chaotic environments better than most people on the planet.

This is a whirlwind of an episode, and we cover all kinds of fascinating topics, including:

The strange circumstances that shifted Annie’s path from finishing a Ph.D. in linguistics to becoming a professional poker player
What it was like to be a female poker player in a predominantly male sport (especially before poker had become socially acceptable)
What drew Annie into such a high stakes, time-pressured environment and why she felt like poker was the perfect fit for her
How her graduate work in psychology informed the way she approached the game of poker — and helped her rack up wins
How she finds the signal in a very noisy stream of feedback
The big mistakes Annie noticed other players making that were stalling their progress in the game but allowed her to make giant leaps forward
The role that mental models played in her learning process (and which models Annie liked to lean on the most in a high stakes game)
The power of surrounding yourself with people that can help you expand your circle of competence — and how that made all the difference in Annie’s development as a player
Confirmatory and exploratory thought, and how one helps us to be “accurate” and one helps us to be “right.”
The secret pact you should be making with the people who are closest to you

And so much more.

This episode is just under two hours long, but there’s no fat in it. Annie delivers a masterclass in making the smartest decisions we can, even when our hubris insists otherwise. Do some finger stretches before hitting play, because you’re going to be taking some serious notes.

Please enjoy the interview!

***

Go Premium: Members get early access, ad-free episodes, hand-edited transcripts, searchable transcripts, member-only episodes, and more. Sign up at: https://fs.blog/membership/

Every Sunday our newsletter shares timeless insights and ideas that you can use at work and home. Add it to your inbox: https://fs.blog/newsletter/

Follow Shane on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/ShaneAParrish

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#36 William MacAskill: The Science of Doing Good

11 juli 2018 | 68 min

On this episode of The Knowledge Project, I’m happy to have William MacAskill.

William is the co-founder and President of the Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA) and an Associate Professor in Philosophy at Oxford University. He is also the founder and president of 80,000 Hours, the co-founder and vice-president of Giving What We Can, and the author of Doing Good Better: Effective Altruism and a Radical New Way to Make a Difference.

William’s work is primarily focused on encouraging people to use reason and evidence to find the best possible ways they can use their resources to make the biggest possible impact in the world.

We cover a lot of ground in this interview, including:

Why good intentions aren’t enough when giving to charity and how we can do better
How William's giving philosophy was formed and how it developed into The Centre for Effective Altruism
The best metrics to assess how good a charity is before donating a dime
How letting our emotions guide our charitable giving can lead to ineffective, and sometimes harmful outcomes.
How many charities today unknowingly reward low dollar donors and sell themselves short millions of dollars in potential donations
A powerful thought exercise to help you gain a different but valuable perspective about helping the poor and suffering in the world
The one cognitive bias William believes is the most damaging to any business, organization or individual
William’s foundational values that guide his day to day decisions and actions
William’s take on “radical honesty” and when honesty can be taken too far and is no longer constructive
William’s definition of success and the imaginary conversation he has with himself on his deathbed to make sure he’s on the right track (this is awesome)
The most common mistake William sees people make over and over (and the embarrassingly simple way to avoid making it)
And then to wrap up, I gave him a softball question: What is the purpose and meaning of life?

If you’ve wanted to make more of a positive impact in the world around you, this insightful interview will give you plenty to think about. Your resources are precious and should be optimized to improve the lives of those you help. I don’t know of a better person to guide you than William.

***

Go Premium: Members get early access, ad-free episodes, hand-edited transcripts, searchable transcripts, member-only episodes, and more. Sign up at: https://fs.blog/membership/

Every Sunday our newsletter shares timeless insights and ideas that you can use at work and home. Add it to your inbox: https://fs.blog/newsletter/

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#35 Robert Greene: Alive Time vs. Dead Time

27 juni 2018 | 81 min

In this episode of The Knowledge Project, I have the brilliant Robert Greene. Robert is the

author of 5 New York Times bestsellers, including The 48 Laws of Power and The 33 Strategies of War. He's also written on mastery and seduction.

Robert’s books have been somewhat controversial over the years and have been called amoral, cunning, and even ruthless for what they reveal. Yet millions of readers, from mid-level managers to hip-hop royalty and corporate executives have revered his work as a sort of canonized scripture for the ambitious.

In this conversation, we cover a lot of ground, including:

Why Robert believes his first book, 48 Laws of Power has continued to sell steadily for over two decades.
What Robert calls “alive time” and “dead time” and how we can optimize each day to be filled with “alive time” and live the life we’re proud of
The one skill that determines how far you’ll get in life, no matter how talented you are in anything else
Robert’s research method and how he finds such unique and interesting examples
What Robert looks for when he reads, and what qualities separate good books from excellent books
How Robert developed his famous note card system to extract the meat out of anything he reads
Why Robert insists on writing all his notes longhand even though it’s less convenient and less accessible than taking notes digitally
What Robert’s daily routine looks like, particularly when he’s writing and researching for a new book
What Robert considers to be the single greatest power any human has, and what we can do to strengthen it
How having unfettered access to information is actually making us dumber in very important ways and what we can do about it
How to fine tune your “bullshit detector” so you’re able to tell the difference between pretenders and performers. (As a bonus, Robert shares a few ways you can improve your bullshitting skills when it becomes necessary)

And a lot more.

Plus, Robert gives us a sneak peek into his newest project, The Laws of Human Nature, which explores the hidden motivations that drive what we do and say.

This interview is packed to the brim with interesting and actionable insights that I think you’re going to love. Grab a pen, a notebook, and a glass of wine and enjoy!

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#34 Amelia Boone: Learning How to Suffer

13 juni 2018 | 72 min

Since the popularity of Obstacle Course Racing, or OCR, has exploded onto the scene, there has been one woman who has dominated the sport: Amelia Boone.

Amelia ran her first race in 2011 after some prodding from a co-worker, and though she says she stumbled her way to an unimpressive finish, she was smitten. She has since amassed over 50 podiums and two dozen victories, including the Spartan Race World Championship in 2013, and the World's Toughest Mudder (three times!) in 2012, 2014 and 2015.

Oh, and her 2014 victory came just eight weeks after major knee surgery.

Though she vehemently denies it, Amelia is superhuman.

This interview is a little different than others you may have heard on The Knowledge Project but no less fascinating.

We cover a wide variety of topics including habits, reading, self-reliance, and training.

Specifically, you’ll learn:

Why Amelia was drawn to obstacle racing even though running was something she despised
The complementary connection between her sport and her professional work and how racing has made her a more effective attorney
How Amelia fights physical and mental fatigue when most people quit (she even shares a story of how she dealt with a vacant support station halfway through a 100 mile race)
What she does to develop grit and resilience so she knows she can rely on herself when things get rough
Amelia’s “to-do list” trick that makes sure she’s productive — you’ll want to steal this
How a serious injury taught Amelia some of her most powerful lessons about who she is and what’s important to her
What Amelia’s parents did to teach her to be self-sufficient from a very young age
How she learned to deal with setbacks, and how careful she is with the language she uses when she speaks to herself when things go wrong
Why Amelia runs with a Sharpie and the same playlist she’s listened to for the past 5 years
How Amelia transformed herself from a casual weekend warrior to one of the most finely tuned athletes in the world

Whether you’re an athlete, a weekend jogger, or the only exercise you get is the leisure stroll from the couch to the refrigerator, there are lots of insights and plenty of inspiration waiting for you in this interview.

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#33 Dan Ariely: The Truth About Lies

25 maj 2018 | 60 min

On this episode of the Knowledge Project, I’m joined by the fascinating Dan Ariely. Dan just about does it all. He has delivered 6 TED talks with a combined 20 million views, he’s a multiple New York Times best-selling author, a widely published researcher, and the James B Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University.

For the better part of three decades, Dan has been immersed in researching why humans do some of the silly, irrational things we do. And yes, as much as we’d all like to be exempt, that includes you too.

In this captivating interview, we tackle a lot of interesting topics, including:

The three types of decisions that control our life and how understanding our biases can help us make smarter decisions
How our environment plays a big role in our decision making and the small changes we can make to automatically improve our outcomes
The “behavioural driven” bathroom scale Dan has been working on to revolutionize weight loss
Which of our irrational behaviors transfer across cultures and which ones are unique to certain parts of the world (for example, find out which country is the most honest)
The dishonesty spectrum and why we as humans insist on flirting with the line between “honest” and “dishonest”
3 sneaky mental tricks Dan uses to avoid making ego-driven decisions
“Pluralistic ignorance” and how it dangerously affects our actions and inactions (As a bonus, Dan shares the hilarious way he demonstrates this concept to his students on their first day of class)
The rule Dan created specifically for people with spinach in their teeth
The difference between habits, rules, and rituals, and why they are critical to shaping us into who we want to be

This was a riveting discussion and one that easily could have gone for hours. If you’ve ever wondered how you’d respond in any of these eye-opening experiments, you have to listen to this interview. If you’re anything like me, you’ll learn something new about yourself, whether you want to or not.

***

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#32 Patrick Collison: Earning Your Stripes

2 maj 2018 | 113 min

On this episode of the Knowledge Project Podcast, I chat with Patrick Collison, co-founder and CEO of the leading online payment processing company, Stripe. If you’ve purchased anything online recently, there’s a good chance that Stripe facilitated the transaction.

What is now an organization with over a thousand employees and handling tens of billions of dollars of online purchases every year, began as a small side experiment while Patrick and his brother John were going to college.

During our conversation, Patrick shares the details of their unlikely journey and some of the hard-earned wisdom he picked up along the way. I hope you have something handy to write with because the nuggets per minute in this episode are off the charts. Patrick was so open and generous with his responses that I’m really excited for you to hear what he has to say.

Here are just a few of the things we cover:

The biggest (and most valuable) mistakes Patrick made in the early days of Stripe and how they helped him get better
The characteristics that Patrick looks for in a new hire to fit and contribute to the Stripe company culture
What compelled he and his brother to move forward with the early concept of Stripe, even though on paper it was doomed to fail from the start
The gaps Patrick saw in the market that dozens of other processing companies were missing — and how he capitalized on them
The lessons Patrick learned from scaling Stripe from two employees (he and his brother) to nearly 1,000 today
How he evaluates the upsides and potential dangers of speculative positions within the company
How his Irish upbringing influenced his ability to argue and disagree without taking offense (and how we can all be a little more “Irish”)
The power of finding the right peer group in your social and professional circles and how impactful and influential it can be in determining where you end up.
The 4 ways Patrick has modified his decision making process over the last 5 years and how it’s helped him develop as a person and as a business leader (this part alone is worth the listen)
Patrick’s unique approach to books and how he chooses what he’s going to spend his time reading

...life in Silicon Valley, Baumol’s cost disease, and so, so much more.

Patrick truly is one of the warmest, humblest and down-to-earth people I’ve had the pleasure to speak with and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation together. I hope you will too!

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#31 Barbara Oakley: Learning How to Learn

10 april 2018 | 97 min

Just when I start to think I’m using my time well and getting a lot done in my life, I meet someone like Barbara Oakley.

Barbara is a true polymath. She was a captain in the U.S. Army, a Russian translator on Soviet trawlers, a radio operator in the South Pole, an engineer, university professor, researcher and the author of 8 books.

Oh, and she is also the creator and instructor of Learning to Learn, the most popular Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) ever(!), with over one million enrolled students.

In this fascinating interview, we cover many aspects of learning, including how to make it stick so we remember more and forget less, how to be more efficient so we learn more quickly, and how to remove that barriers that get in the way of effective learning.

Specifically, Barbara covers:

How she changed her brain from hating math and science to loving it so much she now teaches engineering to college students
What neuroscience can tell us about how to learn more effectively
The two modes of your brain and how that impacts what and how you learn
Why backing off can sometimes be the best thing you can do when learning something new
How to “chunk” your learning so new knowledge is woven into prior knowledge making it easily accessible
The best ways to develop new patterns of learning in our brains
How to practice a skill so you can blast through plateaus and improve more quickly
Her favorite tactic for dealing with procrastination so you can spend more time learning
The activities she recommends that rapidly increase neural connections like fertilizer on the brain
Whether memorization has a place in learning anymore, or simply a barrier to true understanding
The truth about “learning types” and how identifying as a visual or auditory learner might be setting yourself up for failure.

...and a whole lot more.

If you want to be the most efficient learner you can be, and have more fun doing it, you won’t want to miss this discussion.

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#30 Margaret Heffernan: Collaboration and Competition

13 mars 2018 | 80 min

#29 Dacher Keltner: Survival of the Kindest

21 februari 2018 | 83 min

When Pixar was dreaming up the idea for Inside Out, a film that would explore the roiling emotions inside the head of a young girl, they needed guidance from an expert. So they called Dacher Keltner.

Dacher is a psychologist at UC Berkeley who has dedicated his career to understanding how human emotion shapes the way we interact with the world, how we properly manage difficult or stressful situations, and ultimately, how we treat one another.

In fact, he refers to emotions as the “language of social living.” The more fluent we are in this language, the happier and more meaningful our lives can be.

We tackle a wide variety of topics in this conversation that I think you’ll really enjoy.

You’ll learn:

The three main drivers that determine your personal happiness and life satisfaction
Simple things you can do everyday to jumpstart the “feel good” reward center of your brain
The principle of “jen” and how we can use “high-jen behaviors” to bootstrap our own happiness
How to have more positive influence in our homes, at work and in our communities.
How to teach your kids to be more kind and empathetic in an increasingly self-centered world
What you can do to stay grounded and humble if you are in a position of power or authority
How to catch our own biases when we’re overly critical of another’s ideas (or overconfident in our own)

And much more. We could have spent an hour discussing any one of these points alone, but there was so much I wanted to cover. I’m certain you’ll find this episode well worth your time.

***

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#28 Michael Mauboussin: A Decision Making Jedi

23 januari 2018 | 80 min

Michael Mauboussin returns for a fascinating encore interview on the Knowledge Project. We geek out on decision making, luck vs. skill, work life balance, and so much more.

***

Michael Mauboussin is back as a returning guest on the Knowledge Project!

He was actually the very first guest on the podcast when it was still very much an experiment. I enjoyed it so much, I decided to continue with the show. (If you missed his last interview, you can listen to it here, or if you’re a member of The Learning Community, you can download a transcript.)

Michael is one of my very favorite people to talk to, and I couldn’t wait to pick up right where we left off.

In this interview, Michael and I dive deep into some of the topics we care most about here at Farnam Street, including:

The concept of “base rates” and how they can help us make far better decisions and avoid the pain and consequences of making poor choices.
How to know where you land on the luck/skill continuum and why it matters
Michael’s advice on creating a systematic decision-making process in your organization to improve outcomes.
The two most important elements of any decision-making process
How to train your intuition to be one of your most powerful assets instead of a dangerous liability
The three tests Michael uses in his company to determine the health and financial stability of his environment
Why “algorithm aversion” is creating such headaches in many organizations and how to help your teams overcome it, so you can make more rapid progress
The most impactful books that he’s read since we last spoke, is reading habits, and the strategies he uses to get the most of every book
The importance of sleep in Michael's’ life to make sure his body and mind are running at peak efficiency
His greatest failures and what he learned from them
How Michael and his wife raised their kids and the unique parenting style they adopted
How Michael defines happiness and the decisions he makes to maximize the joy in his life

Any one of those insights alone is worth a listen, so I think you’re really going to enjoy this interview.

Go Premium: Members get early access, ad-free episodes, hand-edited transcripts, searchable transcripts, member-only episodes, and more. Sign up at: https://fs.blog/membership/

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#27 Chris Voss: The Art of Letting Other People Have Your Way

3 januari 2018 | 85 min

#26 Warren Berger: Improving The Questions You Ask

14 december 2017 | 86 min

The quality of your outcome depends on the quality of your questions.

Through asking the right questions we can spark innovation and creativity, gain deeper knowledge in the topics that are most important to us, and propel us forward in our personal and professional pursuits.

Yet very few of us do it well — if we do it at all.

My guest on the podcast today is Warren Berger — journalist, speaker, best selling author, and self-proclaimed questionologist.

His insightful book A More Beautiful Question shows how the world’s leading innovators, education leaders, creative thinkers, and red-hot start-ups ask game-changing questions to nurture creativity, solve problems, and create new possibilities.

In this episode, we discuss the importance of asking the right questions, why they’re critical to your success, and how you may be one great question away from a major breakthrough.

You’ll also learn:

How Warren manages the constant input and stimulation from online consumption when it’s time to create.
The small habits that pack the biggest punch and make the most difference in Warren’s life
What makes a question more or less effective
How to create a culture where questions are welcome and encouraged
Why answering all your kids’ questions may be doing them a disservice — and what to do instead
What “collaborative inquiry” is and how to use it to get the most out of your teams in the workplace
How Warren transformed one of his most painful failures into one of his most proud achievements
Why Warren insists that everyone is creative, and what we can do to fan the flames of our own creativity

If you think you could improve the quality (and frequency) of your questions to enhance key areas of your life, this is not a conversation you’ll want to miss.

Go Premium: Members get early access, ad-free episodes, hand-edited transcripts, searchable transcripts, member-only episodes, and more. Sign up at: https://fs.blog/membership/

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#25 Gary Taubes: Is Sugar Slowly Killing Us

30 november 2017 | 107 min

It seems that nowadays, aside from religion and politics, one of the most hotly debated topics is that of nutrition.

Should we eat high carb diets? Low carb? High fat? High protein? What about wheat or gluten? Should we eat meat or adopt a vegan diet?

There are as many opinions as there are people — and books, magazines and websites are overflowing with information showing you the “right” way to eat and exercise to lose weight.

But if “eating less and moving more” is all it takes to lose weight and enjoy a healthy lifestyle, why are so many of us fat and getting fatter?

In this episode, I chat with Gary Taubes, bestselling author of three books, The Case Against Sugar (2016), Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It (2011) and Good Calories, Bad Calories (2007).

We talk about the sharp rise of obesity and diabetes in America, the structural hurdles to effective nutrition research, and explore the common myth that a calorie is just a calorie.

Here are a few other things you’ll learn in this interview:

How diets shifted in the last century, and what impact it’s having on our bodies today.
Why a carb isn’t just a carb — and why you should know the difference
Is the sugar industry the new Big Tobacco?
What role genetics play in our health, and how much is under our control
Why humans are so attracted to sugar and how to break the habit
Gary’s suggestions to improve your health, drop body fat and feel terrific
The benefits of fasting and how you can try it out yourself

And a bunch more.

If you think at all about your health, give this podcast a listen.

Go Premium: Members get early access, ad-free episodes, hand-edited transcripts, searchable transcripts, member-only episodes, and more. Sign up at: https://fs.blog/membership/

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#24 Susan Cain: Leading the Quiet Revolution

1 november 2017 | 60 min

#23 Ray Dalio: Life Lessons from a Self-Made Billionaire

11 oktober 2017 | 94 min

#22 Adam Grant: Givers, Takers, and the Resilient Mind

21 september 2017 | 91 min

#21 Ed Latimore: The Warrior Poet

9 augusti 2017 | 65 min

#20 Marc Garneau: The Future of Transportation

2 juli 2017 | 63 min

Rory Sutherland: The Psychology of Advertising

30 maj 2017 | 122 min

#18 Naval Ravikant: The Angel Philosopher

11 april 2017 | 127 min

Naval Ravikant is the CEO and co-founder of AngelList. He’s invested in more than 100 companies, including Uber, Twitter, Yammer, and many others.

It’s difficult to nail down exactly what we discuss in our conversation because I had so many questions to ask him. Naval is an incredibly deep thinker who challenges the status quo on so many things. This is an interview you’ll want to listen to, think a bit, and then listen to again.

Here are just a few of the many things we cover in this episode:

What a “typical day” looks like (not the answer I expected, and not one you’ve likely heard before)
How Naval developed his legendary reading habits and how he finds time to read no matter how busy life gets
How the internet has impacted book reading (both good and bad) and how to make sure you’re getting the best information from the most reliable sources
What popular habit advice Naval thinks is BS and why
Naval’s habit stacking technique that helped him overcome a desire for alcohol and other potentially destructive habits
How Naval’s core values give direction to his life and how those values developed over time
Naval’s thoughts on the current education system and what we can do to facilitate better learning for our children
Naval’s favorite mental models for making critical high-stakes decisions
His brilliant two-factor calendar authentication concept to keep him focused on only the most important projects
Naval’s definition for the meaning of life (buckle up for this one)
His amazing response to the investor who wanted to be just like Steve Jobs

And so, so much more.

Just a heads up, this is the longest podcast I’ve ever done. While it felt like only thirty minutes, our conversation lasted over two hours!

And although it is the longest, it’s also our most downloaded episode on the Knowledge Project, so make sure you have a pen and paper handy. There’s a lot of wisdom up for grabs here.

Enjoy this amazing conversation.

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Aristotle Koskinas on Greek History

5 januari 2017 | 67 min

Santorini Wine with Panayiota Kalogeropoulou

5 januari 2017 | 33 min

The island of Santorini has not only has breathtaking views but also a fascinating history. Traces of its first inhabitants have been linked back to 4500 BC. In 1613 BC the most powerful volcanic event in the last 10,000 years took place – completely destroying all the islands within a 60 km radius. It has been estimated that 90 billion tons of molten rock was injected into the air, the sea swallowed the volcano, and a massive tsunami swept across the Aegean Sea. Along with the obvious devastation of nature, it is believed that the eruption also sealed the deal for the most civilized nation on the island at the time, the Minoans. Thanks to the thick layer of ash cause by the event, the Bronze Age settlement of Akrotiri was so well preserved that we are able to see how prosperous the area had once been with an elaborate drainage systems, multi-storied buildings, incredible wall paintings, furniture and vessels. The site has as much of a significant importance as does Pompeii. The island’s main volcanic rock, its mineral rich soil, and the amazing climate, has produced some incredibly unique wines. Santorini is known for some of the oldest vineyards in the world. And we know that wine is one of my favourite topics. On today’s podcast I speak with Panayiota Kalogeropoulou about Santorini’s wines. Panayiota is the Director at the Domaine Sigalas vineyard. Paris Sigalas, a mathematician with a goal to make his Santorini vineyard a world heritage site, focuses on grapes that thrive in Santorini (these include the Aidani, Athiri, Plantana – and the prime Greek grape Assyrtiko).

***

Go Premium: Members get early access, ad-free episodes, hand-edited transcripts, searchable transcripts, member-only episodes, and more. Sign up at: https://fs.blog/membership/

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#15 Samuel Arbesman: Future-Proof Your Knowledge

28 november 2016 | 50 min

#14 Morgan Housel: Reading, Writing, and Lifelong Learning

24 oktober 2016 | 62 min

#13 Pedro Domingos: The Rise of The Machines

30 augusti 2016 | 66 min

#12 Véronique Rivest: Wine Lessons

24 juli 2016 | 66 min

#11 Ryan Holiday: The Stoic Whisperer

16 maj 2016 | 49 min

Are we too busy to pay attention to life?

30 mars 2016 | 47 min

#9 Maestro Alexander Shelley: The Architecture of Music

18 mars 2016 | 60 min

#8 Julia Galef: The Art of Changing Minds

20 februari 2016 | 57 min

#7 Venkatesh Rao: The Three Types of Decision Makers

28 januari 2016 | 70 min

#6 Philip Tetlock: How to See the Future

8 december 2015 | 50 min

#5 Chris Dixon: The State of Venture Capital

13 november 2015 | 60 min

#4 Jason Zweig: Elevate Your Financial IQ

19 oktober 2015 | 64 min

#3 Sanjay Bakshi: Why Mental Models

18 september 2015 | 57 min

#2 Michael Lombardi: Leadership on the Field

29 maj 2015 | 37 min

#1 Michael Mauboussin: When To Trust Your Gut

28 april 2015 | 42 min

The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish

Master the best of what other people have already figured out.

Om podden

Avsnitt

#221 Bruce Flatt on Value, Discipline, and Durability

#220 Outliers: James Dyson — Against the Odds

#219 Logan Ury: The Dating Myths You Need to Stop Believing

#218 Outliers: Estée Lauder — A Success Story

#217 Josh Wolfe: Human Advantage in the World of AI

#216 Outliers: Andrew Mellon – America’s Secret Banker

#215 David Heacock: Managing and Marketing a $250M Business

#214 Outliers: Timothy Eaton — The Original ‘Everything Store’

#213 Mickey Drexler: The Art of Selling with Retail's Merchant Prince

#212 Alfred Lin: How to Think (and Work) Like a World-Class Investor

#211 Codie Sanchez: Your Blueprint to Financial Freedom

#210 Best of 2024: The Blueprint for a Transformative New Year

#209 Charlie Hoehn: Write Something People Want to Read

#208 Ryan Holiday: How to Win the War with Yourself

#207 Adam Karr: The Investing Blueprint

#206 John Mackey: Building Whole Foods

#205 Rob Fraser: The Power of Focus

#204 John Bragg: The Blueberry Billionaire

#203 Erin Wade: The Mac and Cheese Empire

#202 Matthew Dicks: The Storytelling Expert

#201 April Dunford: The Marketing Expert

#200 Brian Halligan: Building HubSpot into a Multi-Billion Dollar Company

#199 Esther Perel: Cultivating Desire

(#198) #1 Psychologist: Toolkit to Accomplish Your Hardest Goals

#197 Michaeleen Doucleff: The 4 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make

#196 Brent Beshore: Business Brilliance and Happiness at Home

#195 Morgan Housel: Get Rich, Stay Rich

#194 Why the Kids Aren’t Alright with Abigail Shrier

Top Performance Psychologist: What it Takes to Win | Dr. Jim Loehr

The Architecture of Scale: Building a $200m Business | David Segal

Dr. Rhonda Patrick: Diet Essentials For Healthy Living

#190 Brad Jacobs: How To Build a Billion Dollar Company

#189 Chris Davis: Three Generations of Wealth

#188 Bryan Johnson: Five Habits for Longer Living

#187 Dr. Becky Kennedy: The One Thing You Can Say That Changes Everything

#186 Tom Gayner: Invest Like The Best

#185 Blake Eastman: Learn to Read Anyone

#184 Best of 2023: Conversations of the Year

#183 Paul Assaiante: Learning to Face Your Fears

#182 Todd Herman: Unleashing Your Secret Identity

#181 Dr. Gio Valiante (Part 2): Failure and Success

#180 TKP Insights: Learning and Thinking

#179 Dr. Gio Valiante (Part 1): Discipline and Resilience

#178 Jerry Colonna: The CEO Whisperer

#177 Shane Parrish: A Glimpse Into Clear Thinking

#176: Dr. Leah Lagos and Joe Mazzulla: Control Your Heart, Conquer Your Stress

#175: Shreyas Doshi: Better Teams, Better Products

#174 Rey Flemings: A Different Definition of Success

#173 Frank Slootman: Doing Less, Doing Better

#172 Dr. Julie Gurner (Part 2): Caring Deeply, Challenging Directly

#171 Naval Ravikant: The Angel Philosopher (2017)

#170: TKP Insights: Philosophy

#169 Dr. Julie Gurner (Part 1): Caring Deeply, Challenging Directly

#168 Adam Robinson: Positioning Yourself For Success

#167 Dr. Gina Poe: The Science of Better Sleep

#166 Kevin Kelly: Excellent Advice for Living

Proven Strategies to Accelerate Growth, Productivity and Profits with George Stalk, Jr.

#164 Ravi Gupta: The Realities of Success

#163 Jason Karp: Live A Healthier Life

#162 Nathan Myhrvold

#161 Jim Dethmer: The Pillars of Integrity

#160 TKP Insights: Leadership

#159 Dr. Anna Lembke: Between Pleasure and Pain

#158 Aaron Dignan: Change The Way You Work

#157 Carolyn Coughlin: Become A Better Listener

#156 Jack Kornfield: Finding Inner Calm

#155 Best of 2022: Conversations of the Year

#154 Emily Balcetis: Setting and Achieving Goals

#153 Keith Creel: Lessons from Life on the Railroad

#152 Tobi Lütke: Calm Progress

#151 Alan Mulally: The Power Of Working Together

#150 TKP Insights: Making (Even) Better Decisions

#149 Neil Pasricha: Simple Rules for Happiness

#148 Kenneth Stanley: Set The Right Objectives

#147 Reid Hoffman: Better Decisions, Fewer Mistakes

#146 Barbara Tversky: Action Shapes Thought