Founders

What I learned from reading Last Train to Paradise: Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad that Crossed an Ocean by Les Standiford.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com----[1:14] The building of the railroad across the ocean was a colossal piece of work born of the same impulse that made individuals believe that pyramids could be raised cathedrals, erected and continents Tamed the highway[1:31] All that remains of an error where men still lived, who believed that with enough will and energy and money that anything could be accomplished.[2:13] Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr by Ron Chernow (Founders #16)[2:35] Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Changed America by Les Standiford. (Founders #73)The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie by Andrew Carnegie (Founders #74)Henry Clay Frick: The Life of the Perfect Capitalist by Quentin Skrabec Jr. (Founders #75)[5:51] The Autobiography of

What I learned from reading Constellation Software Inc. President's Letters by Mark Leonard.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com----[1:10] Business lessons from Mark Leonard by Tren Griffin[2:11] Newsletter: Liberty’s Highlights The Serendipity Engine: Investing & business, science & technology, and the arts.[2:59] I don’t like anyone telling me what to do. I don’t like anyone saying I am an authority figure and you will do it this way. I can’t think of anything that annoys me more. I was stuck by the principal. I challenged teachers. I left home early. I had a bootleg radio license. I built a flamethrower. I did things that weren’t accepted by lots of people. That ability to choose what I think is right is something I prize highly.[4:49] Distant Force: A Memoir of the Teledyne Corporation and the Man Who Created It (Founders #110) and   The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success (Founders #94)[4:53] Te

What I learned from reading Rick Rubin: In the Studio by Jake Brown.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com----Rick Rubin on Lex Fridman Podcast #275Rick Rubin on The Peter Attia Drive Podcast #57Shangri-La DocumentaryRick’s podcast Broken Record[1:39] Decoded by Jay Z. (Founders #238)[3:19] Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.[3:31] His goal is to record music in its most basic and purest form. No extra bells and whistles. All wheat, no chaff.[5:42] Dr. Land was saying: “I could see what the Polaroid camera should be. It was just as real to me as if it was sitting in front of me before I had ever built one.” And Steve said: “Yes, that’s exactly the way I saw the Macintosh.” He said if I asked someone who had only used a personal calculator what a Macintosh should be like they couldn’t have told me. There was no way to do consumer research on it so I had to go and create it and then show it to people and say now what do you think?” Both of them had this ab

What I learned from reading In-N-Out Burger: A Behind-the-Counter Look at the Fast-Food Chain That Breaks All the Rules by Stacy Perman.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com----[2:03] This is an absorbing case study on how a family business came to be at the center of its own cheerful cult.[2:42] Aliens, Jedi, & Cults: A Mental Model for Potential[5:05] Stripe gave me a mental model for potential. An alien founder assembles a group of Jedi to start a cult and go on a mission together.[5:28] The developers raving about Stripe formed the cult.[6:37] If you are searching for a project with potential, watch out for the alien founder, Jedi team, and cult following of people on a messianic mission.[7:58] A few years ago I started notice that people were getting Tesla tattoos. It is very hard to ever short something where people are tattooing the brand on their body.   — Josh Wolfe[8:38] Becoming Trader Joe: How I Did Business My Way and Still Beat the Big Guys 

What I learned from reading Risk Game: Self Portrait of an Entrepreneur by Francis Greenburger.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com----[1:26]  I can be extremely stubborn when I have a hunch about something.[3:31] I knew all too well that markets can turn on a dime.[5:40] Money that had once flowed freely dried up over night.[6:41] I always listened to other people's ideas because that is how you happen upon the good ones.[6:46] Logic is no match for bureaucracy.[7:33] This ruthless industry has created far more bankruptcies than it has billionaires. Saying no is the most important judgment that you make.[9:00] Time to Make the Donuts: The Founder of Dunkin Donuts Shares an American Journey (Founders #231)[9:09] Sometimes the best lessons that you learn in life are from what you discover in the weaknesses of otherwise very good people.[15:54] My father was terrible with money. His knack of mismanaging it, losing it, or not making it in the first place was an

What I learned from reading Francis Ford Coppola: A Filmmaker's Life by Michael Schumacher.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com----[2:49] You can always understand the son by the story of his father. The story of the father is embedded in the son.[5:33] I had spent a lifetime with a frustrated, and often unemployed man, who hated anybody who was successful.[7:01] And he said, “Yeah, but there can only be one genius in the family. And since I'm already that, what chance do you have? “What kind of father says something like that to his son?[8:21] He is incredibly talented and incredibly pretentious. He doesn't know what he's doing half the time and the other half of the time he's brilliant.[9:46] There is no speed limit. The standard pace is for chumps.[10:04] Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print, and Power (Founders #135)[11:54]  George Lucas: A Life (Founders #35)[12:45] Steven Spielberg: A Biography (Founders #209)[14:10] Coppola displayed a remarkable abilit

What I learned from reading Birdmen: The Wright Brothers, Glenn Curtiss, and the Battle to Control the Skies by Lawrence Goldstone.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com----[1:07] The Wright Brothers (Founders #239)[3:47] Avoid any activity that distracts you from improving the quality of your product and the quality of your business.[5:58] Completely self-taught, he made spectacular intellectual leaps to solve a series of intractable problems that had alluded some of history's most brilliant men.[9:46] The Wright-Curtiss feud was at its core a study of the unique strengths and flaws of personality that define a clash of brilliant minds. Neither Glenn Curtiss nor Wilbur Wright ever came to understand his own limits, that luminescent intelligence in one area of human endeavor does not preclude gross incompetence in another. And because genius often requires arrogance, both men continuously repeated their blunders.[13:38] P.T. Barnum: An American Life (Founders #

What I learned from reading Mozart: A Life by Paul Johnson.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com----[1:52] Churchill by Paul Johnson (Founders #225)[2:15] A life of constant hard work, lived at the highest possible level of creative concentration.[3:05] Mozart worked relentlessly.[3:56] He started earlier than anyone else and was still composing on his deathbed.[5:34] He soon came to the conclusion that he had fathered a genius— and being a highly religious man, that he was responsible for a gift of God to music.[7:05] I think the idea here is if you truly believe that what you're doing is good for the world— and you approach it with the same kind of religious zeal— you have a massive advantage over a competitor that doesn't have the same missionary mindset.[8:09] My Turn: A Life of Total Football by Johan Cruyff (Founders #218)[8:42] Leading By Design: The Ikea Story (Founders #104)[9:09] He loved humor, and laughter was never far away in Mozart's life, toget

----Come see a live show with me and Patrick O'Shaughnessy from Invest Like The Best on October 19th in New York City. Get your tickets here! ----On Steve Jobs#5 Steve Jobs: The Biography#19 Becoming Steve Jobs: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader#76 Return To The Little Kingdom: Steve Jobs and The Creation of Apple#77 Steve Jobs & The NeXT Big Thing#204 Inside Steve Jobs' Brain#214 Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography#235 To Pixar And Beyond: My Unlikely Journey with Steve Jobs to Make Entertainment HistoryBonus Episodes on Steve JobsInsanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success (Between #112 and #113)Creative Selection: Inside Apple's Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs (Between #110 and #111)On Jony Ive and Steve Jobs#178 Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple's Greatest ProductsOn Ed Catmull and Steve Jobs#34 Creativity Inc: Overcoming The Unseen Forces That Stand In The Way of True InspirationOn Steve Jobs and several other technology company founders#157

What I learned from rereading The Wright Brothers by David McCullough.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com----[3:40] Relentlessly Resourceful by Paul Graham[4:11] If I were running a startup, this would be the phrase I'd tape to the mirror. "Make something people want" is the destination, but "Be relentlessly resourceful" is how you get there.[5:35] Everybody engaged in complicated work needs colleagues. Just the discipline of having to put your thoughts in order with somebody else is a very useful thing. —Charlie Munger[6:44] No bird soars in a calm.[10:30] Neither ever chose to be anything other than himself.[11:36] Wilbur was a little bothered by what others might be thinking or saying.[11:46] What the two had in common above all was a unity of purpose and unyielding determination.[15:09] Every mind should be true to itself —should think, investigate and conclude for itself.[17:53] My Life in Advertising (Founders #170)[19:33] Overdrive: Bill Gates and the

What I learned from reading Decoded by Jay Z. ----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com----[1:39] I would practice from the time I woke in the morning until I went to sleep[2:10] Even back then I though I was the best.[2:57] Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography  (Founders #219)[4:32] Belief becomes before ability.[5:06] Michael Jordan: The Life (Founders #212)[5:46] The public praises people for what they practice in private.[7:28]  Lock yourself in a room doing five beats a day for three summers.[7:50] Sam Walton: Made In America  (Founders #234)[9:50] He was disappointed in the world, so he built one of his own — from Steven Spielberg: A Biography (Founders #209)[12:47] The Pmarca Blog Archive Ebook by Marc Andreessen (Founders #50)[13:35] I'm not gonna say that I thought I could get rich from rap, but I could clearly see that it was gonna get bigger before it went away. Way bigger.[21:10] Over 20 years into his career and dude ain’t changed. He’s got his own

What I learned from reading The Sugar King of Havana: The Rise and Fall of Julio Lobo, Cuba's Last Tycoon by John Paul Rathbone.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com----[2:02] Beyond Possible: One Man, Fourteen Peaks, and the Mountaineering Achievement of a Lifetime (Founders #236)[3:22] This is a cautionary tale.[6:18] One of the main lessons of the book is just how fast things can change.[6:25] The History of Cuba in 50 Events[10:14] Lobo walked with a limp due to a murder attempt 14 years before that had blown a four inch chunk out of his skull.[12:29] One of the most human of all desires is to perpetuate what you have created.[12:55] Lobo thinks he has leverage when he really doesn’t.[18:39] He dies in poverty. Imagine having $5 billion and then at the end of your life having to rely on an allowance from your adult daughters.[20:30] I think about what Charlie Munger says: Don't try to be really smart. Just try to be consistently not dumb over a long period

What I learned from reading Beyond Possible: One Man, Fourteen Peaks, and the Mountaineering Achievement of a Lifetime by Nims Purja.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com----[3:36] Walking out on my career felt risky, but I was prepared to gamble everything for my ambition.[4:20] Your extremes are my normal.[12:04] Wow, this is my shit. I'd been working without much thought, operating in the flow state that athletes often describe when they set world records or win championships. I was in the zone. Brother, I thought. You're a badass at high altitude.[13:27] I was poor from the beginning. We didn't have any money, and the thought of owning a car was unimaginable. But we were a loving family, and I was a happy kid. It didn't take a lot to keep me amused.[14:57] From an early age, I believed in the power of positive thinking.[18:17]  I also like the idea of being on top.[19:00] Sam Walton: Made In America (Founders #234)[19:03] I understood that to become a spec

What I learned from reading To Pixar And Beyond: My Unlikely Journey with Steve Jobs to Make Entertainment History by Lawrence Levy.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com----[1:34] The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley (Founders #233)[3:42] Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration (Founders #34)[3:52] Readwise App[7:22] George Lucas: A Life (Founders #35)[7:48] Steve jobs had been a Silicon Valley's most visible celebrity but that made it all the more glaring that he had not had a hit in a long time —a very long time.[8:49] Steve Jobs and the NeXT Big Thing (Founders #77)[13:35] Why would I join a company that had been struggling for sixteen years and whose payroll was paid every month out of the personal checkbook of its owner? I had not realized how dire Pixar's financial situation was. It had no cash, no reserves, and it depended for its funds on the whim of a person

What I learned from rereading Sam Walton: Made In America by Sam Walton.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com----[1:56] The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon by Brad Stone. (Founders #179)[5:45] We just got after it and stayed after it.[6:06] Foxes and Hedgehogs[6:39] Hedgehogs may not be as clever as foxes but they obsessively measure and track everything about their business, and over time, they acquire deep, relevant knowledge and expertise. Their single minded approach may appear risky at times but they are conservative by nature. Hedgehogs don’t speculate or make foolish bets. If all their eggs are in that one proverbial basket, they follow Mark Twain’s advice – and watch that basket very carefully.[7:17] The thing with Hedgehogs is that they never give up. They keep at it – and they don’t ever get bored because they just love what they do – and they have a lot of fun along the way.[7:28] Hedgehogs are the ones who build great, lasting co

What I learned from reading The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley by Jimmy Soni.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com----[0:50] Your life will be shaped by the things that you create and the people you make them with.[2:45] A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age (Founders #95) [3:17] Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future (Founders #1 and #30) [4:48] It is hard to find a lukewarm opinion about PayPal's founders.[5:29] To skip PayPal's creation is to neglect the most interesting stuff about its founders. It is to miss the defining experiences of their early professional lives —one that defined so much of what came later.[6:39] There's just so many times I put down the book and I'm like, “That is really, really smart, what they just did there.”[6:59] It perfectly captures when they [Musk, Thiel, Sacks, Hoffman, Levchin, Rabois] were just hustlers trying to figure it out.

What I learned from reading Alexander the Great: The Brief Life and Towering Exploits of History's Greatest Conqueror--As Told By His Original Biographers by Arrian, Plutarch, and Quintus Curtius Rufus. ----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com----[1:28] Heroes: From Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar to Churchill and de Gaulleby Paul Johnson (Founders #226)[2:16] Each was brave, highly intelligent, almost horrifically self-assured, whose ambitions knew no bounds.[2:46] He was a man of formidable achievements. He was highly creative. He woke up early. His diet was spare. He was skilled with the sword and the spear and an expert at all forms of arms drills. He dressed to be seen.[3:50] He had supernatural self confidence and persistence. There is no substitute for will.[4:26] Churchill by Paul Johnson (Founders #225)[5:50] Addiontal research: Dan Carlin's Hardcore History Addenum Glimpses of Olympias[6:03] The Macedonians were a rugged people.[7:23] Think about

What I learned from reading Time to Make the Donuts: The Founder of Dunkin Donuts Shares an American Journey by William Rosenberg.----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com----[5:18] The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley[5:30] A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age (Founders #93)[10:28] When I opened my first Dunkin Donuts store I focused on making the first store a success. Then after I did that I could move on to the second and the third and the fourth, but I gave all my heart and my soul to making that first store a winner.[12:13] From an early age these working experiences taught me that if I put my mind to it and worked hard, I could do whatever I was doing as well or better than most other people. I learned to strive for excellence.[14:05] Odd as it may sound I think one of the best lessons I ever learned from my Dad is what he didn't do properly. He taught me what I never wanted to have hap

What I learned from reading Love, Lucy by Lucille Ball. ----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com----[3:19] Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story by Arnold Schwarzenegger (Founders #141) [3:28] Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder by Arnold Schwarzenegger (Founders #193) [4:37] Lucille Ball gave me advice about Hollywood. “Just remember, when they say, ‘No,’ you hear ‘Yes,’ and act accordingly. Someone says to you, ‘We can’t do this movie,’ you hug him and say, ‘Thank you for believing in me.[6:21] I like reading about people that do things that they're not supposed to do.[9:45] Create a comprehensive family history.[14:43] People with happy childhoods never overdo; they don't strive or exert themselves. They're moderate, pleasant, well liked, and good citizens. Society needs them. But the tremendous drive and dedication necessary to succeed in any field-not only show business-often seems to be rooted in a disturbed childhood.[19:27] This is a school tha

What I learned from reading Mind Your Own Business: A Maverick's Guide to Business, Leadership and Life by Sidney Harman----Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com----[3:46] Foxes and Hedgehogs[7:17] The thing with Hedgehogs is that they never give up. They keep at it – and they don’t ever get bored because they just love what they do – and they have a lot of fun along the way.[8:27] In the Company of Giants: Candid Conversations With the Visionaries of the Digital World[9:38] “The essence of commitment is making a decision. The Latin root for decision is to ‘cut away from,’ as in an incision. When you commit to something, you are cutting away all your other possibilities, all your other options”  From the book The Lombardi Rules: 26 Lessons from Vince Lombardi—The World's Greatest Coach[11:16] The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Story by Michael Lewis[13:12] I regard myself as guardian of the company’s soul.[15:05] Steve Jobs liked to say the Beatles were his manag