I think we’re still at the beginning of the software takeover of the world. A good question for your interests and vocations is, “What would this look like eaten by software?” Some things, like fantasy football, are pretty close already. Some, like banking, are halfway there. Others, like buying a house or going out to…
Author: Isaac Morehouse
Isaac Morehouse is the founder and CEO of Praxis, an awesome startup apprenticeship program. He is dedicated to the relentless pursuit of freedom. He’s written some books, done some podcasting, and is always experimenting with self-directed living and learning. When he’s not with his wife and kids or building his company, he can be found smoking cigars, playing guitars, singing, reading, writing, getting angry watching sports teams from his home state of Michigan, or enjoying the beach.
Single Goal, Several Tactics
Flexible doesn’t mean flimsy. More like “strong opinions, weakly held“. You filter and choose tactics and act as if they are true unless and until new information surfaces – information that you are actively searching for. Indecision is a killer, so there’s got to be a clear pursuit of whatever tactics currently make the most sense while constantly observing and adjusting to new information and insight, ready to completely flip tactics without fear if better ones are clear.
Early Customers Are Heroic
Every transaction has two sides. Every business is based on transactions. That means for every awesome business success that grew from nothing, there are two parties that made it possible.
But, is it Real?
There are a lot of layers of social signaling out there. So much so, and it’s rewarded so heavily in online dopamine hits, that it’s easy to focus entirely on achieving better signals of status at the expense of achieving real value behind it all. When it comes to products, companies, or cryptocurrencies, just use…
The Most Contrarian Thing You Can Do
The rebel, non-conformist, or contrarian is usually thought of as negative, critical, skeptical, and pessimistic. They find flaws in common tropes and beliefs. That’s all well and good, and a critical eye is necessary, but it’s easy to mistake negativity for genuine insight or analysis, and it’s socially more rewarding and safer to be a critic and pessimist than an optimist.
In Favor of Impetuosness
It’s not that impetuous action doesn’t have costs. It definitely does. It lacks precision, it’s sloppy, never perfect, and sometimes just wrong. But the cost of correcting an impetuous action is generally low, and the feedback you get is quick and clear. The knowledge gained from ten impetuous actions that fail is worth more than the marginal mental improvements you can make to one untaken action.
How You Work Leads to Where You Work
It doesn’t matter what your current job is. It could be fast food, babysitting, a cool tech company, or construction. You can leverage it into a great next step. One of the best ways that almost everyone overlooks is by loving your current role and treating it with enthusiasm and pride. And letting it show.
The Secret of Selfishness
One of the great secrets I’ve discovered is that determining to find something beneficial and refusing to be merely a critic of anything I encounter changes my entire outlook and sets fire to my imagination. I’m not very good at it.
The Success of Your Friends is Your Success
Envy is evil. Not just for it’s corrosive effects on society, but for what it can do to undermine your own success. Envy makes you bitter and joyless. Worse, it blinds you to your own potential and the opportunity around you. If the success of those around you makes you less happy, you’re in a death spiral. Conversely, one of the great secrets to personal growth and achievement is the realization that the success of your friends is your success. Not metaphorically, and not just ’cause it gives you feels. In a very literal sense.
Friends are Individuals, Enemies are Collective
Foreigners, far-away peoples, threats, enemies, or those we fear get labelled as a giant unified collective. In reality, only individual humans act. “The Russians” cannot do or say anything, only individuals can. But it’s too complicated and nuanced when you’re telling yourself a simple us/them, good/evil story.