The Danny Miranda Podcast #230: David Perell [VIDEO] – Writing, Leverage, & Living With More Joy
Probation and Turning Point
- David Perell was on academic probation in college and almost got kicked out of his fraternity.
- He credits the high standards and support he received for helping him turn his life around.
Tracking Down Bill Morningstar
- David Perell tracked down his college golf coach, Bill Morningstar, across three golf courses to secure a spot on the team and bypass admissions.
- This anecdote highlights Perell's resourcefulness and determination.
Don't Wait for Confidence
- Don't wait for confidence to start something new; confidence comes from repeated execution.
- Focus on the vision and determination to pursue your goals, not on feeling confident.
David Perell is a writer and entrepreneur. He is the creator of the wildly successful Write of Passage – an online course that helps people accelerate their careers by writing online. He has amassed a following of over 300,000 people on Twitter alone.
In this conversation, we spoke about David's college years, why introspection is overrated, David's interesting writing habits, and why epiphanies are felt.
You can access this video on Spotify.
Topics:
(0:00) Intro
(0:48) Probation
(5:01) The first time David started to take himself seriously
(6:11) Find the leverage
(8:12) Bill Morningstar
(11:20) How to get confidence when you’re not qualified?
(12:25) Coining terms as a creator
(15:00) Mimetic theory
(19:33) How do you make sure what you want is what you really want?
(21:33) Why does David spend time with people he disagrees with?
(25:01) Knowledge workers should treat themselves as athletes
(27:13) Changing the education system
(39:31) Who does David admire today?
(43:01) Surrendering to the art of conversation
(44:29) Overcoming insecurities
(47:20) Injecting more of himself into his work
(48:34) “Epiphanies are felt”
(50:40) “Introspection is overrated”
(53:08) Why David grades his dad A+++
(56:50) How do we live with more joy?
(1:00:23) How much did David turn to the internet as a kid?
(1:02:45) Annual Review
(1:03:41) Connection between plants vs. podcasts
(1:06:28) How to judge improvement on creative work on week-to-week
(1:07:41) The unexpected benefit of writing
(1:12:01) Does David have any trouble sleeping?
(1:13:39) David’s weird writing habits
(1:20:40) How has David gotten less self-loathing?
(1:22:51) Balaji NYT/BTC/CCP framing
(1:26:41) Why are we so attracted to the current?
(1:30:23) Why is David a long-term thinker?
(1:31:11) Web3 vs. Bitcoiners
(1:32:51) Lessons from Robert Moses
(1:36:33) Any fiction?
(1:38:00) Book deal?
Resources Mentioned
• First David Perell appearance on The Danny Miranda Podcast 070 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCS3Qyh7LKs
• Kevin Kelly’s 103 Bits of Advice – https://kk.org/thetechnium/103-bits-of-advice-i-wish-i-had-known/
• Austin Scholar – https://austinscholar.substack.com/
• Jack Butcher days vs. decades – https://twitter.com/jackbutcher/status/1485609022799716353
David's Links Twitter – https://twitter.com/david_perell
Write of Passage – https://writeofpassage.school/
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