#174 Agency Is A Skill — Cate Hall on leaving law for poker, developing agency, deterministic vs probabilistic economy, risk, burnout, asking dumb questions, defining ambition, seeking real feedback, and the surface area of luck
May 29, 2024
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Former Supreme Court advocate turned poker player and entrepreneur Cate Hall discusses leaving law for poker, developing agency, deterministic vs probabilistic economy, risk, burnout, asking dumb questions, defining ambition, seeking real feedback, and maximizing luck. She shares her inspiring journey of pivoting from a traditional career path to pursue fulfillment and success in unconventional ways.
Expanding your surface area of luck by engaging in various activities can increase opportunities for luck to find you.
Seeking real feedback, even through anonymous forms, can lead to personal and professional growth by providing valuable insights.
Courting rejection and daring to make unconventional requests can lead to unexpected breakthroughs and opportunities.
Deep dives
Key Points - Surface Area of Luck
Expanding one's surface area of luck involves creating more opportunities for luck to find you. This can be achieved by engaging in various activities, like making contacts, trying out different endeavors, and being open to serendipitous encounters.
Key Points - Seek Real Feedback
Seeking real feedback, especially through anonymous feedback forms, can provide valuable insights for personal and professional growth. Constructive criticism, even if hard to hear, can lead to self-improvement and a better understanding of how one is perceived by others.
Key Points - Court Rejection
Courting rejection involves taking bold actions and asking for opportunities that may seem far-fetched. While not all attempts may succeed, pushing boundaries and daring to make unconventional requests can lead to unexpected breakthroughs and opportunities.
Key Points - Assume Everything is Learnable
Adopting a mindset that views everything as learnable, including personality traits, can open up new possibilities for growth and development. Embracing the idea that change is possible and actively seeking opportunities for learning can lead to personal transformation and increased agency.
Key Points - Imagining the Surface Area of Luck
Expanding one's surface area of luck involves creating more opportunities for luck to find you. This can be achieved by engaging in various activities, like making contacts, trying out different endeavors, and being open to serendipitous encounters.
Cate seemed to be fully entrenched on the default path — she had graduated from Yale and became the Supreme Court advocate on her way to becoming a partner in her law firm. But she didn't want to live the lives of the people around her. She pivoted hard, you could almost hear car brakes squeaking as she made the turn, and over a year she became the number one female poker player in the world. She later started art and perfume companies and led operations at Avlea — a pandemic medicine company. One might think she's simply a superhuman, and what she did is beyond the grasp of mere mortals, but Cate claims that agency is learnable and joins the podcast to tell us how.