Curiosity Chronicle

Welcome to the 3,290 new members of the curiosity tribe who have joined us since Friday (🤯). Join the 61,177 others who are receiving high-signal, curiosity-inducing content every single week.Today’s newsletter is brought to you by Revelo!If you’re a growing technology company, chances are you’re struggling to find talented developers right now. It’s a massive problem.Revelo is your solution—the largest talent platform to match you with vetted full-time remote developers in Latin America who work in US time zones. It offers an all-encompassing platform that covers payroll, benefits, compliance, and more, allowing you to hire full-time remote developers without the logistical headaches.Revelo helps companies like GitHub, Intuit, and Carta hire faster, so they can grow faster! Get matched with vetted candidates within 3 days—guaranteed. They even offer a 100% risk-free 14-day trial. If you’re not satisfied, you pay nothing.SPECIAL OFFER: Revelo is offering Curiosity Chronicle subscribers 20% off the first 3 months of any hire! Use the link below to take advantage of this crazy deal!Today at a Glance:Goal setting is everywhere—we all set goals, but very few do it well. Why? Goal setting is equal parts art and science—it’s a craft that must be honed like any other.The new framework for goal setting involves five core steps: (1) Set the Stage, (2) Identify BHAG, (3) Work Backwards, (4) Establish Process Goals, (5) Track & Adjust.It’s critical to avoid goal competition and paralysis. To stay focused, the framework only allows for 1 BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal), 1 connected medium-term goal, and 2-3 daily process goals per category.The Goal Setting GuideWell, we made it. Welcome to 2022!2021 had a whole lot of twists and turns, but if you’re reading this, you managed to navigate them all and come out on the other side. Congratulations on surviving another year in this crazy simulation we call life.Pardon the cliché, but a new year signifies a new opportunity. It’s officially time to look ahead to the opportunity before us, plant a stake in the ground, and attack 2022 with boundless energy.Hopefully you rested up over the holiday break, because it’s time to go…An Intro to Goal SettingFrom a young age, we are taught to set goals—first for our grades and athletic endeavors, next for our careers, and last for our health and lives.Goal setting is everywhere—we all set goals, but very few do it well.Take me as an example. I'm very goal-oriented. But I've set—and then failed to achieve—many over the years. I would start the new year with an ambitious set of goals and then slowly fall short on most of them.Discouraged, I started reading more on goal setting to understand why…What I’ve learned: Goal setting is equal parts art and science—it’s a craft that must be honed like any other. Most importantly, there is a clear framework for successful goal setting—a better way.Put simply, consistent goal achievement is never an accident.In this piece, I will share my new framework for goal setting.Goal Setting: A New FrameworkFirst, it’s worth pointing out that most of us struggle with the same set of issues with respect to goal setting.The most common issues:Too Many: Goal competition occurs, with goals effectively competing against one another for your time and mindshare. Too Loose: Weak, unstructured goals lacking clear metrics or time bounds.Not Tied to Actions: Lack of clear process actions to achieve them.Unfit Environment: Environment unsuited for consistent execution.If you've struggled with goal setting (like me), chances are one of these issues is to blame.But let’s get to the better way—a new framework for goal setting that will allow you to set and smash your goals for 2022.It involves five core steps:Set the StageIdentify BHAGWork BackwardsEstablish Process GoalsTrack & AdjustThe general framework is fixed, but its application is intended to be dynamic and iterative.Let's dive right in…Step 1: Set the StageIn the first step, you’ll establish the categories that you'll be building goals around.For me, it’s three:PersonalProfessionalHealthNote: I find that covering these three areas forces progress in all major domains of my life, but some people will likely prefer a more narrow focus with just one. That’s totally fine!Within each category you choose, you only have room for:1 BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal): Your big, bold goal.1 Connected Medium-Term Goal: Interim goal on the path to the BHAG.2-3 Daily Process Goals: Daily actions and habits.That's it—that’s all you’re allowed. Nothing more. The clarity and simplicity this limitation forces is a core feature of the framework.Step 2: Identify BHAGYour BHAG—Big Hairy Audacious Goal—is exactly what it sounds like. It should be big and ambitious (but stop short of being completely ridiculous).Think of this as your North Star for the year.It's the metaphorical poster on your wall—motivating on an abstract macro scale, but perhaps too grand and scary to be motivating on a micro daily basis.Remember: You can only have one BHAG within a category! In my case, that means one professional BHAG, one personal BHAG, and one health BHAG. Too many and you get goal competition and paralysis.Crystallize your BHAGs.Write them down, print them out, put them on your wall if you want. Whatever works for you.Step 3: Work BackwardsStep 3 forces you to confront and manage a goal setting reality: BHAGs are great for vision, but TERRIBLE for guiding short and medium-term actions.To manage this, work backwards from the BHAG to identify one medium-term goal that is connected to it.If you imagine your year as a mountain and your BHAG is the summit, the connected medium-term goal is a mid-climb campsite. You can’t reach the summit without reaching this point—all roads lead directly through it.Note: There are time considerations to this step. If your BHAG is an annual goal, you may want to establish a new connected medium-term goal on a rolling quarterly basis. You don't need to plan the connected medium-term goals ahead of time. Be dynamic and flexible about these.Step 4: Establish Process GoalsProcess goals are the key to the entire framework.What are the 2-3 daily actions that you would need to take to create tangible, compounding progress? These should be the SIMPLEST daily actions. The "atomic units" of progress in a given arena.A few simple examples of process goals for different areas:Writing: 30 minutes of daily focused writing.Fitness: 30 minutes of movement per day.Health: No processed foods on weekdays; no alcohol on weekdays.Whereas the BHAG and medium-term connected goals are generally results-focused, the process goals are inputs-focused. These are the daily deposits you are going to make into the bank. The tiny daily actions that compound to create massive long-term results.My friend James Clear calls the daily process goals the "oars" that move your boat, while the BHAGs and medium-term goals are the "rudders" that set the direction.I l...

Welcome to the 1,253 new members of the curiosity tribe who have joined us since Friday. Join the 56,355 others who are receiving high-signal, curiosity-inducing content every single week. Also be sure to follow and subscribe to my new podcast—Where It Happens—and join our 3,000+ person community on Discord!Today’s newsletter is brought to you by Trends!Trends is my personal cheat code for generating new business ideas.It’s a premium newsletter from The Hustle that deconstructs the secret sauce of interesting businesses, side hustles, and emerging opportunities—and gives you the playbook to pounce on them. Even better, membership provides instant access to an exclusive community of 15,000+ entrepreneurs who are building the future.I learn something new from every single issue—it has become a core part of my content and learning engine. I can’t recommend highly enough.Use the link below to join—no commitment, no catch, cancel anytime!Today at a Glance:At the end of every year, I sit down and reflect on what I learned. There is no specific aim or purpose to the exercise—the goal is to put on wings, fly up to 10,000 feet, and assess myself and the year that has passed.2021 was a uniquely transformative year for my life. So for the first time, I attempted to synthesize that jumble.Today’s piece is the result of that attempt: 21 lessons learned in 2021.21 Lessons Learned in 2021At the end of every year, I sit down and reflect on what I learned.I’ve been conducting this self-reflection exercise for the last 10 years, with varying degrees of structure and rigor.There is no specific aim or purpose to the exercise—the goal is to put on wings, fly up to 10,000 feet, and assess myself and the year that has passed.Generally speaking, the reflection has been free flowing and resulted in a jumble of words and thoughts in a notebook. But this year felt different. It was a uniquely transformative year for my life.So for the first time, I attempted to synthesize that jumble—to abstract the chaos into something simple and coherent.Today’s piece is the result of that attempt: my 21 lessons learned in 2021…Engineered SerendipityI believe that some of what we call "luck" is actually the macro result of 1,000s of micro actions.Your daily habits can put you in a position where "luck" is more likely to strike.Increase your serendipity surface area. Engineer your own serendipity.Pessimists Sound Smart, Optimists Get RichPessimists look at the future and see the doors that are closed.Optimists look at the future and see the doors that are open—and probably kick down the closed doors, too.Surround yourself with optimists—those who believe the future is bright will make it so.The Exponential Growth ChallengeHuman brains cannot fathom the insane power of exponential growth. We consistently underestimate its impact.When you're on an exponential growth curve—stop trying to set specific goals.Strap in, keep your head back, and enjoy the ride.Work Like a LionMost people are not wired to work 9-5.Modern work culture is a remnant of the Industrial Age—long periods of steady, monotonous work.If your goal is to do inspired, creative work, you have to work like a lion.Sprint when inspired. Rest. Repeat.Overestimate a Day, Underestimate a YearWe overestimate what we can accomplish in a day, and underestimate what we can accomplish in a year.To fight this, focus on small daily actions that compound over the long-term.Small things become big things. When in doubt, zoom out.Ruthlessly Eliminate NegativityEveryone has a few negative people in their circle. They tell you to be realistic. They laugh at your ambition.Eliminate this negativity from your life. It's a boat anchor holding you back from your true potential—cut the damn line.Tolerance for UncertaintyHaving a high tolerance for uncertainty is a unique competitive advantage. It prevents you from settling.When we fear uncertainty, we settle to escape its grasp.Tolerate uncertainty for a bit longer—never settle for less than you deserve.Step into the ArenaIt's easy to stand on the sidelines.It's hard to step into the arena. It's scary to put yourself out there, to expose yourself, to become vulnerable.But it makes all the difference. Get off the sidelines. Be the Man—or Woman!—in the Arena.Go For More WalksWant to get unstuck? Go for a walk.No phone. No music. No podcasts. Just you, your thoughts, and the fresh air.When you let your mind wander—in its true natural state—good things happen. It works—I guarantee it.Put Family FirstIn May, I woke up one morning and told my wife that I wanted to move back to the East Coast to be closer to family.That month, we sold our house in California and moved to New York. It has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. The simple moments with family and friends are, quite literally, priceless.Life is short & fragile—you'll never regret spending more time with your loved ones.The Dots Really Do ConnectIn his 2005 Stanford Commencement Speech, Steve Jobs talked about having faith that the dots will somehow connect in your life.In 2021, I finally started to see my dots connecting. Not perfectly, but the connections are slowly coming into view. It’s a beautiful and encouraging thing.If you haven't seen it yet, stay the course. Trust in something.It's Darkest Before the DawnIn May, I got rejected for a job after months of interviews.It was a gut punch. I felt lost in the darkness. I went to sleep that night with no motivation or vision for what I would focus on the next morning. Put simply, it sucked.But within a week, an amazing path magically came into view."It's always darkest before the dawn" is a cliché, but I now believe it's true.Learn to Say NoI've always had a really tough time saying no. I would take on too much and then be forced to grind my way through it.The ability to say no is a superpower of highly successful people.Be deliberate about what you spend your time on—and who you spend it with.Pay It ForwardNo matter how far you go, always remember that you didn’t make it on your own.Pay it forward. Be a mentor. Be a champion for others. Their growth should become a source of tremendous joy and pride.Operate in Your Zone of GeniusYour Zone of Genius is where your interests, passions and skills align.Find yours, then slowly shift your life to spend more time in it. Start playing games you are uniquely well-suited to win.You'll find more happiness, fulfillment, and success.The Big Change DilemmaSmall changes can happen naturally. Big changes only happen with a massive, deliberate push.You cannot expect big changes to happen on their own. You have to force the issue. It's scary as s**t.If you believe in something, close your eyes and jump.Delegate Uncomfortably EarlyIf you have to ask if it's time to delegate, it's already too late.Trust me, I learned this the hard way...Wh...

Welcome to the 749 new members of the curiosity tribe who have joined us since Friday. Join the 54,500 others who are receiving high-signal, curiosity-inducing content every single week. Also be sure to follow and subscribe to my new podcast—Where It Happens—on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube!Today’s newsletter is brought to you by Lemon.io!Lemon.io fixes the developer headache—it makes hiring remote developer talent as easy as ordering a meal on DoorDash. Tell them about your project and they match you with an affordable, vetted developer in Eastern Europe within 48 hours. Guaranteed. I’ve used it for several quick projects and have loved the experience.SPECIAL OFFER: 15% discount for the first 4 weeks of work for all Curiosity Chronicle subscribers. Take advantage by using the link below!Today at a Glance:Study the lives and practices of today’s most successful entrepreneurs, financiers, and builders and you’ll find one common trait: a deep, visceral understanding of the importance of powerful, efficient, high-leverage writing.Why? These leaders know that powerful writing isn't an accident—clear writing is clear thinking.The four key principles of powerful business writing: (1) Draft Fast, Edit Slow, (2) KISS, (3) Clear Target Reaction, and (4) Storytelling.The Power Business Writing GuideWant to accelerate your career? Write better. Period.Study the lives and practices of today’s most successful entrepreneurs, financiers, and builders and you’ll find one common trait: a deep, visceral understanding of the importance of powerful, efficient, high-leverage writing.Jeff Bezos famously installed memo writing as a mainstay of Amazon’s business culture. Prior to kicking off a meeting, attendees would be asked to read and digest several pages of written memos from the meeting leads. Why? Bezos deeply believed in the value of these memos, not only for the uninformed participants, but also for the meeting leads to clarify their thinking through the writing process.Warren Buffett famously writes an annual shareholder letter, distilling insights on billions of dollars in investments into a single memo.The list of writing advocates goes on and on…Why? These leaders know that powerful writing isn't an accident—clear writing is clear thinking.In this piece, I will attempt to deconstruct the four key principles of powerful business writing…They are as follows:Draft Fast, Edit SlowKISSClear Target ReactionStorytellingI’ll cover each principle and provide some additional learning resources:Principle 1: Draft Fast, Edit SlowThere's nothing more daunting than a blank page.We have all experienced it at one time or another—sitting at our desk, staring into the abyss of a blank Word document or notebook page, with no idea where to start. The perfect line is illusive, and everyone knows you need a perfect first line…The solution?Play a trick on yourself. Start writing, fast. Get a draft down—and don’t worry at all about the quality (seriously, it’s ok if it sucks).My friend Julian Shapiro said it best: “Making something bad then iterating until it’s good is faster than making something good upfront.”Here's a framework that works for me: Write-Rest-Review.Write-Rest-ReviewGet the first draft down as quickly as possible.Walk away for 5 minutes—go for a walk, grab a coffee, listen to some music, whatever. Come back and review the draft with the benefit of that refresh.Ask a bunch of questions:What's missing?Where are the logical flaws?Where are the cracks?Where is the writing loose or flimsy?When you review with "new" eyes, good things tend to happen.Try out Write-Rest-Review and let me know how it works for you!Principle 2: Keep It Simple, StupidMost people assume that longer, more complex writing will impress and inspire.Sorry, it doesn't.Great business writing is simple and direct. There's no fluff or handwaving—it's tactical.A few actionable tips to tighten and simplify:Cut the FluffIn school, we were taught to heap descriptors into our writing. We were told it made it more vibrant. It also helped fill out the word or page count we were forced to hit…In the real world, those fluff words are the silent killers of powerful business writing.Review your draft with an eye towards removing any unnecessary words & sentences.Some common fluff:"I think X""Very" (or similar adverbs)AcronymsJargon$10 words (i.e. fancy, big, long words)Be ruthless in identifying and eliminating the fluff words & sentences from your writing.Shorten EverythingPowerful business writing is very similar to powerful Twitter writing: short, punchy writing is better.Use short sentence structures.Space sentences or paragraphs out to make the writing more optically pleasing. Great business writing should be engaging to the eye.I have found writing more on Twitter to be a force amplifier for my business writing—it’s a forced brevity training ground. Use it to your advantage as you work at your craft.Add DataThis is a classic principle instilled by Jeff Bezos in Amazon's writing-centric culture.When in doubt, replace fluff words with data.Before: "The majority of viewers loved the show."After: "95% of viewers rated the show with 5-stars."The after is clear & much more impactful!Principle 3: Clear Target ReactionGreat business writing has a clear target reaction—a deliberate purpose or aim.That target reaction should be experienced by the reader immediately. As my friend Sam Parr says, "Punch the reader in the face with your first sentence."Amazon calls it the "so what?" test:Before you share any piece of business writing, identify the "so what?" of the piece. What reaction, value, or takeaway should the audience have? Is it coming across loud and clear? If not, go back to the drawing board and punch harder.This target reaction should be a central focus during your writing process. I force it into mind by putting a big sticker with the target reaction at the top of the page (to be removed at the end).Principle 4: StorytellingStorytelling is a foundational skill—but it's one we don’t learn in the traditional education system. It's no coincidence that the greatest CEOs & founders are the greatest storytellers. High-leverage storytelling is a supercharger for all endeavors.Humans are naturally wired as storytelling creatures—we developed around campfires. Lean into this wiring.Adding a story to a memo on a dry topic can bring the entire piece to life. Simple, crisp stories enhance the power of the message.A few ideas for you:Add a mini anecdote to illustrate a point.Use a folksy one-liner to draw people ...

Welcome to the 1,456 new members of the curiosity tribe who have joined us since Friday. Join the 53,312 others who are receiving high-signal, curiosity-inducing content every single week.And if you haven’t already done so, check out the Where It Happens podcast! Follow us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, plus subscribe on YouTube so you never miss a beat.Today’s newsletter is brought to you by Eight Sleep!Eight Sleep has legitimately changed my life.Great sleep = great performance. Sleep is the secret weapon of the world’s top performers. Thousands of CEOs, investors, and operators—and this humble newsletter writer—rely on the Eight Sleep Pod Pro to power their performance. It has patented technology to help you sleep at the perfect temperature all night, which research has shown can make you fall asleep faster and sleep deeper—so you can wake up energized to attack the day.Special Offer: For a limited time, Curiosity Chronicle subscribers can use the special link below to get $250 off on their first Eight Sleep purchase!Today at a Glance:I recently found out I’m going to be a father. In reflecting on my own life, I sketched out a long list of principles I hope to teach my child as they grow up.While I readily acknowledge that he will—as I did—have to fall painfully to learn many of these, I will do my best to teach—and embody!—all of them.Perhaps I need to lower my expectations and embrace the chaos. I’ve never really been the type to walk away from a challenge, though, so consider this piece my stake in the ground.Principles of LifeI recently found out I'm going to be a father.I’ve always considered myself something of an introspective individual—I try to reflect regularly on my motivations, mistakes, learnings, principles, and frameworks. I find that the act of reflection provides value—it helps the good stick and the bad wither.So perhaps it isn’t all that surprising that the news of my upcoming responsibility raise—to that of “Dad”—has taken my introspection to another level.With that in mind, I sat down recently to sketch out a long list of principles of life—formed through my failures, missteps, stumbles, and successes—that I hope to be able to teach my child as they grow up.While I readily acknowledge that he will—as I did—have to fall painfully to learn many of these, I will do my best to teach—and embody!—all of them.With that as a backdrop, here are the 20+ principles I hope to teach my child to live by…Be InterestedTalent is overrated—interest is not.What does it mean to be interested? Interested people are prone to giving their deep attention to something to discover more about it. They ask questions, listen, & observe. They open up to the world around them.Being interested is a key to a fulfilling life.Show Up in the Darkest HourIt's easy to be there for people to celebrate their wins. It takes character to show up for them in their darkest hour.People never forget who supported them when the chips were down.Be the friend who is always there—in good times and bad.Different is BeautifulWhen you’re a kid, you’re told that different is ugly. Growing up, I feared being different—I desperately wanted to fit in, but I couldn't figure out how.Was I Indian or white? Was I an athlete or a nerd? The struggle to conform to a single identity led to bad decisions grounded in insecurity. The reality was I was all of those things. I was just different.It took growing up and a lot of mistakes and soul searching to realize: being different is an edge—it’s the ultimate competitive advantage.No one can compete with you, at being you.Work HardIf you want to accomplish anything in life, you have to work hard. Full stop.But beware the hype. Hard work isn't the sexy, flashy social media posts saying "rise & grind”—it's the ugly, painful effort in the dark, when no one is watching.If you want something, go get it. Period.Be Kind to OthersKindness remains severely underrated.It fosters relationships, reduces stress and anxiety, and improves overall happiness.When you are consistently, genuinely kind, you become a magnet for the highest-quality people.Change Your MindWillingness to change one's mind is a rarity in today's society.It's great to have a strong view, but always open your mind to counterarguments.Stubborn objection to alternative perspectives stalls progress. Strive for strong opinions, weakly held.Operate in Your Zone of GeniusYour Zone of Genius is where your interests, passions and skills align.Operating in your Zone of Genius means playing games you are uniquely well-suited to win. Once you identify it, you can stop playing *their* games and start playing *yours*.Be AccountableA sad, troubling reality: Life isn't fair.But instead of wasting energy on every obstacle in your way, focus on what you can control and how you can break through the wall.Stop looking out. Look in. Own your s***.Listen More & Argue LessHave you noticed that the most argumentative people rarely persuade anyone of anything?The most persuasive people don’t argue—they observe, listen, and ask questions.Argue less, persuade more. Persuasion is an art that requires a paintbrush, not a sledgehammer.Follow Your CuriosityHumans are born with astonishing curiosity. But somewhere along the way, we're told to stop asking questions.Push back. Learn to follow your curiosity—trust it.For the curious mind, anything is possible. Fortune favors the curious.Closed Mouths Don't Get FedA little push goes a long way.Don't sit back and wait for good things to happen. If you want something—and you’ve put in the work for it—ask for it.Worst case: you’re told no and nothing has changed.Best case: it’s yours.Never Get Too Big to Do the SmallThe leaders of the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team famously stay late to sweep the shed after a match.Whether you're in the mailroom or the corner office, never get too big to do the small things well.Remember: Small things become big things.Be PresentWith the rise of technology—and the instant access to dopamine that it has provided—the ability to be truly present has become a rarity.When you’re with someone—whether a business contact, friend, or partner—be WITH them.Put the phone down.Be AntifragileIn Greek mythology, the Hydra is a creature that has multiple heads. When 1 head is cut off, 2 grow back in its place.Life is random and chaotic. Don't be broken by the chaos—rather, adopt a mentality and build structure such that you will benefit from it.Don't Be Afraid to Get Punched in the FaceYou have to fail more to succeed more.Our greatest moments of growth often stem directly from our greatest failures. Don’t fear failure, just learn to fail smart and fast.Getting ...

Welcome to the 521 new members of the curiosity tribe who have joined us since Friday. Join the 51,175 others who are receiving high-signal, curiosity-inducing content every single week.And if you haven’t already done so, check out the Where It Happens podcast! Follow us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, plus subscribe on YouTube so you never miss a beat.Today’s newsletter is brought to you by Lemon.io!I was recently working on a project and needed a developer, but I knew the process of finding, vetting, and hiring one was going to be an expensive headache.Lemon.io fixes this—it makes hiring remote developer talent as easy as ordering a meal on UberEats. Tell them about your project and they match you with an affordable, vetted developer in Eastern Europe within 48 hours. It’s as simple as that.Lemon.io is offering a special 15% discount for the first 4 weeks of work for all Curiosity Chronicle subscribers. Sign up at the link below to take advantage of the offer!Today at a Glance:One cold email can literally change your life. But a cold email success is never an accident. You need a framework for writing and executing highly-effective cold outreach.The principles of a great cold email: Short & Sweet, Personalized, Credentials or Social Proof, Create Value, and a Clear Call-to-Action.Importantly, these principles apply to any form of cold outreach (Twitter DM, etc.), so can be leveraged broadly for a variety of use cases and needs.The Cold Email GuideOne cold email can change your life. It can open doors to a new job, secure a new mentor, or unlock new opportunities.A cold email—as an investment—has the ultimate asymmetric return profile: Huge upside, limited downside.In this piece, I will attempt to deconstruct a framework for optimizing your cold outreach in order to further accentuate that beautiful return profile…BackgroundI’ve sent (and received) a lot of cold emails—some great, some not.What I've learned: a cold email success is never an accident. There are very specific principles of great cold emails that you can apply to enhance your cold outreach efforts today.The best part? The results are instantaneous.So let’s just dive right in…the core principles of a great cold email:Short & SweetPersonalizedCredentials or Social ProofCreate ValueClear Call-to-ActionI’ll cover each principle and then workshop a few examples:Short & SweetIf you're sending a cold email to someone, remember that the person receiving it probably gets a lot of these. They don't have time—or energy—to read through long and winding notes.Keep it short and sweet!Space out the text to make it optically inviting. To bring this point to life, here are two emails—identical content, different spacing.Option A:Option B:Same exact email—one a block of text, one spaced out. Option B (the spaced out version) is so much more digestible and optically inviting for a reader. As such, Option B is much more likely to elicit a response.PersonalizedNo one likes a generic email—it's going to get auto-deleted 99% of the time.Personal touches can make all the difference in the effectiveness of a cold email. They require a bit more upfront time investment—for background research, diligence, and execution—but have the potential to create a 10x+ impact.Do your research on the person you are emailing. A simple search across Google, Twitter, and LinkedIn will probably take you 15 minutes and is definitely worth it.Then include some of these findings in your note.A few to consider:Reference a book they loveMention a podcast they were on (with a specific insight you gleaned from listening to it)Compliment their workThe goal: Make it clear you didn't send out hundreds of the note (even if you did).Credentials or Social ProofThe infusion of credentials or social proof is an important—yet often overlooked—element of successful cold outreach. Credentials and social proof are, in effect, the reasons the person should take you seriously.Credentials are just the outward markers of your success to date—degrees, accolades, awards, etc.Social Proof is formally defined as a psychological phenomenon where people imitate the actions of others in an attempt to behave appropriately for a specific situation.In the context of cold emails, this means that the receiver should be given examples of others—hopefully impressive others—who have responded in the way that you want this receiver to respond.“In recent weeks, I’ve interviewed Barack Obama, Elon Musk, and the Pope.”The receiver immediately sees (a) big names and (b) the action—it sparks their intrinsic psychological desire to follow suit.In infusing these credentials and social proof, don't be humble—let it shine.What have you done or created that is interesting or notable? Who has engaged? Show the receiver that they would be crazy to ignore your email!Create ValueMy foundational rule (in business & life): create value, receive value.If you create value for the person you’re emailing, they are much more likely to engage.What can you do to save them time or reduce their stress? It can be small—a little goes a long way.Note: I consider this an optional add-in. If there is a clear way to include it, go for it. If not, skip it.Clear CTAEvery successful cold email has a very clear call-to-action (“CTA”). This is the specific response you are attempting to elicit from the receiver.A few common examples:Take a coffee meetingAgree to join a podcast or interviewReview your startup pitch deckTake a sales callThe CTA has to be specific and succinct.Use hard enters and spacing to make sure it stands alone in the body of the email. This is important. It should be effortless to find and understand the ask.Be bold, but don't overreach. Make it easy to say yes!ExamplesNow that we’ve covered the key principles of great cold emails, let's workshop a few of my favorite examples of successful ones.I'll try to provide a quick breakdown of why they worked—grounded in the key principles we just covered:Internship Email to Evan SpiegelThis is a relatively famous one that made the viral rounds on social media over the last couple of years. High schooler emails CEO of Snapchat and winds up with an opportunity for an internship.But why did it work?Short & Sweet: Extremely short and to the point (even going as far as calling out the brevity of the email upfront).Credentials: Includes clear credentials around programming experience and capabilities.Clear CTA: Specific question and ask in the last line of the email.This was a brilliant example of effective brevity. Any high school junior who has done this much—and is bold enough to make this ask—deserves to be taken seriously.Em...

Welcome to the 2,497 (!!!) new members of the curiosity tribe who have joined us since Friday. Join the 49,371 others who are receiving high-signal, curiosity-inducing content every single week.Today’s newsletter is brought to you by AppSumo!I have found some life changing products on AppSumo. From productivity tools to teleprompter portals, AppSumo is my go-to place for discovering and investing in unique business-building products at a deep discount to their market rate.This Black Friday, AppSumo is rolling out some insane deals on digital products at discounts of up to 90% off. This is their biggest sale of the year and they sell out quickly! Click the link below and grow your startup today. Trust me, you won’t want to miss this.Today at a Glance:A paradox is defined as a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.Life is full of paradoxes. Once you become aware of them, you will find yourself empowered to use them to your advantage.Paradoxes of LifeParadox: a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.From a young age, we are pressured to view the world as linear and logical—when in reality it is anything but. Many of life’s most important truths appear contradictory or convoluted on the surface.Look around long enough and you’ll realize the ultimate truth:Life is full of paradoxes.They are everywhere around you. They have the potential to confuse…or empower.Once you become aware of these paradoxes—once you truly internalize them—you will find yourself empowered to use them to your advantage.To get you started on this journey, here are 20+ powerful paradoxes of life…The Persuasion ParadoxHave you noticed that the most argumentative people rarely persuade anyone of…well…anything?The most persuasive people don’t argue—they observe, listen, and ask questions.Argue less, persuade more.Persuasion is an art that requires a paintbrush, not a sledgehammer.The Effort ParadoxSprezzatura is an Italian word meaning “studied carelessness”—it encapsulates the effortful art of appearing effortless.You have to put in more effort to make something appear effortless.Effortless, elegant performances are often the result of a large volume of effortful, gritty practice.Watch videos of Roger Federer playing tennis in his prime. There is a certain nonchalance to his actions on the court, but this nonchalance was the earned result of endless hours of studied, careful, meticulous practice.Small things become big things. Simple is not simple.The Wisdom Paradox“The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.” — Albert EinsteinThe more you learn, the more you are exposed to the immense unknown.This should be empowering, not frightening. Embrace your own ignorance. Embrace lifelong learning.The Productivity ParadoxParkinson's Law says that work expands to fill the time available for its completion.Work longer, get less done.When you establish fixed hours to your work, you find unproductive ways to fill it.Modern work culture is a remnant of the Industrial Age. It encourages long periods of steady, monotonous work unsuited for the Information Age.To do truly great, creative work, you have to be a lion. Sprint when inspired. Rest. Repeat.The Money ParadoxYou have to lose money in order to make money.Every successful investor & builder has stories of the invaluable lessons learned from a terrible loss in their career. Sometimes you have to pay to learn.Put skin in the game. Scared money don't make money!The Growth ParadoxGrowth takes a much longer time coming than you think, and then it happens much faster than you ever would have thought.Growth happens gradually, then suddenly.When you realize this, you start to do things differently—apply effort appropriately, stay the course, and let compounding work its magic.The Failure ParadoxYou have to fail more to succeed more.Our greatest moments of growth often stem directly from our greatest failures.Don’t fear failure, just learn to fail smart and fast.After all, getting punched in the face—a few times, but not too many—builds a strong jaw.The Say No ParadoxTake on less, accomplish more.Success doesn’t come from taking on everything that comes your way. It comes from focus—deep focus on the tasks that really matter.Say yes to what matters, say no to what doesn’t. Protect your time as a gift to be cherished.The Speed ParadoxYou have to slow down to speed up.Slowing down gives you the time to be deliberate with your actions. You can focus, gather energy, and deploy your resources more efficiently.It allows you to focus on leverage and ROI, not effort.Move slow to move fast.The Death ParadoxYou must know your death in order to truly live your life.Memento Mori is a Stoic reminder of the certainty and inescapability of death. It is not intended to be morbid; rather, to clarify, illuminate, and inspire.Death is inevitable. Live while you're alive.The Fear ParadoxThe thing we fear the most is often the thing we need the most.Fears—when avoided—become limiters on our growth and life.Make a habit of getting closer to your fears.Then take the leap (metaphorically!)—you may just find growth on the other side.The News ParadoxThe more news you consume, the less well-informed you are.Taleb calls it the noise bottleneck: As you consume more data, the noise to signal ratio increases, so you end up knowing less about what is actually going on.Want to know more about the world? Turn off the news.The Icarus ParadoxIt is a classic tale of Greek mythology.Icarus crafted wings out of feathers and beeswax to escape an island. He began to fly—the wings working wonders. But he quickly became blinded by his own engineering prowess and flew too close to the sun, which caused the beeswax to melt and sent him plummeting to his death.What makes you successful can lead to your downfall.An incumbent achieves success with one thing, but overconfidence blinds them to coming disruption. Beware!The Shrinking ParadoxIn order to grow, sometimes you need to shrink.Growth is never linear. Shedding deadweight may feel like a step back, but it is a necessity for long-term growth.One step back, two steps forward is a recipe for consistent, long-term success.The Looking ParadoxYou may have to stop looking in order to find what you are looking for.Have you noticed that when you are looking for something, you rarely find it?Stop looking—what you’re looking for may just find you.Applies to love, business, investing, or life...The Hamlet Paradox"I must be cruel only to be kind." — HamletIn Hamlet, the protagonist is forced to take a seemingly cruel action in order to prevent a much larger harm.Life is s...

Welcome to the 1,236 new members of the curiosity tribe who have joined us since Friday. Join the 46,076 others who are receiving high-signal, curiosity-inducing content every single week.Today’s newsletter is brought to you by Eight Sleep!The Eight Sleep Pod Pro has legitimately changed my life.Sleep is the secret of the world’s top performers. Thousands of the world’s greatest CEOs, investors, and operators—and this humble newsletter writer—rely on the Eight Sleep Pod Pro to power their performance. It has patented technology to help you sleep at the perfect temperature all night, which research has shown can make you fall asleep faster and sleep deeper—so you can wake up energized to attack the day.Special Offer: For a limited time, Curiosity Chronicle subscribers can use the special link below to get $250 off on their first Eight Sleep purchase!Today at a Glance:The Cantillon Effect is an economic concept on the distributional consequences of new money creation created by Irish-French economist and philosopher Richard Cantillon in a 1755 paper.In simple terms, the Cantillon Effect says that the flow path of new money matters—those closest to the source and entry point of the new money benefit first and most handsomely.The robust monetary and fiscal response to COVID-19—and a surging wealth inequality problem—has re-ignited the discussion over the distributional consequences of the crisis response and thrown the Cantillon Effect back into the mainstream lexicon.The Cantillon Effect: How the Rich Get RicherThe Cantillon Effect is the most important economic concept you’ve likely never heard of. In today’s newsletter, I’d like to fix that.Here’s a simple breakdown of the Cantillon Effect—what it is, how it works, and why you should care.BackgroundRichard Cantillon was an Irish-French economist and philosopher born in the 1680s.He is something of a mystery man—not much is known about his life. Early in his career, he achieved material success as a banker and merchant—success that historians have attributed to the formidable political and business connections Cantillon made through his family and employer.This fact would prove relevant to his work later in life. At a young age, he had learned of the impact and importance of proximity to power...In the early 1700s, Cantillon is believed to have accumulated significant wealth through speculation in a variety of ventures, including John Law’s infamous Mississippi Company (which would collapse spectacularly, see this thread for more).Around 1730, influenced by his experience to date, Cantillon wrote a paper—Essai Sur La Nature Du Commerce En Général (translation: Essay on the Nature of Commerce in General)—today considered a foundational work in the study of the political economy. It is a broad, overarching paper with significant contributions to the study of economics.While it achieved wide circulation in manuscript form, it was not published until 1755, well after his death in a house fire in 1734.The Cantillon EffectWhile recognized for a variety of insights and contributions, Essai is most well known for its discussion of the distributional consequences of new money creation and the concept of relative inflation.In the paper, Cantillon posited that the early recipients of new money entering an economy will benefit more significantly than those it trickles down to.In other words, the "flow path" of the new money through a system matters.In 18th century terms, Cantillon effectively observed that those closest to the king—the source of money and power of the era—benefitted first when new money entered the economy. In the 18th century, proximity to money and power really mattered.Broadly speaking, Cantillon noted that new money creates disproportionate effects based on where it enters the system.The Cantillon Effect was born...A Simple IllustrationTo bring this theory to life, let's walk through a (very) simple story to illustrate Cantillon's central point.Imagine you live in a tiny, enclosed island society.One morning, you wake up to find a small package on your doorstep. You open it up and gasp—it has $1 million in it.Great! But now what?No one else knows you received this package. You now secretly have $1 million new dollars. Naturally, you start spending it (and maybe investing it) quickly. Prices are still low, because no one knows these new dollars exist yet!Your standard of living improves rapidly. You buy yourself the nicest house, the most beautiful clothes, and a bunch of land.But now, the other island inhabitants start to see and feel this new money flowing through the system. Prices begin to rise as demand surges but supply has yet to "catch up" to the new consumption. It takes time for supply to ramp.So while the money improved your life, it didn’t benefit others in the same way:The sellers of the goods—who received your cash—now face rising prices when they consume.The workers who produced the goods—who earned wages from the sellers—similarly face rising prices (despite stagnant wages).You benefitted materially from the new money, but they didn’t. There were distributional effects—the flow path of this new money mattered!This is—quite obviously—an ultra-simplified example, but it gets at the essence of the problem that Cantillon highlighted almost 300 years ago: Proximity to the source of new money is relevant—the entry point and flow path have distributional consequences.But why should you care about all of this today?The Cantillon Effect in ActionWell, with the "money printing" activity of central banks globally and an ever expanding wealth inequality problem (see the chart below), mentions of the Cantillon Effect have accelerated.It's a useful framework through which to evaluate the monetary and fiscal response to COVID (and any future inevitable crises).The simplistic view of what I see today:The Federal Reserve's escalating asset purchases have an injection point at the top.Direct stimulus checks—on the other hand—have an injection point at the bottom. The former was much larger $$$ than the latter—$4.5 trillion vs. $400 billion.Look at this chart of the Fed’s balance sheet over time, where you can see the spike since COVID halted our economy in March 2020.The asset purchases—and rock-bottom interest rates, among other things—generally benefit asset owners (the wealthy). Those with a significant portion of their net worth in equities, real estate, or similar assets have benefitted tremendously over the last 18 months.Wage earners—who received some degree of support via direct stimulus but did not benefit in the same way from the asset appreciation—are seemingly getting the short end of the stick.Inflation—particularly across food and energy prices—will have a disproportionate impact on their standard of living.Note: To be sure, the drivers of this inflation that we are currently experiencing are complex and multifaceted—see my pieces on the supply chain disarray and energy crisis—but surging demand fr...

Welcome to the 1,050 new members of the curiosity tribe who have joined us since Friday. Join the 44,581 others who are receiving high-signal, curiosity-inducing content every single week.Today’s newsletter is brought to you by Pesto!Problem: You’re a fast-growing startup, but you’re struggling to hire great engineers right now.Solution: Pesto—a platform that matches the millions of talented developers in India with the one million unfilled engineering roles in the West. Pesto’s developers are trained—on both hard and soft skills—through a rigorous bootcamp. The result? Access to a growing pool of highly-qualified, vetted engineering talent, right at your fingertips.Pesto has successfully placed developers at companies like Synthesis School, Rippling, OnDeck, Alloy Automation, and more.To talk to Pesto about filling those engineering roles that have been plaguing your investor updates for months, click the link below and tell them Sahil sent you!Today at a Glance:Frameworks are compasses—they provide clarity by creating structure through which to evaluate situations, deploy shortcuts, and execute sound decisions.When used appropriately, they can meaningfully improve the quality of your decision-making (and reduce stress along the way).The Framework Handbook below provides 20 useful frameworks and tips on when to put them to use.The Framework HandbookEvery single day, you are faced with thousands of questions, challenges, and decisions.These decisions can range from small and simple (what color shirt to wear) to large and complex (whether to quit your job). While an individual decision may not feel overwhelming, when taken in total, our lives can begin to feel like we are navigating a small boat on the open ocean—during a hurricane.Fortunately, there are frameworks that can help us navigate these treacherous waters—our compasses, if you will.Frameworks provide clarity by creating structure through which to evaluate situations, deploy shortcuts, and execute sound decisions. When used appropriately, they can meaningfully improve the quality of your decision-making (and reduce stress along the way).Here are 20 useful frameworks & when to use them:The Feynman TechniqueThe Feynman Technique—developed by famed American theoretical physicist Richard Feynman—is a proven method for learning anything.Here’s how it works:Identify a topic: What is the topic you want to learn more about? Identify the topic and write down everything you know about it. Read and research the topic and write down all of your new learnings (and the sources of each). This first step sets the stage for what is to come.Try to explain it to a 5-year-old: Attempt to explain the topic to a child. Once again, write down everything you know about your topic, but this time, pretend you are explaining it to a child. Use simple language and terms. Focus on brevity.Study to fill in knowledge gaps: Reflect on your performance in Step 2. How well were you able to explain the topic to a child? Where did you get frustrated? Where did you resort to jargon or get stuck? These are the gaps in your understanding. Read and study to fill them.Organize, convey, and review: Organize your elegant, simple language into a compelling story or narrative. Convey it to others. Test-and-learn. Iterate and refine your story or narrative accordingly. Review (and respect) your new, deeper understanding of the topic.True genius is the ability to simplify, not complicate. Simple is beautiful.Use It When: You need to learn anything new.Directional Arrow of Progress"Study the undeniable arrows of progress." — Josh WolfeThe future is extremely difficult to predict—but there are clues. Look at the trend line of progress and where it's pointing—directionally, not precisely. Invest (or build) accordingly.Famed investor Josh Wolfe—one of the smartest, kindest people I have ever met—developed this framework to accurately predict where the future of technology is heading. If it’s good enough for Josh, it’s good enough for all of us.Use It When: You are deciding what to invest or build on a longer time horizon.The Eisenhower Decision MatrixPresident Dwight Eisenhower was an American military officer and 34th President of the United States. He was known for his prolific productivity.His secret? He always differentiated between the urgent and the important.An "urgent" task is one that requires immediate, focused attention to complete. An "important" task is one that promotes or furthers your long-term values, goals, or principles. Remember: Tasks can be both urgent and important.Place all of your tasks on a 2x2 matrix of urgency and importance:Important & UrgentImportant & Not UrgentNot Important & UrgentNot Important & Not UrgentPrioritize, delegate, or delete accordingly.Use It When: You are prioritizing your to-do list.The Regret Minimization FrameworkA framework developed by Jeff Bezos as part of his decision to leave a lucrative hedge fund job at D.E. Shaw to pursue founding Amazon.The goal is to minimize the number of regrets in life.When faced with a difficult decision:Project yourself into the futureLook back on the decisionAsk "Will I regret not doing this?"Take action accordinglyUse It When: You are making your next big, bold decision.The Kat Cole Pygmalion EffectKat Cole is a prolific operator and trusted advisor of some of the world’s highest performing entrepreneurs.She has noticed time and again that high expectations lead to high performance (and vice versa)—a phenomenon called the Pygmalion Effect. If you consistently see people as their highest potential, they will achieve more.When you're occasionally let down, consider it a tax you pay for all the benefit from those you believed in.Use It When: You are managing a new team.The Taleb "Look the Part" Framework“Say you had the choice between two surgeons of similar rank in the same department in some hospital. The first is highly refined in appearance…The second one looks like a butcher…Now if I had to pick, I would overcome my suckerproneness and take the butcher any minute…Why? Simply the one who doesn’t look the part, conditional of having made a (sort of) successful career in his profession, had to have much to overcome in terms of perception.” — Nassim Nicholas TalebIf forced to choose between two options of seemingly equal merit, choose the one that doesn’t look the part.The one who doesn’t look the part has had to overcome much more to achieve its status than the one who fit in perfectly.Use It When: You are deciding who to select (for your team, surgery, or anything else).Decentralized Friend GroupsThere are two types of friend groups:Centralized Friend Groups: one cluster of friends with shared backgrounds and beliefs.Decentralized Friend Groups: small clusters of friends unconnected to each other.When in doubt, opt for decentralized friend groups. It will ...

Welcome to the 590 new members of the curiosity tribe who have joined us since Friday. Join the 42,681 others who are receiving high-signal, curiosity-inducing content every single week.Today’s newsletter is brought to you by Eight Sleep!Trust me…you can’t find and operate in your Zone of Genius without proper sleep. Thousands of the world’s greatest CEOs, investors, and operators—and this humble newsletter writer—rely on the Eight Sleep Pod Pro to power their performance. It has patented technology to help you sleep at the perfect temperature all night, which research has shown can make you fall asleep faster and sleep deeper—so you can wake up energized to attack the day. I love my Eight Sleep Pod Pro and know you will too.Special Offer: For a limited time, Curiosity Chronicle subscribers can use the special link below to get $150 off on their first Eight Sleep purchase!Today at a Glance:Your Zone of Genius is where your interests, passions and skills align. Operating in it means you stop playing their games and start playing yours. It means you start playing games you are uniquely well-suited to win.Finding and operating in your Zone of Genius is a direct path to a more fulfilling, productive, and successful career.My simple framework is four steps: (1) Experiment & Collect, (2) Build Your Matrix, (3) Identify Your Zones, and (4) Execute.Your Zone of Genius“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” — UnknownA few weeks ago, I shared a thread—How to Win (without talent or luck)—that earned a lot of attention.One of the most popular insights in the piece was the idea of operating in your Zone of Genius.But I got a lot of questions about how to practically achieve that, so I decided to dive in deeper on the topic.I first came across the concept of the Zone of Genius in an interview of Naval Ravikant, though have since been informed that the origin of the idea is Gay Hendricks and his book, The Genius Zone (which is now on my reading list!).My perspectives and framework—which are shared in this newsletter—are the result of my own personal 10+ year struggle with finding and operating in my Zone of Genius. My hope is that this piece helps you find and operate in yours.BackgroundWhat is a Zone of Genius?Your Zone of Genius is roughly defined as where your interests, passions and skills align—it is your place of harmony. Operating in it means you stop playing their games and start playing yours. It means you start playing games you are uniquely well-suited to win.Imagine Serena Williams playing on a grand stage in the finals at Wimbledon. She knows exactly what match she wants to play. She doesn’t want to play her opponent’s game—she wants to play her game. She wants to play the game that she is uniquely well-suited to win—the one that plays into her strengths and away from her weaknesses. She wants to operate within her Zone of Genius.But let's get one thing straight: This concept isn’t just for the most elite among us (like Serena!). Everyone has a Zone of Genius!"Genius" here is a relative term, not an absolute. It's not about being top 1% at some craft—it's about the unique space where your relative strengths are accentuated (and relative weaknesses masked).Furthermore, everyone’s Zone of Genius is different and completely unique to them as an individual. The goal of a founder, startup, or organization, therefore, is to build a team with complementary—not conflicting—Zones of Genius. This is where 1+1=3!Sounds great—but how do you identify your Zone of Genius and operate more frequently in it?My simple framework is effectively 4 steps:Experiment & CollectBuild Your MatrixIdentify Your ZonesExecuteLet's walk through each step...Experiment & CollectThe notion that you should know what you want to do with your life by the time you graduate college is one of the greatest lies you've been told by the world.You wouldn’t buy a car without a test drive, so why buy a career or life without one?You have to experiment and collect data in order to make informed decisions.Importantly, you should experiment wildly. Try different things. Test out different working styles. This doesn't mean skipping from job to job—you can experiment on nights, on weekends, etc.One of the best ways to experiment and data collect is simply talking to as many different people as possible. Ask them about their work and path. Learn from the experiences of others. It’s an invaluable way to de-risk your own decision-making.Additionally, the data collection should be both internal—your own perspectives—and external—the perspectives of others.To collect data from those around you, ask about their experiences working with you:What am I great at?What am I bad at?When do you perceive me as being in the flow?When do you perceive me as being forced?The goal from the experimentation and data collection is to build a wide base of information from which you can assess your own competencies and passions.Experimentation and data collection is not a fixed, static process—it is dynamic and iterative. You should never really finish experimenting and collecting.Remember: As you grow and change, your Zone of Genius may well do the same.Build Your MatrixThe next step is to take all of the data collected from your experiments and build a skill map.What is a skill map?I like to imagine it as a sheet listing every possible skill and capability. For every single one, there is a spectrum from 0 (minimum competency) to 1 (maximum competency).You can theoretically place yourself somewhere on that spectrum for each. This is your skill map—it tells you your competency level across a range of skills.But in my view, competency is just one critical plane—passion is the other critical plane. So to visualize this, I like to think of it as a matrix:With this matrix as a guide, you can place each skill in one of the four quadrants.High Competency, High PassionHigh Competency, Low PassionLow Competency, High PassionLow Competency, Low PassionIf you’re new to this, I would recommend literally writing the various skills in little bubbles on the matrix—it’s a productive exercise, and one that I have done several times over the last few years.The matrix—both your current version and the progression over time—becomes your powerful visual tool to bring this entire concept to life.Identify Your ZonesWith the matrix in hand, you can start to identify your various zones, which were popularized as a concept by Gay Hendricks in his aforementioned book.The 4 key zones to identify on your matrix:Zone of Incompetence: you are bad at these things; outsource to others who are good at them.Zone of Neutrality: you are ok at these things; outsource to others who are as good or better at them.Zone of Excellence: you are excellent at these things, but you don’t love them. This is the danger zone. You will be asked—and tempted—to wor...

Welcome to the 2,038 new members (!!!) of the curiosity tribe who have joined us since Friday. Join the 40,307 others who are receiving high-signal, curiosity-inducing content every single week.Today’s newsletter is brought to you by Eight Sleep!Winning starts with your sleep. Thousands of the world’s greatest CEOs, investors, and operators—and this humble newsletter writer—rely on the Eight Sleep Pod Pro to power their performance. It has patented technology to help you sleep at the perfect temperature all night, which research has shown can make you fall asleep faster and sleep deeper—so you can wake up energized to win the day. I love my Eight Sleep Pod Pro and know you will too.Special Offer: For a limited time, Curiosity Chronicle subscribers can use the special link below to get $150 off on their first Eight Sleep purchase!How to Win (without talent or luck)We all want to win.Our definitions of “winning” vary—it may mean happiness and fulfillment to some, money and fame to others—but in some way, shape, or form, we all want to win.The problem? We’ve been told that we can’t win without incredible talent (or sensational luck).This is wrong.Here’s How to Win (without talent or luck): 20+ principles for your career, relationships, and life…Operate in Your Zone of GeniusYour Zone of Genius is where your interests, passions and skills align.Operating in your Zone of Genius means playing games you are uniquely well-suited to win.Once you identify it, you can stop playing *their* games and start playing *yours*.Adopt a Positive Sum MentalityWant to get ahead in life? Start genuinely rooting for others to succeed.When one of us wins, we all win—winning spreads. If you adopt that mentality, you’ll become a magnet for the highest quality people.Speak UpClosed mouths don’t get fed. A little push goes a long way.Don't sit back and wait for good things to happen. If you want something—and you’ve put in the work for it—speak up and ask for it.Worst Case: you’re told no and nothing has changed.Best Case: it’s yours.Play Long-Term GamesLife is the ultimate long game.Those with low time preference play it more effectively—they happily delay gratification to allow compounding to work its magic. In a world of people seeking instant gratification, this is a meaningful edge.Have a High Tolerance for FailureWe fear failure, so most of us play it safe to avoid it. But our greatest moments of growth often stem directly from our greatest failures.Don't accept failure, but don't fear it either.You will fail. Embrace it. Fail smart and fast.Follow Your CuriosityHumans are born with astonishing curiosity. But somewhere along the way, we're told to stop asking questions.Push back.Learn to follow your curiosity—trust it. For the curious mind, anything is possible. Fortune favors the curious.Adopt a Process OrientationPrioritize process, not outcomes.When you prioritize process, you become flexible in where you are headed—you focus on the inputs and stop worrying about the outputs.Just keep laying one brick at a time—forward progress is all that matters.Prioritize PeopleEverything in life comes down to people and relationships.Networks compound as well as any financial investment. Build an army of mentors, friends, and evangelists that is deep and wide. Cultivate deep relationships, but also embrace the power of weak ties.Work Like a LionModern work culture is a remnant of the Industrial Age. It encourages long periods of steady, monotonous work unsuited for the Information Age.If your goal is to do inspired, creative work, you have to work as a lion works.Sprint when inspired. Rest. Repeat.Become AntifragileIn Greek mythology, the Hydra is a creature that has multiple heads. When one head is cut off, two grow back in its place.Life is random and chaotic. Don't be broken by the chaos—rather, adopt a mentality and build structure and systems such that you will benefit from it.Change Your MindWillingness to change one's mind is a rarity in today's society.It's great to have a strong view, but always open your mind to counterarguments. Stubborn objection to alternative perspectives stalls progress. Strive for strong opinions, weakly held.Never Get Too Big to Do the SmallThe leaders of the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team famously stay late to “sweep the shed” after a match.Why? Because small things become big things.Whether you're working in the mailroom or the corner office, never get too big to do the small things well.Learn StorytellingStorytelling is a foundational skill—but it's one we don’t learn in the traditional education system.It's no coincidence that the highest performers are the strongest storytellers.High-leverage storytelling is a supercharger for all human endeavors.Develop a Bias for MotionA body in motion tends to stay in motion—a body at rest tends to stay at rest.When in doubt, just start moving.Become Relentlessly ConsistentMany people are able to show up once or twice and produce wild, disorganized bursts of energy—few are able to show up day in, day out and produce consistent, steady flows of energy.The former may seem flashy, but the latter is relentless. Take pride in punching the clock—in showing up—every single day.It's hard to bet against the person who just keeps showing up.Simplify Where Others Complicate“The definition of genius is taking the complex and making it simple." — EinsteinComplexity and jargon are often used to mask a lack of deep understanding. Learn with a depth such that you can convey the complex in simple, digestible ways.Find beauty in simplicity.Be Comfortable with DiscomfortWe are conditioned to avoid discomfort, so most of us do.The problem? Discomfort is a precursor to growth—it is an absolute necessity.Steel your mind and body—accept and embrace discomfort. Those that do have the ultimate competitive edge.Have Strong Plans, Loosely HeldIt's important to have a plan. But as Mike Tyson famously said, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth."Plans have to be dynamic—and punch-proof! You'll only go as far as your ability to absorb, gather, and pivot on the fly.Pay It ForwardNo matter how far you go, realize that you didn’t make it on your own.Pay it forward.Be a mentor. Be a champion for others. Their growth should become a source of tremendous joy and pride.Become a PolymathA polymath is a person with wide-ranging, multi-disciplinary knowledge.Lifelong learners tend to be polymaths—their curiosity naturally leads to knowledge accumulation in a variety of disciplines. Learn both horizontally and vertically.Give More Than You ReceiveFocus on what you can do for others, not what they can do for you.Focus first on the amount of value you create—not the amount that you capture. This mentality will lead to more success and growth, but also to more fulfillment and...