Barron

IP + Tech Esq.; entertainment law dealmaker.
Entrepreneur; Catalyst; Founder. @kenanflagler alum. Empowering creativity and innovation. Startup GC. BuildingWins

[Barron @barronjresq]

Why intellectual property rights matter https://t.co/RpFWFvQKZO #IP #creativity #innovation

[Sahil Bloom @SahilBloom]

One thing I've learned:

A person is either holding you back or pushing you forward. There is no in between.

[Paul Graham @paulg]

More people care about you than you realize.

[Andrew Gazdecki @agazdecki]

Being a startup founder is probably one of the loneliest, hardest, mentally challenging, stressful jobs you can have by a mile.

Proper rest, exercise, and sleep are mandatory requirements.

Please care of yourself out there.

[Sahil Bloom @SahilBloom]

One week ago, the world lost a legend.

Charlie Munger was a treasure trove of wisdom—and most of it had nothing to do with investing.

10 of his most powerful insights for a life well lived:

(Note: Long post, bookmark for future)

1. The Most Valuable Riches Take Time

"The desire to get rich fast is pretty dangerous."

While this quote has traditionally been applied to investing (given it was his primary arena of public success), I believe its true meaning extends well beyond dollars and cents.

Whatever "rich" you're going after...

• Strong, durable relationships
• Physical strength or endurance
• Mental health and mindfulness
• Financial success

...know that it won't happen overnight.

It will take a long time—probably longer than you've ever imagined—but the most valuable "riches" of life are always worth waiting for.

Keep your compass pointed in the right direction, stay the course, and get "rich" slow.

2. Avoid the Second Arrow

"Generally speaking, envy, resentment, revenge, and self-pity are disastrous modes of thought...Life will have terrible blows, horrible blows, unfair blows, it doesn’t matter. Some people recover and others don’t. There I think the attitude of Epictetus is the best. He thought that every mischance in life was an opportunity to behave well. Every mischance in life was an opportunity to learn something and that your duty was not to be immersed in self-pity, but to utilize the terrible blow in a constructive fashion. That is a very good idea."

In 1953, a 29-year-old Charlie Munger faced a series of crushing blows, losing his 9-year-old son to leukemia, his wife to a divorce, and his money to the medical bills.

Very few people could have recovered from that series of events.

But recall the Parable of the Two Arrows:

The Buddha once asked his student, "If a person is struck by an arrow, is it painful?" The student nodded, yes.

The Buddha then asked, "If a person is struck by a second arrow, is that even more painful?" The student again nodded, yes.

The Buddha then explained, "In life, we cannot always control the first arrow. However, the second arrow is our reaction to the first. The second arrow is optional."

Charlie Munger was struck by the first arrow (harder than most of us can imagine), but he stared into the darkness and realized that the second arrow was optional.

When we encounter the inevitable challenges of life, we can all do the same.

3. Develop Real Knowledge

"The first rule is that you can’t really know anything if you just remember isolated facts and try and bang ’em back. If the facts don’t hang together on a latticework of theory, you don’t have them in a usable form...You may have noticed students who just try to remember and pound back what is remembered. Well, they fail in school and in life. You’ve got to hang experience on a latticework of models in your head."

There are two types of people:

• People who know how to talk about the thing.
• People who know the thing.

You encounter plenty of Type 1s: You hear them talking at every cocktail party and networking event. They wax poetic on a variety of topics, but when pressed for detail, they crumble. The knowledge is all on the surface. They know how to talk about the thing, but they don't know the thing.

You encounter few Type 2s: Those with real, deep knowledge are rarely the loudest in the room. They are generally too busy developing their depth or acting on it to be found talking about it.

The goal is to be Type 2 in a few domains—and to spend time with more Type 2s in the domains where you aren't one.

4. Live What You Want to Receive

"How to find a good spouse? The best single way is to deserve a good spouse...To get what you want, you have to deserve what you want."

The most important relationship advice I've ever received:

Make a list of the values you want to find in a partner, then go out and actually embody those values yourself.

You can't hope to attract a set of values that you yourself aren't embracing.

Similarly, as a parent, you can't hope to teach a child a set of values that you aren't walking with.

Live what you want to receive.

5. Invert, Always Invert

"All I want to know is where I’m going to die, so I’ll never go there."

Two thousand years ago, Stoic philosophers engaged in a seemingly peculiar daily exercise: they would sit quietly and imagine—in excruciating detail—all that could go horribly wrong in the days, weeks, and months ahead.

They referred to it as premeditatio malorum—the pre-meditation of evils.

The premise: Through the preparation of the mind for the potential worst-case scenarios, we can more aptly avoid such outcomes.

Complex problems are sometimes better solved backwards.

When you encounter a challenging life problem, rather than attempting to solve it forwards, invert and solve it backwards:

• What do you NOT want to happen?
• What actions, behaviors, or conditions would create that undesirable outcome?
• How can those traps be avoided?

Proceed accordingly.

6. Avoid the Ostrich Effect

"I think that one should recognize reality even when one doesn’t like it; indeed, especially when one doesn’t like it."

An ostrich will bury its head in the sand to avoid danger.

How many of us are metaphorically burying our heads in the sand in the face of new information that challenges our worldview?

If you want to be right more than you want to uncover the truth, you're in for a long, hard life. Avoiding knowledge because it doesn't confirm your existing beliefs is a dangerous game that will ultimately lead to your downfall.

Always question your strongly held beliefs. Learn the other side of the argument just as well as your own.

7. Never Mimic the Herd

"Mimicking the herd invites regression to the mean."

As Jeff Bezos said, "Being yourself is worth it, but don’t expect it to be easy or free. You’ll have to put energy into it continuously."

The fight against normalcy is the most important fight of your life.

No one can compete with you, at being you.

8. Create a "Too Hard" Pile

"I just try to avoid being stupid. I have a way of handling a lot of problems—I put them in what I call my ‘too hard pile,’ and just leave them there. I’m not trying to succeed in my too hard pile."

There are no style points in life.

The "too hard pile" is a useful tool for avoiding the stupidity that comes from attempting to tackle the big, complex, scary problem when there's a small, simple, obvious one right in front of you.

A few applications from my own life:

You don't need the fancy equipment and complicated workouts, you just need to show up and move your body in simple ways, every single day.

You don't need the latest, greatest new alternative investments and cutting edge tax strategies, you just need to invest in simple, low-cost index funds and hold them forever.

You don't need the 100 supplements and latest fad diets, you just need to eat 90%+ whole, unprocessed foods.

Avoid things that seem too hard and handle the easy, consistently, instead.

9. Success Follows Interest

"Another thing that I found is an intense interest of the subject is indispensable if you are really going to excel. I could force myself to be fairly good in a lot of things, but I couldn’t be really good in anything where I didn’t have an intense interest."

Most people focus too much on being interesting and not enough on being interested.

Being interested is how you become interesting.

When you pursue your genuine interests, you are prone to deep focus, which cultivates a depth that is impossible to fake.

Success always follows interest.

10. Wisdom Compounds

"Spend each day trying to be a little wiser than you were when you woke up. Day by day, and at the end of the day, if you live long enough, like most people, you will get out of life what you deserve."

Small things become big things.

In the wise words of Mahatma Gandhi, "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."

***

Goodbye to a Legend

In a ​beautiful piece​ reflecting on Charlie Munger's life, Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Zweig shared an interaction he had with Munger last month:

I asked what he might want for an epitaph of no more than 10 words. His reply was immediate and full of epistemic humility: "I tried to be useful." Not "I was useful." That would be for other people to judge. But "I tried." That much he knew.

It struck me as perhaps his most important wisdom of all.

To be useful—as a parent, spouse, child, sibling, colleague, friend, or leader—is our highest calling.
We will fall short in various ways along the journey, but we can all strive for this goal.

Here's hoping that at the end of our days, we may all be able to proudly proclaim: "I tried."

If you're still here, I hope you found some new inspiration in these words. If you did, share it with others and follow me @SahilBloom for more in the future.

[Nicole Auerbach @NicoleAuerbach]

In a groundbreaking move, NCAA president Charlie Baker has proposed the creation of a new subdivision that would allow schools to directly compensate athletes through trust funds and NIL payments: https://t.co/B1udEuJAJ4

[Barron @barronjresq]

@WrongsToWrite Send

[Alex Hormozi @AlexHormozi]

No one’s ever ready.

That doesn’t mean you don’t start.

Starting is the only thing that proves you’re ready.

[Darren Marble @darrenmarble]

This morning I got a verbal from an investor who said they are investing because of our product differentiation.

An hour ago I got a pass from a different investor who said they don’t see enough product differentiation.

Welcome to startup land!

[Nick Huber @sweatystartup]

A hill I'll die on:

95% of entrepreneurs should forget about technology (a few big fish and a lot of sophisticated fishermen) and focus on small business (small fish everywhere and really crappy fishermen).

A THREAD:

[Wealth Director @wealth_director]

If I want it, working for it is unavoidable.

And if I'm working for it, persistence is inevitable.

There are no excuses.

[Chelsea FC @ChelseaFC]

Blue skies above Cobham. ☀️

[Barron @barronjresq]

@agazdecki Yes, scale only based on need, when your team is already stretched.

[DAN KOE @thedankoe]

"You've changed."

Yes. It's the thousands of tiny improvements that are starting to add up.

[Darrel Frater ✝️ @DarrelFrater]

I think Founders are finally starting to realized that there isn't much VC dollars out there for them and that they are better off just focusing on their customers.

This is the sad truth, but at the same time a very good thing.

This is the season where builders thrive.

You got this.

[Sahil Bloom @SahilBloom]

An important daily reminder.

[DAN KOE @thedankoe]

Your mind is a supercomputer.

Your attention is the RAM.

Thoughts, regrets, and tasks are the programs slowing your performance.

Writing, mindfulness, and focus are the reboot you can access at any time.

[Barron @barronjresq]

@shl Post of the day 😊

[Sahil Lavingia @shl]

My investment strategy: Buy low

[Tim Ferriss @tferriss]

In my first interview with Arnold @Schwarzenegger, I brought up a photo of him at age 19, just before he won his first big competition, Junior Mr. Europe. I asked, “Your face was so confident compared to every other competitor. Where did that confidence come from?”

He replied:

“My confidence came from my vision. . . . I am a big believer that if you have a very clear vision of where you want to go, then the rest of it is much easier. Because you always know why you are training 5 hours a day, you always know why you are pushing and going through the pain barrier, and why you have to eat more, and why you have to struggle more, and why you have to be more disciplined… I felt that I could win it, and that was what I was there for. I wasn’t there to compete. I was there to win.”

[Sahil Bloom @SahilBloom]

I recently attended my 10-year Stanford University reunion.

10 lessons I learned:

1. Identity is the real thing we're searching for.

Everyone thinks they're looking for money or success, but what they're really looking for is identity. The search for identity is the common thread that connects everyone. Identity is fluid—embrace it in the present, diversify to lower your risk, and seek out new perspectives to challenge yourself.

2. Your daily habits show up on your face after 10 years.

When you're young, you can get away with treating your body and mind like crap. But you can't hide forever. 10 years later, your good (or bad) daily habits show up on your face.

3. The Medici Effect is real.

The Medici family's funding of the arts created a talent and idea density in Florence that gave rise to the Renaissance. College campuses are mini versions of 15th century Florence. Many had left campus and never experienced anything like it again. Conversely, those who made an effort to frequent high density locations had experienced the benefits.

4. Insecurity tells, confidence shows.

People who are crushing it rarely feel a need to tell you that they’re crushing it. Insecurity is loud, confidence is quiet.

5. Plans are great, but life will generally laugh at them.

Those who are thriving had kept their compass pointed to the north, but learned to take the blows and pivot on the fly. Laugh at your plans and keep moving forward.

6. Fighting the Zebra Effect is hard (but worth it).

Researchers struggled to study zebras because the stripes blended together in packs, so they placed a red dot on the side of zebras they wanted to track. They were quickly eaten by lions. Blending in is a survival mechanism. But it's only by taking risk to stand out that you accomplish remarkable things.

7. Freedom is rare, but incredibly apparent.

There were very few people who seemed truly free. The rare few had been intentional about building freedom into their lives. They weren't the richest, but their energy was infectious.

8. We get more embarrassing with age.

I used to wonder why parents were so embarrassing. Now I know, we get more embarrassing with age—or we just mature enough to be comfortable with ourselves. At the class party, we danced poorly and sang off tune. Proudly embarrassing.

9. Shared struggle builds unbreakable bonds.

My baseball teammates and I crawled through the metaphorical (and literal) mud together. Those bonds were forged through suffering, and they are not easily broken. Find the people you'd crawl through the mud with.

10. Life is much more fragile than you think.

Since 2013, we've lost several classmates and loved ones. But amidst the sadness, real beauty has come from it: Everyone is much quicker to smile, hug, and say "I love you" to an old friend.

***

Those were 10 lessons learned at my 10-year Stanford reunion.

What were your favorites from the list?

If you enjoyed this or learned something, share the post and follow me @SahilBloom for more in future.