Layla Yarjani

Building something new in digital health | ex-@accenture @beondeck @nextgenlondon @little_bridge Philanthropy #CookForIran

[Hadi Partovi @hadip]

P.S. I never supported this war, nor any war.

[Hadi Partovi @hadip]

Many Iranians supported your war, because your plan was to liberate Iran.

Instead you celebrate sending a civilization to the Stone Age.

Great leaders build, not destroy. They serve humanity, not murder schoolgirls in the name of Jesus Christ.

I weep to see America like this.

[Tim Ferriss @tferriss]

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse is recommended by many of my podcast guests.

There is one takeaway that Naval Ravikant (@naval) has reinforced with me several times on our long walks.

The protagonist, Siddhartha, a monk who looks like a beggar, has come to the city and falls in love with a famous courtesan. He attempts to court her, and she asks, “What do you have?” A well-known merchant similarly asks, “What can you give that you have learned?” His answer is the same in both cases, so I’ve included the latter story below.

Merchant: “. . . If you are without possessions, how can you give?”

Siddhartha: “Everyone gives what he has. The soldier gives strength, the merchant goods, the teacher instruction, the farmer rice, the fisherman fish.”

Merchant: “Very well, and what can you give? What have you learned that you can give?”

Siddhartha: “I can think, I can wait, I can fast.”

Merchant: “Is that all?”

Siddhartha: “I think that is all.”

Merchant: “And of what use are they? For example, fasting, what good is that?”

Siddhartha: “It is of great value, sir. If a man has nothing to eat, fasting is the most intelligent thing he can do. If, for instance, Siddhartha had not learned to fast, he would have had to seek some kind of work today, either with you, or elsewhere, for hunger would have driven him. But, as it is, Siddhartha can wait calmly. He is not impatient, he is not in need, he can ward off hunger for a long time and laugh at it. ”

***

I think of Siddhartha’s answers often and in the following terms:

“I can think” → Having good rules for decision-making, and having good questions you can ask yourself and others.

“I can wait” → Being able to plan long-term, play the long game, and not misallocate your resources.

“I can fast” → Being able to withstand difficulties and disaster. Training yourself to be uncommonly resilient and have a high pain tolerance.

[Sam Altman @sama]

one of the easiest policy wins i can imagine for the US is to reform high-skill immigration.

the fact that many of the most talented people in the world want to be here is a hard-won gift; embracing them is the key to keeping it that way.

hard to get this back if we lose it.

[Stanford Social Innovation Review @SSIReview]

SSIR is pleased to announce our latest Frontiers speakers: @CaroMT, @LaylaYarjani founder of @nextgenlondon and #CookforIran, and @SepidehMoafi of @RESCUEorg. Register now for #SSIRfrontiers! https://t.co/aloC5eBLho

[Catrin Nye @CatrinNye]

Charity screening of the INCREDIBLE documentary - Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes - made with unseen footage of the disaster uncovered for the first time.

Q & A after with director @jamesjonesfilm and me >
https://t.co/mGtlIknfcW

[Mustafa Akyol @AkyolinEnglish]

In #Iran there are reasonable clerics, too.

One is Ayatollah Asadollah Bayat-Zanjani, who opposed the "morality police" as "illegal and against religion," adding that "nobody should be forced to follow Islamic values."

@MiddleEastEye reports:
https://t.co/LB0RuIlZjY

[J.K. Rowling @jk_rowling]

Listen with the sound up. Their voices ❤️
#MahsaAmini

[Layla Yarjani @LaylaYarjani]

9. What’s the best next step you can take? (action today)

[Layla Yarjani @LaylaYarjani]

You can start any impact-driven company, organisation, or campaign with a simple Theory of Change

Below are 9 key questions to help you define yours

Most of these will also flow naturally into a pitch or website

🧵

[Layla Yarjani @LaylaYarjani]

8. Why do you believe your theory will work? (assumptions)

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

@SecBlinken Activating Starlink …