Some of the most effective tools in “Never Split the Difference” by Chris Voss revolve around active listening and empathy.
You can use *mirroring,* subtly repeating the last few words the other person has said, to build rapport and encourage them to elaborate.
Another powerful tool is *labeling*, where you acknowledge the other person’s emotions by naming them.
Example: “It seems like you're frustrated.”
This demonstratesunderstanding and defuses tension.
Voss also emphasizes the importance of *calibrated questions*—open-ended inquiries like, "How would you like me to proceed?"—to steer conversations toward solutions without triggering defensiveness.
His strategies are uniquely effective in high-stakes negotiations but also in daily life.
BS notion you have to rub shoulders w prestigious fat cats to ascend the ladder. Gold is found in dirt. Oil is at the bottom of the ocean. Diamonds in the mines. None of this by accident. You descend for lifes treasures. And so too, you descend to the throne
It's spring break and my son started a lemonade stand.
I asked him how much lemonade he sold in the last hour.
"$3" he said.
I told him, "Here's $20 for one glass of lemonade. In one hour I'm going to come back and buy a lemonade for $1,000. You're going to take that $1,000/hr revenue - multiply it by 24 hours - then multiply it by 365 days, and tell VCs, 'I have $8.76M in run rate revenue with 99.9% net margins, and 100% of our latest cohort of customers have expanded revenue with us. You're also changing the name of your lemonade stand to 'lemon(AI)de' and incorporating it as a C Corp"
My son was holding back tears.
I said, "Doesn't it feel good to be a millionaire, bud?"
He said, "Dad I'm 4 and I don't know what any of these words are."
I said, "Welcome to life as a tech CEO - neither do I" and drove away.
I think the height obsession in dating is fairly a recent phenomenon. Like during 80s and 90s you used to have film stars and sex symbols that were like 5’7 and stuff. Something did change immensely. And I don’t think it’s because of dating apps.
I’ve been trying to tell everyone this: Blueprint is overall the best in the world. We are evidence based, dose precisely,
test extensively, and price competitively.
After spending hundreds of thousands of dollars testing foods over the past two years, I’m scared to death to eat anything other than what we source and manufacture. The global food supply is fucked up.
There are tons of people who are neither the smartest nor the most talented who got the life they wanted.
Most people who think they lack intelligence or talent actually lack mental resilience (they give up as soon as things don't go their way), emotional control (they get anxious and confused as soon as they face uncertainty), and self-understanding (they aren't leveraging what they are actually good at).
Most people don't lack talent, they lack focus, they do everything half-heartedly instead of making a few real attempts, they want to write a book when they can't even write a chapter, they fantasize about their success when they haven't even gotten started, they are distracted.
No one ever tells you that...
1. You are responsible for your own happiness. Not your wife, not your parents, not your friends. Growing up is realizing this.
2. Life in a nutshell: when you're 18, your situation reflects your upbringing; when you’re 38, your situation reflects your decisions; when you’re 68, your situation reflects the impact you’ve had on others.
3. You probably won’t get wealthy starting a venture-backed startup or working for one.
4. Talking slowly will make your sentences sound smarter, not dumber.
5. You’ll be a lot less happy (and wealthy) if you do what other people expect of you.
6. Happiness isn’t expensive. The expensive lifestyle is usually a trap. Being happy requires less than you think.
7. Just because you are on their IG close friends, doesn’t make them your close friend.
8. Earn online, learn online, then get offline to do everything else.
9. You are wealthy if you discover what you truly want to become, are fully engaged in that mission, and you don’t need to explain yourself to anyone.
10. Being a creator pays off despite it being somewhat cringe in the eyes of 90% of your friends and colleagues.
11. You build community, you build currency.
12. Real friends are rare. The ones who show up for you when they have nothing to gain but seeing you smile.
13. The people who learn the fastest are actually the people who are having the most fun trying new things.
14. We rush to therapy & prescription pills when we should be rushing to eating healthy, getting good sleep, and building assets that pay us while we’re sleeping.
Quick break: are you bookmarking/sharing these to save them?
15. The internet turns thoughts into dreams. Building on the Internet turns dreams into realities.
16. Jealousy is disgusting. Turn it into inspiration. Never let jealousy simmer, let inspiration motivate.
17. The internet rewards people who write well. Write well and never have to worry about money in your life.
18. As a kid, days stretch out endlessly, and Christmas morning is an epic journey. As an adult, time zips by, with each day setting a new speed record.
19. Minding your own business gives you more confidence than you can imagine.
20. Having your phone on Do Not Disturb is the only sane way to live today.
21. The best businesses are low status that turn high status later. When everyone zigs, zag.
22. A lot can happen in a year.
23. Finding your people makes you realize that there is nothing wrong with you.
24. Live life like you need to pack a U-Haul and you don’t want to make 2 trips.
25. There is no middle class anymore. You are either rich or trying to stay afloat.
One of the most sought-after exec coaches in the world:
Peter Diamandis
For over 40 years, he founded 25 million-dollar companies. I spent $25,000 and 1 year in his private mastermind.
Here are his 7 most powerful insights: 🧵
How to get your shit together in 2025:
1. Make a list of all distractions in your life. Systematically remove one at a time. Track your progress. No excuses.
@Apple you have to really improve your service! You provided a replacement iPhone that had a carrier lock which my original iPhone did not, this caused me to spend 5 hours 1 day and another 3 hours another and 3 weeks before this phone was finally unlocked and ready to be used. I was promised that Apple will make up for this mistake but it only will happen once it’s fixed, after the replacement was done I was told there is nothing Apple will do to make up for this waste of time and mistake. You charge a ridiculously high price for your iPhone which has tons of bugs since the new release and your support is not trained well and also never followed up. I had to continue calling back for a update!!
Built my first app with ChatGPT and launched with no version control + code ONLY local on my laptop.
+ $250k mrr
Reinvested every dollar and did it on my own.
+ $600k mrr
Partnered with two 17 year olds.
+ $1.3m mrr
Broke every rule in the book. Listen less, do more.
Invest in the right people, loneliness disappears
Invest in the right habits, anxiety disappears
Invest in the right goals, envy disappears
Invest in the right perspective, anger disappears
Invest in the right conversations, confusion disappears