Will Roman

The boot man and Chief Texan @ChisosBoots • Previous startup acquired by @UpholdInc • Fighting for what was and what can be again.

[Will Roman @willroman]

Lessons I Wish Someone Had Told Me

Tomorrow I'm conversing with students in a university setting. The below lessons are what I'll be sharing with them.

Anything you'd add?

1. All the old cliches are true.

2. Figure out which game you’re playing.
a. If you’re driven to achieve, make sure you actually want the prize.
b. Challenge the traditional metrics of success (prestige) and make your own.

3. Life (and career) are a series of experiments. The linear path is a myth.

4. You will suffer. So make sure you’re suffering for something that matters to you.

5. Get married after age 24, but before age 30. Have kids. Lots of them.

6. Make a small number of high-conviction bets to build wealth.
a. Except for birth, you achieve wealth through Time x Risk x Being Correct
b. Build conviction by writing a thesis based on your unique perspective.

7. Find a wave and ride it.

8. Ultimately, the value you create for others is what matters in most scenarios.
a. You don’t need permission. Credentials don’t matter.
b. Your background/limitations/hardships are not an excuse.

9. Optimism, obsession, and raw horsepower are how things get started.

10. Cohesive teams, the right combination of calmness and urgency, and an unreasonable commitment are how things get finished.

11. It’s easier to do hard things that really matter.

12. Moving quickly is a competitive advantage. So is focus.

13. Being “real” is magnetic to the right people. And repels the wrong ones.

14. Think long term.

15. Relationships are all that matter in the end.

[Will Roman @willroman]

@AdamSinger no lies told

[Will Roman @willroman]

@chrislukehall 👀

[Will Roman @willroman]

@DrcharlieWardQ I’ve had a similar exchange many times… people oppose a concept because they are virtue signaling alignment with a tribe, not because they understand the concept and take issue with some of its foundational structure

[Will Roman @willroman]

@JosephPutnam @jaybsauceda @tecovas @ChisosBoots Appreciate both you gentlemen!

[J.B. Sauceda @jaybsauceda]

@JosephPutnam @tecovas @ChisosBoots I'm a big fan of Chisos. I've known @willroman for around 20 years and the boots are incredibly well made. Classic style, old school approach to the build that holds up and is comfortable after a long day of wearing.

[Will Roman @willroman]

@echristensen113 @jaybsauceda @varnishgal @ChisosBoots of course

[J.B. Sauceda @jaybsauceda]

@varnishgal @willroman brings the flag every year. Here he is one-handing it right before me.

[Will Roman @willroman]

@Pressbox5 You did a great job!

[Will Roman @willroman]

@OldHollowTree 🫡

[Will Roman @willroman]

Putting @OldHollowTree ‘s mug to use out in ‘ol Terlingua in the shadow of the Chisos Mountains

I love this mug

[Will Roman @willroman]

@dave_stickland how right you are!

[Will Roman @willroman]

"a world that worships people who care only about the perception of being good people, while they actually fight against tangible efforts of making improvements for humanity"

[Lee Kuan Yimby @LeeKuanYimby]

I actually feel bad for Elon, even though I deeply disagree with him on some things.

Imagine trying to build a car company in California in the mid-2000s, when American manufacturing is being completely offshored and almost all of Wall Street thinks you’re a joke and is rooting for your failure, while the entire oil and gas industry is using all their power and leverage to make you fail.

But against all odds, you actually pull it off. You build cars that make electric vehicles desirable to millions of people, create an enormous number of quality American jobs, and force the global car industry to play catch up and move away from oil and gas.

You would think California would be proud of you and the team. Instead you find yourself having to fight a completely corrupt and incompetent left government impeding all your efforts while you sleep at the factory night after night to avoid collapse. At some point, you would go to the right too.

And because of your politics, it becomes a justification for people to celebrate your companies failing in their personal ideological fight with you. Even threats against you become something people explain away and use mental gymnastics to justify.

Meanwhile, people like Scott Galloway and Bernie Sanders who have made absolutely nobody better off other than themselves get to lecture you about your value to society and even call for your murder without grounds from their vacation home while you're on 20 hour benders in your factories trying to get things built for all of society. If this were me I would lose my mind.

Criticize his opinions. I do sometimes, especially on Ukraine. But the pleasure people take in wanting to destroy everything he’s built is hideous and frankly suicidal for the masses, especially coming from people who insist they care about workers, the climate, and civilization as a whole.

As you try to make good things for society you are confronted with a world that worships people who care only about the perception of being good people, while they actually fight against your tangible efforts of making improvements for humanity.

I don't think almost anyone would have made it out of that and if they did, they would probably not come away feeling so warm towards the left either. So I am rooting for Elon to succeed, and for humanity.

[Will Roman @willroman]

@flabbytofit99 @BlackLabelAdvsr

[Will Roman @willroman]

@chrisparkX hear, hear!

[Will Roman @willroman]

@simonsarris this explains so much: "no real concept of... what constitutes actual evil."

[Will Roman @willroman]

@youderian

[Will Roman @willroman]

@PaulSkallas pulling on a pair of cowboy boots is like putting on the uniform. People expect different from you. You expect more from yourself

[Will Roman @willroman]

@bandholz Visiting his book store in 2021 was quite revealing

[Will Roman @willroman]

@shellenberger @RyanHoliday basically, yes