About this episode
Welcome to the 1,441 new members of the curiosity tribe who have joined us since Friday. Join the 64,851 others who are receiving high-signal, curiosity-inducing content every single week. Today’s newsletter is brought to you by Athletic Greens ! On last week’s episode of the Where It Happens podcast, we interviewed new Athletic Greens President & COO Kat Cole. Athletic Greens is the one product I use every single day. I have been taking their halo product—AG1—first thing when I wake up for the last 5+ years. It’s my personal nutritional insurance policy. Special Offer: Athletic Greens is offering a free 1-year supply of Vitamin D (for those dark winter months) and 5 travel packs with all new orders to Curiosity Chronicle subscribers. Use the link below to take advantage of this offer! Today at a Glance: In the normal course of my content consumption habits, I come across a steady stream of learnings, ideas, and connections, some of which have an asymmetrical impact on my life. In this post, I share a list of 20+ high-impact ideas on business, investing, growth, and life, all of which were learned or surfaced in the last year. I plan to begin sharing a regular quarterly post of new ideas to bring you along for this learning journey. The Most Powerful Ideas I am an avid content consumer. Content consumption is a core part of my “job”—a critical element of my personal flywheel. I have built a “content engine” (more on that in a future post!) that provides a steady stream of learnings, ideas, and connections, all of which amplify the quality of my investing, business building, and content creation pursuits. In this post, I’d like to share some of the most powerful ideas I have come across over the last year, with additional notes and insights where helpful. So let’s dive right in: 20+ high-impact ideas on business, investing, growth, and life… Time Billionaire Time is our most precious asset. When you're young, you are a "time billionaire”—rich with time. Too many people fail to realize the value of this asset until it is gone. Treat time as your ultimate currency—it’s all you have and you can never get it back. Sahil Note: When I first learned this concept—from a Tim Ferriss podcast with Graham Duncan—it hit me hard. I had spent most of my life prioritizing the value of money or power, when the reality is that time is our most valuable asset, and the only one that cannot be bought or sold. It forced me to think deeply about how I want to spend my time, who I want to spend it with, and why I want to pursue certain paths over others. I would encourage you to think deeply about the same… Darkest Hour Friends It'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 those who supported them when the chips were down. I call these your “darkest hour friends”—find them, treasure them. Engineered Serendipity Some of what we call "luck" is actually the macro result of thousands of micro actions. Your daily habits can put you in a position where "luck" is more likely to strike. It's possible to increase your serendipity surface area and engineer your own luck. Sahil Note: Serendipity surface area is an interesting concept. When you’re on a “track” in your life or career, you are walking on such a narrow path that very little luck can hit you. The more you open yourself up to the world—to new experiences and people—the more you expand your serendipity surface area. There’s quite literally more area for luck to strike. Leverage "Give me a place to stand and a lever long enough and I shall move the world." - Archimedes Leverage is anything that multiplies the force of your inputs. Building systems that provide leverage on your time, money, and energy will allow you to create a life you deserve. Sahil Note: Leverage can cut both ways. When used too aggressively, it can be a negative (just ask Archegos or the founders at Long-Term Capital Management). Beware of over-leveraging your life or pursuits! Free Time as a Call Option You've incorrectly been told that free time is bad—hustle culture lied to you. The reality: Free time is a call option on future interesting opportunities. When you have free time, you have the headspace and bandwidth to pursue high-upside ideas. Sahil Note: I have learned that the same idea applies to cash. I used to believe that I had to be fully invested, otherwise I was leaving return/yield on the table. But I later realized that cash is a call option on future interesting opportunities. Having some idle cash allows you to invest in that new idea, pursue a weekend project, etc. It’s worth it. Decentralized Friend Groups There are two types of friend groups: Centralized: one cluster of friends with shared backgrounds & beliefs. Decentralized: small, varied, unconnected clusters of friends. When in doubt, opt for decentralized friend groups. The variety of backgrounds and beliefs is the key to developing independent thought. Sahil Note: I picked this up from my friend George Mack , who I would consider part of one of my decentralized friend groups. The internet affords ample opportunity to build these groups. Join a few Discord servers, share ideas, build a micro-community. There has never been a better time in history to do it. Work Like a Lion 9-5 work culture is a remnant of the Industrial Age—it emphasizes long periods of steady, monotonous work. Most people are not wired to work 9-5. Parkinson’s Law states that work expands to fill the time available for its completion. When you establish fixed hours to do your work, you find unproductive ways to fill it—you work longer, but get less done. In the Digital Age, those who do creative work will stand out and be rewarded. If your goal is to do this inspired, creative work, you have to work like a lion. Wait. SPRINT. Eat. Rest. Repeat. Q1 Relationships All relationships exist on a 2x2 matrix of: How healthy it is How enjoyable it is Q1 relationships are healthy & enjoyable. Focus on spending more energy on your Q1 relationships—cherish them. Scrub the Q4s from your life. Sahil Note: I learned this from my friend Tim Urban , who is one of the deepest thinkers I know. If you aren’t already following him, you should do that ASAP… The Persuasion Paradox Have 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. Inversion “All I want to know is where I’m going to die, so I’ll never go there." - Charlie Munger The best innovators think forward AND backward. When faced with a challenging problem, reframe it in inverse form—new perspective allows you to solve the problem more creatively. Sahil Note: Inversion is one of my favorite mental models. You can use it for generating new business ideas, solving complex problems, or managing and maintaining healthy personal and professional relationships. The use cases are literall...