Shows
Read & RepeatEP77 Arnold: The Education of a BodybuilderThis week, we continue our journey with Arnold by learning how he rose to the top of the bodybuilding world in only an 8 year span!!
As a 15 year old kid in Austria, Arnold wasn't on anybody's radar to become the next bodybuilding sensation. Certainly no one thought he would become the Mr. Universe champion as a teen... yet his unbreakable self confidence and relentless work ethic just catapulted him to the top that much quicker than all his peers.
This episode is filled with gold, from Arnold's inspiring mentality...2024-05-151h 02Read & RepeatEP76 Be Useful by Arnold SchwarzeneggerThis week we dive into Arnold Schwarzenegger's book 'Be Useful,' offering insights into how he reached the pinnacle of success across bodybuilding, acting, and politics. Arnold shares the 7 tools that were most influential for his life, including setting an ambitious vision, outworking his peers, and giving back. He describes how he was able to sell the sport of bodybuilding into the mainstream, and how those training habits easily transferred over to acting. He was doubted constantly by friends and fans, but his determination and positive mindset kept pushing him to break through perceived barriers. This episode is filled...2024-05-0853 minRead & RepeatEP75 What I Learned About Investing From DarwinWe loved making this episode because it's part Darwin evolutionary biology and part Buffett investing wisdom! In the book, Pulak Prasad shares how he has built his investment philosophy based on evolutionary survival, and how many lessons surprisingly cross over into the finance world. His approach may seem simple, but it is effective:
1) Avoid Big Risks
2) Buy High Quality at a Fair Price
3) Don't Be Lazy - be very lazy
He's used this strategy to grow his investment firm, Nalanda, into a $5 billion fund, practicing what he preaches...2024-05-0157 minRead & RepeatEP74 Only the Paranoid SurviveIn this episode we cover Andy Grove's famous book, Only the Paranoid Survive. Andy Grove was a co-founder and former CEO of Intel, leading the company through some of its best years as it established a stronghold over the growing PC market. In this book, he talks about the many challenges they faced before getting to that point.
Andy Grove views technological change through the lens of strategic inflection points, sharing how you can either be disrupted into oblivion because of one, or cause one onto others. He describes the struggles Intel faced as...2024-04-2440 minRead & RepeatEP73 The Tao of Charlie MungerAn episode dedicated to the investing legend, Charlie Munger. Enjoy!
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The Tao of Charlie Munger - David Clark
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Please share with a friend or rate 5 stars if you enjoyed this episode! | Find us at ReadnRepeat.com and on Twitter @ReadnRepeatPod
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Recommendation of the Week: Trader Joe's Peanut Thai Salad is back!!!
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The Web of Ideas: The Tao of Charlie Munger (my notes on the book)
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Show Notes:
2:09 - What qualities make up a w...2024-04-1751 minRead & RepeatEP72 Influence: The Psychology of PersuasionIn this episode, we cover Influence - Robert Cialdini's seminal book on the 6 principles of persuasion. This book was so influencial on Charlie Munger that he even gave Cialdini shares of Berkshire's class A stock, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars today!
We discuss how the principles of reciprocation, commitment & consistency, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity are used against us and beneficial to us in the business world. We also talk about how many of these principles can be useful in your personal lives, such as for setting goals you'll stick to and...2024-04-1058 minRead & RepeatEP71 Son of HamasThis episode continues our two part series on the Israeli - Palestinian conflict. In this episode, we learn the origin story of the terrorist group Hamas, told firsthand by their founder's son, Mosab Hassan Yousef. We share his perspective growing up in the Palestinian region of the West Bank, internalizing a deep hatred of Jews and their role in the Palestinian people's suffering. As he reaches his teenage years, Mosab begins to rebel and tries to get involved in the conflict himself, which lands him in prison for over a year. It was this time in prison that ended...2024-04-031h 11Read & RepeatEP70 Israel: The Most Misunderstood Country on EarthThis week's episode is extra special to us. In this episode, we dive into the history of Israel and the conflict in the Middle East, attempting to provide nuance to an extremely polarizing subject. We answer questions like: are Israelis colonizers? Is Israel an apartheid state? Why do we even need a Jewish state? Who is the real threat in the Middle East?
Based on the fantastic book by Noa Tishby, we learn how Jews first populated the land of Israel over 2500 years ago, and established an ancestral homeland there across hundreds of years...2024-03-271h 01Read & RepeatEP69 The Rise and Fall of FTXIn this episode, we cover the rapid rise and stunning fall of crypto darling, FTX. Sam Bankman-Fried and his firm FTX provide us with a number of incredible INVERT lessons, such as never installing a board or CFO, hiring anyone who walks through the front door, spending hundreds of millions on sports marketing in a non-core market, and lacking all forms of accountability. We discuss how the internal controls within FTX ran counter to the company's external perception, as tons of VCs and celebs wanted to get in on the action even when they didn't know what was going...2024-03-201h 10Read & RepeatEP68 The Reign of Marvel StudiosIn this episode we tell the story of Marvel, going back to way before Robert Downey Jr donned the Iron Man suit! Our story starts in 1961, when Stan Lee created the relatable Fantastic Four comics to compete with the superheroes Batman and Superman. Over the next 3 decades, Stan Lee went on to create incredible heroes such as Spiderman and Iron Man, sparking a tulipmania-like bubble in adult comics.
As the 90s rolled around, Marvel was saddled with debt and ready to take advantage of this fan hysteria. Only problem was - the bubble burst...2024-03-131h 11Read & RepeatEP67 CRISPR & the Future of Gene EditingThe story of CRISPR reads like one straight out of a science fiction novel. It is filled with scientific breakthroughs, mad scientists, patent wars, and eventually, the ability to edit our own genes!
As a young kid, Jennifer Doudna was inspired by James Watson's The Double Helix. She wanted to learn more about this incredible field of DNA, but soon realized that thousands of other scientists had the same idea as her. So instead, she focused her energy on its less famous sibling, RNA. That proved to be a monumental decision.
2024-02-211h 06Read & RepeatEP66 The LEGO Turnaround: From Nearly Bankrupt to the Most Profitable Toy Company in 20 Years!The year was 2003. LEGO, the beloved company known for popularizing the little plastic building brick, was on the brink of bankruptcy. After overexpanding beyond their core business and taking on too much debt, the LEGO family felt they may have to sell their crown jewel. As a last-ditch effort, they decided to hand the keys to 35-year-old, former McKinsey consultant Jurgen Vig Knudstorp to turn around the company.
As he diagnosed the mistakes LEGO had made over the last decade, Jurgen kept asking himself a key question: Why do we exist? What makes us...2024-02-141h 01Read & RepeatEP65 The LEGO StoryLEGO is one of the most beloved brands in the world, with 7 sets sold every second and 4 billion minifigures walking this Earth! The company's founding traces back 100+ years, as Ole Kirk Christiansen opened up a carpentry shop in the small Danish town of Billund. Over the years, he persisted through countless adversities - his wife passing away early, two World Wars, his workshop burning down - to build a high-quality toy company that gives his children joy. As Ole Kirk made the bold decision to shift from wooden toys to plastic, he set up his son, Godtfred, for the...2024-02-071h 29Read & RepeatEP64 Same as Ever by Morgan HouselIn this episode, we dive into Morgan Housel's new book, Same as Ever, which chronicles a series of human behaviors that tend to repeat over time. We talk about how we're all constantly tempted to change and evolve, when sometimes the most powerful things in our lives are the ones that never change. The book offers great timeless insights into both life and business, such as how to sustain happiness for long periods of life, the most important variable in compounding, and the types of risk we will never predict. We also explore the power of the story, sharing...2024-01-311h 11Read & RepeatEP63 Capital ReturnsWe're back with an absolute banger of an episode - Capital Returns! The core idea behind Capital Returns is that high returns tend to attract more capital, aka competition, so over time what may have been an incredibly profitable company can deteriorate into a commoditized business. This is a crucial insight for both operators and investors alike. In the episode, we discuss different ways to take advantage of the capital cycle, such as Sam Zell's grave dancer playbook and the scaled economies shared framework that Costco operates under. We also touch on how ever-changing tech businesses can sometimes avoid...2024-01-241h 00Read & RepeatEP62 Profit First by Mike MichalowiczMike Michalowicz's book, Profit First, provides a simple yet foundational idea: take your profit first. His theory flips the traditional sales - expenses = profits formula on its head, by telling small business owners to take their profit before paying expenses. He shares how we are all hardwired to spend what's available to us, so we must put those profit dollars out of sight, out of mind. By using Michalowicz's Profit First framework, thousands of entrepreneurs have already turned their cash-eating monsters into money-making machines. Over time, these businesses will see their profits accumulate into hefty war chests, enabling them...2023-11-0743 minRead & RepeatEP61 David Ogilvy's Unpublished MemosThis episode will cap off our month-long deep dive into the mind of David Ogilvy. We'll explore how he used internal memos to ingrain his powerful ideas onto his team, such as becoming a company of giants and the teaching hospital of the advertising world. Ogilvy also shows us his playbook for excellence in any domain, which involves studying the precedents, doing the work, and relentlessly editing until your craft is perfect. Whether you are an ad man or not, this episode will be packed with insights for you. As Ogilvy says, it'll appeal to those of you who've "...2023-10-3138 minRead & RepeatEP60 Ogilvy on AdvertisingThis is my favorite book on David Ogilvy - it combines his memorable mantras with the stunning visual ads that established his legacy, creating a masterclass in effective advertising & leadership. If you are a high-achiever in any realm, you will find this episode inspiring. You will learn how Ogilvy consistently increased the quality of talent within his company, studied the greats who came before him, and differentiated his product offerings from those of his competitors. I learned A TON from this book and believe you'll find value in it as well. Enjoy!
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Ogilvy on...2023-10-2459 minRead & RepeatEP59 Confessions of an Advertising Man by David OgilvyIn this episode, we dive deeper into the mind of advertising legend, David Ogilvy. He shares with us how his endless pursuit of knowledge led him to the top of the advertising industry, a path that any high-achiever can emulate. Ogilvy gives us the keys to creating successful ad campaigns, such as offering the customer a benefit and packing the copy with facts - essential advice to entrepreneurs looking to sell more effectively. On the leadership side, Ogilvy equips us with many mantras that can be used to motivate our own troops, ranging from setting sky-high ambitions to overcoming...2023-10-171h 02Read & RepeatEP58 The King of Madison Avenue: David Ogilvy and the Making of Modern AdvertisingDavid Ogilvy is the godfather of the modern advertising industry. He started his agency, Ogilvy & Mather, at 38, and quickly catapulted to the top of the advertising profession. Today, we'll learn exactly how he did that. Through a combination of relentless persistence and "professional research", Ogilvy was deemed the king of advertising only a decade after entering the business. He used his long-form campaigns to create multiple industry leaders, from Rolls Royce to Shell to American Express. As he gained more success, Ogilvy started to leave an imprint on the entire industry, establishing the concept of a brand image. Within...2023-10-031h 03Read & RepeatEP57 Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson, Part 2: Falcon 9, Model 3, Starlink, Starship, TwitterIn part two, we explore how Elon Musk went from a crazy innovator to one of the richest people in history. After raising crucial funds for Tesla during its early days, Musk proceeded to double down on a new mass-market car, the Model 3. He leaned into vertical integration and a software-driven competitive advantage, ensuring that Tesla would stand out compared to its auto industry peers. Over at SpaceX, he continued to fear any sense of complacency, building mind-blowing new rockets such as the Falcon 9 and Starship. We'll dive into the powerful Algorithm framework that makes this all possible, highlighting...2023-09-191h 07Read & RepeatEP56 Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson, Part 1: Early Life, Zip2, PayPal, SpaceX Falcon 1 & Tesla RoadsterIn this two-part series, I'll dive into Walter Isaacson's brand new book on Elon Musk! Musk has an unbelievable story, overcoming his traumatic childhood in South Africa to create two of the greatest hard tech companies of our last century. In this first part, we'll discuss how his troubled relationship with his father led to an addiction to risk, unlike any other entrepreneur. You'll hear the founding stories of his first two internet startups, Zip2 & PayPal, and how those exits gave him the opportunity to start a new space company from scratch. We'll analyze how he differentiated against all...2023-09-191h 12Read & RepeatEP55 Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins"Scientific Advertising", written 100 years ago, offers timeless wisdom on advertising at scale. Claude Hopkins teaches us how he was able to convince the entire nation to care about brushing teeth daily, through his famous Pepsodent ads, by appealing to our simple desire for beauty. He shares effective tactics for sparking action in customers, such as using the word FREE and offering samples to win over lifelong customers. You'll learn numerous advertising strategies that are still in use today, including the value of mail-order ads and how Apple employs his "describe the process" technique on its new product announcements. Whether...2023-09-1253 minRead & RepeatEP54 The Big Short by Michael LewisIn this episode, we continue our INVERT focus with an all-time classic, "The Big Short". We'll dive into the misaligned incentives that encouraged banks to pursue growth at all costs and led to the Great Financial Crisis. We'll explore the value investing strategies of Michael Burry, the first big short investor, who spotted the trouble ahead and bet on it through credit default swaps. We'll say "these shitty loans" A LOT. Most of all, we'll walk away with a deep understanding of the catalysts behind the GFC, and the recurring mistakes made across crises. I hope you enjoy this...2023-09-051h 14Read & RepeatEP53 When Genius Failed - The Rise & Fall of Long-Term Capital ManagementRoger Lowenstein's book "When Genius Failed" is one of the best business failure case studies I've ever read. As we come up on the 25-year anniversary of Long-Term Capital Management's downfall, I thought it would be a great time to explore the lessons behind their fall from grace. LTCM started as a hot new hedge fund in the mid-90s, ready to deliver outstanding returns through their team of "genius" Ph.D. financial experts and unique bond arbitrage strategy. They posted incredible results over the first 4 years, multiplying their investor's capital by 4x, but then only 6 months later, nearly...2023-08-291h 11Read & RepeatEP52 Liar's Poker by Michael LewisMichael Lewis's first book, Liar's Poker, is the ultimate case study of misaligned incentives. The book covers the rise of Salomon Brothers as the king of bond trading in the 80s, and the many perverse incentives that later lead to their downfall. Throughout this episode, we learn what NOT to do when running a business, and as Charlie Munger likes to say, invert always invert! We'll discuss how Salomon Brothers built a thriving monopoly in mortgage bonds only to lose it all within 5 years, how traders were always incentivized to screw over their customers first, and how the money...2023-08-221h 11Read & RepeatEP51 SONY & Akio Morita - Made in JapanMade in Japan is the incredible autobiography of Akio Morita, the cofounder of SONY. Akio Morita started SONY in the rubble of post-WW2 Japan, determined to make Japan known as a country of high quality products. Throughout SONY’s rise, he was always focused on leading the technological transition from real world senses to digital consumption, pioneering fundamental inventions such as the tape recorder, pocketable radio, slow-mo camera, VCR, color TV, and portable music player, the SONY Walkman. In many ways, Akio Morita was Steve Jobs before Steve Jobs, creating many of the genius marketing tactics that later would in...2023-08-151h 22Read & RepeatEP50 Setting the Table by Danny MeyerDanny Meyer's book Setting the Table is an instant favorite amongst entrepreneur memoirs, up there with the likes of Creativity Inc and Shoe Dog. Danny Meyer opened his first restaurant, Union Square Cafe, in 1985, and has been prolific since then, building and expanding premier restaurant concepts across NYC and other major markets. In addition to that, he founded and scaled Shake Shack into the nationwide burger chain that is it today, taking the company public in 2015. In this episode, we learn how his obsession to hospitality helped him overcome the high failure rates and bankruptcies in the restaurant industry...2023-08-081h 13Read & RepeatEP49 Greenlights by Matthew McConaugheyMatthew McConaughey's book Greenlights gives us a valuable metaphor for life: the problems we face today eventually turn into blessings in the rearview mirror of life. I'll discuss how he was able to use visualization and eliminate limiting beliefs to catapult himself into the superstar league of Hollywood actors. McConaughey will also share with us the tough times he experienced along the way to stardom, and how those redlights only helped him come out of the other side even stronger. I really enjoyed reading this book, not only because McConaughey is a great storyteller, but also because many of...2023-08-0154 minRead & RepeatEP48 Living with a SEAL by Jesse ItzlerLiving with a SEAL is a hilarious & motivating book that chronicles the month Jesse Itzler spent training with Navy SEAL legend David Goggins. Serial entrepreneur Jesse Itzler was looking for a new challenge in life, after starting a private jet pass company and growing the Zico Coconut Water brand. He happened to run into David Goggins at an ultra marathon race and immediately decided that this man could shake up his routine. Itzler convinced Goggins to spend a month living with him, his wife - the founder of Spanx Sara Blakely, and their young child, as they workout together...2023-07-1843 minRead & RepeatEP47 Can't Hurt Me by David GogginsCan't Hurt Me is one of the most inspiring books I've ever read. David Goggins takes us through his tough upbringing and years battling a victim mentality, until he decided enough was enough. He shares how he remarkably lost 106 pounds in only a few months, as he became obsessed with joining the Navy SEALs. Throughout this unbelievable story, Goggins shows us how to develop a calloused mind, one that stands up to pain & fear and seeks out the uncomfortable. As his career progresses, he goes on to run 100+ mile ultra marathons on a regular basis and beats the worldwide...2023-07-111h 06Read & RepeatEP46 The Psychology of Money by Morgan HouselMorgan Housel’s fantastic book “The Psychology of Money” is a collection of stories on how we interact with our own money. I really enjoyed reading Housel’s book (for the second time!) because it contains many fundamental lessons on investing psychology. He emphasizes that the true wealth lies not in material possessions or lavish lifestyles, but in the freedom it affords us. The best thing money can buy us is freedom. Housel also describes that while we often fixate on high-flying investment strategies, the key to long-term wealth accumulation is actually prioritizing financial survival. By optimizing for survival and usin...2023-07-0558 minRead & RepeatEP45 The Irvine Company"The Irvine Ranch", by Martin A. Brower, shares the remarkable rise of the Irvine Company from a citrus crop ranch to a local real estate behemoth. The Irvine Company is the closest thing to a monopoly I've found in the largely commoditized world of real estate, where they began by owning 100,000 acres of prime land in the Southern California beach region and have since developed that into a residential, office, and shopping master-planned community. We discuss their playbook for gaining local market dominance, from partnering with merchant builders in the early days to constructing their own diversified portfolio over...2023-06-2754 minRead & RepeatEP44 The Liar's BallVicky Ward’s “The Liar’s Ball” gives us a lens into the famous 2003 sale of the GM Building, one of the most valuable real estate buildings in American history. We’ll see how numerous real estate titans, from William Zeckendorf to Sam Zell, all played a role in this asset’s history - while we’ll particularly focus on the decisions made by the protagonist, Harry Macklowe. Macklowe’s journey to owning the GM Building teaches us vital lessons about excessive leverage and unlimited ambition, as he sought to build a legacy in the elite New York real estate world. I...2023-06-2059 minRead & RepeatEP43 The Success Equation by Michael MauboussinMichael Mauboussin’s book “The Success Equation” walks through how to distinguish skill from luck and its impact on everything from investing to sports. Mauboussin is the author of one of my favorite books of all time, Expectations Investing, and this one has similarly powerful insights. He teaches us how to develop skill through deliberate practice and how to overcome stronger opponents as an underdog. He also shares the counterintuitive paradox of skill, where as skill improves, luck becomes even MORE important, a framework affecting financial markets and sports leagues today. Lastly, Mauboussin shows us the value of persistence in ski...2023-06-1355 minRead & RepeatEP42 Moneyball by Michael LewisMoneyball, the groundbreaking book by Michael Lewis, forever changed the landscape of professional sports. Moneyball tells the inspiring story of the Oakland A's, a small-market baseball team that defied the odds by leveraging advanced data to gain a competitive edge in the highly traditional world of baseball. The hero of this story is the Oakland A's general manager, Billy Beane, who repeatedly challenged the conventional wisdom of the game by favoring data-driven decision-making over the scouts’ “eye test”. He managed the team much like a hedge fund manager would trade assets, exploiting market inefficiencies to build a competitive roster, despit...2023-06-0653 minRead & RepeatEP41 The Club: The Rise of the English Premier LeagueToday we'll be discussing "The Club: How the Premier League Became the Richest, Most Disruptive Business in Sports" by Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg. Since its inception as a breakaway league in 1992, the English Premier League has risen to become one of the largest and most lucrative sports leagues in the world. Behind the glitz and glamour lies a tale of business owner drama, where unprecedented money flowed in from Russian Oligarchs and Abu Dhabi royalty alike. Moreover, we examine the pivotal lessons learned in the realm of sports commercialization and cable rights, revealing how the Premier League took...2023-05-301h 06Read & RepeatEP40 Shoe Dog by Phil KnightPhil Knight's memoir "Shoe Dog” shares his incredible entrepreneurial journey that transformed a small business selling running shoes in Oregon into the global behemoth we know today as Nike. From his ultra risk-taking mentality to deep passion for shoes, Knight was able to create an entire new running market when casual runners were mocked before. He endlessly experimented with his cofounder Bowerman on new product designs, building a cult-like following amongst his customers and even driving word of mouth sales to his home doorstep. So, tighten your laces and embark on this inspiring journey with me as we dive in...2023-05-231h 04
Read & RepeatEP39 Eleven Rings by Phil JacksonPhil Jackson’s book "Eleven Rings" shares his insights on leadership after winning 11 championships in 20 seasons! Studying coaches can teach us about leadership in any domain, spanning from delegating authority and suggestively nudging those you lead to differentiating from competitors. We’ll see repeated themes from past episodes, including John D. Rockefeller, Ed Catmull, HBO, Bill Walsh, and more. Phil Jackson coached some of the greatest players in NBA history, such as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O'Neal, dealing with complex egos on the path to numerous titles. He is an all-time legendary coach, winning 75% of the championships duri...2023-05-091h 01
Read & RepeatEP38 The Mamba Mentality by Kobe BryantKobe Bryant's book "The Mamba Mentality" teaches us vital lessons about studying the greats who came before us, working hard in the dark to shine in the light, and why we need obsession to reach the level of greatness. After listening to his insights, you will walk away feeling inspired to outwork your competitors and revel in the process. Kobe's powerful Mamba Mentality guided him through an incredible career in the NBA, winning 5 championships and scoring the 4th most points of all time. Get ready for a masterclass in mental fortitude - "When everyone else was thinking it was...2023-05-0241 min
Read & RepeatEP37 Michael Jordan: The Life by Roland LazenbyToday we'll cover the phenomenal book "Michael Jordan: The Life" by Roland Lazenby. Michael Jordan is widely considered the greatest basketball player of all time, having won six NBA championships, five NBA MVPs, and expanding the game of basketball to the global stage. You could put all the best directors and writers in a room and they wouldn’t be able to create the story of MJ… But it wasn't just his natural talent that made him great; Jordan was known for his relentless obsession to practice and his competitive drive. So in this episode, we'll discuss the lessons from...2023-04-251h 21
Read & RepeatEP36 Zeckendorf: The Man Who Played a Real-Life Game of Monopoly and Won the Largest Real Estate Empire in HistoryToday we’re gonna explore the fascinating life of William Zeckendorf, one of the most influential real estate developers in American history, as he shares his remarkable journey of revitalizing cities like New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and Denver through his ambitious visionary designs. Zeckendorf's book is full of insights and lessons that still resonate today. He was a master at spotting opportunities where others saw challenges and excelled at structuring complex financial deals, such as through his unique "Hawaiian technique.” He was the ultimate deal-maker, oftentimes approached BY local mayors for the chance to turn around their stru...2023-04-181h 29
Read & RepeatEP35 The Score Takes Care of Itself by Bill Walsh“The Score Takes Care of Itself” by Bill Walsh details the rise of a legendary coach who changed the NFL and led the San Francisco 49ers to three Super Bowl titles in just 10 years. Walsh revolutionized the game with his West Coast Offense, which, against all odds and conventional wisdom, emphasized a pass-first strategy in an era dominated by the run game. We’ll explore key takeaways throughout the book, such as instilling a Standard of Performance, bucking conventional wisdom, being a student of the game, bouncing back from failure, seeking out expert teachers, avoiding success disease, and developing greatn...2023-04-1154 min
Read & RepeatEP34 Wooden on Leadership by John WoodenToday we're going to dive into the mind of Coach John Wooden, the all-time great who led UCLA Basketball to 10 championships over a 12-year period. We’ll discuss Wooden’s Pyramid of Success in detail and highlight qualities that made the famous coach stand out. Wooden emphasized that excellence is not a fixed destination, but a journey that requires constant hard work and self-improvement. From fulfilling our potential to the power of practice, Wooden shares many of the core insights that guided him throughout his life. Some of his core mantras include: how you practice is how you play; litt...2023-04-0451 min
Read & RepeatEP33 A Henry Singleton Primer with Aleem ChoudhryI'm excited to dive deeper into the "zig when others zag" philosophy of Henry Singleton with my guest today, Aleem Choudhry. Aleem worked with William Thorndike to study Henry Singleton - one of the best Capital allocators over the last century - during his time at HBS in the early 2000s. He’s since gone on to become an impact investor focusing on the education and healthcare sectors, through his private equity firm Crane Street Capital. In our conversation, we discuss some of the qualities that made Henry Singleton stand out from his peers, such as his indifference to pu...2023-03-3025 min
Read & RepeatEP32 Hit Refresh (Microsoft) by Satya NadellaIn "Hit Refresh", Satya Nadella shares his rise to the top of Microsoft as they were struggling competitively, and the drastic changes he made to reinvent the culture of the company around a growth mindset. Since taking over in 2014, Nadella has redirected the company away from its declining Windows PC business and towards enterprise services & cloud computing, making strategic acquisitions of LinkedIn, Minecraft, Github, and today Activision Blizzard. With their OpenAI partnership, Nadella has positioned Azure as a chief beneficiary in the AI race, pushing Microsoft into the world's second most valuable company slot. "Hit Refresh" offers a unique...2023-03-2846 min
Read & RepeatEP31 Soundtracks by Jon AcuffJon Acuff's book "Soundtracks" explores how our negative thoughts and overthinking can become like broken soundtracks, playing on repeat in our minds. When we consistently listen to these broken soundtracks, they become ingrained in our psyche and lead to inaction. Acuff argues that we need to actively shift to more positive soundtracks if we want to reach our goals and live a more enjoyable life. Through his use of turn-down techniques and soundtrack swapping, we’ll learn how to challenge our negative thoughts and implement new soundtracks to improve our self-talk mindset. This book is REALLY funny and shares a...2023-03-2139 min
Read & RepeatEP30 Dr. Anna Lembke of Dopamine NationIn my conversation with Dr. Anna Lembke, we discuss many of the core insights from her influential book Dopamine Nation, such as the pleasure-pain seesaw, the DOPAMINE framework, and how leaning into pain can lead to a restored pleasure balance. She shares numerous tools we can use in avoiding our compulsive urges, such as time restraints, exercise, cold immersion, and community. We also touch on technology & social media's role in our modern world, where notifications delivering digital dopamine keep us glued to our devices. I learned so much from Dr. Lembke and think you will too!
2023-03-1444 min
Read & RepeatEP29 Constellation Software Letters by Mark LeonardIn today’s episode, we'll be discussing the management philosophy and investment strategies of Mark Leonard, the CEO of Constellation Software. Over the years, Leonard has developed a cult following for his unique approach to acquiring mission-critical vertical software businesses, which has led to impressive 30% annualized returns for shareholders. Leonard's decentralized management style and his focus on aligning incentives with stakeholders have been key to Constellation's success, fueling their acquisition engine to complete 100+ deals per year. In this episode, we'll break down some of the key themes in his shareholder letters, drawing parallels with the CEOs from "The Outsiders". Wi...2023-03-0955 min
Read & RepeatEP28 Cable Cowboy by Mark RobichauxMark Robichaux’s phenomenal book “Cable Cowboy: John Malone and the Rise of the Modern Cable Business” dives into the fascinating evolution and history of the cable industry through the lens of its robber baron pioneer, John Malone. Much like John D. Rockefeller, Malone exerted control over his industry peers by buying cable operators and investing in the cable programs, giving him power over the pipes and water flowing through it. Cable Cowboy teaches us many lessons about sheltering cash flows through tax-efficient strategies, applying leverage as you gain scale, and zigging when others zag. Malone continues to be a domi...2023-03-071h 01
Read & RepeatEP27 The Outsiders by William ThorndikeWilliam Thorndike's "The Outsiders" provides a masterclass in capital allocation like no other! The book highlights 8 successful CEOs who have defied conventional management styles and adopted unique investment strategies, such as buying back huge portions of their stock, making acquisitions worth 25% or more of the enterprise value, and avoiding tax-inefficient dividends. Across Warren Buffett, Henry Singleton, John Malone, and the other Outsider CEOs, these executives constantly diverged from the crowd and rewarded shareholders with 20-30% CAGRs! We will learn about many of the qualities these Outsider CEOs shared, including zigging when others zag, hiring the best people, pushing decisions...2023-02-281h 13
Read & RepeatEP26 It's Not TV (HBO) by Felix Gillette & John KoblinFelix Gillette and John Koblin’s influential book "It's Not TV" chronicles the rise of HBO as a premium cable channel and its eventual competition with Netflix in the streaming wars. The book shares countless stories of HBO's high-quality content playbook, stemming from its desire to be different from the broadcast TV networks and their advertising-supported business models. From groundbreaking shows like "The Sopranos" and "Game of Thrones" to its evolvement in the changing media landscape, HBO remains a major player in the entertainment industry. Get ready for the incredible story of one of my favorite media companies, HBO!...2023-02-211h 03
Read & RepeatEP25 Creativity Inc (Pixar) by Ed CatmullEd Catmull's inspiring book Creativity Inc is a must-read for anyone looking to build a culture of innovation and creativity. Ed Catmull is the co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios and one of the pioneers of the computer-animated film industry. We’ll dive into his secrets of managing Pixar, including their effective Braintrust feedback system, their story is king quality mindset undergirding all their creative projects, and their edit relentlessly approach to content. We share inside stories from the development of movies like Toy Story 2 and Ratatouille, and how those lessons around embracing failure can apply to our businesses today. I...2023-02-151h 03
Read & RepeatEP24 The Ride of a Lifetime by Bob IgerBob Iger’s book The Ride of a Lifetime chronicles his inspiring journey from the bottom of ABC to CEO of Disney, where he successfully pulled off 3 of the biggest media acquisitions over the last two decades, bringing in Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm into the House of Mouse. We’ll discuss many of the management lessons he learned from famed Sports mentor Roone Arledge, such as Innovate or Die & the relentless pursuit of perfection. We’ll close off by looping back to our disruptive innovation framework from the last episode, sharing how Iger bucked the innovator's dilemma with his develo...2023-02-011h 15
Read & RepeatEP23 The Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton ChristensenThe Innovator’s Dilemma is a powerful business framework, characterizing when incumbent businesses ignore disruptive technologies for 3 main reasons: listening too closely to their mainstream market customers, targeting higher margin products which thus leads to higher cost structures, and ignoring small new markets due to large growth forecasts. Managers are usually rational in their decision-making, but don’t have incentives in place to pursue the lower-margin and smaller disruptive markets. Using examples across the disk drive, steel, discount retailing, and accounting industries, we explore times when large incumbents suffered at the hands of the innovator's dilemma. We'll close off with...2023-01-251h 11
Read & RepeatEP22 A Short History of Financial Euphoria by John Kenneth GalbraithWe build on the last episode by discussing lessons learned from historical periods of irrational exuberance, going through examples given by John Kenneth Galbraith in his impactful book, A Short History of Financial Euphoria. We cover Tulipmania and its resemblance to crypto, the US Paper Currency euphoria, and the excessive overleverage of the Great Depression. By the end of this episode, I hope listeners will have a sound playbook to spot signs of financial euphoria and excess before the speculation, as Galbraith likes to say, ends not with a whimper, but with a bang!
...2023-01-1640 min
Read & RepeatEP21 Bull! A History of the Boom & Bust, 1982 - 2004 by Maggie MaharIn today's episode, we'll be diving into the dot-com boom and bust with Bull! by Maggie Mahar. This book delves into the characteristics that define market cycles and examines the events and players that shaped the dot-com 1990s era. We'll be exploring the key themes and takeaways from Bull! and how they resemble today's market, such as FOMO and euphoric extremes, “this time is different” mentalities, accounting trickery, and more! Get ready for an insightful view into one of the biggest cycles of irrational exuberance!
Bull!: A History of the Boom and Bust, 1982-2004 - Ma...2023-01-091h 11
Read & RepeatEP20 Titan - The Life of John D. Rockefeller by Ron ChernowRon Chernow's Titan is an epic biography of John D. Rockefeller, the man who defined the oil industry in the late 1800s. We discuss the monumental impact Rockefeller had on modern-day American capitalism and philanthropy, through his monopolization of the booming oil industry, his competitive practices to gain leverage over refiners (the Cleveland Massacre!) and railroads, and his relentless pursuit of delegation in management. In what is both an entertaining and insightful journey, we'll learn about the perils of not controlling your own distribution, why commodity markets rely so heavily on cost, and how antitrust concerns came to be...2022-12-301h 15
Read & RepeatEP19 AI Superpowers by Kai-Fu LeeKai-Fu Lee’s book AI Superpowers is particularly useful right now as we’re seeing AI reach the mainstream consumer, from ChatGPT to Lensa magic avatars to DALL-E and Stable Diffusion image generators. This episode will serve as a great primer for what’s really going on behind the scenes within AI models, discussing the foundations and history of AI research, current progress in deep learning architectures, China’s competitive tech ecosystem, and how automation will impact our labor markets. This episode is already one of my favorites and I’m certain it’ll be very insightful for those hoping to un...2022-12-1959 min
Read & RepeatEP18 The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben HorowitzIn The Hard Thing About Hard Things, Ben Horowitz shares some of the key lessons he learned during his entrepreneurial journey, including how to manage, train, and incentivize employees, the importance of courage as a CEO, and the difficult but necessary task of making tough firing decisions. We’ll discuss his early pioneering work in the cloud computing industry as the co-founder of Loudcloud and his later transition to the software business Opsware, which was eventually sold to HP for $1.65 billion. After the sale of Opsware, Horowitz and his business partner Marc Andreessen went on to form the venture ca...2022-12-151h 02
Read & RepeatEP17 A Conversation with Jimmy Soni, Author of The FoundersI’m excited to share my conversation with Jimmy Soni, the author of the incredible book The Founders! In this episode, we discuss the power of the people around you, Brad Stone’s influence on Jimmy’s writing process, the value of network effects in PayPal’s business, Thiel’s developing thoughts around competition, Elon’s skin in the game, and the tumultuous culture of PayPal post-merger. If you’re interested in entrepreneurship, technology, or simply drama-ridden stories set in the dot-com bust era, you’ll love his book!
The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the E...2022-12-1253 min
Read & RepeatEP16 The Founders, The Story of PayPal by Jimmy SoniJimmy Soni's The Founders tells the incredible story of the founding of PayPal and the influential characters behind the online payments provider. From monopoly-forming mergers to multiple backstabbings and intense competitive dynamics on another platform’s home turf, this story has it all. We will be weaving between the stories of Confinity and X.com, eventually arriving at the PayPal merger and many of the subsequent innovations in the online payments space. The PayPal founders have had an outsized impact on Silicon Valley, with companies such as Tesla, SpaceX, YouTube, LinkedIn, Affirm, Palantir, Founders Fund, and Yelp all coming fr...2022-12-061h 19
Read & RepeatEP15 Becoming Trader Joe by Joe CoulombeJoe Coulombe shares his insightful lessons from founding Trader Joe’s, spanning from his early focus on the overeducated and underpaid customer segment to later innovations across intensive buying and double-entry retailing. We discuss the stories and lessons from his excellent book, Becoming Trader Joe, including his emphasis on paying employees well, having deep product knowledge, selecting prime locations, targeting high sales per SF over pure growth, and leveraging lower SKU counts. Fans of Trader Joe’s and all business entrepreneurs will thoroughly enjoy this episode!
Becoming Trader Joe - Joe Coulombe
2022-11-2851 min
Read & RepeatEP14 A Man for All Markets by Ed ThorpEd Thorp is a remarkable figure, achieving great success in the casinos of Las Vegas and Wall Street, while also investing in Berkshire at $1K, contributing the first LP check to Ken Griffin’s fund Citadel, and calling the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme 18 years before Madoff was exposed! Thorp advises us to only invest when we have a clear edge, question the commonly held assumptions, attract top talent with superior pay, beware of following the masses, and prioritize physical fitness to ensure longevity. We discuss his life story and wisdom from his enthralling autobiography, A Man for All Markets....2022-11-2556 min
Read & RepeatEP13 The Power Law by Sebastian Mallaby, Part 3In Part 3, we discuss the decline of Kleiner Perkins, the institutionalization of growth equity with DST & Tiger Global, a16z’s emergence, Sequoia’s sustained dominance, and the main takeaways for the VC industry going forward.
The Power Law - Sebastian Mallaby
Please share with a friend or rate 5 stars if you enjoyed this episode! | Find me on Twitter @ReadnRepeatPod
2022-11-2249 min
Read & RepeatEP12 The Power Law by Sebastian Mallaby, Part 2In Part 2, we discuss Google’s origin story, Brian Arthur’s increasing returns to scale, Peter Thiel’s founder-friendliness & competition is for losers philosophies, Paul Graham’s founding of YCombinator, Neil Shen’s Sequoia China ambitions, and Meituan’s monopolization of the China services industry in “the war of a thousand Groupons”.
The Power Law - Sebastian Mallaby
Increasing Returns to Scale - Brian Arthur
Competition is for Losers - Peter Thiel
Please share with a friend or rate 5 stars if you enj...2022-11-2251 min
Read & RepeatEP11 The Power Law by Sebastian Mallaby, Part 1Sebastian Mallaby’s The Power Law is an incredible account of the history and evolution of the venture capital industry. We explore how power laws shape returns within a VC fund, where one investment can more than pay off for the entire rest of the fund. In Part 1, we discuss the early founding of liberation capital with Arthur Rock, the formation of historic firms Sequoia Capital & Kleiner Perkins, Apple taking advantage of the innovator’s dilemma, John Doerr dominating the 90s, Accel creating the first specialized firm, the arrival of Masa and growth investing, and Benchmark Capital’s big bet on...2022-11-2059 min
Read & RepeatEP10 Superforecasting by Phil Tetlock & Dan GardnerSuperforecasting describes how we live in a probabilistic and uncertain world, but we seek out certainty and absolutes in our everyday lives. Using examples across Fantasy Football, Inverse Jim Cramer, Inflation, and Chipotle’s future growth, we discuss how hard it is to predict the future, and how we are often flawed in our prediction updating abilities. Beliefs are hypotheses to be tested, not treasures to be protected → we must constantly update our beliefs based on new information and use base rates, devil’s advocates, and premortems to fight off our natural confirmation & identity biases.
Supe...2022-11-1734 min
Read & RepeatEP9 Healing Back Pain by John Sarno, MDHealing Back Pain, by Dr. John E Sarno, is an interesting exploration into the role our repressed emotions play in creating physical pain. The physical pain behind chronic back and neck pain distracts our attention from the true issue, which is our repressed anger & anxiety in our lives. Physical pain is meant to distract us from the hidden emotional pain, and we must bring that emotional pain to the surface in order to relieve our physical suffering. Healing Back Pain is a worthwhile read for anyone experiencing chronic pain and under high levels of stress.
2022-11-1217 min
Read & RepeatEP8 Am I Being Too Subtle? by Sam ZellZell is a phenomenal real estate investor to study, with core investing tenets that we should all look to emulate. His investment mantras include: failure is not in my lexicon; simplify risk down to its most important variable; if everyone is going left, look right; if there is scarcity, price is no object (thus avoid competition like the plague); leave a little bit of money on the table in any negotiation (seek win-win outcomes); and beware of euphoria bubbles, but go bargain hunting after the crash (the Grave Dancer). Investors from all walks of life will enjoy this episode!2022-11-0856 min
Read & RepeatEP7 The Chip War by Chris Miller, Part 2In Part 2, we’ll discuss the evolution of the chip industry from the mid-90s to its current state, based on Chris Miller's excellent new book The Chip War. We'll cover ARM's power-efficient chip architecture, Apple's in-house design strategy, ASML's EUV monopoly, Intel's 3 big mistakes over the last 15 years, and the growing geopolitical tensions with China. The chip industry is incredibly competitive, with national dominance at stake, lower wages in a globalized supply chain, exponential rates of innovation, and consolidation as the weak firms die out.
The Chip War - Chris Miller
2022-11-071h 07
Read & RepeatEP6 The Chip War by Chris Miller, Part 1Part 1: Today we’ll discuss the evolution of the chip industry from its founding to the mid-90s, based on Chris Miller's excellent new book The Chip War. We'll cover Fairchild and the early days of semiconductors, Intel and the Japan memory battles, the rise of TSMC and Taiwan's foundry dominance, and the Fabless Revolution with winners such as Nvidia and Qualcomm. The chip industry is incredibly competitive, with national dominance at stake, lower wages in a globalized supply chain, exponential rates of innovation, and consolidation as the weak firms die out.
The Chip War...2022-11-0657 min
Read & RepeatEP5 Predictably Irrational by Dan ArielyBehavioral economics rejects the idea that all humans are perfectly rational and contends that we make repeated mistakes in decision-making. In an entertaining and funny read, Ariely discusses how we are fooled by decoys and relative anchors, we bend over backward for FREE items, we mix social and market norms to our own peril, we prefer instant gratification over long-term rewards, we keep too many options open despite our decision paralysis, and we let expectations shape our real experiences.
Predictably Irrational - Dan Ariely
Please share with a friend...2022-11-0436 min
Read & RepeatEP4 Quit by Annie DukeAnnie Duke's new thought-provoking book Quit describes how quitting is a superpower - it gives us the ability to experiment and test out new ideas. The problem, however, is that many cognitive biases prevent us from quitting, such as sunk costs, sure loss aversion, identity bias, and status quo bias. Using examples across public works projects, stock market investing, professional sports, semiconductors, and relationships, we discuss how our reluctance to quitting stops us from pursuing higher value opportunities, and lay out some useful tools to combat this cognitive error.
Quit - Annie Duke
2022-11-0349 min
Read & RepeatEP3 The Psychology of Human Misjudgment by Charlie MungerToday's episode serves as a comprehensive guide to cognitive biases, reflecting on the 25 biases Charlie Munger highlighted in his famous Psychology of Human Misjudgment speech. We discuss in depth how these biases affect our personal and business lives, and propose frameworks to combat some of our most vicious cognitive errors. We cover incentives, inconsistency, envy/jealousy, reciprocation, addiction, over-optimism, loss aversion, sunk costs, social proof, relativity, authority bias, hindsight bias, and much more. This is an enlightening episode that covers many foundational ideas across the cognitive thinking realm.
The Psychology of Human Misjudgment...2022-11-0256 min
Read & RepeatEP2 Atomic Habits by James ClearToday we cover Atomic Habits by James Clear, a foundational book on habit science and behavior change.
Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement, where if we can get 1% better each day then those marginal gains will lead to huge outcomes in time. We must adopt positive identity habits, where we’ll reinforce our identity through actions like exercising or eating healthy to stay consistent with ourselves. We can use tools such as implementation intentions, environmental design, reducing frictions, habit stacking, temptation bundling, accountability partners, selecting the right community, and public commitments to steer us...2022-11-0140 min
Read & RepeatEP1 Dopamine Nation by Dr. Anna LembkeWe start off with Dopamine Nation, an excellent book by Dr. Anna Lembke on the struggles of addiction and how the neurotransmitter dopamine plays a role in our body. We'll discuss the fundamental pleasure-pain seesaw, which is an easy-to-grasp metaphor explaining how dopamine regulates our motivation and movement when pursuing rewards. We will also go through the DOPAMINE Framework tool that Dr. Lembke uses with her patients to quit their addictions.
We'll touch on multiple tools from habit building and cognitive science that help limit negative habits, such as time restraints, public commitments, environmental...2022-10-3037 min